CROATIA

Flag of Croatia Location Map of

Croatia

 At the junction of Central and Southeast Europe is the nation of Croatia, officially the Republic
of Croatia. It shares a coastline along the Adriatic Sea.  It shares a maritime boundary with
Italy to the west and southwest and borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the
northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro to the southeast. With
twenty counties, Zagreb, the capital and largest city of Croatia, serves as one of the country's
main region. There are just about 3.9 million people living in this 56,594 (km²) square
kilometer nation.

GEOGRAPHICAL PROFILE

Map of Croatia

 Croatia is situated in Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Hungary
is to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro to the
southeast and Slovenia to the northwest. It lies mostly between latitudes 42° and 47° N and
longitudes 13° and 20° E.
 Part of the territory in the extreme south surrounding Dubrovnik is a practical exclave
connected to the rest of the mainland by territorial waters, but separated on land by a short
coastline strip belonging to Bosnia and Herzegovina around Neum. The Pelješac Bridge,
scheduled to open in 2022, will connect the exclave with mainland Croatia.
 The territory covers 56,594 (km²) square kilometers, consisting of 56,414 (km²) square
kilometers of land and 128 (km²) square kilometers of water.
 It is the world's 127th largest country. The Capital and largest city is Zagreb and Spoken
language is Croatian.
 Elevation ranges from the mountains of the Dinaric Alps with the highest point of the Dinara
peak at 1,831 (m) meters near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina in the south to the
shore of the Adriatic Sea which makes up its entire southwest border.
 Insular Croatia consists of over a thousand islands and islets varying in size, 48 of which
permanently inhabited. The largest islands are Cres and Krk, each of them having an area of
around 405 (km²) square kilometers.
 Most of Croatia has a moderately warm and rainy continental climate as defined by the
Köppen climate classification. Mean monthly temperature ranges between −3 °C in January
and 18 °C in July. The coldest parts of the country are Lika and Gorski Kotar featuring a
snowy, forested climate at elevations above 1,200 (m) meters.
 The warmest areas are at the Adriatic coast and especially in its immediate hinterland
characterized by Mediterranean climate, as the sea moderates temperature highs.
Consequently, temperature peaks are more pronounced in continental areas. The lowest
temperature of −35.5 °C was recorded on February 3, 1919 in Čakovec, and the highest
temperature of 42.8 °C was recorded on August 4, 1981 in Ploče.

POLITICAL PROFILE

St. Mark's Square in Zagreb, Croatias capital city. St. Mark's Church
on the left. The square is the location of important governmental
buildings: Banski dvori (the seat of the Government of Croatia), the
Croatian Parliament (Hrvatski sabor) and the Constitutional Court of
Croatia.
 The Republic of Croatia is a Unitary, constitutional state using a Parliamentary System.
Government powers in Croatia are legislative, executive, and judiciary powers.
 The President of the Republic is the head of state, directly elected to a five-year term and is
limited by the Constitution to two terms. In addition to serving as commander in chief of the
armed forces, the president has the procedural duty of appointing the prime minister with the
parliament and has some influence on foreign policy.
 The Government is headed by the Prime Minister, who has four deputy prime ministers and 16
ministers in charge of particular sectors. As the executive branch, it is responsible for
 proposing legislation and a budget, enforcing the laws, and guiding foreign and internal
policies. The Government is seated at Banski dvori in Zagreb.
 A unicameral parliament (Sabor) holds legislative power. It is a type of legislature, which
consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
 The number of Sabor members can vary from 100 to 160. They are elected by popular vote to
serve four-year terms. Legislative sessions take place from 15 January to 15 July, and from 15
September to 15 December annually. The two largest political parties in Croatia are the
Croatian Democratic Union and the Social Democratic Party of Croatia.

Croatian Democratic Union

Party Flag

 The Croatian Democratic Union is the major conservative, centre-right political party in
Croatia. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Croatia, along with the
centre-left Social Democratic Party (SDP). It is currently the largest party in the Sabor with 61
seats.
 The HDZ governed Croatia from 1990 before the country gained independence from
Yugoslavia until 2000 and, in coalition with junior partners, from 2003 to 2011, and since 2016.
The party is a member of the European People's Party (EPP).

