'Croatia' (), officially the 'Republic of Croatia' (''Republika Hrvatska'' ), is a country at the crossroads of the
Mediterranean,
Central Europe and the
Balkans. Its
capital is
Zagreb. Croatia borders with
Slovenia and
Hungary to the north,
Serbia to the east,
Bosnia and Herzegovina to the south and east,
Montenegro to the far south, and the
Adriatic Sea to the west. Croatia is a
candidate for
membership of the
European Union and
NATO.
History
Main articles: History of Croatia
Satellite image of Croatia
The
Croats settled in the Balkans in the early 7th century and formed two principalities:
Dalmatia and
Pannonia. The establishment of the
Trpimirović dynasty ca 850 brought strengthening to the Dalmatian Croat Duchy, which together with the Pannonian principality became a Kingdom in 925 under
King Tomislav.
In 1102, Croatia entered into a personal union with the
Hungarian Kingdom. After the 1526
Battle of Mohács the "reliquiae reliquiarum" (''remnants of the remnants'') of Croatia became a part of the
Habsburg Monarchy in 1527.
It was part of the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, from 1918-1929, and
Kingdom of Yugoslavia, from 1929-1941.
In 1941-1945 an Axis puppet-state known as the
Independent State of Croatia was set up, and after the victory of the
Allies, Croatia became a republic within the
Yugoslavia federation.
In 1991 Croatia declared independence and a
bitter and costly war was fought by the Croatian government against the invading Serb-led Yugoslav People's Army, Serbian paramilitary forces and rebel Serbs. Later the war mutated into a conflict between independent Croatia and the rebel Serbs, with the support of Serbia proper. The war came to and end with signing of the
Dayton Agreement in
1995.
Geography
Map of Croatia
Croatia is located in
Southern Europe. Its shape resembles that of a crescent or a horseshoe, which flanks its neighbours
Serbia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina and
Montenegro. To the north lie
Slovenia and
Hungary;
Italy lies across the
Adriatic Sea. Its mainland territory is split in two non-contiguous parts by the short coastline of Bosnia and Herzegovina around
Neum.
Its terrain is diverse, including:
★ plains, lakes and rolling hills in the continental north and northeast (Central Croatia and
Slavonia, part of the
Pannonian Basin);
★ densely wooded mountains in
Lika and
Gorski Kotar, part of the
Dinaric Alps;
★ rocky coastlines on the
Adriatic Sea (
Istria, Northern Seacoast and
Dalmatia).
The country is famous for its many
national parks.
Croatia has a mixture of
climates. In the north and east it is
continental,
Mediterranean along the coast and a semi-highland and
highland climate in the south-central region. Offshore Croatia consists of over one thousand islands varying in size.
''
National Geographic Adventure Magazine'' named Croatia as Destination of the Year in 2006.
[1]
Politics
Main articles: Politics of Croatia
Since the adoption of the
1990 Constitution, Croatia has been a
democratic republic. Between 1990 and 2000 it had a
semi-presidential system, and since 2000 it has a
parliamentary system.
The
President of the Republic (''Predsjednik'') is the
head of state, directly elected to a five-year term and is limited by the Constitution to a maximum of two terms. In addition to being the
commander in chief of the armed forces, the president has the procedural duty of appointing the Prime minister with the consent of the Parliament, and has some influence on foreign policy. His
official residence is
Predsjednički dvori.
The
Croatian Parliament (''Sabor'') is a
unicameral legislative body (a second chamber, the "House of Counties", which was set up by the Constitution of 1990, was abolished in 2001
[2]). The number of the Sabor's members can vary from 100 to 160; they are all elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The plenary sessions of the Sabor take place from January 15 to July 15, and from September 15 to December 15.
The
Croatian Government (''Vlada'') is headed by the
Prime minister who has two deputy prime ministers and fourteen ministers in charge of particular sectors of activity. The
executive branch is responsible for proposing legislation and a budget, executing the laws, and guiding the foreign and internal policies of the republic.
Government's
official residence is at
Banski dvori.
Croatia has a three-tiered judicial system, consisting of the
Supreme Court,
county courts, and municipal courts. The
Constitutional Court rules on matters regarding the
Constitution.
Counties
Main articles: Counties of Croatia
Croatia is divided into twenty-one counties (''županija'') and the capital Zagreb's
city district (in italics below):
Economy
Main articles: Economy of Croatia
The Croatian economy is
post-communist. In the late
1980s, at the beginning of the process of economic
transition, its position was favorable, but it was gravely impacted by de-industrialization,
war destruction, as well as losing the markets of
Yugoslavia and the
SEV. The Croatian preliminary 2007
GDP data put Croatian GDP at USD 68,208 billion, or just over USD 15,355 per capita (
real income), putting Croatia ahead of the EU member-states
Romania,
Bulgaria and
Poland.
