British Virgin Islands (2007) | Croatia (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 20 counties (zupanije, zupanija - singular), 1 city (grad -singular)*: Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska Zupanija, Brodsko-Posavska Zupanija, Dubrovacko-Neretvanska Zupanija, Istarska Zupanija, Karlovacka Zupanija, Koprivnicko-Krizevacka Zupanija, Krapinsko-Zagorska Zupanija, Licko-Senjska Zupanija, Medimurska Zupanija, Osjecko-Baranjska Zupanija, Pozesko-Slavonska Zupanija, Primorsko-Goranska Zupanija, Sibensko-Kninska Zupanija, Sisacko-Moslavacka Zupanija, Splitsko-Dalmatinska Zupanija, Varazdinska Zupanija, Viroviticko-Podravska Zupanija, Vukovarsko-Srijemska Zupanija, Zadarska Zupanija, Zagreb*, Zagrebacka Zupanija |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2% (male 2,410/female 2,337)
15-64 years: 74.5% (male 9,004/female 8,534) 65 years and over: 5.4% (male 665/female 602) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
18.16% (male 403,722; female 383,151) 15-64 years: 66.61% (male 1,452,872; female 1,434,086) 65 years and over: 15.23% (male 245,727; female 414,584) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits, vegetables; livestock, poultry; fish | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soy beans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products |
Airports | 3 (2007) | 67 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
22 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 8 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
45 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 36 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 153 sq km
land: 153 sq km water: 0 sq km note: comprised of 16 inhabited and more than 20 uninhabited islands; includes the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, Jost van Dyke |
total:
56,542 sq km land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.9 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
Background | First inhabited by Arawak and later by Carib Indians, the Virgin Islands were settled by the Dutch in 1648 and then annexed by the English in 1672. The islands were part of the British colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872-1960; they were granted autonomy in 1967. The economy is closely tied to the larger and more populous US Virgin Islands to the west; the US dollar is the legal currency. | In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became an independent communist state under the strong hand of Marshal TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands. Under UN supervision the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998. |
Birth rate | 14.82 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 12.82 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $204.7 million
expenditures: $180.4 million (2004) |
revenues:
$6 billion expenditures: $4.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | name: Road Town
geographic coordinates: 18 27 N, 64 37 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Zagreb |
Climate | subtropical; humid; temperatures moderated by trade winds | Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast |
Coastline | 80 km | 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km) |
Constitution | 13 June 2007 | adopted on 22 December 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: British Virgin Islands abbreviation: BVI |
conventional long form:
Republic of Croatia conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska |
Currency | - | kuna (HRK) |
Death rate | 4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 11.41 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $36.1 million (1997) | $9.9 billion (December 1999) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; internal self-governing | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Lawrence G. ROSSIN embassy: Andrije Hebranga 2, 100000 Zagreb mailing address: use street address telephone: [385] (1) 455-55-00 FAX: [385] (1) 455-85-85 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ivan GRDESIC chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899 FAX: [1] (202) 588-8936 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York |
Disputes - international | none | Croatia and Italy made progress toward resolving a bilateral issue dating from World War II over property and ethnic minority rights; progress with Slovenia on discussions of adjustments to land boundary, but problems remain in defining maritime boundary in Gulf of Piran; Croatia and Yugoslavia are negotiating the status of the strategically important Prevlaka Peninsula, which is currently under a UN military observer mission (UNMOP) |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $NA |
Economy - overview | The economy, one of the most stable and prosperous in the Caribbean, is highly dependent on tourism, generating an estimated 45% of the national income. An estimated 820,000 tourists, mainly from the US, visited the islands in 2005. In the mid-1980s, the government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in the islands, and incorporation fees now generate substantial revenues. Roughly 400,000 companies were on the offshore registry by yearend 2000. The adoption of a comprehensive insurance law in late 1994, which provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business. Livestock raising is the most important agricultural activity; poor soils limit the islands' ability to meet domestic food requirements. Because of traditionally close links with the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959. | Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav average. Croatia faces considerable economic problems stemming from: the legacy of longtime communist mismanagement of the economy; damage during the internecine fighting to bridges, factories, power lines, buildings, and houses; the large refugee and displaced population, both Croatian and Bosnian; and the disruption of economic ties. Stepped-up Western aid and investment, especially in the tourist and oil industries, would help bolster the economy. The economy emerged from its mild recession in 2000 with tourism the main factor. Massive unemployment remains a key negative element. The government's failure to press the economic reforms needed to spur growth is largely the result of coalition politics and public resistance, particularly from the trade unions, to measures that would cut jobs, wages, or social benefits. |
