Croatia

### Motto

"Oče u našoj slobodi, slavi u našim srcima." (Croatian)"Father in our freedom, glory in our hearts." (English)

### National Anthem

"Hrvatska, ti si moja domovina." (Državna himna Bosne i Hercegovine) (1992-present)

## General Information

### Recognized Languages

SerbianItalian

Hungarian

Czech

Slovak

French

Rusyn

Ukrainian

German

Slovene

Yiddish

Hebrew

Istro-Romanian

Albanian

Dalmatian

### Government

Unitary Parliamentary Constitutional Republic

### Leaders

Franjo Tuđman (1992 - 1999)Alen Ivić (1999 - 2004)

Radomir Berković (2004 - 2014)

Berislav Pralija (2014 - present)

### Membership

World AssemblyBalkan League

AEATO

Afro-Eurasian Union

## Historical Information

### Preceded by

SR Croatia

**Croatia** *(Croatian: Hrvatska)* officially the **Croatian Republic** *(Croatian: Hrvatska Republika)* is a country at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, on the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia, and Istria to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Sandžak, and Montenegro to the southeast, sharing a maritime border with Italy. Its capital, Zagreb, forms one of the country's primary subdivisions, along with twenty counties. Croatia has an area of 56,594 square kilometres (21,851 square miles) and a population of 4.07 million, most of whom are Catholics.

The Croats arrived in the area in the 6th century and organised the territory into two duchies by the 9th century. Croatia was first internationally recognized as an independent state on 7 June 879 during the reign of duke Branimir. Tomislav became the first king by 925, elevating Croatia to the status of a kingdom. During the succession crisis after the Trpimirović dynasty ended, Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, faced with Ottoman conquest, the Croatian Parliament elected Ferdinand I of Austria to the Croatian throne. In October 1918, the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, independent from the Capathopannonian Federation, was proclaimed in Zagreb, and in December 1918 it was merged into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Following the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, most of the Croatian territory was incorporated into a Nazi-backed client-state, the Independent State of Croatia. A resistance movement developed led to the creation of the Federal State of Croatia, which after the war became a founding member and constituent of the Socialist Federation of Yugoslavia. On 25 June 1991, Croatia declared independence and the Croatian War of Independence was fought for four years following the declaration.

A sovereign state, Croatia is a republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a member of the Afro-Eurasian Union (AEAU), the World Assembly (WA), the Balkan League, AEATO, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and a founding member of the Union for the Mediterranean. As an active participant in the WA peacekeeping forces, Croatia has contributed troops to the AEATO-led mission in Afghanistan and took a non-permanent seat on the WA Security Council for the 2008–2009 term. Since 2000, the Croatian government has constantly invested in infrastructure, especially transport routes and facilities along the Pan-European corridors.

Croatia is classified by the World Bank as a high-income economy and ranks very high on the Human Development Index. The economy is dominated by service, industrial sectors and agriculture. Tourism is a significant source of revenue, with Croatia ranked among the top 20 most popular tourist destinations in the world. The state controls a part of the economy, with substantial government expenditure. The Afro-Eurasian Union is Croatia's most important trading partner. Croatia provides social security, universal health care system, and a tuition-free primary and secondary education, while supporting culture through numerous public institutions and corporate investments in media and publishing.