Croatia (2008) | Norfolk Island (2002) | |
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 | none (territory of Australia) |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 16% (male 368,639/female 349,703)
15-64 years: 67.1% (male 1,499,354/female 1,515,932) 65 years and over: 16.9% (male 292,526/female 467,158) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (1996) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, barley, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soybeans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry |
Airports | 68 (2007) | 1 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 23
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: 9 (2007) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 45
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 37 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 56,542 sq km
land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 sq km |
total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than West Virginia | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The lands that today comprise Croatia were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the close 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 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. | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. |
Birth rate | 9.63 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA births/1,000 population |
Budget | revenues: $22.46 billion
expenditures: $23.85 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $4.6 million
expenditures: $4.8 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92/93) |
Capital | name: Zagreb
geographic coordinates: 45 48 N, 16 00 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Kingston |
Climate | Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast | subtropical, mild, little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km) | 32 km |
Constitution | adopted on 22 December 1990; revised 2000, 2001 | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Croatia
conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska former: People's Republic of Croatia, Socialist Republic of Croatia |
conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
Currency | - | Australian dollar (AUD) |
Death rate | 11.57 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population |
Debt - external | $41.56 billion (30 June 2007) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert A. BRADTKE
embassy: 2 Thomas Jefferson Street, 10010 Zagreb mailing address: use street address telephone: [385] (1) 661-2200 FAX: [385] (1) 661-2373 |
none (territory of Australia) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Marijan GUBIC
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 (territory of Australia) |
Disputes - international | dispute remains with Bosnia and Herzegovina over several small disputed sections of the boundary related to maritime access that hinders ratification of the 1999 border agreement; 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, remains un-ratified and in dispute; Slovenia also protests Croatia's 2003 claim to an exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic; as a European Union peripheral state, neighboring Slovenia must conform to the strict Schengen border rules to curb illegal migration and commerce through southeastern Europe while encouraging close cross-border ties with Croatia | none |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA, $125.4 million (2005) | $NA |
Economy - overview | Once one of the wealthiest of the Yugoslav republics, Croatia's economy suffered badly during the 1991-95 war as output collapsed and the country missed the early waves of investment in Central and Eastern Europe that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall. Since 2000, however, Croatia's economic fortunes have begun to improve slowly, with moderate but steady GDP growth between 4% and 6% led by a rebound in tourism and credit-driven consumer spending. Inflation over the same period has remained tame and the currency, the kuna, stable. Nevertheless, difficult problems still remain, including a stubbornly high unemployment rate, a growing trade deficit and uneven regional development. The state retains a large role in the economy, as privatization efforts often meet stiff public and political resistance. While macroeconomic stabilization has largely been achieved, structural reforms lag because of deep resistance on the part of the public and lack of strong support from politicians. The EU accession process should accelerate fiscal and structural reform. | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. |
Electricity - consumption | 14.97 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 3.634 billion kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - imports | 8.746 billion kWh (2005) | - |
Electricity - production | 11.99 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Dinara 1,830 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
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 | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
- |
Ethnic groups | Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, other 5.9% (including Bosniak, Hungarian, Slovene, Czech, and Roma) (2001 census) | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians |
Exchange rates | kuna per US dollar - 5.3735 (2007), 5.8625 (2006), 5.9473 (2005), 6.0358 (2004), 6.7035 (2003) | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.9354 (January 2002), 1.9320 (2001), 1.7173 (2000), 1.5497 (1999), 1.5888 (1998), 1.3439 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Stjepan (Stipe) MESIC (since 18 February 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Ivo SANADER (since 9 December 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Jadranka KOSOR (since 23 December 2003) and Damir POLANCEC (since 15 February 2005), Djurdja ADLESIC (since 12 January 2008), Slobodan UZELAC (since 12 January 2008) cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the parliamentary Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 16 January 2005 (next to be held in January 2010); the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president and then approved by the Assembly election results: Stjepan MESIC reelected president; percent of vote - Stjepan MESIC 66%, Jadranka KOSOR 34% in the second round |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Anthony J. MESSNER (since 4 August 1997)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 29 November 2001 (next to be held by December 2004) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - NA% |
Exports | 40,930 bbl/day (2004) | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY91/92) |
Exports - commodities | transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados |
Exports - partners | Italy 23.1%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 12.7%, Germany 10.4%, Slovenia 8.3%, Austria 6.1% (2006) | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue superimposed by the Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered) | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 7.2%
industry: 32% services: 60.7% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $NA |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.6% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 45 10 N, 15 30 E | 29 02 S, 167 57 E |
Geography - note | controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits; the vast majority of Adriatic Sea islands lie off the coast of Croatia - some 1,200 islands, islets, ridges, and rocks | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated |
