Croatia

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Croatia

General Information
Geography
Government
Economy
Population
Health
Communications and media
Chronology


GENERAL INFORMATION

National name Republika Hrvatska/Republic of Croatia Area 56,538 sq km/21,829 sq mi Capital Zagreb Language Croat (official), Serbian Religion Roman Catholic (Croats) 76.5%; Orthodox Christian (Serbs) 11%, Protestant 1.4%, Muslim 1.2% Time difference GMT +1 Major holidays 1, 6 January, 1, 30 May, 22 June, 15 August, 1 November, 25–26 December; variable: Good Friday, Easter Monday


GEOGRAPHY

Major towns/cities Osijek, Split, Dubrovnik, Rijeka, Zadar, Pula Major ports chief port: Rijeka (Fiume); other ports: Zadar, Sibenik, Split, Dubrovnik Physical features Adriatic coastline with large islands; very mountainous, with part of the Karst region and the Julian and Styrian Alps; some marshland Airports ten international airports; total passengers carried: 1.6 million (2003 est) Railways total length: 2,726 km/1,694 mi; total passenger journeys: 36 million (2003) Roads total road network: 28,588 km/17,763 mi, of which 86% paved (2003 est); passenger cars: 323.8 per 1,000 people (2003 est)


GOVERNMENT

Head of state Stjepan Mesic from 2000 Head of government Ivo Sanader from 2003 Political system emergent democracy Political executive limited presidency Administrative divisions 21 counties Political parties Croatian Democratic Union (CDU), Christian Democrat, right of centre, nationalist; Croatian Social-Liberal Party (CSLP), centrist; Social Democratic Party of Change (SDP), reform socialist; Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), Croat-oriented, ultranationalist; Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), rural-based; Serbian National Party (SNS), Serb-oriented Death penalty abolished in 1990 Armed forces 20,800; plus paramilitary forces of 10,000 (2006 est) Conscription compulsory for six months Defence spend (% GDP) 1.7 (2005 est) Education spend (% GDP) 4.5 (2003 est) Health spend (% GDP) 6.5 (2004)


ECONOMY

Currency kuna GDP (US$) 37.4 billion (2005 est) Real GDP growth (% change on previous year) 4.6 (2006 est) GNI (US$) 35.8 billion (2005 est) GNI per capita (PPP) (US$) 12,750 (2005 est) Consumer price inflation 3.5% (2006 est) Unemployment 17% (2005 est) Labour force 17.3% agriculture, 28.6% industry, 54.1% services (2004) Foreign debt (US$) 34.4 billion (2005 est) Major trading partners Italy, Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Russia, France Resources petroleum, natural gas, coal, lignite, bauxite, iron ore, salt Industries food processing, textiles and footwear, chemicals, ship-building, metal processing, pharmaceuticals, construction materials. Tourism was virtually eliminated during hostilities, but a revival began in 1992 Exports machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, foodstuffs, miscellaneous manufactured items (mainly clothing). Principal market: Italy 21.4% (2005) Imports machinery and transport equipment, basic manufactures, mineral fuels, miscellaneous manufactured articles. Principal source: Italy 16% (2005) Arable land 25.8% (2006 est) Agricultural products wheat, maize, potatoes, grapes, apples, plums, sugar beet; livestock rearing (cattle and pigs); dairy products


POPULATION

Population 4,555,900 (2006 est) Population growth rate -0.1% (2005–10) Population density (per sq km) 80 (2006 est) Urban population (% of total) 60 (2005 est) Age distribution (% of total population) 0–14 16%, 15–59 62%, 60+ 22% (2005 est) Ethnic groups in 1991, 77% of the population were ethnic Croats, 12% were ethnic Serbs, and 1% were Slovenes. The civil war that began in 1992 displaced more than 300,000 Croats from Serbian enclaves within the republic, and created some 500,000 refugees from Bosnia in the republic. Serbs are most thickly settled in areas bordering Bosnia-Herzegovina, and in Slavonia, although more than 150,000 fled from Krajina to Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia following the region's recapture by the Croatian army in August 1995. Life expectancy 72 (men); 79 (women) (2005–10) Child mortality rate (under 5, per 1,000 live births) 7 (2004) Education (compulsory years) 8 Literacy rate 99% (men); 97% (women) (2004 est)


