Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is one of the main foundations of the country's economic development. Foreign investors bring new capital, knowledge and experience to the country receiving the investment, thereby generating new jobs. There is a difference between investments that create high added value, so they are called greenfield investments, and brownfield and portfolio investments that take advantage of existing capital and are not based on high-tech processes. The goal of every country is to have the best possible investment structure, that is, to predominate in greenfield investments, as this increases economic competitiveness. For the economy to be suitable for foreign investors, it is essential to maintain a good investment climate due to the interaction of various economic and political factors. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to show which economic and political factors affect the structure of foreign direct investment in Croatia as a case study. The process of privatization in Croatia, the economic dynamics of public and private companies, investment in research and development - R&D, and economic dependence on tourism and personal consumption are highlighted as key economic factors. The most important political factors presented are the institutional quality, the structure of the labor market and the educational model, the efficiency of public administration and the socialist way of functioning of society in the age of free market and competitiveness. At the end of the paper, the structure of foreign direct investments according to statistical data is presented, and possible changes in policy guidelines that could contribute to the investment climate and structure in Croatia are described.