1992 Edition

Climate

Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast

Coastline

5,790 km; mainland 1,778 km, islands 4,012 km

Comparative area

slightly smaller than West Virginia

Contiguous zone

NA nm

Continental shelf

200-meter depth or to depth of exploitation

Disputes

Serbian enclaves in eastern Slavonia and along the western Bosnia and Hercegovinian border; dispute with Slovenia over fishing rights in Adriatic

Environment

air pollution from metallurgical plants; damaged forest; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; subject to frequent and destructive earthquakes

Exclusive economic zone

12 nm

Exclusive fishing zone

12 nm

Land area

56,410 km2

Land boundaries

1,843 km; Bosnia and Hercegovina (east) 751 km, Bosnia and Hercegovina (southeast) 91 km, Hungary 292 km, Serbia and Montenegro 254 km, Slovenia 455 km

Land use

32% arable land; 20% permanent crops; 18% meadows and pastures; 15% forest and woodland; 9% other; includes 5% irrigated

Natural resources

oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, fruit, livestock

Note

controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits

Terrain

geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coast, coastline, and islands

Territorial sea

12 nm

Total area

56,538 km2

Birth rate

12.2 births/1,000 population (1991)

Death rate

11.3 deaths/1,000 population (1991)

Ethnic divisions

Croat 78%, Serb 12%, Muslims 0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%, Slovenian 0.5%, others 7.8%

Infant mortality rate

10 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)

Labor force

1,509,489; industry and mining 37%, agriculture 4%, government NA%, other

Languages

Serbo-Croatian 96%

Life expectancy at birth

67 years male, 74 years female (1980-82)

Literacy

96.5% (male 98.6%, female 94.5%) age 10 and over can read and write (1991 census)

Nationality

noun - Croat(s); adjective - Croatian

Net migration rate

NA migrants/1,000 population (1991)

Organized labor

NA

Population

4,784,000 (July 1991), growth rate 0.39% (for the period 1981-91)

Religions

Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Slavic Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 1.4%, others and unknown 11%

Total fertility rate

NA children born/woman (1991)

Administrative divisions

102 districts (opcine, singular - opcina)

Capital

Zagreb

Chief of State

President Franjo TUDJMAN (since April 1990), Vice President NA (since NA)

Constitution

promulgated on 22 December 1990

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador Dr. Franc Vinko GOLEM, Office of Republic of Croatia, 256 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20036; telephone (202) 543-5586 US: Ambassador NA; Embassy at NA (mailing address is APO New York is 09862); telephone NA

Executive branch

president, prime minister

Flag

red, white, and blue with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered)

Head of Government

Prime Minister Franjo GREGURIC (since August 1991), Deputy Prime Minister Mila RAMLJAK (since NA )

Independence

June 1991 from Yugoslavia

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, Constitutional Court

Legal system

based on civil law system; judicial/no judicial review of legislative acts; does/does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

bicameral

Long-form name

None

Member of

CSCE

National holiday

30 May, Statehood Day (1990)

Other political or pressure groups

NA

Parliament

last held May 1990 (next to be held NA); results - HDZ won 205 seats; seats - 349 (total)

Political parties and leaders

Christian Democratic Union, TUDJMAN; Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Stjepan Mesic; Croatian National Party, Savka DABCEVIC-KUCAR; Croatian Christian Democratic Party (HKDS), Ivan CESAR; Croatian Party of Rights, Dobroslav Paraga; Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), Drazen BUDISA

President

NA

Suffrage

at age 16 if employed, universal at age 18

Type

parliamentary democracy

Agriculture

Croatia normally produces a food surplus; most agricultural land in private hands and concentrated in Croat-majority districts in Slavonia and Istria; much of Slavonia's land has been put out of production by fighting; wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflowers, alfalfa, and clover are main crops in Slavonia; central Croatian highlands are less fertile but support cereal production, orchards, vineyards, livestock breeding, and dairy farming; coastal areas and offshore islands grow olives, citrus fruits, and vegetables