Heliports | 2 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 24.5% (2003 est.) |
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 | - |
Imports | 109,800 bbl/day (2004) | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport and electrical equipment; chemicals, fuels and lubricants; foodstuffs | NA |
Imports - partners | Italy 16.7%, Germany 14.5%, Russia 9.7%, Slovenia 6.8%, Austria 5.4%, China 5.3% (2006) | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe |
Independence | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) | none (territory of Australia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.5% (2007 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 |
Infant mortality rate | total: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
NA deaths/1,000 live births |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.2% (2007 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ACCT (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SECI, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | none |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 2 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 110 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
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 Assembly | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions |
Labor force | 1.714 million (2007 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 32.8% services: 64.5% (2004) |
tourism NA%, subsistence agriculture NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 2,197 km
border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia 241 km, Montenegro 25 km, Slovenia 670 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 25.82%
permanent crops: 2.19% other: 71.99% (2005) |
arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Croatian 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated 2.9% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) (2001 census) | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian |
Legal system | based on Austro-Hungarian law system with Communist law influences; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Assembly or Sabor (153 seats; members elected from party lists by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 November 2007 (next to be held in November 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; number of seats by party - HDZ 66, SDP 56, HNS 7, HSS 6, HDSSB 3, IDS 3, SDSS 3, other 9 |
unicameral Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 29 November 2001 (next to be held by December 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.9 years
male: 71.26 years female: 78.75 years (2007 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.1% male: 99.3% female: 97.1% (2001 census) |
NA |
Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia |
Map references | Europe | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 75 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,165,409 GRT/1,867,160 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 21, cargo 12, chemical tanker 3, passenger/cargo 28, petroleum tanker 7, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 2 (Bermuda 2) registered in other countries: 36 (Bahamas 1, Belize 1, Liberia 5, Malta 12, Marshall Islands 4, Panama 6, St Vincent and The Grenadines 7) (2007) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of Australia |
Military branches | Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia (Oruzane Snage Republike Hrvatske, OSRH), consists of five major commands directly subordinate to a General Staff: Ground Forces (Hrvatska Kopnena Vojska, HKoV), Naval Forces (Hrvatska Ratna Mornarica, HRM), Air Force, Joint Education and Training Command, Logistics Command; Military Police Force supports each of the three Croatian military forces (2007) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.39% (2005 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 8 October (1991); note - 25 June 1991 was the day the Croatian Parliament voted for independence; following a three-month moratorium to allow the European Community to solve the Yugoslav crisis peacefully, Parliament adopted a decision on 8 October 1991 to sever constitutional relations with Yugoslavia | Pitcairners Arrival Day, 8 June (1856) |
Nationality | noun: Croat(s), Croatian(s)
adjective: Croatian |
noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes | typhoons (especially May to July) |
Natural resources | oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, gypsum, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower | fish |
Net migration rate | 1.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population |
Pipelines | gas 1,556 km; oil 583 km (2007) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Croatian Democratic Congress of Slavonia and Baranja or HDSSB [Vladimir SISLJAGIC]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party of the Right or HSP [Anto DJAPIC]; Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Josip FRISCIC]; Croatian Pensioner Party or HSU [Vladimir JORDAN]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Vesna PUSIC]; Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Djurdja ADLESIC]; Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Zoran MILANOVIC] | none |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | none |
Population | 4,493,312 (July 2007 est.) | 1,866 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 11% (2003) | NA% |
Population growth rate | -0.035% (2007 est.) | -0.69% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 2,500 (1996) |
Railways | total: 2,726 km
standard gauge: 2,726 km 1.435-m gauge (1,199 km electrified) (2006) |
0 km |
Religions | Roman Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.9%, none 5.2% (2001 census) | Anglican 37.4%, Uniting Church in Australia 14.5%, Roman Catholic 11.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.1%, none 12.2%, unknown 17.4%, other 3.9% (1996) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.054 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.989 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.626 male(s)/female total population: 0.926 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: NA male(s)/female
under 15 years: NA male(s)/female 15-64 years: NA male(s)/female 65 years and over: NA male(s)/female total population: NA male(s)/female |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed) | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: the telecommunications network has improved steadily since the mid-1990s; the number of fixed telephone lines has increased to about 40 per 100 persons; virtually 100 mobile cellular telephones per 100 persons
domestic: more than 90 percent of local lines are digital international: country code - 385; 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 2 fiber-optic trunk connections with Slovenia and a fiber-optic trunk line from Rijeka to Split and Dubrovnik; the ADRIA-1 submarine cable provides connectivity to Albania and Greece (2007) |
general assessment: adequate
domestic: NA international: radiotelephone service with Sydney (Australia) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1.832 million (2006) | 1,087 (1983) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 4.47 million (2006) | 0 (1983) |
Television broadcast stations | 36 (plus 321 repeaters) (1995) | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (1998) |
Terrain | geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains |
Total fertility rate | 1.41 children born/woman (2007 est.) | NA children born/woman |
Unemployment rate | 11.8% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 785 km (2007) | none |