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Please help improve this article or section by expanding it. Further information might be found on the talk page or at requests for expansion. (March 2008) |
| Republika Hrvatska Republic of Croatia |
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| Anthem: Lijepa naša domovino Our beautiful homeland |
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Location of Croatia (orange) on the European continent (white) — [Legend] |
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| Capital (and largest city) | Zagreb | |||||
| Official languages | CroatianCroatia: History, Geography, Government, and Culture — Infoplease.com | |||||
| Demonym | Croat(s) Croatian(s) |
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| Government | Parliamentary republic | |||||
| - | President | Stjepan Mesić | ||||
| - | Premier | Ivo Sanader | ||||
| Establishment | ||||||
| - | Founded | First half of 7th century | ||||
| - | Medieval duchy | March 4 852 | ||||
| - | Recognized by the Pope | May 21 879 | ||||
| - | Elevated to kingdom | 925 | ||||
| - | Union with Hungary | 1102 | ||||
| - | Joined Habsburg Empire | January 1 1527 | ||||
| - | Independence from Austria-Hungary | October 29 1918 |
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| - | Joined Yugoslavia (co-founder) | December 1 1918 |
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| - | Declared independence | October 8 1991 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 56,542 km² (126th) 21,831 sq mi |
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| - | Water (%) | 0.2 | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2008 estimate | 4,453,500World Economic Outlook Database. International Monetary Fund. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. (114th) | ||||
| - | 2001 census | 4,437,460 | ||||
| - | Density | 81/km² (109th) 208/sq mi |
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| GDP (PPP) | 2008 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $74.419 billion (IMF) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $16,758 (IMF) (51st) | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2008 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $54.950 billion (IMF) | ||||
| - | Per capita | $12,374 (IMF) | ||||
| Gini (2005) | 29 (low) | |||||
| HDI (2005) | ▲ 0.850 (high) (47th) | |||||
| Currency | kuna (HRK) |
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| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |||||
| - | Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||||
| Internet TLD | .hr | |||||
| Calling code | +385 | |||||
| 1 | Also Italian in Istria and languages of other national minorities (Serbian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, etc.) in residential municipalities of the national minorities. | |||||
Croatia (IPA: /kroʊˈeɪʃə/) (Croatian: Hrvatska), officially the Republic of Croatia (Republika Hrvatska listen ), is a country at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Central Europe, and the Balkans. Its capital is Zagreb. Croatia borders with Slovenia and Hungary to the north, Serbia to the northeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the east, and Montenegro to the far southeast. Its southern and western flanks border the Adriatic Sea. Croatia is a candidate for membership of the European Union and is expecting NATO membership invitation in April 2008. On October 17, 2007 Croatia became a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2008-2009 term. In the past decade it has also become a popular tourist destination, world-renowned for its beautiful 1,800 km coast line.
Contents |
Satellite image of Croatia
Long in conflict with Rome, the region of Dalmatia was definitively subdued by Augustus (35 BC-33 BC) and was incorporated with part of Illyria as a Roman province. Century and half after fall of Roman Empire Croats settled in the Western Balkan Peninsula, Dalmatian coast as a part of the greater populace of Southern Slavs. The establishment of the Trpimirović dynasty, circa 850, strengthened the Dalmatian Croat Duchy, which together with the Pannonian principality became a Kingdom in 925 under King Tomislav I.
In 1102, Croatia entered into a personal union with the Hungarian Kingdom. After several centuries of struggle, chiefly between Venice and the crowns of Hungary and Croatia, the coastal islands and most of Dalmatia, except Dubrovnik, were under Venetian control by 1420. After the 1526 Battle of Mohács Croatian nobles voted to become a part of the Habsburg Monarchy in 1527. This was a vote for continuation of personal union with the Hungarian Kingdom. Most of Croatia was managed by the Ottoman Empire between 1527-1699.
By the secret Treaty of London (1915) the Allies promised Dalmatia to Italy in return for Italian support in World War I. In end of October 1918 Croatian parliament has voted to abolish union with Hungary and in december 1918, Croatia has become part of the newly established kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (after 1929 Yugoslavia), but Italy continued to claim Dalmatia. The Treaty of Rapallo (1920) gave Dalmatia to Yugoslavia, except for Zadar and several islands, which subsequently passed to Italy. During World War II, Germany has established Independent State of Croatia which will fall together with 3rd Reich in 1945. After the victory of the Yugoslav Partisans led by Josip Broz Tito, a half-Croatian, half-Slovenian, Croatia became a republic within Yugoslavia. The Italian peace treaty of 1947 gave Yugoslavia the islands that had been ceded to Italy after World War I.
