South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (2002) | Croatia (2006) | |
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: 16.2% (male 373,638/female 354,261)
15-64 years: 67% (male 1,497,958/female 1,515,314) 65 years and over: 16.8% (male 288,480/female 465,098) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, barley, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soybeans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products |
Airports | none (2001) | 68 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 23
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 9 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 45
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 37 (2006) |
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. | 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 | - | 9.61 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $17.69 billion
expenditures: $19.35 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | - | name: Zagreb
geographic coordinates: 45 48 N, 15 58 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 | 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; revised 2000, 2001 |
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 former: People's Republic of Croatia, Socialist Republic of Croatia |
Death rate | - | 11.48 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $30.62 billion (2005 est.) |
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 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, also claimed by Argentina) | chief of mission: Ambassador Neven JURICA
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 | discussions continue 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; 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 | - | ODA, $166.5 million (2002) |
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 a mild recession in 2000 with tourism, banking, and public investments leading the way. Unemployment remains high, at about 18%, with structural factors slowing its decline. 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. Growth, while impressive at about 3% to 4% for the last several years, has been stimulated, in part, through high fiscal deficits and rapid credit growth. The EU accession process should accelerate fiscal and structural reform. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 15.81 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | - | 550 million kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | - | 5.99 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 11.15 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: NA%
hydro: NA% nuclear: NA% other: NA% |
- |
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-Sulfur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
Ethnic groups | - | Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, other 5.9% (including Bosniak, Hungarian, Slovene, Czech, and Roma) (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | - | kuna per US dollar - 5.9473 (2005), 6.0358 (2004), 6.7035 (2003), 7.8687 (2002), 8.34 (2001) |
Executive branch | - | chief of state: President Stjepan (Stipe) MESIC (since 18 February 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Ivo SANADER (since 9 December 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Jadranka KOSOR (since 23 December 2003) and Damir POLANCEC (since 15 February 2005) 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 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 (HDZ) 34% in the second round |
Exports | - | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | - | transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels |
Exports - partners | - | Italy 21.8%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 14.7%, Germany 10.7%, Slovenia 8.1%, Austria 7.3% (2005) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue superimposed by the Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 7%
industry: 30.8% services: 62.2% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 4.3% (2005 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 | - | 2 (2006) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | 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 bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | - | machinery, transport and electrical equipment; chemicals, fuels and lubricants; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | - | Italy 15.9%, Germany 14.9%, Russia 9.1%, Slovenia 6.8%, Austria 5.8%, China 4.7%, France 4.2% (2005) |
Independence | - | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 5.1% (2005 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 | - | total: 6.72 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 6.7 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 3.3% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | - | ACCT (observer), BIS, BSEC (observer), CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 110 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the Assembly |
Labor force | - | 1.71 million (2005 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | 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: 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: 25.82%
permanent crops: 2.19% other: 71.99% (2005) |
Languages | - | Croatian 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated 2.9% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) (2001 census) |
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 (152 seats; note - one seat was added in the November 2003 parliamentary elections; members elected from party lists by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 23 November 2003 (next to be held in 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; number of seats by party - HDZ 66, SDP 34, HSS 10, HNS 10, HSP 8, IDS 4, Libra 3, HSU 3, SDSS 3, other 11 note: minority government coalition - HDZ, DC, HSLS, HSU, SDSS |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 74.68 years
male: 71.03 years female: 78.53 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.5% male: 99.4% female: 97.8% (2003 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 |
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | - | total: 72 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,079,286 GRT/1,724,698 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 22, cargo 11, chemical tanker 3, passenger/cargo 27, petroleum tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 3 registered in other countries: 36 (Belize 1, Cyprus 2, Liberia 7, Malta 10, Marshall Islands 2, Panama 5, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 9) (2006) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Ground Forces (Hrvatska Kopnena Vojska, HKoV), Naval Forces (Hrvatska Ratna Mornarica, HRM), Air and Air Defense Forces (Hrvatsko Ratno Zrakoplovstvo i Protuzrakoplovna Obrana, HRZiPZO), Joint Education and Training Command, Logistics Command; Military Police Force supports each of the three Croatian military forces (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $620 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.39% (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Liberation Day, 14 June (1982) | Independence Day, 8 October (1991); note - 25 June 1991 is 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: 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, gypsum, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower |
Net migration rate | - | 1.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 1,340 km; oil 583 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Croatian Bloc or HB [Ivic PASALIC]; Croatian Christian Democratic Union or HKDU [Anto KOVACEVIC]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party of Rights 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] (in 2005 party merged with Libra to become Croatian People's Party-Liberal Democrats or NS-LD [Vesna PUSIC]); Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Djurdja ADLESIC]; Croatian True Revival Party or HIP [Miroslav TUDJMAN]; Democratic Centre or DC [Vesna SKARE-OZBOLT]; Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Ivica RACAN] |
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.) |
4,494,749 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 11% (2003) |
Population growth rate | - | -0.03% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Grytviken | - |
Radio broadcast stations | 0 (2003) | AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999) |
Railways | - | total: 2,726 km
standard gauge: 2,726 km 1.435-m gauge (1,199 km electrified) (2005) |
Religions | - | Roman Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.9%, none 5.2% (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2006 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: 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 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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 1,889,500 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 2.984 million (2005) |
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 | - | 1.4 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 18% official rate; labor force surveys indicate unemployment around 14% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | none | 785 km (2006) |