1994 Edition

Administrative divisions

21 counties (zupanijas, zupanija - singular): Bjelovar-Bilogora, City of Zagreb, Dubrovnik-Neretva, Istra, Karlovac, Koprivnica-Krizevci, Krapina-Zagorje, Lika-Senj, Medimurje, Osijek-Baranja, Pozega-Slavonija, Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Sibenik, Sisak-Moslavina, Slavonski Brod-Posavina, Split-Dalmatia, Varazdin, Virovitica-Podravina, Vukovar-Srijem, Zadar-Knin, Zagreb

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

Airports

total: 75 usable: 70 with permanent-surface runways: 16 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 7 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 5

Area

total area: 56,538 sq km land area: 56,410 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than West Virginia

Birth rate

11.27 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Branches

Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces

Budget

revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Capital

Zagreb

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)

Constitution

adopted on 2 December 1990

Currency

1 Croatian dinar (CD) = 100 paras; a new currency, the kuna, replaced the dinar on 30 May 1994

Death rate

10.54 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

337 billion-393 billion Croatian dinars, NA% of GDP (1993 est.); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

Digraph

HR

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: Ambassador Petr A. SARCEVIC chancery: (temporary) 236 Massachusetts Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20002 telephone: (202) 543-5580

Economic aid

$NA

Electricity

capacity: 3,570,000 kW production: 11.5 billion kWh consumption per capita: 2,400 kWh (1992)

Environment

current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; widespread casualties and destruction of infrastructure in border areas affected by civil strife natural hazards: subject to frequent and destructive earthquakes international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change

Ethnic divisions

Croat 78%, Serb 12%, Muslim 0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%, Slovenian 0.5%, others 8.1%

Exchange rates

Croatian dinar per US $1 - 6,544 (January 1994), 3,637 (15 July 1993), 60.00 (April 1992)

Executive branch

chief of state: President Franjo TUDJMAN (since 30 May 1990); election last held 4 August 1992 (next to be held NA 1995); Franjo TUDJMAN reelected with about 56% of the vote; his opponent Dobroslav PARAGA got 5% of the vote head of government: Prime Minister Nikica VALENTIC (since 3 April 1993); Deputy Prime Ministers Mato GRANIC (since 8 September 1992), Ivica KOSTOVIC (since NA), Vladimir SEKS (since September 1992), Borislav SKEGRO (since NA) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the president

Exports

$3.9 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: machinery and transport equipment 30%, other manufacturers 37%, chemicals 11%, food and live animals 9%, raw materials 6.5%, fuels and lubricants 5% (1990) partners: EC countries, Slovenia

External debt

$2.6 billion (December 1993)

FAX

[385] (41) 45 85 85

Fiscal year

calendar year

Flag

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

Highways

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

House of Districts (Zupanije Dom)

elections last held 7 and 21 February 1993 (next to be held NA February 1997); seats - (68 total; 63 elected, 5 presidentially appointed) HDZ 37, HSLS 16, HSS 5, Istrian Democratic Assembly 3, SPH-SDP 1, HNS 1

House of Representatives (Predstavnicke Dom)

elections last held 2 August 1992 (next to be held NA August 1996); seats - (138 total) HDZ 85, HSLS 14, SPH-SDP 11, HNS 6, Dalmatian Action/Istrian Democratic Assembly/ Rijeka Democratic Alliance coalition 6, HSP 5, HSS 3, SNS 3, independents 5

Imports

$4.7 billion (c.i.f., 1993) 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% (1990) partners: EC countries, Slovenia, FSU countries

Independence

NA June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)

Industrial production

growth rate -5.9% (1993 est.)

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

Infant mortality rate

8.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

26% monthly average (1993 est.)

