Croatia

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

agricultural land:

23.7%;

• arable land 16%;
• permanent crops 1.5%;
• permanent pasture 6.2%

forest:

34.4%

other:

41.9% (2011 est.)

• 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

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

noun:

Croat(s), Croatian(s)

adjective:

Croatian

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

0.98 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.69 male(s)/female

total population:

0.93 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate

vectorborne diseases:

tickborne encephalitis

note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2013)

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

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

• Independence Day, 8 October (1991) and Statehood Day, 25 June (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

• several previous;
• latest adopted 22 December 1990;
• amended several times, last in December 2013 by referendum

• civil law system influenced by legal heritage of Austria-Hungary;
• note - Croatian law was fully harmonized with the European Community acquis as of the June 2010 completion of EU accession negotiations

chief of state:

President Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC (since 19 February 2015)

head of government:

Prime Minister Zoran MILANOVIC (since 23 December 2011); First Deputy Prime Minister Vesna PUSIC (since 16 November 2012)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the Assembly

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 10 January 2010 (next to be held in December 2014);
• the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president and approved by the Assembly

election results:

Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC elected president; percent of vote in the second round - Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC (HDZ) 50.7%, Ivo JOSIPOVIC 49.3%

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 president of Croatia and elected by Croatian Sabor for a 4-year term;
• other Supreme Court justices appointed by National Judicial Council;
• all judges serve until age 70

subordinate courts:

• Administrative Court;
• county, municipal, and specialized courts;
• note - there is an 11-member Constitutional Court with jurisdiction limited to constitutional issues but is outside Croatia's judicial system

• Bosniak Democratic Party of Croatia or BDSH [Medzad HODZIC]
• Croatian Civic Party or HGS [Zeljko KERUM]
• Croatian Democratic Congress of Slavonia and Baranja or HDSSB [Dragan VULIN]
• Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Tomislav KARAMARKO]
• Croatian Laborists - Labor Party [Nansi TIRELI]
• Croatian Party of Rights - dr. Ante Starcevic or HSP AS [Ivan TEPES]
• Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Branko HRG]
• Croatian Pensioner Party or HSU [Silvano HRELJA]
• Croatian People's Party - Liberal Democrats or HNS [Vesna PUSIC]
• Croatian Pure Party of Rights or HCSP [Josip MILJIC]
• Democratic Centre or DC [Vesna SKARE-OZBOLT]
• HDZ-led Coalition [Tomislav KARAMARKO] (includes HDZ, HGS, and DC)
• Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC]
• Independent List of Ivan Grubisic [Ivan GRUBISIC]
• Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Boris MILETIC]
• Kukuriku Coalition [Zoran MILANOVIC] (includes SDP, HNS, IDS, and HSU)
• New Wave [Liubo JURCIC]
• Reformists Party [Radimir CACIC]
• Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Zoran MILANOVIC]
• Sustainable Development for Croatia or ORaH [Mirela HOLY]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Josip "Josko" PARO (since 20 April 2012)

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

chief of mission:

Ambassador Kenneth MERTEN (since 3 October 2012)

embassy:

2 Thomas Jefferson Street, 10010 Zagreb

mailing address:

use embassy street address

telephone:

[385] (1) 661-2200

FAX:

[385] (1) 661-2373

• three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue - the Pan-Slav colors - superimposed by the Croatian coat of arms;
• the coat of arms consists of one main shield (a checkerboard of 13 red and 12 silver (white) fields) surmounted by five smaller shields that form a crown over the main shield;
• the five small shields represent five historic regions, they are (from left to right):
  • Croatia,
  • Dubrovnik,
  • Dalmatia,
  • Istria,
  • and Slavonia

note: the Pan-Slav colors were inspired by the 19th-century flag of Russia

name:

"Lijepa nasa domovino" (Our Beautiful Homeland)

lyrics/music:

Antun MIHANOVIC/Josip RUNJANIN

note: adopted 1972; "Lijepa nasa domovino," whose lyrics were written in 1835, served as an unofficial anthem beginning in 1891

• arable crops (wheat, corn, barley, sugar beet, sunflower, rapeseed, alfalfa, clover);
• vegetables (potatoes, cabbage, onion, tomato, pepper);
• fruits (apples, plum, mandarins, olives), grapes for wine;
• livestock (cattle, cows, pigs);
• dairy products

agriculture:

1.9%

industry:

27.6%

services:

70.4% (2014)

lowest 10%:

3.3%

highest 10%:

27.5% (2008 est.)

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

general assessment:

the telecommunications network has improved steadily since the mid-1990s, covering much of what were once inaccessible areas; local lines are digital

domestic:

fixed-line teledensity holding steady at about 40 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions exceed the population

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 (2011)

• the national state-owned public broadcaster, Croatian Radiotelevision, operates 4 terrestrial TV networks, a satellite channel that rebroadcasts programs for Croatians living abroad, and 6 regional TV centers;
• 2 private broadcasters operate national terrestrial networks;
• roughly 25 privately owned regional TV stations;
• multi-channel cable and satellite TV subscription services are available;
• state-owned public broadcaster operates 3 national radio networks and 9 regional radio stations;
• 2 privately owned national radio networks and more than 170 regional, county, city, and community radio stations (2012)

total:

2,722 km

standard gauge:

2,722 km 1.435-m gauge (985 km electrified) (2014)

country comparison to the world: 62

total:

77

by type:

bulk carrier 24, cargo 7, chemical tanker 8, passenger/cargo 27, petroleum tanker 10, refrigerated cargo 1

foreign-owned:

2 (Norway 2)

registered in other countries:

31 (Bahamas 1, Belize 1, Liberia 1, Malta 6, Marshall Islands 12, Panama 2, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 8) (2010)

country comparison to the world: 57

major seaport(s):

Ploce, Rijeka, Sibernik, Split

river port(s):

Vukovar (Danube)

oil terminal(s):

Omisalj

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; includes coast guard), Air Force and Air Defense Command (Hrvatsko Ratno Zrakoplovstvo I Protuzracna Obrana), Joint Education and Training Command, Logistics Command; Military Police Force supports each of the three Croatian military forces (2012)

males age 16-49:

1,016,234

females age 16-49:

1,017,355 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

770,710

females age 16-49:

839,732 (2010 est.)

male:

28,334

female:

27,015 (2010 est.)

• dispute remains with Bosnia and Herzegovina over several small sections of the boundary related to maritime access that hinders ratification of the 1999 border agreement;
• since the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, Croatia and Slovenia have each claimed sovereignty over Pirin Bay and four villages, and Slovenia has objected to Croatia's claim of an exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic Sea;
• in 2009, however Croatia and Slovenia signed a binding international arbitration agreement to define their disputed land and maritime borders, which led to Slovenia lifting its objections to Croatia joining the EU;
• Slovenia continues to impose a hard border Schengen regime with Croatia, which joined the EU in 2013 but has not yet fulfilled Schengen requirements

• 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 (2008)