Sustainable development of each national economy depends mainly on the quality
of human capital. The quality of human capital is determined by the quality of the
educational system, investments in education and participation rates. Lagging
behind in the development process of the educational system and insufficient
investments in the formation of human capital could become major obstacles to
achieving long-term sustainable development in the Republic of Croatia. This
paper gives a comparative overview of participation rates and investments in
education in Croatia as well as in some developed OECD and EU countries and
selected transition countries. The concluding part recommends key measures for
policy makers.