"text":"<p>The lands that today comprise Croatia were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the close of World War I. In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became a federal independent communist state consisting of six socialist republics under the strong hand of Marshal Josip Broz, aka TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Yugoslav forces, dominated by Serb officers, were mostly cleared from Croatian lands, along with a majority of Croatia's ethnic Serb population. Under UN supervision, the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998. The country joined NATO in April 2009 and the EU in July 2013.</p>"
"text":"Danube (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth"
"text":"more of the population lives in the northern half of the country, with approximately a quarter of the populace residing in and around the capital of Zagreb; many of the islands are sparsely populated"
},
"Natural hazards":{
"text":"destructive earthquakes"
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits; most Adriatic Sea islands lie off the coast of Croatia - some 1,200 islands, islets, ridges, and rocks"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the French designation of \"Croate\" to Croatian mercenaries in the 17th century eventually became \"Cravate\" and later came to be applied to the soldiers' scarves - the cravat; Croatia celebrates Cravat Day every 18 October"
"text":"<br>Knjiga svjetskih činjenica, nužan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Croatian)<br><br>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information."
"text":"more of the population lives in the northern half of the country, with approximately a quarter of the populace residing in and around the capital of Zagreb; many of the islands are sparsely populated"
"text":"air pollution improving but still a concern in urban settings and in emissions arriving from neighboring countries; surface water pollution in the Danube River Basin"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Air pollutants":{
"particulate matter emissions":{
"text":"17.03 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)"
},
"carbon dioxide emissions":{
"text":"17.49 megatons (2016 est.)"
},
"methane emissions":{
"text":"3.98 megatons (2020 est.)"
}
},
"Climate":{
"text":"Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast"
"text":"Danube (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km<br><strong>note</strong> – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth"
"text":"the name seems to be related to \"digging\"; archeologists suggest that the original settlement was established beyond a water-filled hole or \"graba\" and that the name derives from this; \"za\" in Slavic means \"beyond\"; the overall meaning may be \"beyond the trench (fault, channel, ditch)\""
"text":"25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia); note - 25 June 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; notable earlier dates: ca. 925 (Kingdom of Croatia established); 1 December 1918 (Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) established)"
"text":"proposed by at least one fifth of the Assembly membership, by the president of the republic, by the Government of Croatia, or through petition by at least 10% of the total electorate; proceedings to amend require majority vote by the Assembly; passage requires two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly; passage by petition requires a majority vote in a referendum and promulgation by the Assembly; amended several times, last in 2014 (2021)"
"text":"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"
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction"
},
"Citizenship":{
"citizenship by birth":{
"text":"no"
},
"citizenship by descent only":{
"text":"at least one parent must be a citizen of Croatia"
},
"dual citizenship recognized":{
"text":"yes"
},
"residency requirement for naturalization":{
"text":"5 years"
}
},
"Suffrage":{
"text":"18 years of age; universal"
},
"Executive branch":{
"chief of state":{
"text":"President Zoran MILANOVIC (since 18 February 2020)"
"text":"Prime Minister Andrej PLENKOVIC (since 19 October 2016); Deputy Prime Ministers Damir KRSTICEVIC (since 19 October 2016), Predrag STROMAR (since 9 June 2017), Marija Pejcinovic BURIC (since 19 June 2017), and Tomislav TOLUSIC (since 25 May 2018)"
"text":"Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the Assembly"
},
"elections/appointments":{
"text":"president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 22 December 2019 with a runoff on 5 January 2020 (next to be held in 2024); the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president and approved by the Assembly"
"text":"<br><em>2019: </em>Zoran MILANOVIC elected president in second round; percent of vote - Zoran MILANOVIC (SDP) 52.7%, Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC (HDZ) 47.3%<br><br><em>2015:</em> Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC elected president in second round; percent of vote - Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC (HDZ) 50.7%, Ivo JOSIPOVIC (Forward Croatia Progressive Alliance) 49.3%"
