Croatia

Full name of country: Republic of Croatia

Region: Europe

Official language: Croatian

Population: 4,150,116 (2024 est.)

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

Land area: 55,974 sq km (21,612 sq miles)

Water area: 620 sq km (239 sq miles)

Capital: Zagreb

National anthem: "Lijepa nasa domovino" (Our Beautiful Homeland), by Antun Mihanovic/Josip Runjanin

National holiday: Independence Day, October 8 (1991) and Statehood Day, June 25 (1991); note—June 25, 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

Population growth: -0.46% (2024 est.)

Time zone: UTC +1

Flag: Croatia’s flag features three equal bold horizontal stripes of red (top), white (middle), and blue (bottom), with the Croatian coat of arms emblazoned in the center. The coat of arms is comprised of a larger shield of red and white checks, with a row of five smaller shields atop. The five smaller shields are the symbolic shields of the ancient regions of Croatia, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria, and Slavonia.

Motto: “Bog i Hrvati” (God and the Croats)

Independence: June 25, 1991 (from Yugoslavia)

Government type: parliamentary republic

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Legal system: 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

Croatia, located in southeastern Europe, is officially called the Republic of Croatia. It is part of the Balkans region, which also includes Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, and the countries of the former Yugoslavia, of which Croatia is one.

Croatia is crescent-shaped. Within the crescent, Croatia straddles Bosnia and Herzegovina’s northern and western borders. Croatia is bordered by Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, and Serbia to the west. The Adriatic Sea forms Croatia's western border. On the extreme southern border, Croatian territory is interrupted by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s only access to the Adriatic. The Croatian city of Dubrovnik, which sits on the Adriatic, lies about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) beyond that border and is bordered on the north and east by Bosnia Herzegovina and by Montenegro in the south.

Croatia was once part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 and became a member of the European Union in 2013.

Note: unless otherwise indicated, statistical data in this article is sourced from the CIA World Factbook, as cited in the bibliography.

People and Culture

Population: Ethnic Croats comprise about 91.6 percent of the population of Croatia. The next-largest ethnic group are Serbs (or Serbians), who make up about 3.2 percent of the population, followed by much smaller populations of Roma, Italians, and Albanians (2021 estimates). The main difference between ethnic Croats and ethnic Serbs is religious: Serbs are overwhelmingly members of Orthodox Christian religions, while most Croats are Roman Catholics.

The official language is Croatian, a South Slavic language. Croatian is spoken by around 95.2 percent of the population, but many Croats also speak or understand other languages, such as Serbian, English, German, Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and Albanian (2021 estimate).

About 79 percent of Croats are Roman Catholic. Serbian Orthodox comprise 3.3 percent, followed by Muslims, who account for 1.3 percent of the population (2021 estimates).

Approximately 58.6 percent of Croats live in urban areas, with most living in such large cities as Zagreb, Split, and Rijeka (2022 estimate). Life expectancy for Croats is 81 years for women and 74.6 years for men (2024 estimates). The median age of Croats is approximately 45.1 years (2024 estimate). The population growth rate is –0.46 percent, with a very small net migration rate. The infant mortality rate is 8.4 deaths per 1,000 live births (2024 estimates).

In 2022, Croatia ranked 39 out of 193 countries, based on 2021 data, on the United Nations Human Development Index list, which measures quality of life indicators.

Indigenous People: Modern-day Croats trace their history back thirteen centuries to a mass migration of Slavs into the region. Prior to the declaration of Croatian independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, 12 percent of Croats were ethnic Serbs. After a long period of military conflict with Serbia, many Serbs left Croatia, with the result that their population was severely diminished.

Education: Croatians have a very high literacy rate: about 99.4 percent (2021 estimate). Croatian public education is fairly typical of countries in the region. Primary education is compulsory for eight years.

There are major universities in the cities of Zagreb, Zadar, Split, Rijeka, and Osijek; several polytechnic universities throughout the country; and a Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Zagreb.

Health Care: Health care is a guaranteed right of all Croatians, according to the country's 1990 constitution. In 1993, legislation was adopted that gave all Croats universal health care coverage, with benefits provided by a mix of state and private organizations. Contributions for health care come predominantly from mandatory health insurance and funds collected by general taxation.

Because of its history as part of a former Soviet republic, Croatia has remnants of the socialized health care system common throughout Eastern Europe.

Food: Like many nations, Croatia's cuisine is flavored by many outside influences. On the Adriatic coast, for instance, Italian, Greek, and other Mediterranean tastes mingle with Croatia dishes; inland cuisine is often influenced by Turkish, Hungarian, and Viennese recipes.

Traditional foods of Croatia include grilled meats, pork and potato stew, turkey served with a type of pasta called mlinci, all varieties of seafood, Mediterranean fruits (dates and figs), poppy seed loaves, sheep's cheese, and doughnuts.

Croatia is also known as a fine wine-producing region, with hundreds of different wines produced throughout the country. Popular types of wine include bevanda, a red wine that is mixed with water, and gemisht, which is mixed with mineral water.

