1.
[syn: Croatia, Republic of Croatia, Hrvatska]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Croatia \Croatia\ n.
a Slavic-speaking country on the Adriatic, part of the Balkan
region. It was formerly part of Yugoslavia.
[WordNet 1.5 +PJC]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Croatia
n 1: a republic in the western Balkans in south-central Europe
in the eastern Adriatic coastal area; formerly part of the
Habsburg monarchy and Yugoslavia; became independent in
1991 [syn: Croatia, Republic of Croatia, Hrvatska]
CIA World Factbook 2002:
Croatia
Introduction Croatia
--------------------
Background: In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and
Slovenes formed a kingdom known
after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following
World War II, Yugoslavia became an
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.
Geography Croatia
-----------------
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
water: 128 sq km
land: 56,414 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries: total: 2,185 km
border countries: Bosnia and
Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km,
Yugoslavia 254 km, Slovenia 670 km
Coastline: 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands
4,058 km)
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to
the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM
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, natural asphalt,
silica, mica, clays, salt,
hydropower
Land use: arable land: 23.55%
permanent crops: 2.24%
other: 74.21% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 30 sq km (1998 est.)
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 party to: Air Pollution, Air
agreements: Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous
Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands
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
People Croatia
--------------
Population: 4,390,751 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 18.3% (male 411,847;
female 390,797)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 1,461,305;
female 1,448,973)
65 years and over: 15.4% (male
252,970; female 424,859) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.12% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 12.8 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 11.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: 9.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2002 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
total population: 0.94 male(s)/
female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 7.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 74.13 years
female: 77.96 years (2002 est.)
male: 70.52 years
Total fertility rate: 1.93 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.02% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 350 (1999 est.)
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Croat(s), Croatian(s)
adjective: Croatian
Ethnic groups: Croat 78.1%, Serb 12.2%, Bosniak
0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%, Slovene 0.5%,
Czech 0.4%, Albanian 0.3%,
Montenegrin 0.3%, Roma 0.2%, others
6.6% (1991)
Religions: Roman Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox
11.1%, Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 0.4%,
others and unknown 10.8% (1991)
Languages: Croatian 96%, other 4% (including
Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak,
and German)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 97%
male: 99%
female: 95% (1991 est.)
Government Croatia
------------------
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of
Croatia
conventional short form: Croatia
local short form: Hrvatska
local long form: Republika Hrvatska
Government type: presidential/parliamentary democracy
Capital: Zagreb
Administrative divisions: 20 counties (zupanije, zupanija -
singular) and 1 city* (grad -
singular); Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska
Zupanija, Brodsko-Posavska Zupanija,
Dubrovacko-Neretvanska Zupanija,
Istarska Zupanija, Karlovacka
Zupanija, Koprivnicko-Krizevacka
Zupanija, Krapinsko-Zagorska
Zupanija, Licko-Senjska Zupanija,
Medimurska Zupanija, Osjecko-
Baranjska Zupanija, Pozesko-
Slavonska Zupanija, Primorsko-
Goranska Zupanija, Sibensko-Kninska
Zupanija, Sisacko-Moslavacka
Zupanija, Splitsko-Dalmatinska
Zupanija, Varazdinska Zupanija,
Viroviticko-Podravska Zupanija,
Vukovarsko-Srijemska Zupanija,
Zadarska Zupanija, Zagreb*,
Zagrebacka Zupanija
Independence: 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)
National holiday: Statehood Day, 25 June (1991)
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: chief of state: President Stjepan
(Stipe) MESIC (since 18 February
2000)
head of government: Prime Minister
Ivica RACAN (since 27 January 2000);
Deputy Prime Ministers Goran GRANIC
(since 27 January 2000), Zeljka
ANTUNOVIC (since 27 January 2000),
Slavko LINIC (since 27 January 2000)
cabinet: Council of Ministers named
by the prime minister and approved
by the House of Representatives
elections: president elected by
popular vote for a five-year term;
election last held 7 February 2000
(next to be held NA 2005); prime
minister nominated by the president
in line with the balance of power in
the Assembly
note: government coalition - SDP,
HSLS, HSS, LP, HNS; a fifth party,
the Istrian Democratic Assembly
(IDS), withdrew in June 2001
election results: Stjepan MESIC
elected president; percent of vote -
Stjepan MESIC (HNS) 56%, Drazen
BUDISA (HSLS) 44%
Legislative branch: unicameral Assembly or Sabor (151
seats; members elected by popular
vote to serve four-year terms); note
- House of Counties was abolished in
March 2001
election results: Assembly (then
referred to as the House of
Representatives) - percent of vote
by party - NA%; seats by party - HDZ
46, SDP 44, HSLS 24, HSS 17, HSP/
HKDU 5, IDS 4, HNS 2, independents
4, minority representatives 5
elections: Assembly - last held 2-
3 January 2000 (next to be held in
the fall of 2003)
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 House of
Representatives
Political parties and leaders: Alliance of Croatian Coast and
Mountains Department or PGS [Luciano
SUSANJ]; Croatian Christian
Democratic Union or HKDU [Marko
VESELICA]; Croatian Democratic Union
or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party
of Rights or HSP [Dobroslav PARAGA];
Croatian Peasant Party or HSS
[Zlatko TOMCIC]; Croatian People's
Party or HNS [Vesna PUSIC]; Croatian
Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Drazen
BUDISA]; Croatian True Revival Party
or HIP [Miroslav TUDJMAN];
Independent Democratic Serb Party or
SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC];
Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS
[Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Liberal Party or LP
[leader NA]; Social Democratic Party
of Croatia or SDP [Ivica RACAN]
note: the Social Democratic Party or
SDP and the Croatian Social Liberal
Party or HSLS formed a coalition as
did the HSS, HNS, LP, and IDS, which
together defeated the Croatian
Democratic Union or HDZ in the 2000
lower house parliamentary election;
the IDS subsequently left the
governing coalition in June 2001
over its inability to win greater
autonomy for Istria
Political pressure groups and NA
leaders:
International organization BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE,
participation: FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS
(observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP,
UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO,
UNMEE, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO,
WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Ivan
GRDESIC
FAX: [1] (202) 588-8936
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los
Angeles, New York
telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899
chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue
NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador
US: Lawrence G. ROSSIN
embassy: Andrije Hebranga 2, 10000
Zagreb
mailing address: use street address
telephone: [385] (1) 661-2200
FAX: [385] (1) 661-2373
Flag description: red, white, and blue horizontal
bands with Croatian coat of arms
(red and white checkered)
Economy Croatia
---------------
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. The economy emerged from
its mild recession in 2000 with
tourism the main factor, but massive
structural unemployment remains a
key negative element. The
government's failure to press the
economic reforms needed to spur
growth is largely the result of
coalition politics and public
resistance, particularly from the
trade unions, to measures that would
cut jobs, wages, or social benefits.
