ABOUT CROATIA

Area: 56.542 km2
Population: 4.437.460 (2001.)
Capital city: Zagreb
Language: Croatian
Currency: HRK

Important dates:
25. June – State day
05. August – Patriotic gratitude day
08. October – Independence day

Republic of Croatia is a country at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Central Europe, and the Balkans. Its capital is Zagreb. Croatia borders with Slovenia to the west and Hungary to the north, Serbia to the northeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the east, Montenegro to the far southeast, and the Adriatic Sea to the south. Croatia is a candidate for membership of the European Union and is expecting NATO membership invitation in April 2008. On October 17, 2007 Croatia became a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2008-2009 term.

The System of State
The Republic of Croatia is a parliamentary democracy, like most countries in Western and Central Europe. After its Constitution was amended in November 2000, the semi-presidential system was transformed into a pure parliamentary system.

The Government, headed by the Prime Minister, is politically responsible only to the Croatian Parliament (Sabor). Members of the Parliment serve four-year terms.

The President of the Republic is the Head of State, directly elected for a term of five years. The President is also Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, and represents the Republic of Croatia.


Geography and Nature
Croatia is situated close to densely populated and industrially developed European countries. Many internationally important transport routes cross Croatia. The importance of the geographical position of the Republic of Croatia is also enhanced by the Adriatic Sea, the northernmost gulf of the Mediterranean which is the closest to the central part of the European continent.
The most important routes are centered along the Sava river, the Adriatic and the Drava river; there are also several important transversal routes from the Austrian and Hungarian border to the Adriatic coast (to Rijeka and Split).
 
The area of Croatia can be divided into three major natural and geographic parts:
• The Pannonian and Peri-Pannonian area comprises the lowland and hilly parts of eastern and northwestern Croatia; mountains higher than 500 m are rare and of an insular character. Most of this area is being used for farming and livestock breading. Slavonija and Baranja in the east are the most suiotable for growing cereals; the humid valleys and the hills are richly afforested while the northwestern part, which gravitates to Zagreb, is industrially the most developed.
• The hilly and mountainous area, which separates Pannonian Croatia from its coastal part, is less developed. Its future development will be based on its transit importance, the growth of the already existing wood and timber industry, and the still underexploited potential for the production of healthy food, and winter and rural tourism.
• The Adriatic Area includes the narrow coastal belt separated from the hinterland by high mountains. This is predominantly a karst area with very dry summers. The few streams mainly follow narrow gorges in breaking their way through to the sea. The Croatian coastal area may further be divided into the northern (Istria nad Kvarner) and southern part (Dalmatia). It also lends itself to a longitudinal division into the islands, the coast proper and the immediate hinterland.
• The Croatian Adriatic coast is one of the most indented in the world: it has 1246 islands and islets with a total coastline of 4058 km, the total length of the mainland coast being 1777 km. The largest island is Cres; other large islands include Krk, Brac, Hvar, Pag and Korcula. The largest peninsulas are Istria and Peljesac, and the largest bay is Kvarner Bay. 

Science and Education
Croatia has a high quality education system. Croatian university programmes, especially those for science, medicine and engineering, meet the highest international standards, which is attested to by the large number of Croats who have found work in reputable institutions - hospitals, universities, institutes world-wide. In the academic year 2004/05, about 80,000 students were enrolled in Croatian University centres.

Arts and Culture
Belonging to the Middle-European and Mediterranean cultural and civilisation circle and tradition, Croatia is extremely rich with valuable cultural and historical heritage, pointing to the millenium old presence of 
Croatia in the area.

The specific urban culture of coastal and island areas is easily seen in towns such as: Porec, Rovinj, Pula, Zadar, Sibenik, Hvar, Korcula and Ston, with Split (Diocletian's Palace) and Dubrovnik representing a part of the world cultural heritage under UN 

History and Homeland War
Croatia is located between East and West Europe and have been used during centuries as a transit country. Thereby several cultures came in contact with each other. Several cultural influences have contributed to the history of the country. 