In 1991 Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia and a bitter and costly war was fought by the Croatian government against the Milošević - led Yugoslav People\'s Army, Serbian paramilitary forces and rebel Serbs from Croatia who wanted to create "Greater Serbia" from Croatian and Bosnian and Herzegovian territory. Later, the war turned into a conflict between the Republic of Croatia and the rebel Serbs who lived in Croatia. The war came to an end with a Croatian victory, liberating the lost territory and its constitution to the state before war started, which made possible signing of the Dayton Agreement in 1995 by all war sides, that gave peace in the neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Croatia is located in South-Central Europe. Its shape resembles that of a crescent or a horseshoe, which flanks its neighbours Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. To the north lie Slovenia and Hungary; Italy lies across the Adriatic Sea. Its mainland territory is split in two non-contiguous parts by the short coastline of Bosnia and Herzegovina around Neum.
Its terrain is diverse, including:
The country is famous for its many national parks. Croatia has a mixture of climates. In the north and east it is continental, Mediterranean along the coast and a semi-highland and highland climate in the south-central region. The Danube, the longest river in the European Union, runs through the city of Vukovar.
Offshore Croatia consists of over one thousand islands varying in size. The largest islands in Croatia are Cres and Krk which are located in the Adriatic Sea. The Danube, the longest river in the European Union, runs through the city of Vukovar.
Since the adoption of the 1990 Constitution, Croatia has been a democratic republic. Between 1990 and 2000 it had a semi-presidential system, and since 2000 it has a parliamentary system.
The President of the Republic (Predsjednik) is the head of state, directly elected to a five-year term and is limited by the Constitution to a maximum of two terms. In addition to being the commander in chief of the armed forces, the president has the procedural duty of appointing the Prime minister with the consent of the Parliament, and has some influence on foreign policy. His official residence is Predsjednički dvori. Apart from that he has summer residences on the islands of Vanga (Brijuni islands) and the island of Hvar.
| Croatia membership | United Nations | Council of Europe | OSCE | Partnership for Peace | Other organizations |
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The Croatian Parliament (Sabor) is a unicameral legislative body (a second chamber, the "House of Counties", which was set up by the Constitution of 1990, was abolished in 2001http://www.sabor.hr/default.asp?jezik=2). The number of the Sabor\'s members can vary from 100 to 160; they are all elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The plenary sessions of the Sabor take place from January 15 to July 15, and from September 15 to December 15.
The Croatian Government (Vlada) is headed by the Prime minister who has two deputy prime ministers and fourteen ministers in charge of particular sectors of activity. The executive branch is responsible for proposing legislation and a budget, executing the laws, and guiding the foreign and internal policies of the republic. Government\'s official residence is at Banski dvori.
Croatia has a three-tiered judicial system, consisting of the Supreme Court, county courts, and municipal courts. The Constitutional Court rules on matters regarding the Constitutution.
