Croatia

Republic of Croatia (Republika Hrvatska , is a Southeastern European country at the crossroads between the Pannonian Plain and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. Croatia borders with Slovenia and Hungary to the north,Serbia to the northeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the east , and Montenegro to the far southeast. Its southern and western flanks border the Adriatic Sea, and it also shares a sea border with Italy in the Gulf of Trieste.

Croatia is a member of the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, the Council of Europe and is a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2008-2009 term. The country is also a candidate for membership of the European Union and a NATO acceding member. Croatia is expected to formally join NATO in April 2009, making it the second former Yugoslav nation to join the military alliance following Slovenia. Additionally, Croatia is also a founding member of the Union for the Mediterranean upon its establishment in 2008.

Geography

Croatia is located between South-Central Europe and Middle Europe. Its shape resembles that of a crescent or a horseshoe, which flanks its neighbours Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. To the north lie Slovenia and Hungary; Italy lies across the Adriatic Sea. Its mainland territory is split in two non-contiguous parts by the short coastline of Bosnia and Herzegovina around Neum.

Its terrain is diverse, including:

• plains, lakes and rolling hills in the continental north and northeast (Central Croatia and Slavonia, part of the Pannonian Basin)
• densely wooded mountains in Lika and Gorski Kotar, part of the Dinaric Alps
• rocky coastlines on the Adriatic Sea (Istria, Northern Seacoast and Dalmatia)

Phytogeographically, Croatia belongs to the Boreal Kingdom and is shared between the Central European and Illyrian provinces of theCircumboreal Region and the Adriatic province of the Mediterranean Region. According to the WWF, the territory of Croatia can be subdivided into three ecoregions: the Pannonian mixed forests, Dinaric Mountains mixed forests and Illyrian deciduous forests.

The country is famous for its many 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. Istra has a temperate climate, while the Palagruža archipelago is home to a subtropical climate.

Offshore Croatia consists of over one thousand islands varying in size. The largest islands in Croatia are Cres and Krk which are located in the Adriatic Sea. The Danube, Europe's second longest river, runs through the city of Vukovar. Dinara, the eponym of the Dinaric Alps, is the highest peak of Croatia at 1,831 metres above sea level.

There are 49 pits deeper than 250 m in Croatia, 14 of them are deeper than 500 m and three deeper than 1000 m (Cave system Lukina jama-Trojama, Slovacka jama and Cave system Velebita). The deepest Croatian pits are mostly found in two regions - Mt. Velebit and Mt. Biokovo.

Government and politics

Since the adoption of the 1990 Constitution, Croatia has been a democracy. 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 is 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. His official residence is Predsjednički dvori. Apart from that he has summer residences on the islands of Vanga (Brijuni islands) and the island of Hvar.

The Croatian Parliament (Sabor) is a unicameral legislative body (a second chamber, the "House of Counties", which was set up by the Constitution of 1990, was abolished in 2001). The number of the Sabor's members can vary from 100 to 160; they are 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 two deputy prime ministers and fourteen 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. Government's official residence is at Banski dvori.

Demographics

The population of Croatia has been stagnating over the last decade. During the 1991-1995 war, large sections of the population were displaced and emigration increased. In, 1991 during an ethnic cleansing campaign carried out by rebel-Serb forces in Serb regions and the Croatian military in Croat-populated areas, 80,000 Croats were expelled from their homes by force or left on their own. 350,000 Serbs left Croatia under order of the rebel Serb government. 11,834 Croats were killed and 1,348 are still missing. Even moderate Serbs were killed by Serb forces, as were moderate Croats by Croat forces, especially in Slavonia. Many Croats have returned but a large portion fled to western Europe and stayed there. A large number of Croats (around 118,000) expelled from Serb-held parts of Bosnia, mostly Bosanska Posavina in 1992 continue to live in Croatia unable to return to their homes.[13] Some 200,000 Serbs fled at the end of the war. Hundreds of civilians were killed during Operation Storm, according to the BBC. Only a small fraction of Serbs of Croatia have returned to their homeland since 1995, according to the Human Rights Watch.