The history of Croatia returns almost as far as humanity himself. Current Croatia was inhabited in pre Historic period by the Illyrics. It was incorporated in 35 before Christ by Octavianus as Pannonian, which was a part of the Roman empire. In the 7th century Croatia was conquered by Slaven tribes. In the 10 th century Tomislav (king in 924) made himself and Croatia independent. Also at that time Venice conquered the coast area. The influence of Italian construction art is still visible in the Croatian coast places.
In 16 th and the beginning of the 17 th century Croatia had been conquered by the Turks (current Bosnia). The coast places and the islands remained Venetian. In 1699 Croatia became Austrian and 1779 Croatia was administratively joined at Hungary. Under the influence of the French revolution a national Croatian movement rose. After the French revolution the largest part of Croatia (except a part of Dalmatia) was incorporated by the Hungarian. The Croatian national movement fought especially against Budapest until 1868, when Croatia got a certain degree of autonomy. During the first world war a part of Croatia chose for an Yugoslavian kingdom governed by the Serbian dynasty. 

After the second world war Croatia took part of the federation Yugoslavia. At the end of the years eighty the traditional antagonisms between the different populations arose. Under the influence of Slobodan Milosevic the Serbian predominance grew and the resist from Croatia against this predominance grew rapidly. Not long after this the riots and political tensions began. In 1989 Croatia introduced a new law and explained in December 1990 itself sovereign. Croatia was recognised on 15 January 1992 as an independent state by the European community. Germany, Hungary and Italy took diplomatic relations at first states. The president of the new republic of Croatia was Franjo Tudjman, leader of the governing Croatian nationalist party HDZ (Hrvatska demokratska zajednica, the Croatian democratic Union).

Sport
Sport, apart from possessing ethical, aesthetic, moral and health attributes, also undoubtedly has an ambassadorial role in any community. International co-operation through sports competitions and organisational association, as well as the excellent results of sportsmen, lift the standing of the community that is represented.

Croatian sport enjoys international prestige and respect thanks largely to a series of sporting achievements dating back to earlier years, but also to the smooth blending of Croatia into the World Olympic movement as an independent community. Sportsmen like Dražen Petrovic, the first recognised Croatian basketball player to play in the NBA and to whom a monument was erected in the park of the Olympic museum in Lausanne, in recognition of his contribution to the Olympic movement, and other recognised names of Croatian sport remain a constant impetus to sport and the community.

With the founding of the Croatian Olympic Committee (COC) in 1991, the highest national sporting body, the conditions were set for the notable progress of the Croatian Olympic movement. The first steps were taken only 22 days after recognition, with an initiative to compete at the winter Olympics in Albertville in 1992. That same year at the Olympic Games in Barcelona, the Croatian basketball team won the silver medal, whilst Goran Ivanisevic, Wimbledon champion in 2001, won 2 bronze medals (in singles and in doubles with Goran Prpic). 

The historical turning point for Croatian alpine skiing was definitely the winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City in 2002. Up until then, Croatian representatives had never taken a medal at winter Olympic Games. Four Olympic medals to Janica Kostelic, three gold and one silver, united the world sporting community in recognising the great potential of Croatian sport.
Cities and Counties

A county, in the territorial and political sense of the building of the Croatian state in the developed stage was first found in the 10th century, thus doing away with parishes, the lowest types of people joining forces based on blood relations. Since then, counties have become the common way of Croat's setting up their state, the only variable element being the number of counties, their size and rights and obligations.
A Law on Counties, Cities and Municipalities in Croatia (passed on Jan. 30, 1997) had awarded city status to 47 municipalities, 63 settlements were given municipal status, while 13 municipalities became settlements. Today Croatia has 122 cities and 416 municipalities. The city of Zagreb, regulated by the Law on the City of Zagreb, had become a special unified territorial and administrative unit, not a part of the "Zagreb region" which had become a county of its own - The Zagreb County.

Croatian People
Around 4 million Croats live in Croatia and another 600.000 live in Bosnia and Herzegovina, around 100-200 thousand Croats live in other former Yugoslav Republics, and in Gradisce (Burgenland) in Austria. The number of Croats living abroad is estimated to be around the same number as in the homeland. This number is dependant on the criteria by which someone can be regarded as a Croat, because mostly the decendants of Croats don't speak Croatian language. 

The biggest emigration groups live in Western Europe, mostly Germany, then Italy, Sweden, France, Great Britain, etc... On other continents, the biggest Croatian community lives in the United States of America (Ohio, California, Pittsburgh was the second largest city in the world inhabited by Croatians) and in Canada (Mississauga), as well as in Argentina, Chile (on the north, around Santiago and on the south), Peru, Brasil and Bolivia. There are important Croatian communities in Australia (Perth, Sydney), New Zealand and in South Africa.