Abstract—Given that entrepreneurship is a very significant factor of regional development, it is necessary to approach systematically the development with measures of regional politics. According to international classification The Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS II), there are three regions in Croatia. The indicators of entrepreneurial activities on the national level of Croatia are analyzed in the paper, taking into consideration the results of referent research. The level of regional development is shown based on the analysis of entrepreneurs’ operations. The results of the analysis show a very unfavorable situation in entrepreneurial activities on the national level of Croatia. The origin of this situation is to be found in the surroundings with an expressed inequality of regional development, which is caused by the non-existence of a strategically directed regional policy. In this paper recommendations which could contribute to the reduction of regional inequality in Croatia, have been made. Keywords—indicators of entrepreneurial activity, regional development, regional inequity. I. INTRODUCTION HE development of entrepreneurship has been directed towards the strengthening of the entire economical system of a country. The development of entrepreneurial activity must be implemented in a unique system a country can use to accomplish the goals of regional policy. Regional policy should follow the economic needs, which means that the results of regional policy should not have their origin in certain political orientations. Regional policy should be used to reduce the centralization of business activities in a centre or a region. This would influence the increase of business activities in other regions, that is, the increase of the level of using available resources in those regions [1]. Over the past twenty years of its existence, Croatia has been implementing corresponding measures to encourage the development of less developed areas. Less developed areas include: areas that were covered by the war, areas where natural characteristics of living and working conditions are difficult and Croatian Islands. Given that those measures have been segmented, positive results have not been achieved through their implementation. Furthermore, there is still a significant centralization of the government and fiscal capacities in Croatia. S. Letinić is with the Polytechnic of Požega, Vukovarska 17, 34 000 Požega, Croatia, (phone: 00385 34 311 456; fax: 00385 34 271-008; e-mail: sletinic@vup.hr). K. Štavlić is with the Polytechnic of Požega, Vukovarska 17, 34 000 Požega, Croatia, (phone: 00385 34 311 453; fax: 00385 34 271 008; e-mail: kstavlic@vup.hr). The signs of entrepreneurial activities on the national level of Croatia are analyzed in this paper. To confirm the results, the signs of entrepreneurs’ operations on regional level are analyzed and confirmed. Based on regional development level, certain recommendations to improve of national and regional development can be given. II. ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN CROATIA Having gained its independence in the early 1990s, Croatia had to make major breakthroughs in the development of entrepreneurial activity. Croatian economy, as a part of the former state, was burdened with negative rates of economic growth, and private, or entrepreneurial initiative denied by the state. There was also an underutilization of production capital and a low level of productivity [2]. In the majority of the referred enterprises were not expressed an entrepreneurial spirit and initiative. Weak entrepreneurial environment required the focus of the entire Croatian economy towards the sustainable economic development based on the model of the developed Western- European countries. Croatia approached the development of entrepreneurial activity through: • the establishment of sociopolitical environment (through legislation and institutions) which are suitable for the development and functioning of entrepreneurship, • the transition of the companies from public to private sectors, that is, privatization, • the introduction of the principle of doing business, which is based on the market, • the establishment of the structure of control and management, which contributes to efficiency, etc. Today, twenty years after gaining independence, there is a question of whether, and to which extent, it has succeeded in its intentions. Only some of the indicators of entrepreneurial activity in Croatian economy are shown in Table I. From the aforementioned indicator of entrepreneurs according to ownership, it is visible that the transition, or privatization, has been successful in Croatia [3]. The total number of 97.9% of entrepreneurs, who are profit tax payers 1 , is in the private sector. Entrepreneurs (99.4%) according to size belong to small and medium entrepreneurs [3]. From 1990 to 1995 the number of active companies increased 5.5 times, and only in the sector of small and medium companies, 1 All entrepreneurs, except of the banks and insurance companies. Svjetlana Letinić and Katarina Štavlić Entrepreneurial Activity - Indicator of Regional Development in Croatia T World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology International Journal of Economics and Management Engineering Vol:5, No:5, 2011 595 International Scholarly and Scientific Research & Innovation 5(5) 2011 scholar.waset.org/1307-6892/3909 International Science Index, Economics and Management Engineering Vol:5, No:5, 2011 waset.org/Publication/3909