Croatia

Radio broadcast stations

AM 14, FM 8, shortwave 0

Radios

1.1 million

Telephone system

domestic: NA international: no satellite earth stations

Telephones

1.216 million (1993 est.)

Television broadcast stations

18 (in addition, there are 145 repeaters) (1997)

Televisions

1.52 million (1992 est.)

Agriculture--products

wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, vegetables; livestock, dairy products

Budget

revenues: $5.3 billion expenditures: $6.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $78.5 million (1997 est.)

Currency

1 Croatian kuna (HRK) = 100 lipas

Debt--external

$8 billion (October 1998)

Economic aid--recipient

$NA

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. Croatia faces considerable economic problems stemming from: the legacy of longtime communist mismanagement of the economy; damage during the internecine fighting to bridges, factories, power lines, buildings, and houses; the large refugee and displaced population, both Croatian and Bosnian; and the disruption of economic ties. Western aid and investment, especially in the tourist and oil industries, would help restore the economy. The government has been successful in some reform efforts--partially macroeconomic stabilization policies--and it has normalized relations with its creditors. Yet it still is struggling with privatization of large state enterprises and with bank reform. In 1998, Croatia made progress in reducing its current account deficit to about 8% of GDP from 12% the previous year. Economic growth continues to lag, however, and growing levels of inter-enterprise debt plague the domestic economy. Four commercial banks were put under government control and a major conglomerate is teetering on collapse.

Electricity--consumption

14.632 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity--exports

1 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity--imports

4.95 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity--production

10.682 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity--production by source

fossil fuel: 29.25% hydro: 70.75% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1996)

Exchange rates

Croatian kuna per US$1--6.317 (January 1999), 6.362 (1998), 6.157 (1997), 5.434 (1996), 5.230 (1995), 5.996 (1994)

Exports

$4.5 billion (f.o.b., 1998)

Exports--commodities

machinery and transport equipment 13.6%, miscellaneous manufactures 27.6%, chemicals 14.2%, food and live animals 12.2%, raw materials 6.1%, fuels and lubricants 9.4%, beverages and tobacco 2.7% (1993)

Exports--partners

Germany 22%, Italy 21%, Slovenia 18% (1994)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity--$23.6 billion (1998 est.)

GDP--composition by sector

agriculture: 12% industry: 24% services: 64% (1995 est.)

GDP--per capita

purchasing power parity?$5,100 (1998 est.)

GDP--real growth rate

3% (1998 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%

Imports

$8.4 billion (c.i.f., 1998)

Imports--commodities

machinery and transport equipment 23.1%, fuels and lubricants 8.8%, food and live animals 9.0%, chemicals 14.2%, miscellaneous manufactured articles 16.0%, raw materials 3.5%, beverages and tobacco 1.4% (1993)

Imports--partners

Germany 21%, Italy 19%, Slovenia 10% (1994)

Industrial production growth rate

3.7% (1998 est.)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

5.4% (1998)

Labor force

1.63 million (1998)

Labor force--by occupation

industry and mining 31.1%, agriculture 4.3%, government 19.1% (including education and health), other 45.5% (1993)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Unemployment rate

18.6% (yearend 1998)

Area

total: 56,538 sq km land: 56,410 sq km water: 128 sq km

Area--comparative

slightly smaller than West Virginia

Climate

Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast

Coastline

5,790 km (mainland 1,778 km, islands 4,012 km)

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Dinara 1,830 m

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

Environment--international agreements

party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification

Geographic coordinates

45 10 N, 15 30 E

Geography--note

controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits

Irrigated land

30 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries

total: 2,197 km border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia and Montenegro 266 km (241 km with Serbia; 25 km with Montenegro), Slovenia 670 km

Land use

arable land: 21% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 38% other: 19% (1993 est.)

Location

Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia

Map references

Europe

Maritime claims

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural hazards

frequent and destructive earthquakes

Natural resources

oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt

Terrain

geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coast, coastline, and islands

Administrative divisions

21 counties (zupanije, zupanija--singular): Bjelovar-Bilogora, City of Zagreb, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Istra, Karlovac, Koprivnica-Krizevci, Krapina-Zagorje, Lika-Senj, Medimurje, Osijek-Baranja, Pozega-Slavonia, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Sibenik, Sisak-Moslavina, Slavonski Brod-Posavina, Split-Dalmatia, Varazdin, Virovitica-Podravina, Vukovar-Srijem, Zadar-Knin, Zagreb note: there are two special self-governing districts (kotari, kotar--singular) under local Serb control: Glina, Knin

Capital

Zagreb

Constitution

adopted on 22 December 1990

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Croatia conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska

Data code

HR

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador William D. MONTGOMERY embassy: Andrije Hebranga 2, Zagreb mailing address: use street address

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Miomir ZUZUL chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 consulate(s) general: Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York

