Croatia

Internet country code

.hr

Internet hosts

261,954 (2007)

Internet users

1.576 million (2006)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999)

Telephone system

general assessment: the telecommunications network has improved steadily since the mid-1990s; the number of fixed telephone lines has increased to about 40 per 100 persons; virtually 100 mobile cellular telephones per 100 persons domestic: more than 90 percent of local lines are digital international: country code - 385; 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 2 fiber-optic trunk connections with Slovenia and a fiber-optic trunk line from Rijeka to Split and Dubrovnik; the ADRIA-1 submarine cable provides connectivity to Albania and Greece (2007)

Telephones - main lines in use

1.832 million (2006)

Telephones - mobile cellular

4.47 million (2006)

Television broadcast stations

36 (plus 321 repeaters) (1995)

Agriculture - products

wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, barley, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soybeans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products

Budget

revenues: $17.94 billion expenditures: $19.24 billion (2006 est.)

Currency (code)

kuna (HRK)

Current account balance

$-3.175 billion (2006 est.)

Debt - external

$33.89 billion (2006 est.)

Distribution of family income - Gini index

29 (2001)

Economic aid - recipient

ODA, $125.4 million (2005)

Economy - overview

Once one of the wealthiest of the Yugoslav republics, Croatia's economy suffered badly during the 1991-95 war as output collapsed and the country missed the early waves of investment in Central and Eastern Europe that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall. Since 2000, however, Croatia's economic fortunes have begun to improve slowly, with moderate but steady GDP growth between 4% and 5% led by a rebound in tourism and credit-driven consumer spending. Inflation over the same period has remained tame and the currency, the kuna, stable. Nevertheless, difficult problems still remain, including a stubbornly high unemployment rate, a growing trade deficit and uneven regional development. The state retains a large role in the economy, as privatization efforts often meet stiff public and political resistance. While macroeconomic stabilization has largely been achieved, structural reforms lag because of deep resistance on the part of the public and lack of strong support from politicians. The EU accession process should accelerate fiscal and structural reform.

Electricity - consumption

14.97 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - exports

3.634 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - imports

8.746 billion kWh (2005)

Electricity - production

11.99 billion kWh (2005)

Exchange rates

kuna per US dollar - 5.8625 (2006), 5.9473 (2005), 6.0358 (2004), 6.7035 (2003), 7.8687 (2002)

Exports

$10.61 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Exports - commodities

transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels

Exports - partners

Italy 23.1%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 12.7%, Germany 10.4%, Slovenia 8.3%, Austria 6.1% (2006)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP (official exchange rate)

$37.49 billion (2006 est.)

GDP (purchasing power parity)

$60.38 billion (2006 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 7.4% industry: 31.8% services: 60.8% (2006 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

$13,400 (2006 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

4.8% (2006 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 3.4% highest 10%: 24.5% (2003 est.)

Imports

$21.12 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

Imports - commodities

machinery, transport and electrical equipment; chemicals, fuels and lubricants; foodstuffs

Imports - partners

Italy 16.7%, Germany 14.5%, Russia 9.7%, Slovenia 6.8%, Austria 5.4%, China 5.3% (2006)

Industrial production growth rate

5% (2006 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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3.2% (2006 est.)

Investment (gross fixed)

30.5% of GDP (2006 est.)

Labor force

1.72 million (2006 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture: 2.7% industry: 32.8% services: 64.5% (2004)

Market value of publicly traded shares

$29.01 billion (2006)

Natural gas - consumption

2.58 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - exports

0 cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - imports

1.103 billion cu m (2005)

Natural gas - production

1.477 billion cu m (2005 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves

27.16 billion cu m (1 January 2006 est.)

Oil - consumption

93,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

Oil - exports

NA bbl/day

Oil - imports

NA bbl/day

Oil - production

20,500 bbl/day (2005 est.)

Oil - proved reserves

75.28 million bbl (1 January 2006)

Population below poverty line

11% (2003)

Public debt

46.1% of GDP (2006 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$11.49 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad

$2.878 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment - at home

$18.33 billion (2006 est.)

Unemployment rate

17.2% official rate; labor force surveys indicate unemployment around 14% (2006 est.)

Area

total: 56,542 sq km land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than West Virginia

Climate

Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast

Coastline

5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km)

Elevation extremes

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

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 agreements

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geographic coordinates

45 10 N, 15 30 E

Geography - note

controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits; the vast majority of Adriatic Sea islands lie off the coast of Croatia - some 1,200 islands, islets, ridges, and rocks

Irrigated land

110 sq km (2003)

Land boundaries

total: 2,197 km border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia 241 km, Montenegro 25 km, Slovenia 670 km

Land use

arable land: 25.82% permanent crops: 2.19% other: 71.99% (2005)

Location

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

Map references

Europe

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Natural hazards

destructive earthquakes

Natural resources

oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, gypsum, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower

Terrain

geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands

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

Capital

name: Zagreb geographic coordinates: 45 48 N, 16 00 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Constitution

adopted on 22 December 1990; revised 2000, 2001

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Croatia conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska former: People's Republic of Croatia, Socialist Republic of Croatia

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Robert A. BRADTKE embassy: 2 Thomas Jefferson Street, 10010 Zagreb mailing address: use street address telephone: [385] (1) 661-2200 FAX: [385] (1) 661-2373

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Neven JURICA chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899 FAX: [1] (202) 588-8936 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York

