Hong Kong (2003) | Croatia (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | none (special administrative region of China) | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 17.3% (male 680,973; female 599,309)
15-64 years: 71.7% (male 2,619,929; female 2,679,430) 65 years and over: 11% (male 375,058; female 439,471) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 18.3% (male 411,847; female 390,797)
15-64 years: 66.3% (male 1,461,305; female 1,448,973) 65 years and over: 15.4% (male 252,970; female 424,859) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fresh vegetables; poultry, fish, pork | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, barley, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soybeans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products |
Airports | 3 (2002) | 67 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1523 m: 1 (2002) |
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 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 45
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 37 (2002) |
Area | total: 1,092 sq km
land: 1,042 sq km water: 50 sq km |
total: 56,542 sq km
land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 sq km |
Area - comparative | six times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
Background | Occupied by the UK in 1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year; various adjacent lands were added later in the 19th century. Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China has promised that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system will not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong will enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for the next 50 years. | 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 | 10.71 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 12.8 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $22.8 billion
expenditures: $30.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY02/03) |
revenues: $8.6 billion
expenditures: $9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | - | Zagreb |
Climate | tropical monsoon; cool and humid in winter, hot and rainy from spring through summer, warm and sunny in fall | Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast |
Coastline | 733 km | 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km) |
Constitution | Basic Law approved in March 1990 by China's National People's Congress is Hong Kong's "mini-constitution" | adopted on 22 December 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
conventional short form: Hong Kong local long form: Xianggang Tebie Xingzhengqu local short form: Xianggang abbreviation: HK |
conventional long form: Republic of Croatia
conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska |
Currency | Hong Kong dollar (HKD) | kuna (HRK) |
Death rate | 6.19 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 11.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $49.5 billion (2002 est.) | $16.5 billion (2001) |
Dependency status | special administrative region of China | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Consul General James KEITH
consulate(s) general: 26 Garden Road, Hong Kong mailing address: PSC 461, Box 1, FPO AP 96521-0006 telephone: [852] 2523-9011 FAX: [852] 2524-0860 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Lawrence G. ROSSIN
embassy: Andrije Hebranga 2, Zagreb 10000 mailing address: use street address telephone: [385] (1) 661-2200 FAX: [385] (1) 661-2373 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (special administrative region of China) | 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 |
Disputes - international | none | Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue discussions on the disputed boundary in the Una River near Kostajnica, Hrvatska Dubica, and Zeljava; Bosnia and Herzegovina also protests Croatian claim to the tip of the Klek Peninsula and several islands near Neum; Hungary opposes Croatian plan to build a hydropower dam on the boundary stream Drava; Slovenia and Croatia have not obtained parliamentary ratification of 2001 land and maritime boundary treaty which cedes villages on the Dragonja River and Sveta Gera (Trdinov Peak) to Croatia, and most of Pirin Bay to Slovenia, but restricts Slovenian access to the open sea; Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro continue to discuss disputed Prevlaka Peninsula and control over the Gulf of Kotor despite imminent UN intention to withdraw observer mission (UNMOP); Croatia and Italy are still trying to resolve bilateral property and ethnic minority rights dating from World War II |
Economic aid - recipient | - | ODA $66 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | Hong Kong has a free market economy highly dependent on international trade. Natural resources are limited, and food and raw materials must be imported. Imports and exports, including reexports, each exceed GDP in dollar value. Even before Hong Kong reverted to Chinese administration on 1 July 1997 it had extensive trade and investment ties with China. Hong Kong has been further integrating its economy with China because China's growing openness to the world economy has increased competitive pressure on Hong Kong's service industries, and Hong Kong's re-export business from China is a major driver of growth. Per capita GDP compares with the level in the four big economies of Western Europe. GDP growth averaged a strong 5% in 1989-1997, but Hong Kong suffered two recessions in the past 6 years because of the Asian financial crisis in 1998 and the global downturn of 2001-2002. The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak has also battered Hong Kong's economy but the resumption of strong growth began in 2003. | 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, to measures that would cut jobs, wages, or social benefits. As a result, the country is likely to experience only moderate growth without disciplined fiscal and structural reform. |
Electricity - consumption | 37.12 billion kWh (2001) | 12.638 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 1.581 billion kWh (2001) | 900 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 10.36 billion kWh (2001) | 3.7 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 30.48 billion kWh (2001) | 10.578 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
fossil fuel: 45%
hydro: 55% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Tai Mo Shan 958 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Dinara 1,830 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution from rapid urbanization | 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: Marine Dumping (associate member), Ship Pollution (associate member) | 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 | Chinese 95%, other 5% | Croat 78.1%, Serb 12.2%, Bosniak 0.9%, Hungarian 0.5%, Slovene 0.5%, Czech 0.4%, Albanian 0.3%, Montenegrin 0.3%, Roma 0.2%, others 6.6% (1991) |
