ZAGREB, Feb. 28 (Xinhua) -- Croatia's GDP grew 2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2017 over the same period of 2016, which is lower than expected and the slowest since the second quarter of 2015, Croatian Bureau of Statistics announced on Wednesday.

The growth is also significantly lower compared with the third quarter when it grew 3.3 percent.

The largest positive contribution of the GDP volume change was realized in the final consumption expenditure of households, says the bureau's report. At the same time, the contribution of net foreign demand was negative.

Throughout 2017, Croatian economy grew 2.8 percent, which is slower than 3.2 percent growth in 2016.

Croatian Finance Minister Zdravko Maric stressed that Croatia should aim at higher growth rates.

"Aside from personal consumption, there should be a major contribution of investment spending because it could have the greatest impact on GDP growth not only next year but years to come," Maric stressed, Croatian National Television (HRT) reported on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Croatian Employers' Association is not satisfied with growth rates. Director of the association believes that Croatia needs structural changes and better business and investments environment that can stimulate the growth. Otherwise, Croatia will lag behind other EU member states.

As the youngest member of the European Union, Croatia started recovering in 2015 after six years of recession.

In Oct. 2017, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged Croatia to accelerate the pace of structural reforms to improve growth prospects. It said that without critical reforms, growth would decelerate over the medium term towards around 2 percent.

The IMF projected Croatia's growth in 2017 at 3.1 percent.