Lebanon (2002) | Croatia (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 6 governorates (mohafazat, singular - mohafazah); Beyrouth, Beqaa, Liban-Nord, Liban-Sud, Mont-Liban, Nabatiye | 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: 27.3% (male 511,902; female 491,804)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 1,157,688; female 1,267,106) 65 years and over: 6.8% (male 113,341; female 135,939) (2002 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 | citrus, grapes, tomatoes, apples, vegetables, potatoes, olives, tobacco; sheep, goats | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, barley, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soybeans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products |
Airports | 8 (2001) | 67 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 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: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 45
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 37 (2002) |
Area | total: 10,400 sq km
land: 10,230 sq km water: 170 sq km |
total: 56,542 sq km
land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.7 times the size of Connecticut | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
Background | Lebanon has made progress toward rebuilding its political institutions since 1991 and the end of the devastating 16-year civil war. Under the Ta'if Accord - the blueprint for national reconciliation - the Lebanese have established a more equitable political system, particularly by giving Muslims a greater say in the political process while institutionalizing sectarian divisions in the government. Since the end of the war, the Lebanese have conducted several successful elections, most of the militias have been weakened or disbanded, and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) have extended central government authority over about two-thirds of the country. Hizballah, the radical Shi'a party, retains its weapons. Syria maintains about 20,000 troops in Lebanon based mainly in Beirut, North Lebanon, and the Bekaa Valley. Syria's troop deployment was legitimized by the Arab League during Lebanon's civil war and in the Ta'if Accord. Damascus justifies its continued military presence in Lebanon by citing Beirut's requests and the failure of the Lebanese Government to implement all of the constitutional reforms in the Ta'if Accord. Israel's withdrawal from its security zone in southern Lebanon in May of 2000, however, has emboldened some Lebanese Christians and Druze to demand that Syria withdraw its forces as well. | 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 | 19.96 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 12.8 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $4.6 billion
expenditures: $8.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $8.6 billion
expenditures: $9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Beirut | Zagreb |
Climate | Mediterranean; mild to cool, wet winters with hot, dry summers; Lebanon mountains experience heavy winter snows | Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast |
Coastline | 225 km | 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km) |
Constitution | 23 May 1926, amended a number of times, most recently Charter of Lebanese National Reconciliation (Ta'if Accord) of October 1989 | adopted on 22 December 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: Lebanese Republic
conventional short form: Lebanon local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Lubnaniyah local short form: Lubnan |
conventional long form: Republic of Croatia
conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska |
Currency | Lebanese pound (LBP) | kuna (HRK) |
Death rate | 6.35 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 11.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.4 billion (2001 est.) | $16.5 billion (2001) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Vincent Martin BATTLE
embassy: Awkar, Lebanon mailing address: P. O. Box 70840, Awkar, Lebanon; PSC 815, Box 2, FPO AE 09836-0002 telephone: 011-961-4-543-600/542-600 FAX: 011-961-4-544-136 |
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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Farid ABBOUD
chancery: 2560 28th Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6320 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6324 consulate(s) general: Detroit, New York, and Los Angeles |
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 | Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Lebanese Government claims Shab'a Farms area of Israeli-occupied Golan Heights | 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 | $3.5 billion (pledges 1997-2001) | ODA $66 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | The 1975-91 civil war seriously damaged Lebanon's economic infrastructure, cut national output by half, and all but ended Lebanon's position as a Middle Eastern entrepot and banking hub. Peace enabled the central government to restore control in Beirut, begin collecting taxes, and regain access to key port and government facilities. Economic recovery was helped by a financially sound banking system and resilient small- and medium-scale manufacturers. Family remittances, banking services, manufactured and farm exports, and international aid provided the main sources of foreign exchange. Lebanon's economy made impressive gains since the launch in 1993 of "Horizon 2000," the government's $20 billion reconstruction program. Real GDP grew 8% in 1994, 7% in 1995, 4% in 1996 and in 1997 but slowed to 2% in 1998, -1% in 1999, and -0.5% in 2000. Growth recovered slightly in 2001 to 1%. During the 1990s annual inflation fell to almost 0% from more than 100%. Lebanon has rebuilt much of its war-torn physical and financial infrastructure. The government nonetheless faces serious challenges in the economic arena. It has funded reconstruction by borrowing heavily - mostly from domestic banks. In order to reduce the ballooning national debt, the re-installed HARIRI government began an economic austerity program to reign in government expenditures, increase revenue collection, and privatize state enterprises. The Hariri government met with international donors at the Paris II conference in November 2002 to seek bilateral assistance in order to restructure its higher interest rate bearing domestic debt obligations at lower rates. While privatization of state-owned enterprises had not occurred by the end of 2002, the government had successfullly avoided a currency devaluation and debt default in 2002. | 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 | 8.643 billion kWh (2000) | 12.638 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 900 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 1.25 billion kWh (2000) | 3.7 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 7.95 billion kWh (2000) | 10.578 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 97%
