Croatia

The Republic of Croatia is a small country in Europe bordering the Mediterranean, Central Europe and the Balkans. Its capital is Zagreb. It is a former republic of Yugoslavia.

Republika Hrvatska

(Details) (Details)

National motto: None

Official language Croatian

Capital Zagreb

President Stjepan Mesić

Prime Minister Ivo Sanader

Area
- Total
- % water Ranked 123rd
56,542 km²
0.01%

Population
- Total (2003)
- Density Ranked 119th
4,422,248
83/km²

Independence 1991

Currency kuna

Time zone UTC +1

National anthem Lijepa naša domovino

Internet TLD .hr

Calling Code 385

Table of contents

1 History
2 Politics
3 Counties
4 Geography
5 Economy
6 Tourism
7 Demographics
8 Culture
9 Miscellaneous topics
10 External links

10.1 General
10.2 Culture-related

History

Main article: History of Croatia

The Croats are believed to be a Slavic people who migrated from areas of what is today's Galicia and settled in present-day Croatia during the 7th century. After a period of self-rule, in 1102 Croatians agreed to submit themselves to Hungarian authority. By the mid-1400s, the Hungarian kingdom was gravely impacted by the Ottoman expansion which led the Croatian Parliament to invite the Habsburgs, under Ferdinand I, to assume control over Croatia. Habsburg rule eventually proved successful in thwarting the Ottomans, and by the 18th century, much of Croatia was free of Turkish control, while Dalmatia was under Venice.

In 1868, Croatia gained domestic autonomy while remaining under Hungarian authority. Following World War I and the demise of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Croatia joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (which became Yugoslavia in 1929). Yugoslavia was invaded during World War II and Croatia was made into a fascist puppet-state named the Independent State of Croatia. After the Axis defeat, Yugoslavia became a federal independent Communist state under the strong hand of Josip Broz 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.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Croatia

Since adoption of the 1990 Constitution, Croatia has been a parliamentary democracy.

The President of the Republic (Predsjednik Republike) is head of state and elected for a five-year term. In addition to being the commander in chief of the armed forces, the president propose the Prime minister who is appointed by the consent of Parliament.

The Croatian Parliament (Hrvatski Sabor) is a unicameral legislative body of up to 160 representatives, all elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The Sabor meets twice a year--from January 15 to July 15 and from September 15 to December 15.

The Government (Vlada) is headed by the Prime minister who has 2 deputy prime ministers and 14 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.

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 Constitution.

Counties

Main article: Counties of Croatia

Croatia is divided into 20 counties (županije, županija - singular) and one city* (grad - singular):

1. Zagrebačka
2. Krapinsko-zagorska
3. Sisačko-moslavačka
4. Karlovačka
5. Varaždinska
6. Koprivničko-križevačka
7. Bjelovarsko-bilogorska
8. Primorsko-goranska
9. Ličko-senjska
10. Virovitičko-podravska
11. Požeško-slavonska
12. Brodsko-posavska
13. Zadarska
14. Osječko-baranjska
15. Šibensko-kninska
16. Vukovarsko-srijemska
17. Splitsko-dalmatinska
18. Istarska
19. Dubrovačko-neretvanska
20. Međimurska

21. Grad Zagreb*

Geography

Main article: Geography of Croatia

Croatia is situated between central and eastern Europe and peculiarly shaped. Its terrain is diverse, containing:

plains, lakes and rolling hills in the continental north and northeast (Central Croatia and Slavonia, part of the Pannonian plain);
densely wooded mountains, part of the Dinaric Alps;
rocky coastlines on the Adriatic Sea (Istria, Northern Seacoast and Dalmatia).

Croatia has a mixture of climates. In the north it is continental, Mediterranean along the coast and a semi-highland and highland climate in the south-central region.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Croatia

Croatia has a post-communist economy based mostly on various services and some, mostly light industry. Tourism is a notable source of income.

Main problems include massive structural unemployment followed by the lack of economic reforms, deterred by public resistance. Of particular concern is the gravely backlogged judiciary system combined with inefficient public administration, especially involving land ownership. These and other factors reduce the investment competitiveness and prevent faster economic growth towards the favourable conditions of the late 1980s.

Tourism

main article: Tourism of Croatia

As long as 1991 Croatia was one of the main tourist destination. With very long coast, numerous islands like Hvar, Korčula, Vis, Krk and mostly tiny, in culture and history reach towns Dubrovnik, Poreč, Pula, Split, �ibenik were attractive enough to satisfy needs of many Europeans. Unlike the 1990s tourism is again starting to be considerable source of income. The infrastructure might not be up to date but Adriatic Sea is still the cleanest, the food and sun are the best, and the Dalmatian karst is still here.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Croatia

Croatia is inhabited mostly by Croats. Minority groups include Serbs, Bosniaks, Hungarians and others. The demographic transition is completed -- the natural growth rate is minute. Life expectancy and literacy rates are reasonably high.

The predominate religion is Catholicism, with some Orthodox and Sunni Muslim minorities.

The official and common language, Croatian, is a South Slavic language, using the Roman script.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Croatia

Croat culture is based on thirteen century long history during which many monumental buildings and even monumental cities such as Dubrovnik or Split have been built and are now tourist attractions. Croatia includes six World Heritage sites and eight national parks. Interestingly enough, Croatia also has an place in the history of neckwear as the origin of the necktie (cravat).

The country prides itself in artists the likes of Ivan Meštrović, physicists like Ruđer Bošković and Nikola Tesla, Nobel prize winning chemists Lavoslav Ružička and Vladimir Prelog, inventors such as Eduard Slavoljub Penkala and its endured Parliament with champions like Stjepan Radić.

Miscellaneous topics

External links

General

General information about Croatia
Map of Croatia showing cities
World-wide press freedom index Rank 33 out of 139 countries (2 way tie)
WWW.HR - Croatian Homepage
Ministry of Science:the list of institutes and general survey
Higher Education: Complete directory of higher education institutes in Croatia

Culture-related

Countries of the world | Europe | Council of Europe