Exchange rates | Hong Kong dollars per US dollar - 7.8 (2002), 7.8 (2001), 7.79 (2000), 7.76 (1999), 7.75 (1998) | kuna per US dollar - 8.452 (January 2002), 8.340 (2001), 8.277 (2000), 7.112 (1999), 6.362 (1998), 6.101 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President of China HU Jintao (since 15 March 2003)
head of government: Chief Executive TUNG Chee-hwa (since 1 July 1997) cabinet: Executive Council consists of three ex-officio members and 10 appointed members; ex-officio members are: Chief Secretary Donald TSANG Yam-kuen (since 1 May 2001), Financial Secretary Antony LEUNG (since 1 May 2001), and Secretary of Justice Elsie LEUNG (since 1 July 1997) elections: TUNG Chee-Hwa was elected to a second term in March 2002 by an 800-member election committee dominated by pro-Beijing forces; the next election is scheduled to be held in 2007 |
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 NA July 2002), 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 fifth party, the Istrian Democratic Assembly (IDS), withdrew in June 2001 |
Exports | NA (2001) | $5.1 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | electrical machinery and appliances, textiles, apparel, footwear, watches and clocks, toys, plastics, precious stones | transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels |
Exports - partners | China 34%, US 19.5%, UK 5.5%, Japan 4.8% (2002) | Italy 23.7%, Germany 14.8%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 12%, Slovenia 9.1%, Austria 5.7%, France 3.5 (2001) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a stylized, white, five-petal bauhinia flower in the center | red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $198.5 billion (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $38.9 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.1%
industry: 13.4% services: 86.5% (2001 est.) |
agriculture: 9%
industry: 33% services: 58% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $27,200 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.3% (2002 est.) | 3% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 15 N, 114 10 E | 45 10 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | more than 200 islands | controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits |
Heliports | 2 (2002) | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 1,831 km
paved: 1,831 km unpaved: 0 km (1999 est.) |
total: 28,009 km
paved: 23,695 km (including 330 km of expressways) unpaved: 4,314 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 23% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | Makes strenuous law enforcement efforts, but faces serious challenges in controlling transit of heroin and methamphetamine to regional and world markets; modern banking system provides a conduit for money laundering; rising indigenous use of synthetic drugs, especially among young people | 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 | NA (2001) | $9.7 billion c.i.f. (2002) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, transport equipment, raw materials, semimanufactures, petroleum, plastics, machinery, electrical equipment; a large share is reexported | machinery, transport and electrical equipment, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | China 37.5%, Japan 12.2%, Taiwan 7.3%, US 6.2%, Singapore 5.3%, South Korea 5% (2002) | Germany 17.1%, Italy 16.9%, Slovenia 7.9%, Russia 7.2%, Austria 7%, France 4.4% (2001) |
Independence | none (special administrative region of China) | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | -9.7% (2002 est.) | 2.8% (2002 est.) |
Industries | textiles, clothing, tourism, banking, shipping, electronics, plastics, toys, watches, clocks | 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: 5.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.44 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
7.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3% (2002 est.) | 4% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | APEC, AsDB, BIS, ESCAP (associate), ICC, ICFTU, IHO, IMO (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, ISO (correspondent), WCL, WCO, WMO, WToO (associate), WTrO | BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, 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, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 17 (2000) | 9 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 20 sq km (1998 est.) | 30 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Final Appeal in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region | 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 | 3.52 million (2001 est.) | 1.7 million (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | wholesale and retail trade, restaurants, and hotels 31%, financing, insurance, and real estate 13%, community and social services 12%, manufacturing 6%, transport and communications 6%, construction 5%, other 25% (2002 est.) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 30 km
border countries: China 30 km |
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 |
Land use | arable land: 5.05%
permanent crops: 1.01% other: 93.94% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 23.55%
permanent crops: 2.24% other: 74.21% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Chinese (Cantonese), English; both are official | Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council or LEGCO (60 seats; 30 indirectly elected by functional constituencies, 24 elected by popular vote, and 6 elected by an 800-member election committee; members serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 10 September 2000 (next to be held in September 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Democratic Party 12, Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong 10, Liberal Party 7, Frontier Party 5, Hong Kong Progressive Alliance 4, New Century Forum 2, Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood 1, independents 19 |
unicameral Assembly or Sabor (151 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); note - House of Counties was abolished in March 2001
elections: Assembly - last held 2-3 January 2000 (next to be held in the fall of 2003) election results: Assembly (then referred to as the 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: 79.93 years
male: 77.23 years female: 82.83 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 74.13 years
male: 70.52 years female: 77.96 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 94% male: 97.1% female: 90.5% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 99% female: 95% (1991 est.) |
Location | Eastern Asia, bordering the South China Sea and China | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 NM | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 549 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 16,176,728 GRT/27,119,764 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 315, cargo 66, chemical tanker 15, combination bulk 2, container 86, liquefied gas 16, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, petroleum tanker 40, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 2, short-sea passenger 1, vehicle carrier 2, includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 5, Belize 1, British Virgin Islands 1, China 115, Denmark 2, Germany 19, Greece 2, India 8, Japan 8, Liberia 1, Malaysia 7, Norway 1, Panama 2, Philippines 5, Singapore 7, South Korea 2, Taiwan 1, UK 27, Virgin Islands (UK) 1 note: (2002 est.) |