HEALTH

Physicians (per 10,000 people) 23.7 (2004 est) Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) 5.6 (2003 est) HIV infection (% of population aged 15–49) <0.1 (2005 est)


COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA

Landline telephones (per 100 people) 41.5 (2005 est) Mobile phone subscribers (per 100 people) 65.6 (2005 est) Radios (per 1,000 people) 340 (2001 est) TV sets (per 1,000 people) 320 (2004 est) Personal computer users (per 100 people) 19.1 (2005 est) Internet users (per 100 people) 33.9 (2005 est)


CHRONOLOGY

early centuries AD Part of Roman region of Pannonia. AD 395 On division of Roman Empire, stayed in western half, along with Slovenia and Bosnia. 7th century Settled by Carpathian Croats, from northeast; Christianity adopted. 924 Formed by Tomislav into independent kingdom, which incorporated Bosnia from 10th century. 12th–19th centuries Autonomy under Hungarian crown, following dynastic union in 1102. 1526–1699 Slavonia, in east, held by Ottoman Turks, while Serbs were invited by Austria to settle along the border with Ottoman-ruled Bosnia, in Vojna Krajina (military frontier). 1797–1815 Dalmatia, in west, ruled by France. 19th century Part of Austro-Hungarian Habsburg Empire. 1918 On dissolution of Habsburg Empire, joined Serbia, Slovenia, and Montenegro in ‘Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes’, under Serbian Karageorgevic dynasty. 1929 Kingdom became Yugoslavia. Croatia continued its campaign for autonomy. 1930s Croat terrorist organization, Ustasa, began a campaign against dominance of Yugoslavia by non-Catholic Serbs. 1941–44 Following German invasion, a ‘Greater Croatia’ Nazi puppet state, including most of Bosnia and western Serbia, formed under Ustasa leader, Ante Pavelic; more than 500,000 Serbs, Jews, and Romany people massacred in extermination camps. 1945 Became constituent republic within Yugoslav Socialist Federation after communist partisans, led by Croat Marshal Tito, overthrew Pavelic. 1970s Separatist demands resurfaced, provoking crackdown. late 1980s Spiralling inflation and deterioration in living standards sparked industrial and nationalist unrest. 1989 Formation of opposition parties permitted. 1990 Communists defeated by conservative nationalist Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), led by ex-partisan Franjo Tudjman, in first free elections since 1938; Croatian sovereignty declared. 1991 Serb-dominated region of Krajina announced secession from Croatia; Croatia declared independence, leading to military conflict with Serbia and civil war. 1992 Independence recognized by European Community (EC) and USA; Croatia joined United Nations (UN); UN peacekeeping force in Croatia; Tudjman elected president. 1993 Government offensive launched to retake parts of Serb-held Krajina. 1994 Accord with Muslims and ethnic Croats within Bosnia to link their recently-formed Muslim–Croat federation with Croatia. 1995 Serb-held western Slavonia and Krajina captured by Croat forces, forcing exodus of Croatian Serbs; Serbia agreed to cede control of eastern Slavonia to Croatia over two-year period. 1996 Diplomatic relations between Croatia and Federal Republic of Yugoslavia restored; Croatia joined Council of Europe. 1998 Croatia resumed control over East Slavonia. 2000 Ruling HDZ lost elections to centre-left coalition; Stipe Mesic elected president; constitutional changes reduced presidential powers. 2003 HDZ became largest party following parliamentary elections, ousting centre-left coalition; Ivo Sanader became prime minister. 2004 Croatian Serb leader Milan Babic jailed by the Hague tribunal for war crimes against non-Serbs in Krajina in early 1990s. 2005 Mesic re-elected president ahead of HDZ candidate.


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