Geography
According to ALLCITYCODES, Croatia is located on the northeastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia and Hungary to the north; with Serbia and Montenegro to the east, and with Bosnia-Herzegovina to the south and east. This republic is twice the size of Belgium, curving like a boomerang from the Pannonian plains in Slavonia, through the mountainous center, to the Istrian peninsula and the rugged Adriatic coast. The southern end of the Dalmatian coast, are the most important cities of this region, Zadar (Zara), Sibenik (Sebenico), and the largest port in Dalmatia, Split (Spalato), then with the city of Dubrovnik (Ragusa), is separated from the rest of the country by a Bosnian-Herzegovina projection.
Croatia’s main tourist attraction is its beaches. The country is made up of 1,778 km of coastline (5,790 km if the islands are included). There are 1,185 islands, but only 66 are inhabited. Croatia has seven natural parks. The mountainous Risnjak National Park is home to numerous lynxes, while the lush forests of Paklenica National Park are populated with insects, reptiles and birds, including the endangered griffon vulture. Bears, wolves and deer can be found in Plitvice National Park. The climate varies from the Mediterranean on the Adriatic coast to the continental inland. The sunny coastal areas offer hot, dry summers and mild, rainy winters. The high mountains of the coast act as a shield preventing the cold winds from the north from reaching; this makes Croats enjoy an early spring and a late fall. In Zagreb, average temperatures reach 27 ° C in July and drop to 2 ° C in January.
Demography
In 2008, Croatia had a population of 4,453,500. Life expectancy is 74.9 years. 98.5% of the population is literate. The average number of children per woman is only 1.41, which is causing its population to decrease by 0.03% each year. Croatia is inhabited mainly by Croats, who make up around 4 million residents. The Croatian diaspora is very significant, we must mention the large colonies of Croats settled in other nations, such as the numerous existing in Chile, the United States, Argentina, Germany, Australia and Sweden. During the second half of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century there was a continuous emigration of Croatian residents to countries such as Australia, the United States, Chile and Argentina. In fact, in the United States the Croatian colony has 400,000 people, [14] in Chile about 380,000 descendants and in Argentina the community has about 250,000 members.
Government and politics
The President of the Republic (Predsjednik) is the head of state, and is elected for five-year legislatures, being able to hold office for a maximum of ten years. In addition to being the general commander of the Armed Forces, the president has the duty to appoint a Prime Minister with the consent of Parliament, as well as having influence in foreign relations. His official residence is Predsjednički dvori, and his summer residences are on the islands of Vanga (Brijuni Islands) and on the island of Hvar.
The Croatian Parliament (Sabor) is unicameral, as its second chamber, the House of Counties (Županijski dom) was eliminated in 2001. The number of Sabor members can vary from 100 to 160, all of whom are elected by popular vote and for four years. The plenary sessions take place between January 15 and July 15, and between September 15 and 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 government activity. The executive branch is responsible for making legislative and budget proposals, as well as enforcing the law and guiding the internal and external relations of the republic. The seat of government is in Banski dvori. The Croatian judicial system has three levels: the Supreme Court, the county courts and the municipal courts. The Constitutional Court has jurisdiction over matters relating to the constitution.
Armed forces
The Croatian Armed Forces are under the command of the President of the Republic, who is its commander-in-chief and it is the duty of the Ministry of Defense to attend to all matters related to the institution.
The Armed Forces are made up of the Croatian Army, the Croatian Air Force and the Croatian Navy. The total number of active duty personnel in the Croatian armed forces (including civilian personnel) is 32,886. The male population is no longer subject to compulsory military service since January 1, 2008. However, the last generation of 2007, were also separated from compulsory service, through an act of the defense minister Berislav Rončević.
Because Croatia joined NATO in April 2009, its armed forces have participated in many military operations with this organization, as well as having actively participated in UN peacekeeping missions, the ISAF mission in Afghanistan being where Croatia has cooperated with more personnel than in any other, currently having some 300 soldiers deployed.
Economy
Croatia has a post-communist economy based mainly on various services and some light industries such as the chemical industry, it also has large shipyards of commercial ships that are sold to many countries, these enjoy world fame. Tourism is an important source of income.
It is an economy that is very close to development according to the World Economic Forum. Together with that of the Republic of Slovenia, they were and still are the most industrialized and advanced nations of the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The main commercial partners of Croatia are Italy and Germany, with which it carries out commercial exchanges that add up to more than 20% of its GDP.
Croatia began to receive aid from the PHG funds for pre-accession to the European Union in 2003 and at the end of this year they will add up to € 420 million. This aid has been used mainly to reinforce the government’s modernization policies, such as industrial restructuring, agricultural mechanization, and financial policy. Croatia’s GDP is estimated to grow by 4.4% in 2006, two points above the EU average growth.
