Croatia – country information

Country name	Croatia
Official name	Republic of Croatia
Capital	Zagreb
Continent	Europe
Area	56,538 km2
Population	4,290,612 (2011)
Foundation of a state	25/06/1991
The highest mountains	Troglav 1913 m
Longest rivers	Sava 940 km (in the country 610 km)
State system	a pluralist republic with a bicameral parliament
The biggest cities	Zagreb (capital) 950,000, Rijeka 225,000, Split 190,000
Official language	Serbo-Croatian
Ethnicity/National Composition	Croats 79%, Serbs 12%, others 9%
Religious affiliation	Roman Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11%, other 12.5%
Currency	1 Kuna = 100 Lipa
gross domestic product (GDP)	US$17,618 (2012)
Average life expectancy of the population	74.68 years (2006)
Structure of GDP	agriculture and fishing 10%, mining and industry 28%, construction 6%, services 56%

Croatia – neighboring states

State	Capital	Area	Population
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Sarajevo	51,197 km2	3,791,622
Montenegro	Podgorica	13,812 km2	620,029
Hungary	Budapest	93,032 km2	9,906,000
Slovenia	Ljubljana	20,256 km2	2,061,963
Serbia	Belgrade	77,474 km2	7,181,505

Country overview

According to Abbreviationfinder, Croatia is a Balkan country that owns the largest part of the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic Sea. It has the disadvantageous shape of a large arc stretching from the Danube in the northeast through the Istrian peninsula in the west, to a narrow strip of territory extending to the side of Kotor with historic Dubrovnik in the south. It is separated from the rest of Croatia by a territory that gives Bosnia and Herzegovina access to the sea.

Country data

Location: Southeast Europe

Time zone: CET

Total area: 56,594 km²

Land area: 55,974 km²

Water area: 620 km²

Length of the state border: 2,237 km

Bordering countries apply to:
Bosnia / Herzegovina: 956 km
Montenegro: 19 km
Serbia: 314 km
Slovenia: 600 km
Hungary: 348 km

Coastline: 5,835 km

Capital: Zagreb

Regions: 21
Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska Zupanija, Brodsko-Posavska Zupanija, Dubrovacko-Neretvanska Zupanija, Istarska Zupanija, Karlovacka Zupanija, Koprivnicko-Krizevacka Zupanija, Krapinsko-Zagorska Zupanija, Pozimanska Zupanija-Senjska Zupanija, Medursupanska Zupanija, Lickojupanija Zupanija, Primorsko-Goranska Zupanija, Sibensko-Kninska Zupanija, Sisacko-Moslavacka Zupanija, Splitsko-Dalmatinska Zupanija, Varazdinska Zupanija, Viroviticko-Podravska Zupanija, Vukovarsko-Srijemska Zupanija, Zuprebackanija Zuprebackanija

Electric current: 220 V / 50 Hz

Telephone code: 00 385 (Source: Allcitycodes)

Highest point: Dinara 1,831 m

Population

Population: approx. 4.5 million residents (Countryaah, 2021)

Population growth: -0.1% per year

Population density (residents per km²): 74

Life expectancy: 73 (male), 80 (female)

Official language: Croatian

Religions:

• 86% Roman Catholic
• 4% Orthodox
• 1% Muslim
• 9% other

Climate

In the north of the country there is a predominantly continental climate, which turns into a Mediterranean climate on the Adriatic coast.

Currency / finance

Currency unit: Kuna (HRK)

Division: 1 kuna = 100 lipa

ATMs: Available in many major cities.

International credit cards: These are accepted by many hotels and shops.

Regulations: National and foreign currencies can be imported and exported in unlimited amounts.

A declaration is required from an equivalent value of 10,000 EUR.

Customs regulations

The following may be carried duty-free:

• 200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 250 g of tobacco
• 1 liter of alcoholic beverages

(Information applies to people aged 18 and over)

Tourists and people in transit can bring items of personal use with them duty-free.

Travel advice

Many areas along roads, in fields and on the outskirts of the city are still mined.

You can access current data on the endangered areas on the website of the responsible mine clearance agency (also in English).

Behavioral advice

You should not leave paved roads outside the cities. Even lonely houses and fields of rubble should not be entered (danger of mines).

Economy

During the civil war in the 1990s, the industrially strongly developing region was set back by decades.

The development of individual branches of the economy and regions is only progressing with great difficulty. Economic growth stagnates again and again.

Industries: building materials, chemistry, wood processing, food production, mechanical engineering, shipbuilding, textiles, tourism

Natural resources: asphalt, bauxite, calcium, coal, oil, salt, hydropower

Land use:

• Usable land: 21%
• Grain cultivation: 2%
• Pasture area: 20%
• Forests: 38%
• other: 19%

Plants

With over a third of the forested area, Croatia has a large population of deciduous forests. Beeches and oaks are particularly common.

Many, sometimes rare, plant and grass species bloom, especially on the edges of the forests.

Animals

Wildlife mainly includes bears, foxes, hares, mouflons, wild boars and wolves. But red deer are still represented quite often.

There are also a large number of insects and smaller vertebrates.