Croatia (2003) | Montserrat (2007) | |
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Administrative divisions | 20 counties (zupanije, zupanija - singular) and 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 | 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 18.3% (male 415,873; female 394,414)
15-64 years: 66.1% (male 1,465,488; female 1,454,778) 65 years and over: 15.6% (male 258,943; female 432,752) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 23.5% (male 1,144/female 1,094)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 2,989/female 3,281) 65 years and over: 10.8% (male 527/female 503) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, barley, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soybeans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products | cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers; livestock products |
Airports | 59 (2002) | 2 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 16
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 9 (2002) |
total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 43
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 8 under 914 m: 34 (2002) |
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Area | total: 56,542 sq km
land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 sq km |
total: 102 sq km
land: 102 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | 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 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. | English and Irish colonists from St. Kitts first settled on Montserrat in 1632; the first African slaves arrived three decades later. The British and French fought for possession of the island for most of the 18th century, but it finally was confirmed as a British possession in 1783. The island's sugar plantation economy was converted to small farm landholdings in the mid 19th century. Much of this island was devastated and two-thirds of the population fled abroad because of the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano that began on 18 July 1995. Montserrat has endured volcanic activity since, with the last eruption occurring in July 2003. |
Birth rate | 12.76 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 17.51 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $8.6 billion
expenditures: $9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $31.4 million
expenditures: $31.6 million (1997 est.) |
Capital | Zagreb | name: Plymouth
geographic coordinates: 16 42 N, 62 13 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Plymouth was abandoned in 1997 because of volcanic activity; interim government buildings have been built at Brades Estate in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat |
Climate | Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast | tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km) | 40 km |
Constitution | adopted on 22 December 1990 | effective 19 December 1989 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Croatia
conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Montserrat |
Currency | kuna (HRK) | - |
Death rate | 11.25 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 7.02 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $16.5 billion (yearend 2002 est.) | $8.9 million (1997) |
Dependency status | - | overseas territory of the UK |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph FRANK
embassy: Thomasa Jeffersona 2, 10010 Zagreb mailing address: use street address telephone: [385] (1) 661-2200 FAX: [385] (1) 661-2373 |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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, Los Angeles, New York |
none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Disputes - international | discussions continue with Bosnia and Herzegovina on sections of the Una River and villages at the base of Mount Pljesevica; parliamentarians are far from ratifying the Croatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement, which would have ceded most of Pirin Bay and maritime access to Slovenia and several villages to Croatia; in late 2002, Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro adopted an interim agreement to settle the disputed Prevlaka Peninsula, allowing the withdrawal of the UN monitoring mission (UNMOP), but discussions could be complicated by the inability of Serbia and Montenegro to come to an agreement on the economic aspects of the new federal union; Croatia and Italy continue to debate bilateral property and ethnic minority rights issues stemming from border changes after the Second World War | none |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA $66 million (2000) | Country Policy Plan (2001) is a three-year program for spending $122.8 million in British budgetary assistance (2002 est.) |
Economy - overview | 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. The economy emerged from its mild recession in 2000 with tourism the main factor, but massive structural 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. Opponents fear reforms would cut jobs, wages, and social benefits. The government has a heavy backload of civil cases, many involving tenure land. The country is likely to experience only moderate growth without disciplined fiscal and structural reform. | Severe volcanic activity, which began in July 1995, has put a damper on this small, open economy. A catastrophic eruption in June 1997 closed the airports and seaports, causing further economic and social dislocation. Two-thirds of the 12,000 inhabitants fled the island. Some began to return in 1998, but lack of housing limited the number. The agriculture sector continued to be affected by the lack of suitable land for farming and the destruction of crops. Prospects for the economy depend largely on developments in relation to the volcanic activity and on public sector construction activity. The UK has launched a three-year $122.8 million aid program to help reconstruct the economy. Half of the island is expected to remain uninhabitable for another decade. |
Electricity - consumption | 14.27 billion kWh (2001) | 18.6 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 386 million kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 3.386 billion kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 12.12 billion kWh (2001) | 20 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 33.6%
hydro: 66% nuclear: 0% other: 0.4% (2001) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Dinara 1,830 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: lava dome in English's Crater (in the Soufriere Hills volcanic complex) estimated at over 930 m (2006) |
Environment - current issues | 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 | land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared for cultivation |
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 |
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Ethnic groups | Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, Bosniak 0.5%, Hungarian 0.4%, Slovene 0.3%, Czech 0.2%, Roma 0.2%, Albanian 0.1%, Montenegrin 0.1%, others 4.1% (2001) | black, white |
Exchange rates | kuna per US dollar - 7.87 (2002), 8.34 (2001), 8.28 (2000), 7.11 (1999), 6.36 (1998) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2006), 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002)
note: fixed rate since 1976 |
Executive branch | 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), Ante SIMONIC (since 30 July 2002), Zeljka ANTUNOVI (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; a sixth party, the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS), withdrew in June 2001 |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor Peter A. WATERWORTH (since 27 July 2007)
head of government: Chief Minister Lowell LEWIS (since 2 June 2006) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, the chief minister, three other ministers, the attorney general, and the finance secretary elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually becomes chief minister |
Exports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels | electronic components, plastic bags, apparel; hot peppers, limes, live plants; cattle |
Exports - partners | Italy 22.4%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 14.4%, Germany 12.5%, Slovenia 8%, Austria 7.3% (2002) | US, Antigua and Barbuda (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered) | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a woman standing beside a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $43.12 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 9%
industry: 33% services: 58% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 1.2%
industry: 23.1% services: 75.7% (1999 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $9,800 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.2% (2002 est.) | -1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 45 10 N, 15 30 E | 16 45 N, 62 12 W |
