Croatia
Croatia (
Croatian:
Hrvatska ), officially the
Republic of Croatia (
Republika Hrvatska), is a country in
Europe, at the crossroads of the
Mediterranean,
Central Europe and the
Balkans. Its
capital is
Zagreb. In recent
history, it was a
republic in the
SFR Yugoslavia, but it achieved independence in
1991. It is a
candidate for
membership in the
European Union.
Croatia is the
Latinized version of the native name of the country:
Hrvatska. The letter "r" in the first syllable "hrv" is
rolled or
continuant.
However, instead of the Latinized version, many languages use a form more similar to the native one. Various forms are
listed in Wiktionary.
The country code for Croatia is
HR (per
ISO 3166) and the Croatian Internet root domain ends with
.hr.
National Geographic Magazine named it in 2005 as the most beautifull country in the world.
A tribe of
Croats came to the Roman provinces of
Dalmatia and
Pannonia in the
7th century and was ultimately assimilated into the larger native
Illyro-Roman and recently arrived
Slavic population which took the same name. Ruled by various
Croatian rulers, these dukedoms were intermittently controlled by the
Roman Empire at Constantinople and the
Franks. Eventually Croatia became a
kingdom in
925, and retained its independence until
1102 when"after decades of inner struggles"the country entered a dynastic union with
Hungary. Croatian statehood was preserved through a number of institutions, notably the
Sabor which served as an assembly of Croatian nobles, and the
ban or viceroy. Furthermore, the Croatian nobles retained their lands and titles.
By the mid-1400s, the
Hungarian kingdom was shaken by the
Ottoman expansion as much of the mountainous country now known as
Bosnia and Herzegovina and fell to the Turks. At the same time,
Dalmatia became mostly
Venetian.
Dubrovnik was a
city-state that was, at first,
Byzantine (Roman) and Venetian, but later, unlike other Dalmatian city-states, became independent as
Republic of Dubrovnik, even though it was often under the
suzerainty of neighboring powers.
The
Battle of Mohács in
1526 led the
Croatian Parliament to elect the
Habsburgs to the throne of Croatia. Habsburg rule eventually thwarted Ottoman expansion, and by the 18th century, much of the Croatian territories that had previously been Ottoman passed to the Austrians. The odd crescent shape of the Croatian lands remained as a mark, more or less, of the frontier to the Ottoman advance into
Europe. Further south,
Istria, Dalmatia and Dubrovnik all eventually passed to the
Habsburg Monarchy between
1797 and
1815.
Following
World War I, Croatia joined the
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (comprising what is today
Slovenia, Croatia and
Bosnia). Shortly thereafter, this joint state entered into a union with
Serbia to form the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (which eventually became
Yugoslavia in
1929).
Yugoslavia was invaded during
World War II and Croatia was transformed by
fascist forces into the
Independent State of Croatia. When the Axis powers were defeated, the
anti-fascists reintegrated the country into Yugoslavia, which became a federal
socialist state.
Along with Slovenia, Croatia declared its independence from
Yugoslavia on
June 25,
1991, which triggered the
Croatian War of Independence. The
Serb population living in border areas of Croatia revolted, supported by the
Yugoslav army, and the ensuing months saw combat between various Croatian and Serbian armed forces. During this stage of the war, the independence of Croatia was recognized by the international community, while the Serbs proclaimed their own state, the
Republic of Serbian Krajina, and by early 1992, troops were entrenched. This stage of the war left hundreds of thousands as refugees on the Croatian side. The war ended in
1995, when the Croatian Army successfully launched two major offensives to retake the rebel areas by force, leading to a mass displacement of the hundreds of thousands local Serbs from those areas into
Serbia and
Republika Srpska. A peaceful reintegration of the remaining Serbian-controlled territory in the eastern part of the country was completed in
1998 under
UN supervision.
Croatia is currently in the process of joining the
European Union. Accession negotiations were opened on
October 3 2005.
Croatia is situated between central, southern, and eastern Europe. It has a rather peculiar shape that resembles a crescent or a horseshoe which helps account for its many neighbours:
Slovenia,
Hungary,
Serbia,
Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Montenegro, and
Italy across the Adriatic. Its mainland territory is split in two non-contiguous parts by the short coastline of Bosnia and Herzegovina around
Neum.
Its terrain is diverse, containing:
* plains, lakes and rolling hills in the continental north and northeast (Central Croatia and
Slavonia, part of the
Pannonian plain);
* densely wooded mountains in
Lika and
Gorski Kotar, part of the
Dinaric Alps;
* rocky coastlines on the
Adriatic Sea (
Istria, Northern Seacoast and
Dalmatia).
The country is famous for its many beautiful
national parks.
Croatia has a mixture of
climates. In the north and east it is
continental,
Mediterranean along the coast and a semi-highland and
highland climate in the south-central region.
Since the adoption of the
1990 Constitution, Croatia has been a
democratic republic. Between 1990 and 2000 it had a
semi-presidential system, and since 2000 it has a
parliamentary system.
The
President of the Republic (
Predsjednik) is the
head of state, directly elected to a five-year term and limited by the Constitution to a maximum of two terms. In addition to being the
commander in chief of the armed forces, the president has the procedural duty of appointing the Prime minister with the consent of the Parliament, and has some influence on foreign policy.
The
Croatian Parliament (
Sabor) is a
unicameral legislative body of not less than 100 and not more than 160 representatives, all elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The plenary sessions of the Sabor take place from January 15 to July 15, and from September 15 to December 15.
