state Articles

Croatia

The Republic of Croatia is situated in the southern Central European and between the Pannonian Plain and the Mediterranean Sea. It is surrounded by Slovenia and Hungary to the north, Serbia to the northeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the east, Montenegro to the far southeast, and the Adriatic Sea to the south and west. Croatia also borders Italy in the Gulf of Trieste. Zagreb (45 48 N, 16 00 E) is the capital of the nation. It is a member of United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and the Council of Europe.

HISTORY:- The Croats settled in the region of Pannonia in the early 7th century. The Dalmatian Croat duchy became a kingdom after defeating Byzantine and Frankish emperors. The kingdom reached its zenith in the 11th century. In 1089, civil war broke out. The Croat tribal leader signed a treaty with Hungarian king stating that Hungary and Croatia would be merged but Croatia would be maintaining its autonomy. In the Battle of Mohács, Hungary was defeated by the Turks of Habsburg Monarchy in 1526. Subsequently Croatia became a part of Habsburg Monarchy in 1527. The country became a part of Austro-Hungarian kingdom in 1867. After World War I, in 1918, Croatia achieved independence. Croatia joined with Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia to form Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which was later renamed into Yugoslavia in 1929. During the World War II, Croatia gained a status of a puppet-nation of Nazi Germany. Following the defeat of Germany in the World War II, Croatia became the federal republic of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The Croatian nationalist leader Tito died in 1980, and demands for independence began. The country’s first ever democratic elections were held in 1990. Communists were overpowered by the nationalists. The prolonged and brutal war against the local Serbs, who objected its independence continued until 1995.

GEOGRAPHY:- Croatia is situated at 45 10 N, 15 30 E in the southeastern Europe, spanning across 56,414 sq km land area and 128 sq km water sources. The mainland of Croatia has 1,777 km long coastline while the islands have 4,058 km coastline along with the Adriatic Sea. The lowest point is Adriatic Sea (0 m) and the highest point is Dinara (1,830 m). The terrain of the country ranges from flat plains along Hungarian border, to low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and the islands.

CLIMATE:- The climate of Croatia is mostly Mediterranean and continental. Continental climate zones have hot summers and cold winters in the interior, and mild winters, dry summers along coasts.

GOVERNMENT:- Croatia is a Parliamentary republican nation. The constitution was adopted on 22nd December 1990 and revised in 2000, and 2001. The legal system is based on Austro-Hungarian law system coupled with influences of Communism. The three branches of the government:

Executive branch comprises the President (chief of state), the Prime minister (head of government), cabinet. Cabinet ministers are appointed by the Prime minister with the approval of the parliamentary Assembly.

Legislative branch comprises the unicameral Assembly (153 seats).

Judicial branch comprises the Supreme Court; Constitutional Court. The judges are chosen by the Assembly.

Major political parties are Croatian Democratic Union, Social Democratic Party of Croatia, Croatian People’s Party-Liberal Democrats, Croatian Peasant Party, Croatian Party of Rights. Suffrage is imposed universally at 18 and for employed persons the age is 16.

President Stjepan Mesi�

Prime minister Ivo Sanader

ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS:- The country is composed of 20 counties and 1 city district (Zagreb).

CULTURE:- Croatia is abode of 6 World Heritage sites and 8 national parks. Fountain pens are invented first in the country. Croatia has a rich literary and musical cultural heritage. The cuisine is characterized by a vast diversity. Football, handball, basketball, water polo and tennis are popular sports of Croatia.

ECONOMY:- From the richest Yugoslav republics, Croatia has become a steady economic nation after 1991-95 war. It has one of the most advanced economies among the South-Eastern European nations.

GDP/PPP (2006 est.): $60.26 billion; per capita $13,400.

Real growth rate: 4.6%.

Inflation: 3.4%.

Unemployment: 17.2%

Arable land: 26%.

Agriculture: wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, barley, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soybeans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products.

Labor force: 1.72 million; agriculture 2.7%, industry 32.8%, services 64.5% (2006).

Budget:

Revenues: $22.57 billion

Expenditures: $23.92 billion (2007 est.)

Public debt: 47.3% of GDP (2007 est.)

Debt - external: $45.29 billion (30 June 2007)

Industries: chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products, construction materials, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and beverages, tourism.

Natural resources: oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower.

Exports: $11.17 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels.

Imports: $21.79 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.): machinery, transport and electrical equipment; chemicals, fuels and lubricants; foodstuffs.

Major trading partners: Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Russia, France (2004).

Monetary unit: Kuna

LANGUAGE:- Croatian spoken by 96% population is the official language. Other used languages are Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, German (4%).

CITIES:- Capital Zagreb is the largest city. Other large cities are Split, Rijeka, Osijek.

POPULATION:- The estimated population is 4,493,312.

Growth rate: -0.043% (2008 est.)

Density per sq mi: 206

Literacy rate: 99% (2003 est.)

RACE:-

Croat 89.6%

Serb 4.5%

Bosniak 0.5%

Hungarian 0.4%

Slovene 0.3%

Czech 0.2%

Roma 0.2%

Albanian 0.1%

Montenegrin 0.1%

Others 4.1% (2001)

RELIGION:-

Roman Catholic 88%

Orthodox 4%

Muslim 1%

Other Christian less than 1%,

None 5% (2001)

HEALTH:-

Birth rate: 9.64 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate: 11.66 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate: total: 6.49 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 75.13 years

Total fertility rate: 1.41 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 10 (2001 est.)

Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2005): 1,001

UNICEF:- UNICEF establishes ‘Violence-Free Schools’ project in 216 schools and trains teachers, counsellors, students and the local community which reflects in the result as 110 schools are declared ‘violence free’. Zagreb’s major school of social work trains hundreds of educational professionals. The Croatian Government sets up community-based Family Centres to provide education and parents’ counseling. UNICEF fights against child abuse with media. UNICEF also promotes a six-year National Plan of Action for Children. The campaign of ‘Every Child Needs a Family’ promotes the affects of child institutional system.

TRANSPORTATION:-

Railways: total: 2,726 km (2005).

Highways: total: 28,344 km; paved: 23,979 km; unpaved: 4,365 km (2002).

Waterways: 785 km (2004).

Ports and harbors: Omisalj, Ploce, Rijeka, Sibenik, Vukovar.

Airports: 68 (2006 est.).

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