Facts
Short name: CROATIA Official name: Republic of Croatia
Local short name: Hrvatska Local long name: Republika
Hrvatska
Area: 56,542 sq. km
Capital: Zagreb
Independence: 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)
National Holiday: Republic Day/Statehood Day, 30 May
Constitution: adopted 22 December 1990
Population: 4,784,000
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if
employed)
Ethnicity: Croat (78%); Serb (12%); Bosniak (1%); others (9%)
(1991)
Languages: Croatian, other minority ethnic languages
Religions: Roman Catholic (77%); Orthodox (11%); Muslim (1%)
Geography
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia
Geographic coordinates: 45 10 N, 15 30 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 56,542 sq km land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries: total: 2,028 km border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Yugoslavia 266 km, Slovenia 501 km
Coastline: 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km)
Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate: Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast
Terrain: geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Dinara 1,830 m
Natural resources: oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower
Political System
The Republic of Croatia is a parliamentary democracy, like most countries
in Western and Central Europe. After its Constitution was amended in November 2000, the semi-presidential
system was transformed into a pure parliamentary system.
The President
The President of the
Republic is the Head of State, directly elected for a term of five years. The
President is also Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, and represents the
Republic of Croatia.
President: Ivo Josipovic
(since 18 February 2010)
Executive
The Government initiates
general policies and activities related to interior and foreign policies, and
co-ordinates and directs the work of the state administration. The Government
also implements laws and other regulations, passes decrees in compliance with
the Constitution and the law.
Prime Minister: Jadranka Kosor (since July 6th, 2009)
Legislative
The Government, headed by the Prime Minister, is politically responsible
only to the Croatian Parliament (Sabor), which is comprised of two chambers: the House of Representatives
(Zastupnicki dom) and the House of Counties (Zupanijski dom). Members of both
chambers serve four-year terms.
Judiciary
The judicial system includes district, constitutional and supreme courts. The supreme court and
constitutional court judges are appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial
Council of the Republic, which is elected by the House of Representatives.