Arts & Entertainment: Because of its Mediterranean, European, and Slavic traditions, art, literature, and entertainment in Croatia are quite rich and diverse. Among its folk music styles, Klapa is a type of a cappella singing, while tamburitza and gusle are popular forms that use stringed instruments. Common folk instruments include the tambura, mandolin, and guitar.

Among Croatia's best-known recording artists are Ivo Robić and Doris Dragović. Famous or influential Croatians in classical music include composer Franz von Suppé, soprano Ema Pukšec (Ilma De Murska), and violinists Zlatko Baloković and Josip Klima.

Croatia has contributed some very important writers to world literature, including the novelist Ivo Andrić (winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, 1961) and the poet Mak Dizdar. Other important figures in Croatian literature include poet, journalist, and short-story writer Miljenko Jergović and essayist Tomislav Ladan. Also of note is the young diarist Zlata Filipović, whose book, Zlata's Diary, chronicled her life as a child during wartime in the early 1990s.

Although Yugoslav cinema once enjoyed periods of great international recognition, very little attention has been paid to Croatian cinema in the years since independence. This is due in part to an apathy toward the Croatian film industry, the lack of resources given it by the government, and a difficult transition period following the end of communism in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which affected most Eastern and Central European film industries.

Popular sports in Croatia include football (soccer), basketball, and handball. Among the most notable Croatian athletes in international sports have been basketball players Dražen Petrović and Toni Kukoć, and football player Davor Šuker. Croatian athletes have won Olympic medals in such sports as handball, tennis, weightlifting, water polo, skiing, and basketball.

Croatia regularly hosts arts and cultural festivals, including the Music Biennale Zagreb, the International Folklore Festival, and the Dubrovnik Summer Festival, perhaps its most prestigious event.

Holidays: Holidays in Croatia include Croatian Uprising Day and Croatian State Day (June 22 and 25), Croatian Independence Day (October 8), Christmas Day (December 25) and St. Stephen's Day (December 26).

Environment and Geography

Topography: Croatia has a diverse topography, with three main geographic regions. The eastern and northwestern regions sit among the Pannonian Alps; this area is mostly hilly and rocky. Between the Pannonian region and the coastal regions is a mountainous area. The Istrian and Dalmatian regions lie on the Adriatic Coast and are separated from the mainland by high mountains. Off the mainland of Croatia are 1,185 islands or islets. The highest point in Croatia is at Dinara (1,831 meters/6,007 feet). Approximately 34.4 percent of Croatia is forested (2018 estimate).

Notable rivers in Croatia include the Mirna, the Danube, and the Sava; the Lika region features several underground streams. Its two largest peninsulas are Istria and Peljesac. A vast amount of Croatia is karst, which is a type of landscape typified by sinkholes, caverns, and underground streams; within the karst areas can be found many rare species of underground plants and animals.

Natural Resources: Natural resources in Croatia include petroleum and coal, bauxite, iron ore, china clay, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, salt, and hydropower. As in several other Eastern European nations, air and water pollution from industrial emissions is a major environmental problem for Croatia. Water pollution affects the Adriatic coastal region as well. As a result of industrial waste, acid rain damage to forests is a constant area of concern. Croatia also has several animal and land protection areas scattered throughout the country.

Plants & Animals: Owing to its regional diversity, Croatia has a large number of native species of plants and animals. Grape vines and olive trees are abundant and economically valuable for some local industries.

The white truffle, considered to be one of the best-tasting by chefs worldwide, is native to Istria, as are black truffles. There are also many tree varieties in Croatia, more than are found in most of Eastern Europe. Trees commonly found in the wooded areas are beech and oak, as well as silver fir, ash, and Norway spruce. In the coastal region there are meadows of Posidonia seagrass.

In the lowlands region, common animals include the white-tailed eagle and the black stork, while in the coastal regions, dolphins, loggerhead turtles, and falcons are common.

Endangered species native to Croatia include Monk seals and marine turtles. The list of near threatened species includes Bechstein's bat, the Eurasian otter, the garden dormouse, and others.

Climate: Inland northern Croatia has a continental climate, while the coastal, central and mountainous regions are Mediterranean. Temperatures inland average 10° Celsius (50° Fahrenheit) to 15° Celsius (59° Fahrenheit) along the Adriatic coast. Warm summer temperatures along the coast make this region an attractive destination for travelers. However, like other countries, Croatia's climate has been influenced by global warming, with reports of more severe weather events such as droughts and floods.

Economy

Industry: In 2023, Croatia's estimated gross domestic product (GDP, purchasing power parity) was US$159.305 billion; its GDP per capita was an estimated US$41,300.

The two most important sectors of the Croatian economy are industry and services. Croatia's major industries are chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metals, paper and wood products, textiles, petroleum refining, electronics, and food and beverages. Croatia is also a major shipbuilder among European countries. Many of its industries were forced to rebuild following the wars of the 1990s.