As a result, the country is likely
to experience only moderate growth
without disciplined fiscal and
structural reform.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $36.1
billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,300
(2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 10%
industry: 33%
services: 57% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: 3.7%
percentage share: highest 10%: 23.3% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini 29 (1998)
index:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 5% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 1.7 million (2001)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%,
services NA%
Unemployment rate: 23% (December 2001)
Budget: revenues: $8.6 billion
expenditures: $9 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2001
est.)
Industries: 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: 6% (2001)
Electricity - production: 10.578 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 44.76%
hydro: 55.22%
other: 0.02% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 12.638 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 900 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 3.7 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower
seed, barley, alfalfa, clover,
olives, citrus, grapes, soybeans,
potatoes; livestock, dairy products
Exports: $4.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities: transport equipment, textiles,
chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels
Exports - partners: Italy 24%, Germany 15%, Bosnia and
Herzegovina 12%, Slovenia 9%,
Austria 5.8% (2001 est.)
Imports: $8.4 billion (c.i.f., 2001)
Imports - commodities: machinery, transport and electrical
equipment, chemicals, fuels and
lubricants, foodstuffs
Imports - partners: Italy 17%, Germany 16.9%, Slovenia
7.9%, Russia 7.5%, Austria 7% (2001
est.)
Debt - external: $11 billion (2001)
Economic aid - recipient: $NA
Currency: kuna (HRK)
Currency code: HRK
Exchange rates: kuna per US dollar - 8.452 (January
2002), 8.340 (2001), 8.277 (2000),
7.112 (1999), 6.362 (1998), 6.101
(1997)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Croatia
----------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 1,721,139 (2000)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 1.3 million (2001)
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: 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 two 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 (2000)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999)
Radios: 1.51 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 36 (plus 321 repeaters) (September
1995)
Televisions: 1.22 million (1997)
Internet country code: .hr
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 9 (2000)
Internet users: 200,000 (2001)
Transportation Croatia
----------------------
Railways: total: 2,726 km
standard gauge: 2,726 km 1.435-
m gauge (NA electrified) (2000)
Highways: total: 28,009 km
paved: 23,695 km (including 330 km
of expressways)
unpaved: 4,314 km (2001)
Waterways: 785 km
note: (perennially navigable; large
sections of Sava blocked by downed
bridges, silt, and debris)
Pipelines: crude oil 670 km; petroleum products
20 km; natural gas 310 km (1992)
Ports and harbors: Dubrovnik, Dugi Rat, Omisalj, Ploce,
Pula, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split,
Vukovar (inland waterway port on
Danube), Zadar
Merchant marine: total: 49 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 681,465 GRT/1,076,315 DWT
note: includes a foreign-owned ship
registered here as a flag of
convenience: Hong Kong 1 (2002 est.)
ships by type: bulk 14, cargo 13,
chemical tanker 1, combination bulk
5, container 1, multi-functional
large-load carrier 3, passenger 1,
petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated
cargo 2, roll on/roll off 4, short-
sea passenger 3
Airports: 67 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 22
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 8 (2001)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 45
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 37 (2001)
Heliports: 1 (2001)
Military Croatia
----------------
Military branches: Ground Forces (Hrvatska Vojska, HV),
Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense
Forces
Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,086,578 (2002
est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 860,497 (2002 est.)
service:
Military manpower - reaching males: 30,037 (2002 est.)
military age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar $520 million (2002 est.)
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of 2.39% (2002 est.)
GDP:
Transnational Issues Croatia
----------------------------
Disputes - international: Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina
continue discussions on the disputed
boundary in the Una River near
Kostajnica, Hrvatska Dubica, and
Zeljava; Bosnia and Herzegovina also
protests Croatian claim to the tip
of the Klek Peninsula and several
islands near Neum; Hungary opposes
Croatian plan to build a hydropower
dam on the boundary stream Drava;
Slovenia and Croatia have not
obtained parliamentary ratification
of 2001 land and maritime boundary
treaty which cedes villages on the
Dragonja River and Sveta Gera
(Trdinov Peak) to Croatia, and most
of Pirin Bay to Slovenia, but
restricts Slovenian access to the
open sea; Croatia and Yugoslavia
continue to discuss disputed
Prevlaka Peninsula and control over
the Gulf of Kotor despite imminent
UN intention to withdraw observer
mission (UNMOP); Croatia and Italy
are still trying to resolve
bilateral property and ethnic
minority rights dating from World
War II
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