South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2002) | Croatia (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 |
Age structure | - | 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 | - | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, barley, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soybeans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products |
Airports | none (2001) | 67 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | 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: 3,903 sq km
land: 3,903 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Shag Rocks, Black Rock, Clerke Rocks, South Georgia Island, Bird Island, and the South Sandwich Islands, which consist of some nine islands |
total: 56,542 sq km
land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Rhode Island | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
Background | The islands lie approximately 1,000 km east of the Falkland Islands and have been under British administration since 1908 except for a brief period in 1982 when Argentina occupied them. Grytviken, on South Georgia, was a 19th and early 20th century whaling station. The famed explorer Ernest SHACKLETON stopped there in 1914 en route to his ill-fated attempt to cross Antarctica on foot. He returned some 20 months later with a few companions in a small boat and arranged a successful rescue for the rest of his crew, stranded off the Antarctic Peninsula. He died in 1922 on a subsequent expedition and is buried in Grytviken. Today, the station houses scientists from the British Antarctic Survey. The islands have large bird and seal populations and, recognizing the importance of preserving the marine stocks in adjacent waters, the UK, in 1993, extended the exclusive fishing zone from 12 NM to 200 NM around each island. | 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 | - | 12.8 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $8.6 billion
expenditures: $9 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | - | Zagreb |
Climate | variable, with mostly westerly winds throughout the year interspersed with periods of calm; nearly all precipitation falls as snow | Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast |
Coastline | NA km | 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km) |
Constitution | adopted 3 October 1985 | adopted on 22 December 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
conventional short form: none |
conventional long form: Republic of Croatia
conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska |
Currency | - | kuna (HRK) |
Death rate | - | 11.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $16.5 billion (2001) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina; administered from the Falkland Islands by a commissioner, who is concurrently governor of the Falkland Islands, representing Queen ELIZABETH II; Grytviken, formerly a whaling station on South Georgia, is a scientific base | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) | 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 (overseas territory of the UK, also claimed by Argentina) | 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 | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands occupied briefly by Argentina in 1982; islands continue to be claimed by Argentina | 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 | Some fishing takes place in adjacent waters. There is a potential source of income from harvesting fin fish and krill. The islands receive income from postage stamps produced in the UK, sale of fishing licenses, and harbor and landing fees from tourist vessels. Tourism from specialized cruise ships is increasing rapidly. | 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 | NA kWh | 12.638 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | - | 900 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | - | 3.7 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 10.578 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
fossil fuel: 45%
hydro: 55% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Paget (South Georgia) 2,934 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-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 | - | 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 | - | 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 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 | - | $5.1 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | - | transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels |
Exports - partners | - | Italy 23.7%, Germany 14.8%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 12%, Slovenia 9.1%, Austria 5.7%, France 3.5 (2001) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered) |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $38.9 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 9%
industry: 33% services: 58% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $8,800 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 3% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 54 30 S, 37 00 W | 45 10 N, 15 30 E |
Geography - note | the north coast of South Georgia has several large bays, which provide good anchorage; reindeer, introduced early in the 21st century, live on South Georgia | controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | - | 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%: 4%
highest 10%: 23% (1998) |
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 | - | $9.7 billion c.i.f. (2002) |
Imports - commodities | - | machinery, transport and electrical equipment, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | - | Germany 17.1%, Italy 16.9%, Slovenia 7.9%, Russia 7.2%, Austria 7%, France 4.4% (2001) |
Independence | - | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 2.8% (2002 est.) |
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 |
Infant mortality rate | - | 7.06 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 4% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | - | 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) | - | 9 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 30 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the House of Representatives |
Labor force | - | 1.7 million (2001) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 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: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and lichen) (1998 est.) |
arable land: 23.55%
permanent crops: 2.24% other: 74.21% (1998 est.) |
Languages | - | Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply; the senior magistrate from the Falkland Islands presides over the Magistrates Court | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | - | 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: 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: 97% male: 99% female: 95% (1991 est.) |
Location | Southern South America, islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, east of the tip of South America | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia |
Map references | Antarctic Region | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | 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 the UK | - |
Military branches | - | 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 | - | 2.39% (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,086,578 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | 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 | Liberation Day, 14 June (1982) | Statehood Day, 25 June (1991) |
Nationality | - | noun: Croat(s), Croatian(s)
adjective: Croatian |
Natural hazards | the South Sandwich Islands have prevailing weather conditions that generally make them difficult to approach by ship; they are also subject to active volcanism | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | fish | oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower |
Net migration rate | - | 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 | - | 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 |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: the small military garrison on South Georgia withdrew in March 2001, to be replaced by a permanent group of scientists of the British Antarctic Survey, which also has a biological station on Bird Island; the South Sandwich Islands are uninhabited (July 2002 est.) |
4,390,751 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | NA% |
Population growth rate | - | 1.12% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Grytviken | Dubrovnik, Dugi Rat, Omisalj, Ploce, Pula, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split, Vukovar (inland waterway port on Danube), Zadar |
Radio broadcast stations | 0 (2003) | AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999) |
Radios | - | 1.51 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total: 2,726 km
standard gauge: 2,726 km 1.435-m gauge (NA electrified) (2000) |
Religions | - | Roman Catholic 76.5%, Orthodox 11.1%, Muslim 1.2%, Protestant 0.4%, others and unknown 10.8% (1991) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.6 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal (16 years of age, if employed) |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: coastal radiotelephone station at Grytviken |
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 | - | 1,721,139 (2000) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 1.3 million (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (2003) | 36 (plus 321 repeaters) (September 1995) |
Terrain | most of the islands, rising steeply from the sea, are rugged and mountainous; South Georgia is largely barren and has steep, glacier-covered mountains; the South Sandwich Islands are of volcanic origin with some active volcanoes | geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.93 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 20.2% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | none | 785 km
note: (perennially navigable; large sections of Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris) |