Geography

Location: Balkan State, Southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Map references: Africa, Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

Area:
total area 56,538 sq km
land area 56,410 sq km
comparative area slightly smaller than West Virginia

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:
continental shelf 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone 12 nm
territorial sea 12 nm

International disputes: Serbs have occupied UN protected areas in eastern Croatia and along the western Bosnia and Herzegovinian border; dispute with Slovenia over fishing rights in Adriatic

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

Natural resources: oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt

Land use:
arable land 32%
permanent crops 20%
meadows and pastures 18%
forest and woodland 15%
other 15%

Irrigated land: NA sq km

Environment:
current issues air pollution from metallurgical plants is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; widespread casualties and destruction of infrastructure in border areas affected by civil strife
natural hazards subject to frequent and destructive earthquakes
international agreements party to - Air Pollution, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change

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

People

Population: 4,697,614 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.07% (1994 est.)

Birth rate: 11.27 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Death rate: 10.54 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 8.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population 73.6 years
male 70.14 years
female 77.26 years (1994 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.65 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Nationality:
noun Croat(s)
adjective Croatian

Ethnic divisions: Croat 78%, Serb 12%, Muslim 0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%, Slovenian 0.5%, others 8.1%

Religions: Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Slavic Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 0.4%, others and unknown 10.8%

Languages: Serbo-Croatian 96%, other 4%

Literacy:
total population NA%
male NA%
female NA%

Labor force: 1,509,489
by occupation industry and mining 37%, agriculture 16% (1981 est.), government NA%, other

Government

Names:
conventional long form Republic of Croatia
conventional short form Croatia
local long form Republika Hrvatska
local short form Hrvatska

Digraph: HR

Type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Zagreb

Administrative divisions: 21 counties (zupanijas, zupanija - singular): Bjelovar-Bilogora, City of Zagreb, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Istra, Karlovac, Koprivnica-Krizevci, Krapina-Zagorje, Lika-Senj, Medimurje, Osijek-Baranja, Pozega-Slavonija, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Sibenik, Sisak-Moslavina, Slavonski Brod-Posavina, Split-Dalmatia, Varazdin, Virovitica-Podravina, Vukovar-Srijem, Zadar-Knin, Zagreb

Independence: NA June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)

National holiday: Statehood Day, 30 May (1990)

Constitution: adopted on 2 December 1990

Legal system: based on civil law system

Suffrage: 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal

Executive branch:
chief of state President Franjo TUDJMAN (since 30 May 1990); election last held 4 August 1992 (next to be held NA 1995); Franjo TUDJMAN reelected with about 56% of the vote; his opponent Dobroslav PARAGA got 5% of the vote
head of government Prime Minister Nikica VALENTIC (since 3 April 1993); Deputy Prime Ministers Mato GRANIC (since 8 September 1992), Ivica KOSTOVIC (since NA), Vladimir SEKS (since September 1992), Borislav SKEGRO (since NA)
cabinet Council of Ministers; appointed by the president

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); 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 2 August 1992 (next to be held NA August 1996); seats - (138 total) HDZ 85, HSLS 14, SPH-SDP 11, HNS 6, Dalmatian Action/Istrian Democratic Assembly/ Rijeka Democratic Alliance coalition 6, HSP 5, HSS 3, SNS 3, independents 5

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, Constitutional Court

Political parties and leaders: Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Stjepan MESIC, chairman of the executive council; Croatian People's Party (HNS), Savka DABCEVIC-KUCAR, president; Serbian People's Party (SNS), Milan DUKIC; Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), leader NA; Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), Drazen BUDISA, president; Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), leader NA; Dalmatian Action/Istrian Democratic Assembly/Rijecka Democratic Alliance coalition; Social Democratic Party of Croatia-Party of Democratic Changes (SPH-SDP), Ivica RACAN

Other political or pressure groups: NA

Member of: CE (guest), CEI, CSCE, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission Ambassador Petr A. SARCEVIC
chancery (temporary) 236 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20002
telephone (202) 543-5580