Executive branch

chief of state: President Franjo TUDJMAN (since 30 May 1990) head of government: Prime Minister Zlatko MATESA (since 7 November 1995); Deputy Prime Ministers Mate GRANIC (since 8 September 1992), Ivica KOSTOVIC (since 14 October 1993), Jure RADIC (since NA October 1994), Borislav SKEGRO (since 3 April 1993), and Ljerka MINTAS-HODAK (since November 1995) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 15 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: President Franjo TUDJMAN reelected; percent of vote--Franjo TUDJMAN 61%, Zdravko TOMAC 21%, Vlado GOTOVAC 18%

Flag description

red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered)

Government type

presidential/parliamentary democracy

Independence

25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)

International organization participation

BIS (pending member), CCC, CE, CEI, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, judges appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the House of Representatives; Constitutional Court, judges appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the House of Representatives

Legal system

based on civil law system

Legislative branch

bicameral Assembly or Sabor consists of the House of Counties or Zupanijski Dom (68 seats--63 directly elected by popular vote, 5 appointed by the president; members serve four-year terms) and House of Representatives or the Zastupnicki Dom (127 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: House of Counties--last held 13 April 1997 (next to be held NA 2001); House of Representatives--last held 29 October 1995 (next to be held NA 1999) election results: House of Counties--percent of vote by party--NA; seats by party--HDZ 42, HDZ/HSS 11, HSS 2, IDS 2, SDP/PGS/HNS 2, SDP/HNS 2, HSLS/HSS/HNS 1, HSLS 1; note--in some districts certain parties ran as coalitions, while in others they ran alone; House of Representatives--percent of vote by party--HDZ 45.23%, HSS/IDS/HNS/HKDU/SBHS 18.26%, HSLS 11.55%, SDP 8.93%, HSP 5.01%; seats by party--HDZ 75, HSLS 12, HSS 10, SDP 10, IDS 4, HSP 4, HNS 2, SNS 2, HND 1, ASH 1, HKDU 1, SBHS 1, independents 4

National holiday

Statehood Day, 30 May (1990)

Political parties and leaders

Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ

Political pressure groups and leaders

NA

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed)

Military branches

Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Frontier Guard, Home Guard

Military expenditures--dollar figure

$950 million (1999)

Military expenditures--percent of GDP

5% (1999)

Military manpower--availability

males age 15-49: 1,188,898 (1999 est.)

Military manpower--fit for military service

males age 15-49: 943,719 (1999 est.)

Military manpower--military age

19 years of age

Military manpower--reaching military age annually

males: 33,722 (1999 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 17% (male 404,761; female 383,088) 15-64 years: 68% (male 1,591,831; female 1,591,106) 65 years and over: 15% (male 272,219; female 433,860) (1999 est.)

Birth rate

10.34 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate

11.14 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Ethnic groups

Croat 78%, Serb 12%, Muslim 0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%, Slovenian 0.5%, others 8.1% (1991)

Infant mortality rate

7.84 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Languages

Serbo-Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 74 years male: 70.69 years female: 77.52 years (1999 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 99% female: 95% (1991 est.)

Nationality

noun: Croat(s) adjective: Croatian

Net migration rate

1.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Population

4,676,865 (July 1999 est.)

Population growth rate

0.1% (1999 est.)

Religions

Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 0.4%, others and unknown 10.8%

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.52 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Disputes--international

Eastern Slavonia, which was held by ethnic Serbs during the ethnic conflict, was returned to Croatian control by the UN Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia on 15 January 1998; Croatia and Italy made progress toward resolving a bilateral issue dating from World War II over property and ethnic minority rights; significant progress has been made with Slovenia toward resolving a maritime border dispute over direct access to the sea in the Adriatic; Serbia and Montenegro is disputing Croatia's claim to the Prevlaka Peninsula in southern Croatia because it controls the entrance to Boka Kotorska in Montenegro; Prevlaka is currently under observation by the UN military observer mission in Prevlaka (UNMOP)

Illicit drugs

transit point along the Balkan route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe; a minor transit point for maritime shipments of South American cocaine bound for Western Europe

Airports

72 (1998 est.)

Airports--with paved runways

total: 21 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 7 (1998 est.)

Airports--with unpaved runways

total: 51 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 42 (1998 est.)

Heliports

1 (1998 est.)

Highways

total: 27,840 km paved: 22,690 km (including 330 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,150 km (1997 est.)

Merchant marine

total: 64 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 810,226 GRT/1,227,468 DWT ships by type: bulk 15, cargo 26, chemical tanker 2, combination bulk 5, container 5, liquefied gas 1, multifunction large-load carrier 3, oil tanker 1, passenger 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, short-sea passenger 3 (1998 est.)

Pipelines

crude oil 670 km; petroleum products 20 km; natural gas 310 km (1992); note--under repair following territorial dispute

Ports and harbors

Dubrovnik, Dugi Rat, Omisalj, Ploce, Pula, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split, Vukovar (inland waterway port on Danube), Zadar

Railways

total: 2,296 km standard gauge: 2,296 km 1.435-m gauge (796 km electrified) note: some lines remain inoperative or not in use; disrupted by territorial dispute (1997)

Waterways

785 km perennially navigable; large sections of Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris