CROATIA
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CROATIA
@Croatia:Geography
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia
Map references: Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe
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CROATIA - MAJOR CITIES
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Latitude, Internat'l Time
Population Longitude Phone Code Zone
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ZAGREB 1,175,000 45.48N, 15.58E 38-41 GMT+1
Rijeka 195,000 45.20N, 14.27E 38-51 GMT+1
Split 181,000 43.31N, 16.28E 38-58 GMT+1
Osijek 159,000 45.33N, 18.41E 38-54 GMT+1
Zadar 116,000 44.07N, 15.14E 38- GMT+1
Slavonski Brod 106,000 45.10N, 18.01E 38- GMT+1
Vukovar 81,000 45.19N, 19.01E 38- GMT+1
Dubrovnik 66,000 42.40N, 18.07E 38-50 GMT+1
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Area:
total area: 56,538 sq km
land area: 56,410 sq km
comparative area: slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries: total 2,028 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km,
Hungary 329 km, Serbia and Montenegro 266 km (241 km with Serbia; 25
km with Montenego), Slovenia 501 km
Coastline: 5,790 km (mainland 1,778 km, islands 4,012 km)
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
International disputes: Ethnic Serbs have occupied UN protected areas
in eastern Croatia and along the western Bosnia and Herzegovinian
border
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
Land use:
arable land: 32%
permanent crops: 20%
meadows and pastures: 18%
forest and woodland: 15%
other: 15%
Irrigated land: NA sq km
Environment:
current issues: air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and
resulting acid rain 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: frequent and destructive earthquakes
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Hazardous Wastes,
Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur
94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification
Note: controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and
Turkish Straits
@Croatia:People
Population: 4,665,821 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 19% (female 418,272; male 442,064)
15-64 years: 68% (female 1,592,187; male 1,588,455)
65 years and over: 13% (female 394,650; male 230,193) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.13% (1995 est.)
Birth rate: 11.02 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate: 10.55 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.77 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 8.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.02 years
male: 70.59 years
female: 77.65 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.62 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Croat(s)
adjective: Croatian
Ethnic divisions: Croat 78%, Serb 12%, Muslim 0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%,
Slovenian 0.5%, others 8.1% (1991)
Religions: Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Slavic Muslim 1.2%,
Protestant 0.4%, others and unknown 10.8%
Languages: Serbo-Croatian 96%, other 4%
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991)
total population: 97%
male: 99%
female: 95%
Labor force: 1,509,489
by occupation: industry and mining 37%, agriculture 16% (1981 est.),
government NA%, other
@Croatia:Government
Names:
conventional long form: Republic of Croatia
conventional short form: Croatia
local long form: Republika Hrvatska
local short form: Hrvatska
Digraph: HR
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: 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)
National holiday: Statehood Day, 30 May (1990)
Constitution: adopted on 22 December 1990
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed)
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Franjo TUDJMAN (since 30 May 1990); election
last held 4 August 1992 (next to be held NA 1997); results - 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 14 October 1993); Jure RADIC (since NA);
Borislav SKEGRO (since 3 April 1993)
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); results - percent of
vote by party NA; 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); results - percent of
vote by party NA; 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), Zlatko
CANJUGA, secretary general; Croatian Democratic Independents (HND),
Stjepan MESIC, president; Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), Drazen
BUDISA, president; Croatian Democratic Peasant Party (HDSS), Ante
BABIC; Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), Ante DAPIC; Croatian Peasants'
Party (HSS), Josip PANKRETIC; Croatian People's Party (HNS), Radimir
CACIC, president; Dalmatian Action (DA), Mira LJUBIC-LORGER; Serb
National Party (SNS), Milan DJUKIC; Social Democratic Action (SDP),
Miko TRIPALO; other small parties include the Istrian Democratic
Assembly and the Rijeka Democratic Alliance
Other political or pressure groups: NA
Member of: CCC, CE (guest), CEI, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OSCE, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Petar A. SARCEVIC
chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899
FAX: [1] (202) 588-8936
consulate(s) general: New York
US diplomatic representation:
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) 456-000
FAX: [385] (41) 440-235
Flag: red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms
(red and white checkered)
Economy
Overview: Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the republic of
Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized
area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav
average. At present, Croatian Serb Separatists 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
serious 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 revive the
moribund economy. However, peace and political stability must come
first; only then will recent government moves toward a
"market-friendly" economy restore old levels of output. As of February
1995, fighting continues among Croats, Serbs, and Muslims, and
national boundaries and final political arrangements are still in
doubt.
National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $12.4 billion (1994
est.)
National product real growth rate: 3.4% (1994 est.)
National product per capita: $2,640 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 3% (1994 est.)
Unemployment rate: 17% (December 1994)
Budget:
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: $2.9 billion (September 1994)
Industrial production: growth rate -4% (1994 est.)
Electricity:
capacity: 3,570,000 kW
production: NA kWh
consumption per capita: NA kWh (1993)
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
Economic aid:
recipient: IMF, $192 million
Currency: 1 Croatian kuna (HRK) = 100 paras
Exchange rates: Croatian kuna per US $1 - 5.6144 (November 1994)
Fiscal year: calendar year
@Croatia:Transportation
Railroads:
total: 2,699 km
standard gauge: 2,699 km 1.435-m gauge (963 km electrified)
note: disrupted by territorial dispute (1994)
Highways:
total: 27,368 km
paved: 22,176 km (302 km of expressways)
unpaved: 5,192 km (1991)
Inland waterways: 785 km perennially navigable
Pipelines: crude oil 670 km; petroleum products 20 km; natural gas 310
km (1992); note - now disrupted because of territorial dispute
Ports: Dubrovnik, Omis, Ploce, Pula, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split, Zadar
Merchant marine:
total: 35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 181,565 GRT/225,533 DWT
ships by type: bulk 1, cargo 20, chemical tanker 1, container 2, oil
tanker 2, passenger 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2,
short-sea passenger 4
note: also controlled by Croatian shipowners are 134 ships (1,000 GRT
or over) totaling 3,286,231 DWT that operate under Maltese and Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines registry
Airports:
total: 76
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 2
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 1
with paved runways under 914 m: 55
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 2
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 8
@Croatia:Communications
Telephone system: 350,000 telephones
local: NA
intercity: NA
international: no satellite links
Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 14, FM 8, shortwave 0
radios: 1.1 million
Television:
broadcast stations: 12 (repeaters 2)
televisions: 1.027 million
@Croatia:Defense Forces
Branches: Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces,
Frontier Guard, Home Guard
Manpower availability: males age 15-49 1,183,184; males fit for
military service 943,749; males reach military age (19) annually
32,831 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures: 337 billion to 393 billion dinars, NA% of GDP
(1993 est.); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars
using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
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