The economy is service-based, with the service sector accounting for 67% of the total GDP. The industrial sector is dominated by shipbuilding, followed by food processing and chemical industry. Industry makes up 27% of Croatia’s total economic output. Agriculture makes up 6%.
Tourism is a notable source of income during the summer. With over 8.9 million foreign tourists in 2006 generating a revenue of EUR 7 billion, Croatia is ranked as the 18th most popular tourist destination in the world. In 2006 Croatia exported goods in value of USD 10.4 billion (
FOB) (19.7 billion including service exports).
Unemployment was 11.9% in 2006. Of particular concern is the heavily backlogged
judiciary system, combined with inefficient
public administration, especially issues of land ownership and
corruption.
The country has been preparing for membership in the European Union, its most important
trading partner. In
February 2005, the
Stabilization and Association Agreement with the
EU officially came into force.
In the first quarter of
2007,
Croatian economy rose by 7.1% and annual growth rate which was expected to be around 4.8% has now been revised to 5.8-6.0%. Analysists believe that the
Croatian economy, after modest growth of around 4.5% so far, is finally entering a period of faster and stronger economic prosperity.
Demographics
Zadar, St. Donatus' Church, a pre-Romanesque church from the ninth century
The population of Croatia has been stagnating over the last decade. The 1991–1995 war in Croatia had previously displaced large parts of the population and increased emigration. Some Croats who fled the country during the war are returning. The natural growth rate is minute or negative (less than ± 1%), as the
demographic transition has been completed half a century ago. Average
life expectancy is approximately 75 years, and the literacy rate is 98.5%.
Croatia is inhabited mostly by
Croats (89.9%). There are around twenty minorities,
Serbs being the largest one (4.5%) and others having less than 0.5% each. The predominant religion is
Catholicism (87.8%), with some
Orthodox (4.4%) and
Sunni Muslim (1.3%) minorities.
The official and common language,
Croatian, is a South
Slavic language, using the
Latin alphabet. Less than 5% of the population cites other languages as their mother tongues.
There are large Croatian minorities in
Bosnia-Herzegovina (571,317) ,
Argentina (440,000) ,
United States (374,241) ,
Germany (227,510) ,
Austria (131,307) ,
Chile (130,000) and many more.
Culture
Main articles: Culture of Croatia
Croatian culture is based on a
thirteen century-long history during which the country has attained many monuments and cities, which gave birth to a number of
historical figures. The country includes
six World Heritage sites and eight national parks. Among a list of
notable people that came from Croatia are three
Nobel prize winners, and numerous inventors. Some of the world's first
fountain pens came from Croatia.
Croatia also has a place in the history of clothing as the origin of the
necktie (''cravat''). The country has a long
artistic, literary and
musical tradition. Of particular interest is the diverse nature of
Croatian cuisine.
See also
★
Communications in Croatia
★
Holidays in Croatia
★
Military of Croatia
★
Protected areas of Croatia
★
Tourism in Croatia
★
Transport in Croatia
★
Sport in Croatia
★
Croatian War of Independence
★
List of Croatians
★
Law enforcement in Croatia
★
International rankings of Croatia
References
★ Agičić et al., ''Povijest i zemljopis Hrvatske, priručnik za hrvatske manjinske škole'' (''History and
Geography of Croatia, a handbook for Croatian minority schools''), Biblioteka Geographica Croatica, 292 pages, Zagreb:2000 (ISBN 953-6235-40-4)
Notes
1. Jon Bowermaster, [http://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/0511/features/croatia.html Destination of the Year: Exploring the New Croatia}, ''National Geographic Adventure Magazine'', 2006. Retrieved, August 14, 2007.
2. http://www.sabor.hr/default.asp?jezik=2
Further reading
★ Ivo Banac, ''The National Question in Yugoslavia: Origins, History, Politics'' Cornell University Press, 1984.
★ Mirjana Kasapovic (ur.), ''Hrvatska politika 1990.-2000.'' Zagreb: Hrvatska politologija 2001.
★ Pavol Demes and Joerg Forbrig (eds.), ''Reclaiming Democracy: Civil Society and Electoral Change in Central and Eastern Europe.'' German Marshall Fund, 2007. ISBN 978-80-969639-0-4
★ Sharon Fisher, Political Change in Post-Communist Slovakia and Croatia: From Nationalist to Europeanist. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006 ISBN 1 4039 7286 9
External links
★
Website of the Croatian Government
★
Basic facts, website of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
★
Croatian National Tourist Board @ croatia.hr
★
General information about Croatia @ www.hr
★
Croatia - Overview of History, Culture, and Science
★
Croatia - Tourist information
★
Tourist attractions in Croatia
★
Croatia Directory
★
United Nations Development Programme: Croatia
★
Croatian World Network (Croatia.org)
★
State Institute for Nature Protection - Croatia
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