Croatia

Croatia 

Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

Location

Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia

Area

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)

Maritime Claims

International Disputes

Ethnic Serbs have occupied UN protected areas in eastern Croatia and along the western Bosnia and Herzegovinian border

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
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Dinara 1,830 m

Natural Resources

Land Use

Irrigated Land

NA

Environment

Note: Controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits

PEOPLE

Population

5,004,112 (July 1996 est.)
4,665,821 (July 1995 est.)

Age Structure

0-14 Years

18% (male 453,142; female 431,118) (July 1996 est.)
19% (male 442,064; female 418,272) (July 1995 est.)

15-64 Years

69% (male 1,731,200; female 1,716,824) (July 1996 est.)
68% (male 1,588,455; female 1,592,187) (July 1995 est.)

65 Years and Over

13% (male 252,897; female 418,931) (July 1996 est.) 13% (male 230,193; female 394,650) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

0.58% (1996 est.)
0.13% (1995 est.)

Birth Rate

9.83 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
11.02 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death Rate

11.33 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
10.55 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net Migration Rate

7.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
0.77 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.95 male(s)/female (1996 est.)

Infant Mortality Rate

10.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
8.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total Fertility Rate

1.4 children born/woman (1996 est.)
1.62 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic Divisions

Religions

Languages

Serbo-Croatian 96%, other 4%

Literacy

Age 15 and over that can read and write (1991)

Labor Force

1.444 million (1995)

By occupation:

GOVERNMENT

Names

Digraph

HR

Type

Parliamentary democracy

Capital

Zagreb

Administrative Divisions

21 counties (zupanijas, zupanija -

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)

Executive Branch

Legislative Branch

Bicameral parliament Assembly (Sabor)

House of Districts (Zupanije Dom)

Elections last held 7 and 21 February 1993 (next to be held NA February 1997); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (68 total; 63 elected, 5 presidentially appointed) HDZ 37, HSLS 16, HSS 5, Istrian Democratic Assembly 3, SPH-SDP 1, HNS 1

House of Representatives (Predstavnicke Dom)

Elections last held 29 October 1995 (next to be held NA 1999); results - HDZ 45.23%, HSS/IDS/HNS/HKDU/SBHS 18.26%, HSLS 11.55%, SDP 8.93%, HSP 5.01%; seats - (127 total) HDZ 75, HSLS 12, HSS 10, SDP 10, IDS 4, HSP 4, HNS 2, SNS 2, HND 1, ASH 1, HKDU 1, SBHS 1, independents 4

Judicial Branch

Supreme Court, judges appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the Chamber of Representatives; Constitutional Court, judges appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the Chamber of Representatives

Political Parties and Leaders

Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Franjo TUDJMAN, president; Croatian Democratic Independents (HND), Stjepan MESIC, president; Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), Vlado GOTOVAC, president; Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP), Ivica RACAN; Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), Ante DAPIC; Croatian Peasants' Party (HSS), Josip PANKRETIC; Croatian People's Party (HNS), Radimir CACIC, president; Serbian National Party (SNS), Milan DJUKIC; Action of the Social Democrats of Croatia (ASH), Miko TRIPALO; Croatian Christian Democratic Union (HKDU), Marko VASELICA, president; Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS), Ivan JACKOVIC; Slanvonsko-Baranja Croatian Party (SBHS)

Other Political or Pressure Groups

NA

Member of

CCC, CE (guest), CEI, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

National Anthem

Flag

Red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered)

ECONOMY

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. Croatia faces considerable economic problems stemming from: the legacy of longtime communist mismanagement of the economy; large foreign debt; damage during the internecine 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. Western aid and investment, especially in the tourist and oil industries, would help restore the economy. The government has been successful in some reform efforts including stabilization policies and has normalized relations with creditors. Yet it still is struggling with privatization of large state enterprises and with bank reform. The draft 1996 budget, which had raised concerns about inflation, capitalizes on the "peace dividend" to boost expenditures on the repair and upgrading of infrastructure.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $20.1 billion (1995 est.), $12.4 billion (1994 est.)

National Product Real Growth Rate

1.5% (1995 est.)
3.4% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$4,300 (1995 est.)
$2,640 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

3.7% (1995)
3% (1994 est.)

Unemployment Rate

18.1% (January 1996)
17% (December 1994)

Budget

Exports

$4.3 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
$3.9 billion (f.o.b., 1993)

Commodities:

Partners:

Imports

$5.2 billion (c.i.f., 1994)
$4.7 billion (c.i.f., 1993)

Commodities:

Partners:

External Debt

$3.15 billion (September 1995)
$2.9 billion (September 1994)

Industrial Production

Growth rate 0.9% (1995 est.), -4% (1994 est.)

Electricity

Industries

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

Economic Aid

Currency

1 Croatian kuna (HRK) = 100 paras

Exchange Rates

Croatian kuna per U.S. $1 - 5.405 (January 1996), 5.230 (1995), 5.996 (1994), 3.577 (1993)

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Note: Disrupted by territorial dispute (1994)

Highways

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

Note: Croatia owns an additional 140 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,368,035 DWT operating under the registries of Malta, Liberia, Cyprus, Panama, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1995 est.)

Airports

Heliports

2 (1995 est.)

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

1.216 million telephones (1993 est.)

Radio

Television

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Frontier Guard, Home Guard

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 1,314,718; males fit for military service 1,016,490; males reach military age (19) annually 34,914 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

337 billion to 393 billion dinars, % of GDP: NA (1993 est.); note - conversion of defense expenditures into U.S. dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

History
World Atlas