hydro: 3% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 45%
hydro: 55% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Qurnat as Sawda' 3,088 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Dinara 1,830 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; desertification; air pollution in Beirut from vehicular traffic and the burning of industrial wastes; pollution of coastal waters from raw sewage and oil spills | 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: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation |
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 | Arab 95%, Armenian 4%, other 1% | 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 | Lebanese pounds per US dollar - 1,507.5 (January 2002), 1,507.5 (2001), 1,507.5 (2000), 1,507.8 (1999), 1,516.1 (1998), 1,539.5 (1997) | 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 Emile LAHUD (since 24 November 1998)
head of government: Prime Minister Rafiq HARIRI (since 23 October 2000); Deputy Prime Minister Issam FARES (since 23 October 2000) cabinet: Cabinet chosen by the prime minister in consultation with the president and members of the National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a six-year term; election last held 15 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president in consultation with the National Assembly; by custom, the president is a Maronite Christian, the prime minister is a Sunni Muslim, and the speaker of the legislature is a Shi'a Muslim election results: Emile LAHUD elected president; National Assembly vote - 118 votes in favor, 0 against, 10 abstentions |
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 | $700 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $5.1 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | foodstuffs and tobacco, textiles, chemicals, precious stones, metal and metal products, electrical equipment and products, jewelry, paper and paper products | transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels |
Exports - partners | Saudi Arabia 11%, UAE 11%, Switzerland 7%, US 7%, France 5%, Iraq 4%, Jordan 4%, Kuwait 4%, Syria 4% (2000) | Italy 23.7%, Germany 14.8%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 12%, Slovenia 9.1%, Austria 5.7%, France 3.5 (2001) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of red (top), white (double width), and red with a green cedar tree centered in the white band | red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $18.8 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $38.9 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12%
industry: 21% services: 67% (2000) |
agriculture: 9%
industry: 33% services: 58% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,200 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2001 est.) | 3% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 33 50 N, 35 50 E | 45 10 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | Nahr el Litani only major river in Near East not crossing an international boundary; rugged terrain historically helped isolate, protect, and develop numerous factional groups based on religion, clan, and ethnicity | controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 7,300 km
paved: 6,350 km unpaved: 950 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 | cannabis cultivation dramatically reduced to 2,500 hectares in 2002; opium poppy cultivation minimal; small amounts of Latin American cocaine and Southwest Asian heroin transit country on way to US and European markets | 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 | $6.6 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | $9.7 billion c.i.f. (2002) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and transport equipment, consumer goods, chemicals, textiles, metals, fuels, agricultural foods | machinery, transport and electrical equipment, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Italy 11%, France 8%, Germany 8%, US 7%, Switzerland 6%, China 5%, Syria 5%, UK 4% (2000) | Germany 17.1%, Italy 16.9%, Slovenia 7.9%, Russia 7.2%, Austria 7%, France 4.4% (2001) |
Independence | 22 November 1943 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 2.8% (2002 est.) |
Industries | banking; food processing; jewelry; cement; textiles; mineral and chemical products; wood and furniture products; oil refining; metal fabricating | 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 | 27.39 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | 7.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.5% (2001 est.) | 4% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ABEDA, ACCT, AFESD, AL, AMF, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) | 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) | 22 (2000) | 9 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,200 sq km (1998 est.) | 30 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | four Courts of Cassation (three courts for civil and commercial cases and one court for criminal cases); Constitutional Council (called for in Ta'if Accord - rules on constitutionality of laws); Supreme Council (hears charges against the president and prime minister as needed) | 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 | 1.5 million
note: in addition, there are as many as 1 million foreign workers (1999 est.) (2001 est.) |
1.7 million (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | services NA%, industry NA%, agriculture NA% | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 454 km
border countries: Israel 79 km, Syria 375 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: 17.6%