The
Croatian Government (
Vlada) is headed by the
Prime minister who has 2 deputy prime ministers and 14 ministers in charge of particular sectors of activity. The executive branch is responsible for proposing legislation and a budget, executing the laws, and guiding the foreign and internal policies of the republic.
Croatia has a three-tiered judicial system, consisting of the
Supreme Court, county courts, and municipal courts. The
Constitutional Court rules on matters regarding the
Constitution.
See also:*
Foreign relations of Croatia*
Accession of Croatia to the European UnionCroatia is divided into 20 counties (Croatian: županija) and the city district of the capital, Zagreb*:
#
Zagreb county (Zagrebačka županija)#
Krapina-Zagorje county (Krapinsko-zagorska županija)#
Sisak-Moslavina county (Sisačko-moslavačka županija)#
Karlovac county (Karlovačka županija)#
Varaždin county (Varaždinska županija)#
Koprivnica-Križevci county (Koprivničko-križevačka županija)#
Bjelovar-Bilogora county (Bjelovarsko-bilogorska županija)#
Primorje-Gorski Kotar county (Primorsko-goranska županija)#
Lika-Senj county (Ličko-senjska županija)#
Virovitica-Podravina county (Virovitičko-podravska županija)#
Požega-Slavonia county (Požeško-slavonska županija)#
Brod-Posavina county (Brodsko-posavska županija)#
Zadar county (Zadarska županija)#
Osijek-Baranja county (Osječko-baranjska županija)#
Šibenik-Knin county (Šibensko-kninska županija)#
Vukovar-Srijem county (Vukovarsko-srijemska županija)#
Split-Dalmatia county (Splitsko-dalmatinska županija)#
Istria county (Istarska županija)#
Dubrovnik-Neretva county (Dubrovačko-neretvanska županija)#
Međimurje county (Međimurska županija)#
Zagreb (Grad Zagreb)
See also:
List of cities in CroatiaCroatia has an economy based mostly on various
services and some, mostly light,
industry.
Tourism is a notable source of income during the summer.The estimated
Gross Domestic Product per capita in
purchasing power parity terms for 2005 was USD 12,158 or 45.2% of the
EU average for the same year.
The Croatian economy is
post-communist. In the late 1980s, at the beginning of the process of economic
transition, its position was favourable, but it was gravely impacted by de-industrialization and war damages as well as having problems from losing the markets of
Yugoslavia and the
SEV.
Main problems include high
unemployment followed by an insufficient amount of economic reforms, including overpriced
kuna. Of particular concern is the gravely backlogged
judiciary system combined with inefficient
public administration, especially involving land ownership.
The country has since experienced faster
economic growth and has been preparing for membership in the European Union, its most important
trading partner.
In February 2005, Croatia implemented the
Stabilization and Association Agreement with the
EU and is advancing further towards full EU membership. The country expects some major economic impulses and high growth rates in the following next years (currently Croatia suffers most from its high export deficit and considerable debt). Some big trading companies have already taken advantage of the liberalization of the Croatian market. Croatia is expecting a boom in investments, especially
greenfield investments.
The population of Croatia has been stagnating over the last decade. The 1991-1995 war in Croatia had previously displaced large parts of the population and increased emigration. The natural growth rate is minute or negative (less than ± 1%), as the
demographic transition has been completed half a century ago. Average life expectancy is approximately 75 years, and the literacy rate is 98.5%.
Croatia is inhabited mostly by
Croats (
89.9%). There are around twenty minorities,
Serbs being the largest one (
4.5%), others having less than
0.5% each. The predominant religion is
Catholicism (
87.8%), with some
Orthodox (
4.4%) and
Sunni Muslim (
1.3%) minorities. The official and common language,
Croatian, is a South
Slavic language, using the
Latin alphabet. Less than 5% of the population cites other languages as their mother tongues.
|
Pre-Romanesque Church of St. Donatus in Zadar, from the 9th century |
Croatian culture is based on a
thirteen-century-long history during which the country has attained many monuments and cities, which gave birth to a good number of
brilliant individuals. The country includes
six World Heritage sites and eight national parks. Two
Nobel prize winners came from Croatia, as did numerous important inventors and
other notable people " notably, some of the first
fountain pens came from Croatia.
Croatia also has a place in the history of clothing as the origin of the
necktie (
cravat). The country has a long
artistic, literary and
musical tradition. Of particular interest is also the diverse
cuisine.
*
Communications in Croatia*
Transportation in Croatia: recent highway construction progress, buses, railways and airports in Croatia
*
Military of Croatia*
Holidays in Croatia*
Tourism in Croatia*
List of Croatians*
List of computer systems from Croatia*
Reporters Without Borders' press freedom index rankings: 33 (2002), 69 (2003), 54 (2004), 56 (2005)
*Agičić et al. (2000): Povijest i zemljopis Hrvatske (History and Geography of Croatia), priručnik za hrvatske manjinske škole (handbook for Croatian minority schools), Biblioteka Geographica Croatica, 292 p., Zagreb, ISBN 953-6235-40-4
(croatian)*
Basic facts, website of the Croatian Ministry of Foreign Affairs*
Croatian National Tourist Board @ croatia.hr*
General information about Croatia @ www.hr*
Road and city map with street index, travel Guide from CroMaps navigator*
The Croatian government's official website @ vlada.hr*
Croatia - Overview of History, Culture, and Science*
WWW-VL: History: Croatiafiu-vro:Horvaatia
