Data Centers in Croatia

Croatia – Strategic Gateway to Southeast Europe

Executive Summary

Croatia is a strategic choice for businesses targeting Southeastern Europe and the Adriatic coast. Its developing data center market provides a crucial foothold for improving application performance and reducing latency to a growing user base. This presence ensures reliable service delivery and access to emerging regional economies.

Croatia: At A Glance

Network & Connectivity Ecosystem

Carrier Density & Carrier Neutrality: The Croatian market includes over 15 carriers as of September 2025, with colocation facilities primarily centered around the capital, Zagreb. While smaller than primary European markets, a healthy mix of regional and local providers offers sufficient network diversity for most business needs.

Direct Cloud On-Ramps: There are no direct, in-country public cloud on-ramps from major providers as of September 2025. Businesses connect to cloud services by procuring private network links, such as PNI or wavelength services, to major hubs in Vienna, Milan, or Budapest.

Internet Exchange Points (IXPs): The primary peering point is the Croatian Internet eXchange (CIX). CIX facilitates the majority of domestic traffic exchange, reducing latency and transit costs for operations focused on the local market.

Bare Metal: Bare metal server options are available, typically from providers with a broad European footprint. These services allow businesses to deploy dedicated hardware for performance-intensive workloads. Providers like phoenixNAP offer solutions in the region.

Power Analysis

Average Cost Of Power: Industrial power costs stand at €0.28/kWh as of December 2023. This rate is in the upper range for Europe, making power a significant factor in operational budgets. The grid mix is favorable, with approximately 68% sourced from renewables.

Power Grid Reliability: The national power grid is reliable, particularly in Zagreb and other primary economic zones where data centers are located. Infrastructure adheres to EU standards, and facilities typically offer multi-megawatt capacity with built-in redundancy to ensure high uptime.

Market Access, Business & Tax Climate

Proximity To Key Business Districts: Data centers in Croatia are concentrated in and around Zagreb, the nation's political and economic capital. This provides low-latency connectivity to the financial services, government, and technology sectors headquartered there.

Regional Market Reach: Croatia serves as a digital bridge to Southeastern Europe. A data center presence here offers excellent network performance for serving end-users in Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro.

Tax Advantage For Data Centers: Croatia does not offer specific tax incentives designed to attract data center investment. Companies must operate within the standard corporate tax framework, making financial modeling straightforward but without special advantages.

Natural Disaster Risk

Croatia has a low overall risk profile, with an INFORM Risk score of 2.5 out of 10 as of September 2025. However, businesses must plan for specific, localized threats based on site selection.

Key natural hazards include:

• River Flood: The highest individual risk factor, particularly in areas near the Sava, Drava, and Danube rivers.
• Tsunami & Coastal Flood: A material risk for facilities located along the extensive Adriatic coastline.
• Earthquake: The region is seismically active, requiring data centers to be constructed to modern earthquake-resistant standards.
• Drought: A secondary concern that can impact power generation and cooling resources over the long term.