"text":"unicameral Assembly or Hrvatski Sabor (151 seats; 140 members in 10 multi-seat constituencies and 3 members in a single constituency for Croatian diaspora directly elected by proportional representation vote using the D'Hondt method with a 5% threshold; an additional 8 members elected from a nationwide constituency by simple majority by voters belonging to minorities recognized by Croatia; the Serb minority elects 3 Assembly members, the Hungarian and Italian minorities elect 1 each, the Czech and Slovak minorities elect 1 jointly, and all other minorities elect 2; all members serve 4-year terms"
},
"elections":{
"text":"early election held on 5 July 2020 (next to be held by 2024)"
"text":"Supreme Court (consists of the court president and vice president, 25 civil department justices, and 16 criminal department justices)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"president of Supreme Court nominated by the president of Croatia and elected by the Sabor for a 4-year term; other Supreme Court justices appointed by the National Judicial Council; all judges serve until age 70"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"Administrative Court; county, municipal, and specialized courts; note - there is an 11-member Constitutional Court with jurisdiction limited to constitutional issues but is outside of the judicial system"
"text":"Bloc for Croatia or BLOK [Zlatko HASANBEGOVIC]<br>The Bridge or Most [Bozo PETROV] (formerly the Bridge of Independent Lists)<br>Center or Centar [Ivica PULJAK] (formerly Pametno and Party with a First and Last Name or SSIP)<br>Civic Liberal Alliance or GLAS [Ankar Mrak TARITAS]<br>Croatian Demochristian Party or HDS [Goran DODIG<br>Croatian Democratic Alliance of Slavonia and Baranja or HDSSB [Branimir GLAVAS]<br>Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Andrej PLENKOVIC]<br>Croatian Democratic Union-led coalition (includes HSLS, HDS, HDSSB)<br>Croatian Party of Pensioners or HSU [Veselko GABRICEVIC]<br>Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Kreso BELJAK]<br>Croatian People's Party - Liberal Democrats or HNS-LD [Stjepan CURAJ]<br>Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Dario HREBAK]<br>Croatian Sovereignists or HS [Marijan PAVLICEK]<br>Focus on the Important or Focus [Davor NADI]<br>Green-Left coalition (includes MOZEMO!, RF, NL)<br>Homeland Movement or DP [Ivan PENAVA]<br>Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Milorad PUPOVAC]<br>Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Dalibor PAUS]<br>New Left or NL [Ivana KEKIN]<br>People's Party - Reformists or NS-R [Radimir CACIC]<br>Restart Coalition (includes HSLS, HDS, HDSSB)<br>Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Peda GRBIN]<br>We Can! or Mozemo! [collective leadership]<br>Workers' Front or RF [collective leadership]<strong><br></strong>"
"text":"three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue - the Pan-Slav colors - superimposed by the Croatian coat of arms; the coat of arms consists of one main shield (a checkerboard of 13 red and 12 silver (white) fields) surmounted by five smaller shields that form a crown over the main shield; the five small shields represent five historic regions (from left to right): Croatia, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria, and Slavonia",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> adopted in 1972 while still part of Yugoslavia; \"Lijepa nasa domovino,\" whose lyrics were written in 1835, served as an unofficial anthem beginning in 1891"
"text":"Plitvice Lakes National Park (n), Historic Split (c), Old City of Dubrovnik (c), Euphrasian Basilica, Historic Trogir (c), Šibenik Cathedral (c), Stari Grad Plain (c), Zadar and Fort St. Nikola Venetian Defense Works (c), Primeval Beech Forests (n), Stećci Medieval Tombstones Graveyards (c)"
"text":"<p>Though still one of the wealthiest of the former Yugoslav republics, Croatia’s economy suffered badly during the 1991-95 war. The country's output during that time collapsed, and Croatia missed the early waves of investment in Central and Eastern Europe that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall. Between 2000 and 2007, however, Croatia's economic fortunes began to improve with moderate but steady GDP growth between 4% and 6%, led by a rebound in tourism and credit-driven consumer spending. Inflation over the same period remained tame and the currency, the kuna, stable.