total: 49 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 681,465 GRT/1,076,315 DWT
ships by type: bulk 14, cargo 13, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 5, container 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 4, short-sea passenger 3 note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Hong Kong 1 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of China | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; Hong Kong garrison of China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) including elements of the PLA Ground Forces, PLA Navy, and PLA Air Force; these forces are under the direct leadership of the Central Military Commission in Beijing and under administrative control of the adjacent Guangzhou Military Region | Ground Forces (Hrvatska Vojska, HV), Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $520 million (2002 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA% (FY02) | 2.39% (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,033,716 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,086,578 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,524,903 (2003 est.) | males age 15-49: 860,497 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | 19 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 47,477 (2003 est.) | males: 30,037 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | National Day (Anniversary of the Founding of the People's Republic of China), 1 October (1949); note - 1 July 1997 is celebrated as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day | Statehood Day, 25 June (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Chinese
adjective: Chinese |
noun: Croat(s), Croatian(s)
adjective: Croatian |
Natural hazards | occasional typhoons | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | outstanding deepwater harbor, feldspar | oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 7.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 670 km; petroleum products 20 km; natural gas 310 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood [Frederick FUNG Kin-kee, chairman]; Citizens Party [Alex CHAN Kai-chung]; Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong [Jasper TSANG Yok-sing, chairman]; Democratic Party [Martin LEE Chu-ming, chairman]; Frontier Party [Emily LAU Wai-hing, chairwoman]; Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood [leader NA]; Hong Kong Progressive Alliance [Ambrose LAU Hon-chuen]; Liberal Party [James TIEN Pei-chun, chairman]; New Century Forum [NQ Ching-fai, chairman]
note: political blocs include: pro-democracy - Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood, Citizens Party, Democratic Party, Frontier Party; pro-Beijing - Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Progressive Alliance, Liberal Party, New Century Forum |
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]; Croatian True Revival Party or HIP [Miroslav TUDJMAN]; 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; the IDS subsequently left the governing coalition in June 2001 over its inability to win greater autonomy for Istria |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Chinese General Chamber of Commerce (pro-China); Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong; Confederation of Trade Unions (pro-democracy) [LAU Chin-shek, president; LEE Cheuk-yan, general secretary]; Federation of Hong Kong Industries; Federation of Trade Unions (pro-China) [LEE Chark-tim, president]; Hong Kong Alliance in Support of the Patriotic Democratic Movement in China [Szeto WAH, chairman]; Hong Kong and Kowloon Trade Union Council (pro-Taiwan); Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce; Hong Kong Professional Teachers' Union [CHEUNG Man-kwong, president]; Liberal Democratic Federation [HU Fa-kuang, chairman] | NA |
Population | 7,394,170 (July 2003 est.) | 4,390,751 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.22% (2003 est.) | 1.12% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Hong Kong | Dubrovnik, Dugi Rat, Omisalj, Ploce, Pula, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split, Vukovar (inland waterway port on Danube), Zadar |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999) |
Radios | - | 1.51 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 34 km
standard gauge: 34 km 1.435-m gauge (electrified and double-tracked) note: connects to China railway system at Hong Kong-China border (2001) |
total: 2,726 km
standard gauge: 2,726 km 1.435-m gauge (NA electrified) (2000) |
Religions | eclectic mixture of local religions 90%, Christian 10% | Roman Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 0.4%, others and unknown 10.8% (1991) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.14 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 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: 0.6 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | direct election 18 years of age; universal for permanent residents living in the territory of Hong Kong for the past seven years; indirect election limited to about 100,000 members of functional constituencies and an 800-member election committee drawn from broad regional groupings, municipal organizations, and central government bodies | 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed) |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern facilities provide excellent domestic and international services
domestic: microwave radio relay links and extensive fiber-optic network international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Pacific Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean); coaxial cable to Guangzhou, China; access to 5 international submarine cables providing connections to ASEAN member nations, Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Middle East, and Western Europe |
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 | 3.839 million (1999) | 1,721,139 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 3.7 million (December 1999) | 1.3 million (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 4 (plus two repeaters) (1997) | 36 (plus 321 repeaters) (September 1995) |
Terrain | hilly to mountainous with steep slopes; lowlands in north | geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands |
Total fertility rate | 1.32 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.93 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.5% (2002 est.) | 20.2% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | none | 785 km
note: (perennially navigable; large sections of Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris) |