Executive branch

chief of state: President Stjepan (Stipe) MESIC (since 18 February 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Ivo SANADER (since 9 December 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Jadranka KOSOR (since 23 December 2003) and Damir POLANCEC (since 15 February 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the parliamentary Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 16 January 2005 (next to be held in January 2010); the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president and then approved by the Assembly election results: Stjepan MESIC reelected president; percent of vote - Stjepan MESIC 66%, Jadranka KOSOR 34% in the second round

Flag description

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue superimposed by the Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered)

Government type

presidential/parliamentary democracy

Independence

25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)

International organization participation

ACCT (observer), BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

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 Assembly

Legal system

based on Austro-Hungarian law system with Communist law influences; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

unicameral Assembly or Sabor (152 seats; members elected from party lists by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 25 November 2007 (next to be held in November 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; number of seats by party - HKDU 66, SDP 56, HSS-HSLS 8, HNS 7, HDSSB 3, IDS 3, other 9 note: minority government coalition - HDZ, DC, HSLS, HSU, SDSS; note - the Democratic Center party or DC withdrew from the government in February 2006

National holiday

Independence Day, 8 October (1991); note - 25 June 1991 was the day the Croatian Parliament voted for independence; following a three-month moratorium to allow the European Community to solve the Yugoslav crisis peacefully, Parliament adopted a decision on 8 October 1991 to sever constitutional relations with Yugoslavia

Political parties and leaders

Croatian Bloc or HB [Ivic PASALIC]; Croatian Christian Democratic Union or HKDU [Anto KOVACEVIC]; Croatian Democratic Congress of Slavonia and Baranja or HDSSB [Branimir GLAVAS]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Anto DJAPIC]; Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Josip FRISCIC]; Croatian Pensioner Party or HSU [Vladimir JORDAN]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Vesna PUSIC] (in 2005 party merged with Libra to become Croatian People's Party-Liberal Democrats or NS-LD); Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Djurdja ADLESIC]; Croatian True Revival Party or HIP [Miroslav TUDJMAN]; Democratic Centre or DC [Vesna SKARE-OZBOLT]; Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Ivica RACAN]

Political pressure groups and leaders

NA

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed)

Background

The lands that today comprise Croatia were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the close 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 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.

Manpower available for military service

males age 18-49: 1,005,058 females age 18-49: 1,008,511 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service

males age 18-49: 725,914 females age 18-49: 823,611 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually

males age 18-49: 29,020 females age 18-49: 27,897 (2005 est.)

Military branches

Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia (Oruzane Snage Republike Hrvatske, OSRH), consists of five major commands directly subordinate to a General Staff: Ground Forces (Hrvatska Kopnena Vojska, HKoV), Naval Forces (Hrvatska Ratna Mornarica, HRM), Air Force, Joint Education and Training Command, Logistics Command; Military Police Force supports each of the three Croatian military forces (2007)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

2.39% (2005 est.)

Military service age and obligation

18-27 years of age for compulsory military service; 16 years of age with consent for voluntary service; 6-month conscript service obligation; full conversion to professional military service by 2010 (2006)

Age structure

0-14 years: 16% (male 368,639/female 349,703) 15-64 years: 67.1% (male 1,499,354/female 1,515,932) 65 years and over: 16.9% (male 292,526/female 467,158) (2007 est.)

Birth rate

9.63 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate

11.57 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Ethnic groups

Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, other 5.9% (including Bosniak, Hungarian, Slovene, Czech, and Roma) (2001 census)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate

less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths

less than 10 (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS

200 (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births male: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

Languages

Croatian 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated 2.9% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) (2001 census)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 74.9 years male: 71.26 years female: 78.75 years (2007 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.1% male: 99.3% female: 97.1% (2001 census)

Median age

total: 40.6 years male: 38.6 years female: 42.3 years (2007 est.)

Nationality

noun: Croat(s), Croatian(s) adjective: Croatian

Net migration rate

1.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Population

4,493,312 (July 2007 est.)

Population growth rate

-0.035% (2007 est.)

Religions

Roman Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.9%, none 5.2% (2001 census)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.054 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.989 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.626 male(s)/female total population: 0.926 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.41 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Disputes - international

dispute remains with Bosnia and Herzegovina over several small disputed sections of the boundary related to maritime access that hinders ratification of the 1999 border agreement; the Croatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement, which would have ceded most of Pirin Bay and maritime access to Slovenia and several villages to Croatia, remains un-ratified and in dispute; Slovenia also protests Croatia's 2003 claim to an exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic; as a European Union peripheral state, neighboring Slovenia must conform to the strict Schengen border rules to curb illegal migration and commerce through southeastern Europe while encouraging close cross-border ties with Croatia

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

Refugees and internally displaced persons

IDPs: 4,200-7,000 (Croats and Serbs displaced in 1992-95 war) (2006)

Airports

68 (2007)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 23 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 9 (2007)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total: 45 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 37 (2007)

Heliports

2 (2007)

Merchant marine

total: 75 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,165,409 GRT/1,867,160 DWT by type: bulk carrier 21, cargo 12, chemical tanker 3, passenger/cargo 28, petroleum tanker 7, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 2 (Bermuda 2) registered in other countries: 36 (Bahamas 1, Belize 1, Liberia 5, Malta 12, Marshall Islands 4, Panama 6, St Vincent and The Grenadines 7) (2007)

Pipelines

gas 1,340 km; oil 583 km (2006)

Ports and terminals

Omisalj, Ploce, Rijeka, Sibenik, Vukovar (on Danube)

Railways

total: 2,726 km standard gauge: 2,726 km 1.435-m gauge (1,199 km electrified) (2006)

Roadways

total: 28,436 km paved: 28,436 km (includes 792 km of expressways) (2006)

Waterways

785 km (2007)