EDU February 16, 2019

Croatia

Croatia, a republic in southeastern Europe, borders the Adriatic Sea in the south. In Croatia agriculture (including cereals, in Dalmatia wine and citrus fruits; animal husbandry) and industry are well developed. There are large forests in the mountainous areas and seaside resorts on the Adriatic Sea. The largest source of income for the population (mostly Catholic Croats) is tourism.

History: Romans, Ostrogoths, Franks, Greeks (Byzantium) and other peoples ruled the country for centuries. Since the beginning of the 12th century Croatia was closely tied to Hungary, its border population was changed more often and for a long time threatened by the Ottoman Empire. Since the 16th century it belonged to the Austrian international community, from 1867 it was subordinate to the Hungarian crown. From 1918 it belonged (except 1941-45) to Yugoslavia, from whose state association it broke in 1991. As a result, a war broke out between the Serb-dominated Yugoslavian army and Croatian militias, which could only be ended with the Dayton Treaty in 1995. Croatia’s political integration into the West began with its admission to the Council of Europe (1996). Croatia joined NATO in 2009 and has been a member of the EU since 2013.

Country facts

• Official name: Republic of Croatia
• License plate: HR
• ISO-3166: HR, HRV (191)
• Internet domain:.hr
• Currency: 1 Kuna (K) = 100 Lipa
• Area: 56,590 km²
• Population (2018): 4.1 million
• Capital: Zagreb
• Official language (s): Croatian
• Form of government: Parliamentary republic
• Administrative division: 20 districts (counties) and capital district
• Head of State: President Zoran Milanović
• Head of Government: Andrej Plenković
• Religion (s) (2011): Christians (86.3% Catholics; 4.4% Orthodox), 4% other / n / a, 3.8% non-denominational, 1.5% Muslim
• Time zone: Central European Time
• National Day: June 25th

Location and infrastructure

• Location (geographical): Southeast Europe
• Position (coordinates): between 42 ° 24 ‘and 46 ° 32’ north latitude and 13 ° 29 ‘and 19 ° 25’ east longitude
• Climate: temperate continental climate, on the coast Mediterranean climate
• Highest mountain: Dinara (1,831 m)
• Railway network (2014): 2 722 km
• Road network (2015): 26 958 km

Population

• Annual population growth (2020): -0.5%
• Birth rate (2020): 8.7 per 1000 residents.
• Death rate (2020): 12.8 per 1000 residents.
• Average age (2020): 43.9 years
• Average life expectancy (2020): 76.7 years (men 73.6; women 80.1)
• Age structure (2020): 14.2% younger than 15 years, 21.1% older than 65 years
• Literacy rate (15 year olds and older) (2015): 99.3%
• Mobile phone contracts (pre-paid and post-paid) (2017): 103 per 100 residents
• Internet users (2017): 67 per 100 residents

Economy

• GDP per capita (2018): US $ 14,816
• Total GDP (2018): US $ 61 billion
• GNI per capita (2018): US $ 14,000
• Education expenditure (2013): 4.6% of GDP
• Military expenditure (2019): 1.7% of GDP
• Unemployment rate (15 years and older) (2017): 10.8%

Politics

The constitution, which came into force on December 22, 1990 (revised several times), defines Croatia as a “unified, indivisible, democratic and social state” and as a “nation state of the Croatian people and a state of the autochthonous national minorities”. The minorities are guaranteed equal rights, their rights are, inter alia, guaranteed. also guaranteed by the Constitutional Law on the Rights of National Minorities of 2002. According to the form of government, Croatia is a parliamentary-democratic republic with a multi-party system. The President, who is directly elected for a period of 5 years (one-time re-election possible), acts as head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. Its originally far-reaching powers were limited in 2000 in favor of parliament and government. The legislative body is the unicameral parliament (Hrvatski Sabor), whose 151 MPs are elected for 4 years according to the principles of proportional representation (5% blocking clause). The national minorities and Croatians abroad each have their own, territorially non-bound constituency and thus their own mandates. The second chamber of parliament, the House of Counties (Županijski Dom; 68 members), was abolished in 2001. The government, chaired by the Prime Minister, is appointed by Parliament and is responsible to it. was abolished in 2001. The government, chaired by the Prime Minister, is appointed by Parliament and is responsible to it. was abolished in 2001. The government, chaired by the Prime Minister, is appointed by Parliament and is responsible to it.

The (rudimentary) constitutional jurisdiction, which has existed since 1964, was fundamentally reformed by a law of March 21, 1991. The competence of the Constitutional Court (13 judges, elected by Parliament for 8 years) extends beyond the control of norms and constitutional complaints due to violations of fundamental rights through individual acts of public authority.