The lands that today comprise Croatia were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the close of World War I. In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became a federal independent Communist state under the strong hand of Marshal TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands. Under UN supervision, the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998.
Location
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia
Geographic coordinates
45 10 N, 15 30 E
Map references
Europe
Area
total
56,542 sq km
land
56,414 sq km
water
128 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries
total
2,197 km
border countries
Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia 241 km, Montenegro 25 km, Slovenia 670 km
Coastline
5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km)
Maritime claims
territorial sea
12 nm
continental shelf
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Climate
Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast
Terrain
geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands
Elevation extremes
lowest point
Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point
Dinara 1,830 m
Natural resources
oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, gypsum, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower
Land use
arable land
25.82%
permanent crops
2.19%
other
71.99% (2005)
Irrigated land
110 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards
destructive earthquakes
Environment - current issues
air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; landmine removal and reconstruction of infrastructure consequent to 1992-95 civil strife
Environment - international agreements
party to
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified
Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography - note
controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits; the vast majority of Adriatic Sea islands lie off the coast of Croatia - some 1,200 islands, islets, ridges, and rocks
Population
4,493,312 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
16% (male 368,639/female 349,703)
15-64 years
67.1% (male 1,499,354/female 1,515,932)
65 years and over
16.9% (male 292,526/female 467,158) (2007 est.)
Median age
total
40.6 years
male
38.6 years
female
42.3 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate
-0.035% (2007 est.)
Birth rate
9.63 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate
11.57 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate
1.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years
1.054 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.989 male(s)/female
65 years and over
0.626 male(s)/female
total population
0.926 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total
6.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male
6.6 deaths/1,000 live births
female
6.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population
74.9 years
male
71.26 years
female
78.75 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.41 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
200 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths
less than 10 (2001 est.)
Nationality
noun
Croat(s), Croatian(s)
adjective
Croatian
Ethnic groups
Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, other 5.9% (including Bosniak, Hungarian, Slovene, Czech, and Roma) (2001 census)
Religions
Roman Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.9%, none 5.2% (2001 census)
Languages
Croatian 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated 2.9% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) (2001 census)
Literacy
definition
age 15 and over can read and write
total population
98.1%
male
99.3%
female
97.1% (2001 census)
Country name
conventional long form
Republic of Croatia
conventional short form
Croatia
local long form
Republika Hrvatska
local short form
Hrvatska
former
People's Republic of Croatia, Socialist Republic of Croatia
Government type
presidential/parliamentary democracy
Capital
name
Zagreb
geographic coordinates
45 48 N, 15 58 E
time difference
UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time
+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Independence Day, 8 October (1991); note - 25 June 1991 was the day the Croatian Parliament voted for independence; following a three-month moratorium to allow the European Community to solve the Yugoslav crisis peacefully, Parliament adopted a decision on 8 October 1991 to sever constitutional relations with Yugoslavia
Constitution
adopted on 22 December 1990; revised 2000, 2001
Legal system
based on Austro-Hungarian law system with Communist law influences; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed)
Executive branch
chief of state
President Stjepan (Stipe) MESIC (since 18 February 2000)
head of government
Prime Minister Ivo SANADER (since 9 December 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Jadranka KOSOR (since 23 December 2003) and Damir POLANCEC (since 15 February 2005)
cabinet
Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the parliamentary Assembly
elections
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 16 January 2005 (next to be held in January 2010); the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president and then approved by the Assembly
election results
Stjepan MESIC reelected president; percent of vote - Stjepan MESIC 66%, Jadranka KOSOR 34% in the second round
Legislative branch
unicameral Assembly or Sabor (152 seats; members elected from party lists by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 23 November 2003 (next to be held in November 2007)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA; number of seats by party - HDZ 63, SDP 34, HNS 11, HSS 9, HSP 7, IDS 4, HDSSB 3, HSLS 3, HSU 3, SDSS 3, other 12
note: minority government coalition - HDZ, DC, HSLS, HSU, SDSS; note - the Democratic Center party or DC withdrew from the government in February 2006
Judicial branch
Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the Assembly
Political parties and leaders
Croatian Bloc or HB [Ivic PASALIC]; Croatian Christian Democratic Union or HKDU [Anto KOVACEVIC]; Croatian Democratic Congress of Slavonia and Baranja or HDSSB [Branimir GLAVAS]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Anto DJAPIC]; Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Josip FRISCIC]; Croatian Pensioner Party or HSU [Vladimir JORDAN]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Vesna PUSIC] (in 2005 party merged with Libra to become Croatian People's Party-Liberal Democrats or NS-LD); Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Djurdja ADLESIC]; Croatian True Revival Party or HIP [Miroslav TUDJMAN]; Democratic Centre or DC [Vesna SKARE-OZBOLT]; Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Ivica RACAN]
chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products, construction materials, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and beverages, tourism
Industrial production growth rate
5% (2006 est.)
