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| Location: | Southeastern Europe. |
| Area: | 56,542 sq km (21,831 sq miles). |
| Population: | 4.5 million (official estimate 2008). |
| Population Density: | 79.4 per sq km. |
| Capital: | Zagreb.
Population: 784,900 (official estimate 2007). |
| Government: | Republic. Independence from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia proclaimed in 1991. |
| Geography: | Croatia stretches along the Adriatic coast, narrowing north-south; the major ports being Rijeka, Pula, Zadar, Sibenik, Split and Dubrovnik, with a larger inland area running west-east from Zagreb to the border with Serbia. The northern two-thirds of this border are formed by the River Danube. The country borders Slovenia and Hungary to the north, Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast and Bosnia & Herzegovina (southeast from Zagreb; northeast from the Adriatic coastline). |
| Language: | The official language is Croatian (Hrvatski). Ethnic minorities living in Croatia also speak Serbian, Slovenian, Hungarian and Italian. People working in tourism generally speak excellent English, plus some Italian and German. |
| Religion: | Roman Catholic Croats (87.8% of the total population) and Eastern Orthodox Serbs (4.4%), as well as small communities of Protestants, Jews and Muslims. |
| Time: | GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October). |
| Social Conventions: | People normally shake hands upon meeting and leaving. Smoking is generally acceptable but there are restrictions in public buildings and on public transport.
Photography: Certain restrictions exist. |
| Electricity: | 220 volts AC, 50Hz. |
| Head of Government: | Prime Minister Ivo Sanader since 2003. |
| Head of State: | President Stjepan Mesic since 2000. |
| Recent History: | On 25 June 1991 Croatia declared itself independent from Yugoslavia, a move that resulted in the Homeland War (1991-1995), which saw Croatia pitted against the might of the Yugoslav army and Serb irregular forces. In December 1991 the German government recognised Croatian independence, with the rest of the world quickly following suit.
The death of the country's first democratically elected president, Franjo Tudjman, in December 1999 heralded a new era of Croatian politics; Stjepan Mesić stepped into the fold and Croatia adopted a more conciliatory approach at home and abroad. Steady progress has been made in improving relations with Bosnia, Serbia and Montenegro and the country's economy is growing.
Croatia's accession to the EU, which began in February 2003, stalled in the face of the government's reluctance to hand military figures over to the Hague. However, Croatia is now on track to be a full member by 2010. |
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| Telephone: | Country code: 385. Telephone booths are operated by phonecards available at post offices, news stands and in some tourist shops. |
| Mobile Telephone: | Roaming agreements exist with most international mobile phone companies. Coverage is good. |
| Internet: | Internet cafes can be found in Zagreb and other main towns. |
| Media: | Croatia's media operate in a climate of relative freedom following the restrictions of President Tudjman's era. The constitution bans censorship and guarantees press freedom. Croatian Radio-Television, HRT, is a national state-owned public broadcaster and is financed by a mixture of advertising and licence-fee revenues. The frequencies of HRT's third national TV network were allocated to a private bidder in 2003. Public TV is the main source of news and information. National commercial networks and dozens of private local TV stations compete for viewers. |
| Post: | Stamps are available in post offices and from news stands.
Post offices hours: Mon-Fri 0700-1900 and Sat 0700-1300. Some may be open until 2200 in larger cities. |
| Press: |  The main daily local newspapers are Novi List (Rijeka), Slobodna Dalmacija (Split) and Vecernji List (Zagreb).
The weekly press includes Globus and Nacional.
There are no English-language newspapers at present.
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| Radio: | Croatian Radio is public and operates three national networks.
Radio 101, Otvoreni Radio and Narodni Radio are commercial stations. |
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| Overview: | Travellers are exempt from customs duty for goods of a non-commercial nature which they carry in their personal luggage up to the value of 300 Kn. In addition, the following goods may be taken into Croatia without incurring customs duty:
200 cigarettes or 50 cigars or 100 cigarillos or 250g of tobacco.
2l of wine and 1l of spirits and 2l of liqueur.
250ml of eau de cologne or perfume up to 50g.
Note: (a) Articles of archaeological, historical, ethnographic, artistic and other scientific or cultural value require an export licence issued by the Croatian authorities. (b) When crossing the state border, travellers must report to the police weapons and ammunition they are bringing in. |
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| Currency: | Kuna (HRK; symbol Kn) = 100 Lipa. Notes are in denominations of Kn1,000, 500, 200, 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5. Coins are in denominations of Kn25, 5, 2 and 1, and 50, 20, 10, 5, 2 and 1 lipa. |
| Currency Exchange: | Foreign currency can be exchanged in banks, by authorised dealers and post offices. |
| Credit/Debit Cards and ATMs: | American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard and Visa are widely accepted. ATMs are widespread. |
| Traveller's Cheques: | To avoid additional exchange rate charges, travellers are advised to take traveller's cheques in US Dollars, Pounds Sterling or Euros. |
| Currency Restrictions: | Restrictions apply. |
| Banking Hours: | Mon-Fri 0700-1900, Sat 0700-1300. |
| Exchange Rate Indicators: |
| Date |
Apr 09 |
| £1.00= |
Kn8.19 |
| $1.00= |
Kn5.58 |
| €1.00= |
Kn7.39 |
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