Croatia is a major exporter of transport equipment, machinery, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, and fuels. Its major export partners are Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Austria, Serbia, and Slovenia.

Croatia's unemployment rate accounted for 8.68 percent of the workforce in 2021.

Agriculture: Croatian agricultural products include wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, and rapeseed; vegetables such as potatoes, cabbages, onions, tomatoes, and peppers; and fruits such as apples, plums, mandarins, and olives. However, despite this range of agricultural production, Croatia has had to import many products to meet the needs of all Croats.

In 2003, the Agriculture Competitiveness Enhancement program was started to help modernize Croatia's agricultural industry. In the first year alone, the agricultural economy grew nearly 3 percent.

Tourism: Like many other businesses, the tourism industry in Croatia was severely damaged by the wars of the 1990s. However, revenue from tourism increased from around US$4 billion to more than US$8 billion per year between 2001 and 2004. Revenue from international tourism peaked in 2008 at US$11.6 billion, when the global financial crisis caused a worldwide downturn in tourism. Though the COVID-19 pandemic that began in 2020 and resulted in travel restrictions as well as other control measures reduced travel and tourism's contribution to the country's GDP in 2020 and 2021, by 2022 it had begun to greatly rebound. Efforts to make Croatia an even more popular tourist destination continued.

Croatia has always been renowned for its beaches (1,773 kilometers/1,104 miles of mainland coastline). However, like many Eastern European nations, it also boasts many important historical and cultural attractions. Popular tourist destinations in Croatia include the coastal city of Dubrovnik, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the resort island of Mljet; the Istrian town of Pula, the site of the Croatian film festival; and the archaeological sites in the town of Krapina. Remains of medieval villages and castles are common in many Croatian cities.

Government

Prior to the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Croatia was part of a communist nation. Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia on June 25, 1991, and, since then, has been a presidential or parliamentary republic.

Croatia has three branches of government: the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The head of state is the president of the republic, who appoints the prime minister; the prime minister is the head of the government. The Croatian legislature is the Hrvatski Sabor, which is made up of around 151 deputies who are elected by popular vote for four-year terms. Local government is comprised of twenty counties and their legislative bodies, or assemblies.

Among the political parties operating in Croatia are the Croatian Democratic Union, the Croatian People's Party, the Croatian Social Liberal Party, and many others. Most of these are young parties, only coming into existence following the end of the Croatian Communist Party in the early 1990s.

The ethnic and political conflicts that split Yugoslavia in the early 1990s and the wars that followed are essential to understanding modern-day Croatia. After the death of the long-time Yugoslav leader Marshal Josip Broz Tito in 1980, war erupted between the nationalist armies of Serbia under President Slobodan Milošević , and Croatia under President Franjo Tuđman.

Major cities were shelled and attacked relentlessly by Serbian forces, leading to widespread ethnic cleansing (the violent displacement of people from a region) in such cities as Vukovar and Dubrovnik. Following ethnic cleansing (a term that originated in this conflict), Serb forces committed acts of startling atrocity against their recent countrymen, such as mass killings, rape, and torture. This became a central focus of international observers once the ethnic cleansing campaign became known. Unfortunately, many efforts to stop these atrocities were bogged down in bureaucracy and indecision on the part of many important Croatian allies, including the United States.

Over the next few years, following successful international diplomatic and military efforts to end the conflict, an end to hostilities was reached, and the regional wars of the Balkans stopped. But the results of this tragedy will have repercussions for many decades to come.

By 2001, there were nearly 400,000 fewer Serbians in Croatia than there had been in 1991; many ethnic Serbs never returned to their homes in Croatia. The war nearly destroyed the economic stability of the region, and it has taken many years for recovery to begin. It was hoped that the entry of Croatia into the European Union in 2013 (it became a member of the United Nations in 1992) would quicken modernization.

Zoran Milanović won a second term as president in a landslide victory in January 2025, with almost three-quarters of the votes cast.

Interesting Facts

• Croatia, with its 1,100 miles of coastline, is famous for its beaches.
• Croatia was the first country to officially recognize the fledgling United States after its independence from Great Britain in 1776.
• Croatia was the sight of the first underground hot-air balloon flight when an Austrian man flew a balloon into Mamet Cave in 2014.
• The Croatian national soccer team made it to its first final FIFA World Cup game in 2018 but ultimately lost the tournament to France.
• Croatia joined the eurozone and its currency officially switched to the euro in 2023.

Bibliography

Croatia, Lexicographic Institute Miroslav Krleža, croatia.eu/. Accessed 16 Oct. 2023.

“Croatia.” The World Bank, 2024, data.worldbank.org/country/croatia. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.

"Croatia." The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 23 Dec. 2024, www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/croatia/. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.

"Croatia Country Profile." BBC News, 14 Jan. 2025, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-17212572. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.

Human Development Report 2021/2022. United Nations Development Programme, 13 Mar. 2024, hdr.undp.org/system/files/documents/global-report-document/hdr2021-22pdf‗1.pdf. Accessed 17 Jan. 2025.