Inland waterways

785 km perennially navigable

International disputes

Serbs have occupied UN protected areas in eastern Croatia and along the western Bosnia and Herzegovinian border; dispute with Slovenia over fishing rights in Adriatic

Irrigated land

NA sq km

Judicial branch

Supreme Court, Constitutional Court

Labor force

1,509,489 by occupation: industry and mining 37%, agriculture 16% (1981 est.), government NA%, other

Land boundaries

total 2,028 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia and Montenegro 266 km (241 km with Serbia; 25 km with Montenego), Slovenia 501 km

Land use

arable land: 32% permanent crops: 20% meadows and pastures: 18% forest and woodland: 15% other: 15%

Languages

Serbo-Croatian 96%, other 4%

Legal system

based on civil law system

Legislative branch

bicameral parliament Assembly (Sabor)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 73.6 years male: 70.14 years female: 77.26 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%

Location

Balkan State, Southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Slovenia and Bosnia and Herzegovina

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 1,182,767; fit for military service 946,010; reach military age (19) annually 33,166 (1994 est.)

Map references

Africa, Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Member of

CE (guest), CEI, CSCE, ECE, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

Merchant marine

28 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 108,194 GRT/131,880 DWT, cargo 18, container 1, oil tanker 1, passenger 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2, short-sea passenger 3 note: also controlled by Croatian shipowners are 151 ships (1,000 GRT or over) under flags of convenience - primarily Malta and St. Vincent - totaling 2,221,931 GRT/3,488,263 DWT; includes cargo 60, roll-on/ roll-off 8, refrigerated cargo 4, container 12, multifunction large load carriers 3, bulk 45, oil tanker 9, liquified gas 1, chemical tanker 4, service vessel 5

Names

conventional long form: Republic of Croatia conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska

National holiday

Statehood Day, 30 May (1990)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $21.8 billion (1992 est.)

National product per capita

$4,500 (1992 est.)

National product real growth rate

-19% (1992 est.)

Nationality

noun: Croat(s) adjective: Croatian

Natural resources

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

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Note

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

Other political or pressure groups

NA

Overview

Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was 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. At present, Croatian Serb Nationalists control approximately one-third of the Croatian territory, and one of the overriding determinants of Croatia's long-term political and economic prospects will be the resolution of this territorial dispute. Croatia faces monumental economic problems

stemming from

the legacy of longtime Communist mismanagement of the economy; large foreign debt; damage during the fighting to bridges, factories, power lines, buildings, and houses; the large refugee population, both Croatian and Bosnian; and the disruption of economic ties to Serbia and the other former Yugoslav republics, as well as within its own territory. 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; only then will recent government moves toward a "market-friendly" economy reverse the sharp drop in output. As of May 1994, fighting continues among Croats, Serbs, and Muslims, and national boundaries and final political arrangements are still in doubt.

Pipelines

crude oil 670 km; petroleum products 20 km; natural gas 310 km (1992); note - now disrupted because of territorial dispute

Political parties and leaders

Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Stjepan MESIC, chairman of the executive council; Croatian People's Party (HNS), Savka DABCEVIC-KUCAR, president; Serbian People's Party (SNS), Milan DUKIC; Croatian Party of Rights (HSP), leader NA; Croatian Social Liberal Party (HSLS), Drazen BUDISA, president; Croatian Peasant Party (HSS), leader NA; Dalmatian Action/Istrian Democratic Assembly/Rijecka Democratic Alliance coalition; Social Democratic Party of Croatia-Party of Democratic Changes (SPH-SDP), Ivica RACAN

Population

4,697,614 (July 1994 est.)

Population growth rate

0.07% (1994 est.)

Ports

coastal - Omisalj (oil), Ploce, Rijeka, Split; inland - Osijek, Slavonski Samac, Vukovar, Zupanja

Railroads

2,592 km of standard guage (1.435 m) of which 864 km are electrified (1992); note - disrupted by territorial dispute

Religions

Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Slavic Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 0.4%, others and unknown 10.8%

Suffrage

16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal

Telecommunications

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

Terrain

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

Total fertility rate

1.65 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Type

parliamentary democracy

Unemployment rate

21% (December 1993)

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador Peter W. GALBRAITH embassy: Andrije Hebranga 2, Zagreb mailing address: US Embassy, Zagreb, Unit 1345, APO AE 09213-1345 telephone: [385] (41) 444-800