Budget

revenues $NA million; expenditures $NA million, including capital expenditures of $NA million

Currency

Croatian dinar(s)

Economic aid

NA

Electricity

3,570,000 kW capacity; 8,830 million kWh produced, 1,855 kWh per capita 1991)

Exchange rates

Croatian dinar per US $1 - 60.00 (April 1992)

Exports

$2.9 billion (1990) commodities: machinery and transport equipment (30%), other manufacturers (37%), chemicals (11%), food and live animals (9%), raw materials (6.5%), fuels and lubricants (5%) partners: principally the other former Yugoslav republics

External debt

$2.6 billion (may assume some part of foreign debt of former Yugoslavia)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

NA - $26.3 billion, per capita $5,600; real growth rate -25% (1991 est.)

Imports

$4.4 billion (1990) commodities: machinery and transport equipment (21%), fuels and lubricants (19%), food and live animals (16%), chemicals (14%), manufactured goods (13%), miscellaneous manufactured articles (9%), raw materials (6.5%), beverages and tobacco (1%) partners: principally other former Yugoslav republics

Industrial production

declined as much as 11% in 1990 and probably another 29% in 1991

Industries

chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum reduction, paper, wood products (including furniture), building materials (including cement), textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food processing and beverages

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

14.3% (March 1992)

Overview

Before the political disintegration of Yugoslavia, the republic of Croatia stood next to Slovenia as the most prosperous and industrialized area, with a per capita output roughly comparable to that of Portugal and perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav average. Serbia and the Serb-dominated army of the old Yugoslavia, however, have seized Croatian territory, and the overriding determinant of Croatia's long-term economic prospects will be the final border settlement. Under the most favorable circumstances, Croatia will retain the Dalmatian coast with its major tourist attractions and Slavonia with its oilfields and rich agricultural land. Even so, Croatia

Communist mismanagement of the economy; large foreign debt; damage during the fighting to bridges, factories, powerlines, buildings, and houses; and the disruption of economic ties to Serbia and the other former Yugoslav republics. At the minimum, extensive Western aid and investment, especially in the tourist and oil industries, would seem necessary to salvage a desperate economic situation. However, peace and political stability must come first.

would face monumental problems stemming from

the legacy of longtime

Unemployment rate

20% (December 1991)

Airports

8 total, NA usable; NA with permanent-surface runways; NA with runways over 3,659 m; 7 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; NA with runways 1,220-2,439 m; 1 with runways 900 m

Civil air

NA major transport aircraft

Highways

32,071 km total (1990); 23,305 km paved, 8,439 km gravel, 327 km earth

Inland waterways

785 km perennially navigable

Merchant marine

11 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 60,802 GRT/65,560 DWT; includes 1 cargo, 3 roll-on/roll-off, 5 passenger ferries, 2 bulk carriers; note - also controlled by Croatian shipowners are 196 ships (1,000 GRT or over) under flags of convenience - primarily Malta and St. Vincent - totaling 2,593,429 GRT/4,101,119 DWT; includes 91 general cargo, 7 roll-on/ roll-off, 6 refrigerated cargo, 13 container ships, 3 multifunction large load carriers, 52 bulk carriers, 3 passenger ships, 11 petroleum tankers, 4 chemical tankers, 6 service vessels

Pipelines

crude oil 670 km, petroleum products 20 km, natural gas 310 km

Ports

maritime - Rijeka, Split, Kardeljevo (Ploce); inland - Vukovar, Osijek, Sisak, Vinkovci

Railroads

2,698 km (34.5% electrified)

Telecommunications

350,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 14 AM, 8 FM, 12 (2 repeaters) TV; 1,100,000 radios; 1,027,000 TVs; NA submarine coaxial cables; satellite ground stations - none

Branches

Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Frontier Guard, Home Guard, Civil Defense

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Manpower availability

males 15-49, 1,188,576; NA fit for military service; 42,664 reach military age (18) annually