US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission Ambassador Peter W. GALBRAITH
embassy Andrije Hebranga 2, Zagreb
mailing address US Embassy, Zagreb, Unit 1345, APO AE 09213-1345
telephone [385] (41) 444-800
FAX [385] (41) 45 85 85

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 roughly comparable to that of Portugal and perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav average. At present, Croatian Serb Nationalists control approximately one-third of the Croatian territory, and one of the overriding determinants of Croatia's long-term political and economic prospects will be the resolution of this territorial dispute. Croatia faces monumental economic problems stemming from: the legacy of longtime Communist mismanagement of the economy; large foreign debt; damage during the 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. At the minimum, extensive Western aid and investment, especially in the tourist and oil industries, would seem necessary to salvage a desperate economic situation. However, peace and political stability must come first; only then will recent government moves toward a "market-friendly" economy reverse the sharp drop in output. As of May 1994, fighting continues among Croats, Serbs, and Muslims, and national boundaries and final political arrangements are still in doubt.

National product: GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $21.8 billion (1992 est.)

National product real growth rate: -19% (1992 est.)

National product per capita: $4,500 (1992 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 26% monthly average (1993 est.)

Unemployment rate: 21% (December 1993)

Budget:
revenues $NA
expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Exports: $3.9 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities machinery and transport equipment 30%, other manufacturers 37%, chemicals 11%, food and live animals 9%, raw materials 6.5%, fuels and lubricants 5% (1990)
partners EC countries, Slovenia

Imports: $4.7 billion (c.i.f., 1993)
commodities machinery and transport equipment 21%, fuels and lubricants 19%, food and live animals 16%, chemicals 14%, manufactured goods 13%, miscellaneous manufactured articles 9%, raw materials 6.5%, beverages and tobacco 1% (1990)
partners EC countries, Slovenia, FSU countries

External debt: $2.6 billion (December 1993)

Industrial production: growth rate -5.9% (1993 est.)

Electricity:
capacity 3,570,000 kW
production 11.5 billion kWh
consumption per capita 2,400 kWh (1992)

Industries: chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum reduction, paper, wood products (including furniture), building materials (including cement), textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food processing and beverages

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: $NA

Currency: 1 Croatian dinar (CD) = 100 paras; a new currency, the kuna, replaced the dinar on 30 May 1994

Exchange rates: Croatian dinar per US $1 - 6,544 (January 1994), 3,637 (15 July 1993), 60.00 (April 1992)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

Railroads: 2,592 km of standard guage (1.435 m) of which 864 km are electrified (1992); note - disrupted by territorial dispute

Highways:
total 32,071 km
paved 23,305 km
unpaved gravel 8,439 km; earth 327 km (1990)

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: coastal - Omisalj (oil), Ploce, Rijeka, Split; inland - Osijek, Slavonski Samac, Vukovar, Zupanja

Merchant marine: 28 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 108,194 GRT/131,880 DWT, cargo 18, container 1, oil tanker 1, passenger 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, short-sea passenger 3
note also controlled by Croatian shipowners are 151 ships (1,000 GRT or over) under flags of convenience - primarily Malta and St. Vincent - totaling 2,221,931 GRT/3,488,263 DWT; includes cargo 60, roll-on/ roll-off 8, refrigerated cargo 4, container 12, multifunction large load carriers 3, bulk 45, oil tanker 9, liquified gas 1, chemical tanker 4, service vessel 5

Airports:
total 75
usable 70
with permanent-surface runways 16
with runways over 3,659 m 0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m 7
with runways 1,220-2,439 m 5

Telecommunications: 350,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 14 AM, 8 FM, 12 (2 repeaters) TV; 1,100,000 radios; 1,027,000 TVs; satellite ground stations - none

Defense Forces

Branches: Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,182,767; fit for military service 946,010; reach military age (19) annually 33,166 (1994 est.)

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