Electricity - production
12.95 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel
33.6%
hydro
66%
nuclear
0%
other
0.4% (2001)
Electricity - consumption
16.53 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports
600 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports
5.086 billion kWh (2004)
Oil - production
20,500 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption
93,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - exports
NA bbl/day
Oil - imports
NA bbl/day
Oil - proved reserves
93.6 million bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production
1.64 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - consumption
2.75 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - exports
0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - imports
1.11 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves
24.64 billion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)
Current account balance
-$2.892 billion (2006 est.)
Exports
$11.17 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities
transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels
Exports - partners
Italy 22%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 13.8%, Germany 9.7%, Slovenia 9%, Austria 7.4% (2006)
Imports
$21.79 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities
machinery, transport and electrical equipment; chemicals, fuels and lubricants; foodstuffs
Imports - partners
Italy 16.7%, Germany 15.1%, Russia 8.9%, Austria 6.2%, Slovenia 5%, China 4.7% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$11.07 billion (2006 est.)
Debt - external
$33.09 billion (30 June 2006 est.)
Economic aid - recipient
ODA, $166.5 million (2002)
Currency (code)
kuna (HRK)
Currency code
HRK
Exchange rates
kuna per US dollar - 5.8625 (2006), 5.9473 (2005), 6.0358 (2004), 6.7035 (2003), 7.8687 (2002)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Telephones - main lines in use
1.89 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular
2.984 million (2005)
Telephone system
general assessment
NA
domestic
reconstruction plan calls for replacement of all analog circuits with digital and enlarging the network; a backup will be included in the plan for the main trunk
international
country code - 385; digital international service is provided through the main switch in Zagreb; Croatia participates in the Trans-Asia-Europe (TEL) fiber-optic project, which consists of 2 fiber-optic trunk connections with Slovenia and a fiber-optic trunk line from Rijeka to Split and Dubrovnik; Croatia is also investing in ADRIA 1, a joint fiber-optic project with Germany, Albania, and Greece
Radio broadcast stations
AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999)
Radios
1.51 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations
36 (plus 321 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions
1.22 million (1997)
Internet country code
.hr
Internet hosts
18,825 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
9 (2000)
Internet users
1.451 million (2005)
Airports
68 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways
total
23
over 3,047 m
2
2,438 to 3,047 m
6
1,524 to 2,437 m
2
914 to 1,523 m
4
under 914 m
9 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total
45
1,524 to 2,437 m
1
914 to 1,523 m
7
under 914 m
37 (2006)
Heliports
2 (2006)
Pipelines
gas 1,340 km; oil 583 km (2006)
Railways
total
2,726 km
standard gauge
2,726 km 1.435-m gauge (1,199 km electrified) (2005)
Roadways
total
28,344 km
paved
24,186 km (includes 742 km of expressways)
unpaved
4,158 km (2004)
Waterways
785 km (2007)
Merchant marine
total
72 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,079,286 GRT/1,724,698 DWT
by type
bulk carrier 22, cargo 11, chemical tanker 3, passenger/cargo 27, petroleum tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3
registered in other countries
36 (Belize 1, Cyprus 2, Liberia 7, Malta 10, Marshall Islands 2, Panama 5, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 9) (2006)
Ports and terminals
Omisalj, Ploce, Rijeka, Sibenik, Vukovar (on Danube)
Military branches
Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia (Oruzane Snage Republike Hrvatske, OSRH), consists of five major commands directly subordinate to a General Staff: Ground Forces (Hrvatska Kopnena Vojska, HKoV), Naval Forces (Hrvatska Ratna Mornarica, HRM), Air Force, Joint Education and Training Command, Logistics Command; Military Police Force supports each of the three Croatian military forces (2007)
Military service age and obligation
18 years of age for compulsory military service, with 6-month service obligation; 16 years of age with consent for voluntary service (December 2004)
Manpower available for military service
males age 18-49
1,005,058
females age 18-49
1,008,511 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49
725,914
females age 18-49
823,611 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually
males age 18-49
29,020
females age 18-49
27,897 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
2.39% (2005 est.)
Disputes - international
dispute remains with Bosnia and Herzegovina over several small disputed sections of the boundary related to maritime access that hinders ratification of the 1999 border agreement; the Croatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement, which would have ceded most of Pirin Bay and maritime access to Slovenia and several villages to Croatia, remains un-ratified and in dispute; Slovenia also protests Croatia's 2003 claim to an exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic; as a European Union peripheral state, neighboring Slovenia must conform to the strict Schengen border rules to curb illegal migration and commerce through southeastern Europe while encouraging close cross-border ties with Croatia
Refugees and internally displaced persons
IDPs: 4,200-7,000 (Croats and Serbs displaced in 1992-95 war) (2006)
Illicit drugs
transit point along the Balkan route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe; has been used as a transit point for maritime shipments of South American cocaine bound for Western Europe