permanent crops: 12.51% other: 69.89% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 23.55%
permanent crops: 2.24% other: 74.21% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Arabic (official), French, English, Armenian | Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) |
Legal system | mixture of Ottoman law, canon law, Napoleonic code, and civil law; no judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Majlis Alnuwab (Arabic) or Assemblee Nationale (French) (128 seats; members elected by popular vote on the basis of sectarian proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 August and 3 September 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - Muslim 57% (of which Sunni 25%, Sh'ite 25%, Druze 6%, Alawite less than 1%), Christian 43% (of which Maronite 23%); seats by party - Muslim 64 (of which Sunni 27, Sh'ite 27, Druze 8, Alawite 2), Christian 64 (of which Maronite 34) |
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: 71.79 years
male: 69.38 years female: 74.32 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 74.13 years
male: 70.52 years female: 77.96 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 86.4% male: 90.8% female: 82.2% (1997 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 99% female: 95% (1991 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Israel and Syria | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia |
Map references | Middle East | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 NM | continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | total: 67 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 320,770 GRT/468,293 DWT
ships by type: bulk 8, cargo 38, chemical tanker 1, combination bulk 1, container 4, liquefied gas 1, livestock carrier 7, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3, vehicle carrier 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: France 1, Greece 10, Netherlands 4, Panama 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2, Spain 1, Syria 2 (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 branches | Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF; includes Army, Navy, and Air Force) | Ground Forces (Hrvatska Vojska, HV), Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $343 million (FY99/00) | $520 million (2002 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.8% (FY99/00) | 2.39% (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,003,174 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,086,578 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 618,129 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 860,497 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 30,037 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 22 November (1943) | Statehood Day, 25 June (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Lebanese (singular and plural)
adjective: Lebanese |
noun: Croat(s), Croatian(s)
adjective: Croatian |
Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | limestone, iron ore, salt, water-surplus state in a water-deficit region, arable land | oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 9.72 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 72 km (none in operation) | crude oil 670 km; petroleum products 20 km; natural gas 310 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | political party activity is organized along largely sectarian lines; numerous political groupings exist, consisting of individual political figures and followers motivated by religious, clan, and economic considerations | 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 | NA | NA |
Population | 3,677,780 (July 2002 est.) | 4,390,751 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 28% (1999 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.36% (2002 est.) | 1.12% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Antilyas, Batroun, Beirut, Chekka, El Mina, Ez Zahrani, Jbail, Jounie, Naqoura, Sidon, Tripoli, Tyre | Dubrovnik, Dugi Rat, Omisalj, Ploce, Pula, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split, Vukovar (inland waterway port on Danube), Zadar |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 20, FM 22, shortwave 4 (1998) | AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999) |
Radios | 2.85 million (1997) | 1.51 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 399 km
standard gauge: 317 km 1.435-m narrow gauge: 82 km 1.050-m note: entire system is unusable because of damage in civil war (2001) |
total: 2,726 km
standard gauge: 2,726 km 1.435-m gauge (NA electrified) (2000) |
Religions | Muslim 70% (including Shi'a, Sunni, Druze, Isma'ilite, Alawite or Nusayri), Christian 30% (including Orthodox Christian, Catholic, Protestant), Jewish NEGL% | 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: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 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 | 21 years of age; compulsory for all males; authorized for women at age 21 with elementary education | 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed) |
Telephone system | general assessment: telecommunications system severely damaged by civil war; rebuilding well underway
domestic: primarily microwave radio relay and cable international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) (erratic operations); coaxial cable to Syria; microwave radio relay to Syria but inoperable beyond Syria to Jordan; 3 submarine coaxial cables |
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 | 700,000 (1999) | 1,721,139 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 580,000 (1999) | 1.3 million (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 15 (plus 5 repeaters) (1995) | 36 (plus 321 repeaters) (September 1995) |
Terrain | narrow coastal plain; El Beqaa (Bekaa Valley) separates Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon Mountains | geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands |
Total fertility rate | 2.02 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.93 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 18% (1997 est.) | 20.2% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | none | 785 km
note: (perennially navigable; large sections of Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris) |