Croatia

Croatia (in Croatian: Hrvatska) is a small country in Europe bordering the Mediterranean, Central Europe and the Balkans. Its capital is Zagreb.

Republika Hrvatska

(Details) (Details)

Official language Croatian

Capital Zagreb

President Stjepan Mesić

Prime minister Ivica Račan

Area
- Total
- % water Ranked 123rd
56,542 km²
0.01%

Population
- Total (2003)
- Density Ranked 119th
4,422,248
83/km²

Independence 1991

Currency kuna

Time zone UTC +1

National anthem Lijepa naša domovino

Internet TLD .hr

Calling Code 385

Table of contents

1 History
2 Politics
3 Counties
4 Geography
5 Economy
6 Demographics
7 Culture
8 Miscellaneous topics
9 External links

History

Main article: History of Croatia

arrival of the Croats to the western Balkans at the beginning of the 7th century
period of Croatian dukes and kings of native birth (c800-1102),
Croatia sharing with Hungary a new state under common Hungarian and Croatian kings (1102-1526),
Croatia ruled by the Habsburgs, as a member of the Habsburg Crown (1527-1918, Austro-Hungarian Empire from 1867 to 1918), parts of Croatia under Venice, Turkish Ottoman Empire and France,
From the dissolved Austria-Hungary, in 1918 Croatia becomes part of State of the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes, which in 1929 became the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Croatia loses autonomy,
Fascist (Ustaše) puppet-state during World War II called Independent State of Croatia,
Yugoslavia restored as an independent communist state under the strong hand of Marshal Tito, Croatia a Socialist Republic within Yugoslavia,
In 1991, Croatia declares independence from Yugoslavia, followed by a war with the Serbs, conflict gets resolved by 1998,
Republic of Croatia is currently (2003) applicant for European Union.

Please see History of Croatia for details.

Since the 1990s, Croatia has been a parliamentary democracy.
The Croatian Parliament (Hrvatski Sabor) is a unicameral legislative body of 151 representatives), all elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms.
The Government (Vlada) is the executive branch composed of the prime minister, four deputy prime ministers and twenty ministers in charge of particular sectors of activity.
The President of the Republic (Predsjednik Republike) is elected for a five-year mandate in which they have a limited executive jurisdiction but control the military.

Counties

Main article: Counties of Croatia

Croatia is divided into 20 counties (županije, županija - singular) and one city (grad - singular):

1. Zagrebačka
2. Krapinsko-zagorska
3. Sisačko-moslavačka
4. Karlovačka
5. Varaždinska
6. Koprivničko-križevačka
7. Bjelovarsko-bilogorska
8. Primorsko-goranska
9. Ličko-senjska
10. Virovitičko-podravska
11. Požeško-slavonska
12. Brodsko-posavska
13. Zadarska
14. Osječko-baranjska
15. Šibensko-kninska
16. Vukovarsko-srijemska
17. Splitsko-dalmatinska
18. Istarska
19. Dubrovačko-neretvanska
20. Međimurska

21. Grad Zagreb

Geography

Main article: Geography of Croatia

Given its peculiar shape, Croatia includes flat areas in the continental north and northeast (Central Croatia and Slavonia, part of the Pannonian plain), which are connected via a mountainous region (part of the Dinaric Alps) to the coastal regions on the Adriatic Sea (Istria, Northern Seacoast and Dalmatia). Each of the three regions has a different climate, but none has any really extreme weather conditions.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Croatia

Croatia has a post-communist economy based mostly on various services and some, mostly light industry. Tourism is a notable source of income.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Croatia

Croatia is inhabited mostly by Croats who are Catholic. Minority groups include Orthodox Serbs, Muslims, Hungarians and others. The demographic transition is completed -- the natural growth rate is minute. Life expectancy and literacy rates are reasonably high.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Croatia

Croat culture is based on thirteen century long history during which many monumental buildings and even monumental cities such as Dubrovnik or Split have been built and are now tourist attractions. Croatia includes six World Heritage sites and eight national parks. Interestingly enough, Croatia also has an place in the history of neckwear as the origin of the necktie (cravat).

The country prides itself in artists the likes of Ivan Meštrović, physicists like Ruđer Bošković and Nikola Tesla, Nobel prize winning chemists Lavoslav Ružička and Vladimir Prelog, inventors such as Eduard Slavoljub Penkala (the inventor of the ball-point pen) and its endured Parliament with champions like Stjepan Radić.

**Holidays**
Date	English Name	Local Name	Remarks
January 1	New Year's Day	Nova Godina
...	Easter Sunday and Monday	Uskrs i Uskršnji ponedjeljak	variable date
May 1	May Day	Međunarodni praznik rada
60 days post Easter	Corpus Christi	Tjelovo	variable date
June 22	Anti-fascist struggle day	Dan antifašističke borbe
June 25	Statehood day	Dan državnosti
August 5	Victory day and Homeland gratitude day	Dan pobjede i Dan domovinske zahvalnosti
August 15	Our Lady's assumption into Heaven	Velika Gospa
October 8	Independence day	Dan nezavisnosti
November 1	All Saints day	Dan svih svetih
December 25	Christmas	Božić
December 26	Saint Stephen	Sveti Stjepan

Miscellaneous topics

External links

General information about Croatia
Map of Croatia showing cities
World-wide press freedom index Rank 33 out of 139 countries (2 way tie)
WWW.HR - Croatian Homepage

Countries of the world | Europe | Council of Europe

1. Zagrebačka 2. Krapinsko-zagorska 3. Sisačko-moslavačka 4. Karlovačka 5. Varaždinska 6. Koprivničko-križevačka 7. Bjelovarsko-bilogorska 8. Primorsko-goranska 9. Ličko-senjska 10. Virovitičko-podravska	11. Požeško-slavonska 12. Brodsko-posavska 13. Zadarska 14. Osječko-baranjska 15. Šibensko-kninska 16. Vukovarsko-srijemska 17. Splitsko-dalmatinska 18. Istarska 19. Dubrovačko-neretvanska 20. Međimurska
21. Grad Zagreb