Data at glance of Croatia - average on period

History

The lands that today comprise Croatia were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the end of World War I. In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became a federal independent communist state consisting of six socialist republics, including Croatia, under the strong hand of Josip Broz, aka TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before Yugoslav forces were cleared from Croatian lands, along with a majority of Croatia's ethnic Serb population. Under UN supervision, the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998. The country joined NATO in 2009 and the EU in 2013. In January 2023, Croatia further integrated into the EU by joining the Eurozone and the Schengen Area.

Environment

Area: 56,594 km2

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

Natural resources: oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, gypsum, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower

Ethnic characteristics

Groups: Croat 91.6%, Serb 3.2%, other 3.9% (including Bosniak, Romani, Albanian, Italian, and Hungarian), unspecified 1.3% (2021 est.)

Languages: Croatian (official) 95.2%, Serbian 1.2%, other 3.1% (including Bosnian, Romani, Albanian, and Italian) unspecified 0.5% (2021 est.)major-language sample(s): Knjiga svjetskih činjenica, nužan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Croatian)The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Religions: Roman Catholic 79%, Orthodox 3.3%, Protestant 0.3%, other Christian 4.8%, Muslim 1.3%, other 1.1%, agnostic 1.7%, none or atheist 4.7%, unspecified 3.9% (2021 est.)

Government

Capital: Zagreb

Government type: parliamentary republic

Executive branch

Chief of state: President Zoran MILANOVIC (since 18 February 2020)

Head of government: Prime Minister Andrej PLENKOVIC (since 19 October 2016)cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the Assemblyelection/appointment process: president directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president and approved by the Assemblymost recent election date: December 2024 (first round) and January 2025 (second round)election results: 2025: Zoran MILANOVIC elected president in second round; percent of vote in second round - Zoran MILANOVIC (SDP) 74.6%, Dragan PRIMORAC (independent) 25.3%2019: Zoran MILANOVIC elected president in second round; percent of vote in second round - Zoran MILANOVIC (SDP) 52.7%, Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC (HDZ) 47.3%expected date of next election: 2029

Legislative branch

Description: legislature name: Croatian Parliament (Hrvatski Sabor)legislative structure: unicameralnumber of seats: 151 (all directly elected)electoral system: proportional representationscope of elections: full renewalterm in office: 4 yearsmost recent election date: 4/17/2024parties elected and seats per party: Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) (55); Social Democratic Party of Croatia (SDP) (37); Homeland Movement (DP) (11); We Can! – Political Platform (Možemo!) (10); Independent (NZ) (10); Other (28)percentage of women in chamber: 33.1%expected date of next election: April 2028note: of the 151 seats, 140 members come from 10 multi-seat constituencies, with 3 members in a constituency for Croatian diaspora; voters belonging to recognized minorities elect an additional 8 members from a nationwide constituency: the Serb minority elects 3 members, the Hungarian and Italian minorities elect 1 each, the Czech and Slovak minorities elect 1 jointly, and all other minorities elect 2