Geography - note | controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits | the island is entirely volcanic in origin and comprised of three major volcanic centers of differing ages |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | - |
Highways | total: 28,123 km
paved: 23,792 km (including 410 km of expressways) unpaved: 4,331 km (2000) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 23.3% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | transit point along the Balkan route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe; has been used as a transit point for maritime shipments of South American cocaine bound for Western Europe | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport and electrical equipment, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, foodstuffs | machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials |
Imports - partners | Italy 16.8%, Germany 16.4%, Slovenia 7.8%, Russia 6.8%, Austria 6.7%, France 5.2% (2002) | US, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada (2006) |
Independence | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) | none (overseas territory of the UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.8% (2002 est.) | NA% |
Industries | 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 | tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances |
Infant mortality rate | total: 6.92 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.78 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 7.03 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.15 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.2% (2002 est.) | 2.6% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | BIS, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMOGIP, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | Caricom, CDB, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, UPU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 9 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 30 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | 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 | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia, one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court) |
Labor force | 1.7 million (2001) | 4,521
note: lowered by flight of people from volcanic activity (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 13.2% NA, industry 25.4% NA, services 46.4% NA (2002) | - |
Land boundaries | total: 2,197 km
border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia and Montenegro (north) 241 km, Serbia and Montenegro (south) 25 km, Slovenia 670 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 23.55%
permanent crops: 2.24% other: 74.21% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 20%
permanent crops: 0% other: 80% (2005) |
Languages | Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) | English |
Legal system | based on civil law system | English common law and statutory law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Assembly or Sabor (152 seats; note - one seat was added in the November Parliamentary elections; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - House of Counties was abolished in March 2001
elections: Assembly - last held 23 November 2003 (next to be held in 2007) election results: Assembly (then referred to as the House of Representatives) - percent of vote by party - HDZ 43.4%, SDP 23%, HNS 7.4%, HSS 6.57%, HSP 6%; seats by party - HDZ 66, SDP 34, HNS 10, HSS 9, HSP 7; note - these are preliminary results |
unicameral Legislative Council (11 seats, 9 popularly elected; members serve five-year terms)
note: expanded in 2001 from 7 to 9 elected members with attorney general and financial secretary sitting as ex-officio members elections: last held 31 May 2006 (next to be held by 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - MCAP 36.1%, NPLM 29.4%, MDP 24.4%, independents 10.1%; seats by party - MCAP 4, NPLM 3, MDP 1, independents 1 note: in 2001, the Elections Commission instituted a single constituency/voter-at-large system whereby all eligible voters cast ballots for all nine seats of the Legislative Council |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.37 years
male: 70.76 years female: 78.2 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 79 years
male: 76.8 years female: 81.31 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.5% male: 99.4% female: 97.8% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1970 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico |
Map references | Europe | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total: 56 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 765,830 GRT/1,188,948 DWT
ships by type: bulk 14, cargo 16, chemical tanker 4, combination bulk 5, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 3, roll on/roll off 6, short-sea passenger 3 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Hong Kong 1 (2002 est.) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the UK |
Military branches | Ground Forces (Hrvatska Vojska, HV), Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces | no regular military forces; Royal Montserrat Police Force (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $520 million (2002 est.) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.39% (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,081,135 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 856,946 (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 30,096 (2003 est.) | - |
National holiday | Statehood Day, 25 June (1991) | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) |
Nationality | noun: Croat(s), Croatian(s)
adjective: Croatian |
noun: Montserratian(s)
adjective: Montserratian |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes | severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (Soufriere Hills volcano has erupted continuously since 1995) |
Natural resources | oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower | NEGL |
Net migration rate | 1.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 1,374 km; oil 583 km (2003) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Croatian Bloc or HB [Ivic PASALIC]; Croatian Christian Democratic Union or HKDU [Anto KOVACEVIC]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Anto DJAPIC]; Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Zlatko TOMCIC]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Vesna PUSIC]; Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Drazen BUDISA]; Croatian True Revival Party or HIP [Miroslav TUDJMAN]; Democratic Centre or DC [Mate GRANIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Liberal Party or LS [Ivo BANAC]; Party of Liberal Democrats or LIBRA [Goran GRANIC]; 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; the IDS subsequently left the governing coalition in June 2001 over its inability to win greater autonomy for Istria |
Montserrat Democratic Party or MDP [Lowell LEWIS]; Movement for Change and Prosperity or MCAP [Roselyn CASSELL-SEALY]; New People's Liberation Movement or NPLM [John A. OSBORNE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 4,422,248 (July 2003 est.) | 9,538
note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; some have returned (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.31% (2003 est.) | 1.048% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Dubrovnik, Dugi Rat, Omisalj, Ploce, Pula, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split, Vukovar (inland waterway port on Danube), Zadar | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999) | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 2,296 km
standard gauge: 2,296 km 1.435-m gauge (983 km electrified) (2002) |
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Religions | Roman Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, Muslim 1.3%, Protestant 0.3%, others and unknown 6.2% (2001) | Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations |
Sex ratio | 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: 0.6 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.046 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.911 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.048 male(s)/female total population: 0.955 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed) | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: modern and fully digitalized
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-664 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,721,139 (2000) | NA |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.3 million (2001) | NA |
Television broadcast stations | 36 (plus 321 repeaters) (September 1995) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands | volcanic island, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland |
Total fertility rate | 1.93 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.77 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 21.7% (2002 est.) | 6% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 785 km
note: (perennially navigable; large sections of Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris) |
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