The entrepreneurial environment is the subject of research by many scholars worldwide. It refers to all the factors and conditions that influence the creation, development and success of entrepreneurial activities in a particular field. The entrepreneurial environment includes the legal framework (taxes, regulations), infrastructure (access to technology, financial resources), cultural norms (attitudes to risk, innovation), availability of resources (labour, education) and the support and networks that can provide mentoring, advice and help to future and current entrepreneurs. The components that make up the entrepreneurial environment interact with each other. The quality of each component of the entrepreneurial environment affects the overall quality of the entrepreneurial environment, which in turn affects the quality of entrepreneurial activities and entrepreneurship in general. Entrepreneurship and entrepreneurial activity are crucial for the economic development of society, as entrepreneurship creates new value and improves the quality of life. Therefore, creating a supportive entrepreneurial environment is a key factor in achieving sustainable economic development. The aim of this paper is to describe and define the entrepreneurial environment, the components of the entrepreneurial environment and their importance for the development of entrepreneurship, and to compare the entrepreneurial environment of Croatia with that of selected European Union member states in order to gain insights into the quality of the Croatian entrepreneurial environment from an international perspective and to identify areas that can be improved in the Croatian entrepreneurial environment. The paper used secondary data sources. The analysis of the entrepreneurial environment of Croatia and selected countries (the Netherlands and Spain) was conducted based on the results of the GEM and WEF reports. The GEM study identifies nine key components of the entrepreneurial environment, while the WEF report analysis is based on twelve pillars. Reports such as these are important because they enable comparisons with other countries and provide a basis for developing recommendations and strategies that contribute to the further development of the business environment in each country.