</p><p></p><p>Croatia experienced an abrupt slowdown in the economy in 2008; economic growth was stagnant or negative in each year between 2009 and 2014, but has picked up since the third quarter of 2014, ending 2017 with an average of 2.8% growth. Challenges remain including uneven regional development, a difficult investment climate, an inefficient judiciary, and loss of educated young professionals seeking higher salaries elsewhere in the EU. In 2016, Croatia revised its tax code to stimulate growth from domestic consumption and foreign investment. Income tax reduction began in 2017, and in 2018 various business costs were removed from income tax calculations. At the start of 2018, the government announced its economic reform plan, slated for implementation in 2019.</p><p></p><p>Tourism is one of the main pillars of the Croatian economy, comprising 19.6% of Croatia’s GDP. Croatia is working to become a regional energy hub, and is undertaking plans to open a floating liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminal by the end of 2019 or early in 2020 to import LNG for re-distribution in southeast Europe.</p><p></p><p>Croatia joined the EU on July 1, 2013, following a decade-long accession process. Croatia has developed a plan for Eurozone accession, and the government projects Croatia will adopt the Euro by 2024. In 2017, the Croatian government decreased public debt to 78% of GDP, from an all-time high of 84% in 2014, and realized a 0.8% budget surplus - the first surplus since independence in 1991. The government has also sought to accelerate privatization of non-strategic assets with mixed success. Croatia’s economic recovery is still somewhat fragile; Croatia’s largest private company narrowly avoided collapse in 2017, thanks to a capital infusion from an American investor. Restructuring is ongoing, and projected to finish by mid-July 2018.</p>"
"text":"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"
"text":"Croatia’s telecom market improved through partnership with the EU in 2013, opening a competitive market in mobile and broadband and conducive regulatory environment; one of the highest mobile penetration rates in the Balkans, covering most remote areas; local lines are digital; international operator investment provides relatively high broadband penetration; tests for 5G technologies in 2020 (2020)"
"text":"country code - 385; the ADRIA-1 submarine cable provides connectivity to Albania and Greece; digital international service is provided through the main switch in Zagreb; Croatia participates in the Trans-Asia-Europe fiber-optic project, which consists of 2 fiber-optic trunk connections with Slovenia and a fiber-optic trunk line from Rijeka to Split and Dubrovnik (2019)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments"
"text":"the national state-owned public broadcaster, Croatian Radiotelevision, operates 4 terrestrial TV networks, a satellite channel that rebroadcasts programs for Croatians living abroad, and 6 regional TV centers; 2 private broadcasters operate national terrestrial networks; 29 privately owned regional TV stations; multi-channel cable and satellite TV subscription services are available; state-owned public broadcaster operates 4 national radio networks and 23 regional radio stations; 2 privately owned national radio networks and 117 local radio stations (2019)"
"text":"Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia (Oruzane Snage Republike Hrvatske, OSRH): Ground Forces (Hrvatska Kopnena Vojska, HKoV), Naval Forces (Hrvatska Ratna Mornarica, HRM, includes Coast Guard), Air Force and Air Defense Forces; Military Police Force supports each of the three Croatian military forces (2021)"
"text":"the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia have approximately 15,000 active duty personnel (10,000 Army; 1,500 Navy; 1,500 Air force; 2,000 joint/other) (2021)"
"text":"the inventory of the Croatian Armed Forces consists mostly of Soviet-era equipment, although in recent years, it has acquired a limited number of more modern weapon systems from some Western suppliers, including France and the US (2021)"
"text":"<p>dispute remains with Bosnia and Herzegovina over several small sections of the boundary related to maritime access that hinders ratification of the 1999 border agreement; since the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, Croatia and Slovenia have each claimed sovereignty over Piranski Bay and four villages, and Slovenia has objected to Croatia's claim of an exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic Sea; in 2009, however Croatia and Slovenia signed a binding international arbitration agreement to define their disputed land and maritime borders, which led to Slovenia lifting its objections to Croatia joining the EU; Slovenia continues to impose a hard border Schengen regime with Croatia, which joined the EU in 2013 but has not yet fulfilled Schengen requirements</p>"
"note":"<strong>note: </strong>736,622 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-January 2022); flows slowed considerably in 2017; Croatia is predominantly a transit country and hosts about 340 asylum seekers as of the end of June 2018"
"text":"<p>drug trafficking groups are major players in the procurement and transportation of of large quantities of cocaine destined for European markets</p> <p></p>"
