Fewer and fewer Europeans smoke, but Croatia, unfortunately, does not follow the trends.

The European Union recorded over 1.32 billion tourist overnight stays in the first half of 2026, marking a 1.7 percent increase compared to the same period in 2025, according to data released by Eurostat on Tuesday. Ireland, Malta, and Slovakia led the growth in tourist accommodation nights, with increases of 14.6 percent, approximately 10 percent, and six percent respectively. Other countries showing notable rises included Slovenia, Poland, Estonia, Denmark, Hungary, Italy, the Czech Republic, Austria, and Spain. Croatia, however, saw a relatively modest increase of 0.5 percent, placing it among nations with slight gains in tourist overnight stays, followed by Finland and eight other countries reporting declines. Among these, Cyprus experienced the largest drop in tourist overnight stays, recording a decrease of 7.7 percent compared to 2025, while Romania saw a decline of 6.7 percent. Bulgaria, Netherlands, Belgium, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, and Finland also reported decreases. The share of international tourists, those from outside the EU and non-residents within the EU, accounted for nearly 49 percent of all overnight stays in the first half of 2026, with significant variations between member states. Malta had the highest proportion of foreign tourists, at 95 percent, followed by Cyprus at around 92 percent and Luxembourg at approximately 88 percent. In contrast, Germany had a much lower percentage, with international tourists making up about 18.5 percent of total stays, while Poland and Romania had shares of roughly 20 percent each. Meanwhile, Eurostat reported that unemployment rates remained stable across the eurozone and the broader European Union in July. The unemployment rate in the eurozone stood at 6.4 percent, unchanged from June, while the EU average was maintained at 6.1 percent. Compared to July 2025, both regions saw a marginal rise of 0.1 percentage points. In the EU, the number of unemployed individuals reached 13.5 million, including 11.3 million in the eurozone. On a monthly basis, the number of unemployed decreased by 41,000 in the EU, remaining steady in the eurozone. However, compared to July 2025, the number of unemployed increased by 296,000 in the EU and 175,000 in the eurozone. Croatia reported a slightly lower unemployment rate in July, at 4.3 percent, down 0.1 percentage point from June and 0.5 percentage points from the same month in 2025. Approximately 78,000 people were unemployed in Croatia during the month, a decrease of one thousand from the previous month and eight thousand fewer than in July 2025. Countries with lower unemployment rates than Croatia included the Czech Republic at 3.3 percent, Poland at 3.4 percent, Malta and Slovenia at 3.5 percent each, Bulgaria at 3.6 percent, Cyprus at 3.9 percent, and Germany and the Netherlands at 4.0 percent each. Finland had the highest unemployment rate in the EU at 10.5 percent, followed by Spain at 10.0 percent and Sweden at 8.7 percent. Youth unemployment in the eurozone dropped slightly in July to 14.9 percent, a 0.1 percentage point decrease from the previous month. At the EU level, the rate fell by 0.5 percentage points to 15.1 percent. Eurostat estimated that approximately 2.93 million young people aged under 25 were unemployed in the EU, with 2.37 million in the eurozone. The number of young unemployed individuals decreased by 98,000 in the EU and 26,000 in the eurozone compared to the previous month. When compared to July 2025, the number of young unemployed increased by 29,000 in the EU and 40,000 in the eurozone. Estonia had the highest youth unemployment rate in the EU at 26.1 percent, followed by Sweden at 24.4 percent and Finland at 23.4 percent. Other countries with youth unemployment exceeding 20 percent included Spain at 22.9 percent, France at 20.7 percent, and Luxembourg and Portugal at 20.1 percent each. Germany had the lowest youth unemployment rate at 7.2 percent, followed by Malta at 9.8 percent and the Netherlands at 8.6 percent. For Croatia, Eurostat provides quarterly data on youth unemployment. In the second quarter, the rate was 16.4 percent, with approximately 19,000 young people unemployed.