The Plitvice Lakes, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Dubrovnik\'s Old City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
River Krka
St. Nicholas Chappel, Nin
Island Brač
Croatia is divided into 21 counties (županija) and the capital Zagreb\'s city district (in italics below):
| Anglicized name | Native name | 1 | Zagreb | Zagrebačka | 2 | Krapina-Zagorje | Krapinsko-zagorska | 3 | Sisak-Moslavina | Sisačko-moslavačka | 4 | Karlovac | Karlovačka | 5 | Varaždin | Varaždinska | 6 | Koprivnica-Križevci | Koprivničko-križevačka | 7 | Bjelovar-Bilogora | Bjelovarsko-bilogorska | 8 | Primorje-Gorski Kotar | Primorsko-goranska | 9 | Lika-Senj | Ličko-senjska | 10 | Virovitica-Podravina | Virovitičko-podravska | 11 | Požega-Slavonia | Požeško-slavonska | 12 | Brod-Posavina | Brodsko-posavska | 13 | Zadar | Zadarska | 14 | Osijek-Baranja | Osječko-baranjska | 15 | Šibenik-Knin | Šibensko-kninska | 16 | Vukovar-Srijem | Vukovarsko-srijemska | 17 | Split-Dalmatia | Splitsko-dalmatinska | 18 | Istria | Istarska | 19 | Dubrovnik-Neretva | Dubrovačko-neretvanska | 20 | Međimurje | Međimurska | 21 | City of Zagreb | Grad Zagreb |
The Croatian economy has a stable functioning market economy which is one of the most advanced of South-Eastern Europe. International Monetary Fund data shows that Croatian nominal GDP stood at US$50.053 billion, or US$11,271 per capita, in 2007. The IMF forecast for 2008 is US$54.950 billion, or US$12,374 per capita. In purchasing power parity terms, total GDP was US$69.866 billion in 2007, equivalent to US$15,733 per capita. For 2008, it is forecast to be US$74.419 billion, or US$16,758 per capita.
According to Eurostat data, Croatian PPS GDP per capita stood at 53.4 per cent of the EU average in 2007, and is forecast to reach 54.1 per cent in 2008.GDP per capita in PPS. Eurostat. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. Real GDP growth in 2007 was 6.0 per cent.Real GDP growth rate. Eurostat. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. The average gross salary in 2007 was 6,634 kuna per month.Statistical Information 2007. Republic of Croatia Central Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. In 2007, the International Labour Organization-defined unemployment rate stood at 9.1 per cent.Unemployment rate – total. Eurostat. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.
In 2007, 7.2 per cent of economic output was accounted for by agriculture, 32.8 per cent by industry and 60.7 per cent by the service sector.Croatia. CIA World Factbook (2008-03-06). Retrieved on 2008-03-09. According to 2004 data, 2.7 per cent of the workforce were employed in agriculture, 32.8 per cent by industry and 64.5 in services.
The industrial sector is dominated by shipbuilding, food processing and the chemical industry. Tourism is a notable source of income during the summer, with over 10 million foreign tourists in 2006 generating a revenue of €7 billion[citation needed]. Croatia is ranked as the 18th most popular tourist destination in the world.[citation needed] In 2006 Croatia exported goods to the value of USD$10.4 billion (FOB) (US$19.7 billion including service exports).[citation needed]
Of particular concern is the backlogged judiciary system, combined with inefficient public administration, especially issues of land ownership and corruption. Another main problem includes the large and growing national debt which has reached over 35 billion dollars.[citation needed]
The country has been preparing for membership in the European Union, its most important trading partner. In February 2005, the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU officially came into force.
Zadar, St. Donatus\' Church, a pre-Romanesque church from the ninth century
The population of Croatia has been stagnating over the last decade. The 1991–1995 war in Croatia had previously displaced large parts of the population and increased emigration. Most Serbs were driven out from the country in the last stage of the war (about 300,000), 580,000 Serbs lived in Croatia before the war according to the 1992 census figures [1]. Some Croats who also fled the country during the war are returning. The natural growth rate is minute or negative (less than ± 1%), as the demographic transition has been completed half a century ago. Average life expectancy is approximately 75 years, and the literacy rate is 99%.
Croatia is inhabited mostly by Croats (89.9%). There are around twenty minorities. Serbs, though they were much larger before war , being the largest one (4.5%). The predominant religion is Catholicism (87.8%), with some Orthodox (4.4%) and Sunni Muslim (1.3%) minorities.
The official and common language, Croatian, is a South Slavic language, using the Latin alphabet. Less than 5% of the population cites other languages as their mother tongues.
Arena, the Roman amphitheatre in Pula.
Hvar Island
Croatian culture is the result of a thirteen century-long history which has seen the development of many cities and monuments. The country includes six World Heritage sites and eight national parks. Croatia is also the birthplace of a number of historical figures included among the notable people are three Nobel prize winners, and numerous inventors.
Some of the world\'s first fountain pens came from Croatia. Croatia also has a place in the history of clothing as the origin of the necktie (cravat). The country has a long artistic, literary and musical tradition. Also of interest is the diverse nature of Croatian cuisine.
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Wikimedia Atlas of Croatia
Croatia at the Open Directory Project
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