Andrej Plenković
Prime Minister of Croatia
(2016-Present)

 The HDZ's leader, Andrej Plenković, is the current Prime Minister of Croatia, having taken
office following the 2016 parliamentary election.

Social Democratic Party of

Croatia Party Flag

 The Social Democratic Party of Croatia is a social-democratic political party in Croatia and
the largest party of the Croatian centre-left. The SDP is one of the two major political parties in
Croatia, along with the centre-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ). The SDP is anti-fascist,
progressive, and strongly pro-European. The SDP was formed in 1990 as the successor of the
League of Communists of Croatia, Croatian branch of the League of Communists of
Yugoslavia, which had governed Croatia within the Yugoslav federation since World War II.

Zoran Milanović
President of Croatia
(2020-Present)

 Zoran Milanović is a Croatian politician serving as President of Croatia since February 19,
2020. Prior to assuming the presidency, he was prime minister from 2011 to 2016 and
president of the Social Democratic Party from 2007 to 2016.
 ECONOMIC PROFILE

GDP Rate Chart of Croatia

 GDP Growth Rate in Croatia is expected to be 2.00 percent by the end of this quarter,
according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-
term, the Croatia GDP Growth Rate is projected to trend around 1.50 percent in 2023 and 1.00
percent in 2024, according to our econometric models.
 The most important sector of Croatian economy is services with tourism accounting for 20
percent of GDP. The industry, although declining in recent years, is led by shipbuilding, food
processing, pharmaceuticals and information technology. On the expenditure side, household
consumption is the main component of GDP and accounts for 60 percent of its total use,
followed by government expenditure (20 percent) and gross fixed capital formation (19
percent). Exports of goods and services account for 46 percent of GDP while imports account
for 44 percent, adding 2 percent of total GDP.
 Croatia's economic freedom score is 67.6, making its economy the 45th freest in the 2022
Index. Croatia is ranked 27th among 45 countries in the Europe region, and its overall score is
below the regional average but above the world average.
 Croatia’s economic growth has rebounded from a severe downturn in 2020, and a five-year
trend of expanding economic freedom has accelerated. Buoyed by score increases in rule of
law and fiscal health, Croatia has recorded an 8.2-point overall gain of economic freedom
since 2017 and has moved from the lower half of the “Moderately Free” category to the top
half. Monetary freedom and trade freedom are strong, but government integrity is weak, and
government spending levels are too high.
 As of December 1, 2021: 10,967 deaths had been attributed to the pandemic in Croatia, and
the government’s response to the crisis ranked 99th among the countries included in this
Index in terms of its stringency. The economy contracted by 9.0 percent in 2020.
 The top individual income tax rate has been reduced to 30 percent, and the top corporate tax
rate is 18 percent. Other taxes include value-added and excise taxes. The overall tax burden
equals 22.2 percent of total domestic income. Government spending has amounted to 49.6
percent of total output (GDP) over the past three years, and budget deficits have averaged 2.5
percent of GDP. Public debt is equivalent to 87.2 percent of GDP.
 In 2019, Tourism dominates the Croatian service sector and accounts for up to 20% of GDP.
Tourism income for 2019 was estimated to be €10.5 billion. Its positive effects are felt
throughout the economy, increasing retail business, and increasing seasonal employment.
The industry is counted as an export business because foreign visitor spending significantly
reduces the country's trade imbalance. The tourist industry has rapidly grown, recording a
fourfold rise in tourist numbers since independence, attracting more than 11 million visitors
each year. Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Italy, Poland Croatia itself provide the most visitors.
Tourist stays averaged 4.7 days in 2019.
 Zlatni Rat beach
Dubrovnik is
on the Island of
one of Croatia's
Brač is one of
most popular
the foremost
tourist
spots of tourism
destinations.
in Croatia.

 Much of the tourist industry is concentrated along the coast. Opatija was the first holiday
resort. It first became popular in the middle of the 19th century. By the 1890s, it had become
one of the largest European health resorts. Resorts sprang up along the coast and islands,
offering services catering to mass tourism and various niche markets. The most significant are
nautical tourism, supported by marinas with more than 16 thousand berths, cultural tourism
relying on the appeal of medieval coastal cities and cultural events taking place during the
summer. Inland areas offer agro-tourism, mountain resorts, and spas. Zagreb is a significant
destination, rivalling major coastal cities and resorts.