Electricity - consumption | 41.85 million kWh (2005) | 13.643 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 1 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 4.45 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 45 million kWh (2005) | 10.96 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
40.89% hydro: 59% nuclear: 0% other: 0.11% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Sage 521 m |
lowest point:
Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Dinara 1,830 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural fresh water resources (except for a few seasonal streams and springs on Tortola, most of the islands' water supply comes from wells and rainwater catchments) | air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; landmine removal and reconstruction of infrastructure consequent to 1992-95 civil strife |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | black 83%, other 17% (includes white, Indian, Asian and mixed) | Croat 78.1%, Serb 12.2%, Bosniak 0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%, Slovenian 0.5%, Czech 0.4%, Albanian 0.3%, Montenegrin 0.3%, Roma 0.2%, others 6.6% (1991) |
Exchange rates | the US dollar is used | kuna per US dollar - 8.089 (January 2001), 8.277 (2000), 7.112 (1999), 6.362 (1998), 6.101 (1997), 5.434 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor David PEAREY (since 18 April 2006)
head of government: Premier Ralph T. O'NEAL (since 23 August 2007) cabinet: Executive Council appointed by the governor from members of the House of Assembly elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed premier by the governor |
chief of state:
President Stjepan (Stipe) MESIC (since 18 February 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Ivica RACAN (since 27 January 2000); Deputy Prime Ministers Goran GRANIC (since 27 January 2000), Zeljka ANTUNOVIC (since 27 January 2000), Slavko LINIC (since 27 January 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the House of Representatives elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 7 February 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister nominated by the president in line with the balance of power in the Assembly election results: Stjepan MESIC elected president; percent of vote - Stjepan MESIC (HNS) 56%, Drazen BUDISA (HSLS) 44% note: government coalition - SDP, HSLS, HSS, LP, HNS, IDS |
Exports | NA bbl/day | $4.3 billion (f.o.b., 1999) |
Exports - commodities | rum, fresh fish, fruits, animals; gravel, sand | transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels |
Exports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) | Italy 18%, Germany 15.7%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 12.8%, Slovenia 10.6%, Austria 6.2% (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Virgin Islander coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms depicts a woman flanked on either side by a vertical column of six oil lamps above a scroll bearing the Latin word VIGILATE (Be Watchful) | red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $24.9 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1.8%
industry: 6.2% services: 92% (1996 est.) |
agriculture:
10% industry: 19% services: 71% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2002 est.) | 3.2% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 30 N, 64 30 W | 45 10 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | strong ties to nearby US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico | controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits |
Heliports | - | 1 (2000 est.) |
Highways | - | total:
27,840 km paved: 23,497 km (including 330 km of expressways) unpaved: 4,343 km (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe; large offshore financial center makes it vulnerable to money laundering | transit point along the Balkan route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe; a minor transit point for maritime shipments of South American cocaine bound for Western Europe |
Imports | NA bbl/day | $7.8 billion (c.i.f., 1999) |
Imports - commodities | building materials, automobiles, foodstuffs, machinery | machinery, transport and electrical equipment, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Virgin Islands (US), Puerto Rico, US (2006) | Germany 18.5%, Italy 15.9%, Russia 8.6%, Slovenia 7.9%, Austria 7.1% (1999) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 1.7% (2000) |
Industries | tourism, light industry, construction, rum, concrete block, offshore financial center | chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products, construction materials, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and beverages; tourism |
Infant mortality rate | total: 16.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.82 deaths/1,000 live births female: 13.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
7.21 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2% (2005) | 6% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom (associate), CDB, Interpol (subbureau), IOC, OECS (associate), UNESCO (associate), UPU | BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 9 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 30 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal (one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court); Magistrate's Court; Juvenile Court; Court of Summary Jurisdiction | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the House of Representatives |
Labor force | 12,770 (2004) | 1.68 million (October 2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 0.6%
industry: 40% services: 59.4% (2005) |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
2,028 km border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Yugoslavia 266 km, Slovenia 501 km |
Land use | arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 6.67% other: 73.33% (2005) |
arable land:
21% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 38% other: 19% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English (official) | Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) |
Legal system | English law | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral House of Assembly (13 elected seats and 1 non-voting ex officio member in the attorney general; members are elected by direct popular vote, 1 member from each of nine electoral districts, 4 at-large members; to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 August 2007 (next to be held in 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - VIP 45.2%, NDP 39.6%, independent 15.2%; seats by party - VIP 10, NDP 2, independent 1 |
