Croatia

parliamentary democracyIndependence NA June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)

Croatia as the 1994 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 121 fields, one of 34 editions from 1992 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalZagreb
LocationBalkan State, Southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula, bordering
1994

Every edition of Croatia

Populationas each edition published it
4.7 million July 1994 est. · 4.78m in 1992
Population growth% a year
0.07% 1994 est. · 0.07% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 38.9 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 73.19 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
1.65 children per woman 1994 est. · 1.66 in 1993
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
8.7 deaths per 1,000 live births 1994 est. · 10 in 1992
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$4,500 1992 est. · $5,600 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
-19% 1992 est. · -25% in 1993

Geography

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

25 fields
Coastline
5,790km
(mainland 1,778 km, islands 4,012 km)
Land boundaries
2,028km
total · Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia and Montenegro 266 km (241 km with Serbia; 25 km with Montenego), Slovenia 501 km

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

total area

56,538 sq km

land area

56,410 sq km

comparative area

slightly smaller than West Virginia

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

arable land

32%

permanent crops

20%

meadows and pastures

18%

forest and woodland

15%

other

15%

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

20 fields
Population
4,697,614
(July 1994 est.)growth rate: 0.07% (1994 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1994 est.)

Birth
11.27Death
10.54Net migration
0

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%
Labor force
1,509,489

Infant mortality rate

8.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

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.)

noun

Croat(s)

adjective

Croatian

Languages

Serbo-Croatian 96%, other 4%

total population

NA%

male

NA%

female

NA%

by occupation

industry and mining 37%, agriculture 16% (1981 est.), government NA%, other

Government

Parliamentary democracy

32 fields

Legislature, 138 seatsone dot, one seat

HDZ 85HSLS 14SPH-SDP 11HNS 6Dalmatian Action/Istrian Democratic Assembly/ Rijeka Democratic Alliance coalition 6HSP 5HSS 3SNS 3independents 5

conventional long form

Republic of Croatia

conventional short form

Croatia

local long form

Republika Hrvatska

local short form

Hrvatska

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

Suffrage

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

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

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

chief of mission

Ambassador Petr A. SARCEVIC

chancery

(temporary) 236 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20002

telephone

(202) 543-5580

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

25 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$4,500
(1992 est.)
Real growth rate
-19%
(1992 est.)industrial production growth: growth rate -5.9% (1993 est.)
Inflation, consumer prices
26%monthly average
(1993 est.)
Unemployment rate
21%
(December 1993)

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.)

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)

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

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

16 fields

Networkskm

Railroads
2,592Inland waterways
785
Railroads: (1.435 m) of which 864 km are electrified (1992); note - disrupted by territorial dispute

Railroads

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

total

32,071 km

paved

23,305 km

unpaved

gravel 8,439 km; earth 327 km (1990)

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

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

Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces

3 fields
Defense expenditures
337billion
-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

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.)

Central Intelligence Agency. “Croatia.” The World Factbook 1994. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/croatia/1994.

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