Saint Helena (2003) | Croatia (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* | 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: 18.9% (male 704; female 685)
15-64 years: 71.6% (male 2,732; female 2,545) 65 years and over: 9.5% (male 309; female 392) (2003 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, crawfish (on Tristan da Cunha) | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, barley, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soybeans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products |
Airports | 1 (2002) | 68 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
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) |
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: 410 sq km
land: 410 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Saint Helena Island, Ascension, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha, which consists of Tristan da Cunha Island, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, and the three Nightingale Islands |
total: 56,542 sq km
land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
Background | Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, Saint Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Ascension Island is the site of a US Air Force auxiliary airfield; Gough Island has a meteorological station. | 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. |
Birth rate | 12.9 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 9.63 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $11.2 million
expenditures: $11 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92) |
revenues: $22.46 billion
expenditures: $23.85 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Jamestown | 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 |
Climate | Saint Helena - tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds; Tristan da Cunha - temperate; marine, mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena) | Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast |
Coastline | 60 km | 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km) |
Constitution | 1 January 1989 | adopted on 22 December 1990; revised 2000, 2001 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Saint Helena |
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 |
Currency | Saint Helenian pound (SHP) | - |
Death rate | 6.24 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 11.57 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $41.56 billion (30 June 2007) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 |
Disputes - international | none | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997) | ODA, $125.4 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost one-half of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, the raising of livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.65 million kWh (2001) | 14.97 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 3.634 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 8.746 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 5 million kWh (2001) | 11.99 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,060 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Dinara 1,830 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; landmine removal and reconstruction of infrastructure consequent to 1992-95 civil strife |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-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 | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% | Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, other 5.9% (including Bosniak, Hungarian, Slovene, Czech, and Roma) (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), | kuna per US dollar - 5.3735 (2007), 5.8625 (2006), 5.9473 (2005), 6.0358 (2004), 6.7035 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief Michael CLANCY (since NA October 2003) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, two ex officio officers, and six elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch |
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 |
Exports | NA (2001) | 40,930 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts | transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels |
Exports - partners | US 23.7%, Japan 20.5%, Netherlands 16%, Tanzania 15.4%, Spain 6.4%, UK 5.1%, Indonesia 4.5% (2002) | Italy 23.1%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 12.7%, Germany 10.4%, Slovenia 8.3%, Austria 6.1% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue superimposed by the Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $18 million (1998 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 7.2%
industry: 32% services: 60.7% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (1998 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 5.6% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 56 S, 5 42 W | 45 10 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns | 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 |
Heliports | - | 2 (2007) |
Highways | total: 198 km (Saint Helena 138 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 20 km)
paved: 168 km (Saint Helena 118km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km) unpaved: 30 km (Saint Helena 20 km, Ascension 0 km, Tristan da Cunha 10 km) (2000) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3.4%
highest 10%: 24.5% (2003 est.) |
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 | NA (2001) | 109,800 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts | machinery, transport and electrical equipment; chemicals, fuels and lubricants; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | UK 47.6%, Tanzania 14.6%, Italy 12.1%, South Africa 10.9%, US 5.3% (2002) | Italy 16.7%, Germany 14.5%, Russia 9.7%, Slovenia 6.8%, Austria 5.4%, China 5.3% (2006) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 6.5% (2007 est.) |
Industries | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing | 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: 20.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.66 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.2% (1997 est.) | 2.2% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ICFTU | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 110 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court; Small Debts Court; Juvenile Court | 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 |
Labor force | 3,500
note: 1,200 work offshore (1998 est.) |
1.714 million (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture and fishing 6%, industry (mainly construction) 48%, services 46% (1987 est.) | agriculture: 2.7%
industry: 32.8% services: 64.5% (2004) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,197 km
border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia 241 km, Montenegro 25 km, Slovenia 670 km |
Land use | arable land: 12.9%
permanent crops: 0% other: 87.1% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 25.82%
permanent crops: 2.19% other: 71.99% (2005) |
Languages | English | Croatian 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated 2.9% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) (2001 census) |
Legal system | NA | based on Austro-Hungarian law system with Communist law influences; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (16 seats, including the speaker, 3 ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 June 2001 (next to be held NA June 2005) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15 |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.38 years
male: 74.49 years female: 80.42 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 74.9 years
male: 71.26 years female: 78.75 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 20 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.1% male: 99.3% female: 97.1% (2001 census) |
Location | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about midway between South America and Africa | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | 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) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
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 | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) | 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 |
Nationality | noun: Saint Helenian(s)
adjective: Saint Helenian |
noun: Croat(s), Croatian(s)
adjective: Croatian |
Natural hazards | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | fish | oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, gypsum, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 1.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 1,556 km; oil 583 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 7,367 (July 2003 est.) | 4,493,312 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 11% (2003) |
Population growth rate | 0.67% (2003 est.) | -0.035% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Georgetown (on Ascension), Jamestown | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 2,726 km
standard gauge: 2,726 km 1.435-m gauge (1,199 km electrified) (2006) |
Religions | Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic | Roman Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.9%, none 5.2% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age | 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed) |
Telephone system | general assessment: can communicate worldwide
domestic: automatic network international: HF radiotelephone from Saint Helena to Ascensionm, which is a major coaxial submarine cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,000 (1997) | 1.832 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1997) | 4.47 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 0
note: television programs are received in Saint Helena via satellite and distributed by cable (2002) |
36 (plus 321 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | Saint Helena - rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
note: the other islands of the group have a volcanic origin |
geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands |
Total fertility rate | 1.54 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.41 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14% (1998 est.) | 11.8% (2007 est.) |
Waterways | none | 785 km (2007) |