The natural growth rate of the population is currently negative with the demographic transition completed in the 1970s. Average life expectancy is 75.1 years, and the literacy rate is 98.1 percent. The main religions of Croatia are Roman Catholic 88%, Orthodox 4.4%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.9%, none 5.2%.

Economy

The Croatian economy has a stable functioning market economy.International Monetary Fond data shows that Croatian nominal GDP stood at $50.053 billion, or $11,271 per capita, in 2007. The IMF forecast for 2008 is $54.950 billion, or $13,553 per capita. In purchasing power parity terms, total GDP was $69.866 billion in 2007, equivalent to $15,733 per capita. For 2008, it is forecast to be $74.419 billion, or $16,758 per capita.

According to Eurostat data, Croatian PPS GDP per capita stood at 57.5 per cent of the EU average in 2007, and is forecast to reach 57.8 per cent in 2008. Real GDP growth in 2007 was 6.0 per cent. The average gross salary of a Croat during the first nine months of 2008 was 7,161 kuna (US$ 1,530) per month In 2007, the International Labour Organization-defined unemployment rate stood at 9.1 per cent, after falling steadily from 14.7 percent in 2002. The registered unemployment rate is higher, though, standing at 14.7 percent in December 2007.

In 2007, 7.2 percent of economic output was accounted for by agriculture, 32.8 percent by industry and 60.7 percent by the service sector. According to 2004 data, 2.7 percent of the workforce were employed in agriculture, 32.8 percent by industry and 64.5 in services.

The industrial sector is dominated by shipbuilding, food processing and the chemical industry. Tourism is a notable source of income during the summer, with over 10 million foreign tourists in 2006 generating a revenue of €8 billion. Croatia is ranked as the 18th most popular tourist destination in the world. In 2006 Croatia exported goods to the value of $10.4 billion (FOB) ($19.7 billion including service exports).

Of particular concern is the backlogged judiciary system, combined with inefficient public administration, especially issues of land ownership and corruption. Another main problem includes the large and growing national debt which has reached over 34 billion euro or 89.1 per cent of the nations gross domestic product. Because of these problems, studies show that the population of Croatia generally has negative expectations of the country's economic future.

The country has been preparing for membership in the European Union, its most important trading partner. In February 2005, the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU officially came into force.

The highlight of Croatia's recent infrastructure developments is its rapidly-growing highway network, of which plans were drawn and work commenced in the 1970s, but was realised only after independence due to the (then) Yugoslav Government plans of road projects of 'national' importance.

Croatia has now over 1,200 km of highways connecting Zagreb to most other regions. The best known highways are A1, connecting Zagreb to Split and A3, passing east-west through northwest Croatia and Slavonia. Most highways are tolled, except the Zagreb bypass and sections of A3, A7, B8 and B9. There is also a smaller and more obscure network of expressways connecting to the highways. One of the most used is the B28 expressway, connecting A4 near Zagreb to Bjelovar, but also serving as the main shunpiking alternative to the A3. The Croatian highways network its considered one of very good overall quality and excellent security, winning several EUROTAP awards.

Croatia has an extensive rail network, although due to historical circumstances, some regions (notably Istria and even more so Dubrovnik) are not accessible by train without passing through neighbouring countries. Serious investment is needed in the rail network over the coming decades to bring it up to European standards in both speed and operational efficiency. All rail services are operated by Croatian Railways(Croatian: Hrvatske željeznice). The inter-city bus network (operated by private operators) is extensively developed, with higher levels of coverage and timetables than the railways.

Croatia has three major international airports, located in Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik. Other important airports include Zadar, Rijeka (on the island of Krk), Osijek, Bol, Lošinj and Pula. Croatia Airlines is the national airline and flag carrier. An extensive system of ferries, operated by Jadrolinija, serves Croatia's many islands and links coastal cities. Ferry services to Italy are also available.