bicameral Assembly or Sabor consists of the House of Counties or Zupanijski Dom (68 seats, 63 directly elected by popular vote, 5 appointed by the president; members serve four-year terms; note - House of Counties to be abolished in 2001) and House of Representatives or the Zastupnicki Dom (151 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Counties - last held 13 April 1997; House of Representatives - last held 2-3 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: House of Counties - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - HDZ 42, HSLS/HSS 11, HSS 2, IDS 2, SDP/PGS/HNS 2, SDP/HNS 2, HSLS/HSS/HNS 1, HSLS 1; note - in some districts certain parties ran as coalitions, while in others they ran alone; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - HDZ 46, SDP 44, HSLS 24, HSS 17, HSP/HKDU 5, IDS 4, HNS 2, independents 4, minority representatives 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 76.86 years
male: 75.71 years female: 78.07 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
73.9 years male: 70.28 years female: 77.73 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97.8% (1991 est.) male: NA% female: NA% |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 99% female: 95% (1991 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, east of Puerto Rico | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total:
53 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 631,853 GRT/969,739 DWT ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 18, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 5, container 3, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 3 (2000 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $575 million (2000) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.8% (2000) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,085,877 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
859,621 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
30,037 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Territory Day, 1 July (1956) | Republic Day/Statehood Day, 30 May (1990) |
Nationality | noun: British Virgin Islander(s)
adjective: British Virgin Islander |
noun:
Croat(s) adjective: Croatian |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and tropical storms (July to October) | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | NEGL | oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 8.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 13.37 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 670 km; petroleum products 20 km; natural gas 310 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | Concerned Citizens Movement or CCM [Ethlyn SMITH]; National Democratic Party or NDP [Orlando SMITH]; United Party or UP [Gregory MADURO]; Virgin Islands Party or VIP [Ralph T. O'NEAL] | Alliance of Croatian Coast and Mountains Department or PGS [Luciano SUSANJ]; Croatian Christian Democratic Union or HKDU [Marko VESELICA]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Dobroslav PARAGA]; Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Zlatko TOMCIC]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Vesna PUSIC]; Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Drazen BUDISA]; Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Liberal Party or LP [leader NA]; Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Ivica RACAN]
note: the Social Democratic Party or SDP and the Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS formed a coalition as did the HSS, HNS, LP, and IDS, which together defeated the Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ in the 2000 lower house parliamentary election |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 23,552 (July 2007 est.) | 4,334,142 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 4% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.923% (2007 est.) | 1.48% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Dubrovnik, Dugi Rat, Omisalj, Ploce, Pula, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split, Vukovar (inland waterway port on Danube), Zadar |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999) |
Radios | - | 1.51 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
2,296 km standard gauge: 2,296 km 1.435-m gauge (983 km electrified) (2000) |
Religions | Protestant 86% (Methodist 33%, Anglican 17%, Church of God 9%, Seventh-Day Adventist 6%, Baptist 4%, Jehovah's Witnesses 2%, other 15%), Roman Catholic 10%, other 2%, none 2% (1991) | Roman Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 0.4%, others and unknown 10.8% (1991) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.031 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.055 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.105 male(s)/female total population: 1.053 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed) |
Telephone system | general assessment: worldwide telephone service
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-284; connected via submarine cable to Bermuda; the East Caribbean Fiber System (ECFS) optic submarine cable provides connectivity to 13 other islands in the eastern Caribbean (2007) |
general assessment:
NA domestic: reconstruction plan calls for replacement of all analog circuits with digital and enlarging the network; a backup will be included in the plan for the main trunk international: digital international service is provided through the main switch in Zagreb; Croatia participates in the Trans-Asia-Europe (TEL) fiber-optic project which consists of two fiber-optic trunk connections with Slovenia and a fiber-optic trunk line from Rijeka to Split and Dubrovnik; Croatia is also investing in ADRIA 1, a joint fiber-optic project with Germany, Albania, and Greece (2000) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 11,700 (2002) | 1.488 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,000 (2002) | 187,000 (yearend 1998) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (plus 1 cable company) (1997) | 36 (plus 321 repeaters) (September 1995) |
Terrain | coral islands relatively flat; volcanic islands steep, hilly | geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands |
Total fertility rate | 1.72 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.94 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 3.6% (1997) | 22% (October 2000) |
Waterways | - | 785 km
note: (perennially navigable; large sections of Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris) |