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Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia
Map references: Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe
Area:
total area: 56,538 sq km
land area: 56,410 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller thanWest Virginia
Land boundaries: total 2,028 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia and Montenegro 266 km (241 km with Serbia; 25 km with Montenego), Slovenia 501 km
Coastline: 5,790 km (mainland 1,778 km, islands 4,012 km)
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 coast, coastline, and islands
Natural resources: oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt
Land use:
arable land: 32%
permanent crops: 20%
meadows and pastures: 18%
forest and woodland: 15%
other: 15%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Population: 4,665,821 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 19% (female 418,272; male 442,064)
15-64 years: 68% (female 1,592,187; male 1,588,455)
65 years and over: 13% (female 394,650; male 230,193) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.13% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 11.02 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 10.55 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.77 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.02 years
male: 70.59 years
female: 77.65 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.62 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Croat(s)
adjective: Croatian
Ethnic divisions: Croat 78%, Serb 12%, Muslim 0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%, Slovenian 0.5%, others 8.1% (1991)
Religions: Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Slavic Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 0.4%, others and unknown 10.8%
Languages: Serbo-Croatian 96%, other 4%
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991)
total population: 97%
male: 99%
female: 95%
Labor force: 1,509,489
by occupation: industry and mining 37%, agriculture 16% (1981 est.), government NA%,
other
Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Croatia
conventional short form: Croatia
local long form: Republika Hrvatska
local short form: Hrvatska
Digraph: HR
Type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Zagreb
Administrative divisions: 21 counties (zupanijas, zupanija - singular): Bjelovar-Bilogora, City of Zagreb, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Istra, Karlovac, Koprivnica-Krizevci, Krapina-Zagorje, Lika-Senj, Medimurje, Osijek-Baranja, Pozega-Slavonija, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Sibenik, Sisak-Moslavina, Slavonski Brod-Posavina, Split-Dalmatia, Varazdin, Virovitica-Podravina, Vukovar-Srijem, Zadar-Knin, Zagreb
Independence: 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)
National holiday: Statehood Day, 30 May (1990)
Constitution: adopted on 22 December 1990
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed)
Overview: Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav average. At present, Croatian Serb Separatists control approximately one-third of the Croatian territory, and one of the overriding determinants of Croatia's long-term political and economic prospects will be the resolution of this territorial dispute. Croatia faces serious economic problems stemming from: the legacy of longtime Communist mismanagement of the economy; large foreign debt; damage during the fighting to bridges, factories, power lines, buildings, and houses; the large refugee population, both Croatian and Bosnian; and the disruption of economic ties to Serbia and the other former Yugoslav republics, as well as within its own territory. At the minimum, extensive Western aid and investment, especially in the tourist and oil industries, would seem necessary to revive the moribund economy. However, peace and political stability must come first; only then will recent government moves toward a "market-friendly" economy restore old levels of output. As of February 1995, fighting continues among Croats, Serbs, and Muslims, and national boundaries and final political arrangements are still in doubt.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $12.4 billion (1994 est.)
National product real growth rate: 3.4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $2,640 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 17% (December 1994)
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports: $3.9 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment 30%, other manufacturers 37%, chemicals
11%, food and live animals 9%, raw materials 6.5%, fuels and lubricants 5%
(1990)
partners: EC countries, Slovenia
Imports: $4.7 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
commodities: machinery and transport equipment 21%, fuels and lubricants 19%, food
and live animals 16%, chemicals 14%, manufactured goods 13%, miscellaneous
manufactured articles 9%, raw materials 6.5%, beverages and tobacco 1% (1990)
partners: EC countries, Slovenia, FSU countries
External debt: $2.9 billion (September 1994)
Industrial production: growth rate -4% (1994 est.)
Electricity:
capacity: 3,570,000 kW
production: NA kWh
consumption per capita: NA kWh (1993)
Industries: chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum reduction, paper, wood products (including furniture), building materials (including cement), textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food processing and beverages
Agriculture: Croatia normally produces a food surplus; most agricultural land in private hands and concentrated in Croat-majority districts in Slavonia and Istria; much of Slavonia's land has been put out of production by fighting; wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflowers, alfalfa, and clover are main crops in Slavonia; central Croatian highlands are less fertile but support cereal production, orchards, vineyards, livestock breeding, and dairy farming; coastal areas and offshore islands grow olives, citrus fruits, and vegetables
Currency: 1 Croatian kuna (HRK) = 100 paras
Fiscal year: calendar year
Railroads:
total: 2,699 km
standard gauge: 2,699 km 1.435-m gauge (963 km electrified)
note: disrupted by territorial dispute (1994)
Highways:
total: 27,368 km
paved: 22,176 km (302 km of expressways)
unpaved: 5,192 km (1991)
Inland waterways: 785 km perennially navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 670 km; petroleum products 20 km; natural gas 310 km (1992); note - now disrupted because of territorial dispute
Ports: Dubrovnik, Omis, Ploce, Pula, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split, Zadar
Merchant marine:
total: 35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 181,565 GRT/225,533 DWT
ships by type: bulk1, cargo 20, chemical tanker 1, container 2, oil tanker 2, passenger
2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, short-sea passenger 4
note: also controlled by Croatian shipowners are 134 ships (1,000 GRT or
over) totaling 3,286,231 DWT that operate under Maltese and Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines registry
Airports:
total: 76
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
with paved runways 1,524to 2,437 m: 2
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 55
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 8