Croatia

Location

• Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia
• controls most land routes from Western Europe to the Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits; most Adriatic Sea islands lie off the coast of Croatia -- some 1,200 islands, islets, ridges, and rocks

Population

Notable Population Centers

City	Population	Note
Zagreb	663,592	Capital
Split	149,830
Rijeka	107,964
Osijek	75,535
Zadar	67,309
Sesvete	55,313
Pula	52,220
Slavonski Brod	45,005
Karlovac	41,869
Centar	37,000

Size

• 21,831 square miles
• 56,542 square kilometers
• slightly smaller than West Virginia

History

The lands that today comprise Croatia were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the end of World War I. In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became a federal independent communist state consisting of six socialist republics, including Croatia, under the strong hand of Josip Broz, aka TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before Yugoslav forces were cleared from Croatian lands, along with a majority of Croatia's ethnic Serb population. Under UN supervision, the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998. The country joined NATO in 2009 and the EU in 2013. In January 2023, Croatia further integrated into the EU by joining the Eurozone and the Schengen Area.

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

Languages

Croatian (official) 95.2%, Serbian 1.2%, other 3.1% (including Bosnian, Romani, Albanian, and Italian) unspecified 0.5% (2021 est.)major-language sample(s): Knjiga svjetskih činjenica, nužan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Croatian)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions

Roman Catholic 79%, Orthodox 3.3%, Protestant 0.3%, other Christian 4.8%, Muslim 1.3%, other 1.1%, agnostic 1.7%, none or atheist 4.7%, unspecified 3.9% (2021 est.)

Government

parliamentary republic

• Constitution: history: several previous; latest adopted 22 December 1990amendment process: proposed by at least one fifth of the Assembly membership, by the president of the republic, by the Government of Croatia, or through petition by at least 10% of the total electorate; proceedings to amend require majority vote by the Assembly; passage requires two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly; passage by petition requires a majority vote in a referendum and promulgation by the Assembly
• Political Parties and Leaders: n/a
• Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
• Legal System: civil law system influenced by legal heritage of Austria-Hungary
• Executive Branch: chief of state: President Zoran MILANOVIC (since 18 February 2020)head of government: Prime Minister Andrej PLENKOVIC (since 19 October 2016)cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the Assemblyelection/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president and approved by the Assemblymost recent election date: December 2024 (first round) and January 2025 (second round)election results: 2025: Zoran MILANOVIC elected president in second round; percent of vote in second round - Zoran MILANOVIC (SDP) 74.6%, Dragan PRIMORAC (independent) 25.3%2019: Zoran MILANOVIC elected president in second round; percent of vote in second round - Zoran MILANOVIC (SDP) 52.7%, Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC (HDZ) 47.3%expected date of next election: 2029
• Judicial Branch: highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the court president and vice president, 25 civil department justices, and 16 criminal department justices)judge selection and term of office: president of Supreme Court nominated by the president of Croatia and elected by the Sabor for a 4-year term; other Supreme Court justices appointed by the National Judicial Council; all judges serve until age 70subordinate courts: Administrative Court; county, municipal, and specialized courtsnote: an 11-member Constitutional Court has jurisdiction limited to constitutional issues, but it is outside the judicial system
• Legislative Branch: legislature name: Croatian Parliament (Hrvatski Sabor)legislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 151 (all directly elected)electoral system: proportional representationscope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 4 yearsmost recent election date: 4/17/2024parties elected and seats per party: Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) (55); Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP) (37); Homeland Movement (DP) (11); We Can! – Political Platform (Možemo!) (10); Independent (NZ) (10); Other (28)percentage of women in chamber: 33.1%expected date of next election: April 2028note: of the 151 seats, 140 members come from 10 multi-seat constituencies, with 3 members in a constituency for Croatian diaspora; voters belonging to recognized minorities elect an additional 8 members from a nationwide constituency: the Serb minority elects 3 members, the Hungarian and Italian minorities elect 1 each, the Czech and Slovak minorities elect 1 jointly, and all other minorities elect 2

Demographic Profile

n/a

Economy

• upper-middle-income Balkan economy; newest euro user (introduced in 2023); increased investments from EU structural funds and tourism sector contributing to strong but moderating economic growth; declining energy prices and restrictive monetary policy easing inflation; historically low unemployment rate with labor shortages within services and manufacturing sectors
• Budget: revenues: $32.487 billion (2023 est.)expenditures: $33.715 billion (2023 est.)note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenditures converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated
• Credit Rating: n/a
• Natural Resources: oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, gypsum, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower
• 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
• Agricultural Products: maize, wheat, sugar beets, milk, barley, soybeans, sunflower seeds, potatoes, pork, grapes (2023)note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
• Land Use: agricultural land: 25.9% (2022 est.)arable land: 15.2% (2022 est.)permanent crops: 1.4% (2022 est.)permanent pasture: 9.2% (2022 est.)forest: 34.7% (2022 est.)other: 39.4% (2022 est.)
• Labor Force by Occupation: n/a
• Imports
• Imported Commodities: refined petroleum, cars, garments, natural gas, crude petroleum (2023)note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
• Import Partners: Italy 14%, Germany 14%, Slovenia 11%, Hungary 6%, Austria 5% (2023)note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
• Exports
• Exported Commodities: ships, garments, electricity, packaged medicine, wood (2023)note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
• Export Partners: Italy 14%, Germany 11%, Slovenia 11%, Bosnia & Herzegovina 6%, Austria 6% (2023)note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports