Background: 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 consisting of six socialist republics under the strong hand of Marshal Josip Broz, aka TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Yugoslav forces, dominated by Serb officers, were mostly cleared from Croatian lands, along with a majority of Croatia's ethnic Serb population. Under UN supervision, the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998. The country joined NATO in April 2009 and the EU in July 2013.

Geographic coordinates: 45 10 N, 15 30 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 56,594 km²
Land: 55,974 km²
Water: 620 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries
Total: 2,237 km
Border countries: (5) Bosnia and Herzegovina 956 km; , Hungary 348 km; , Montenegro 19 km; , Serbia 314 km; , Slovenia 600 km

Coastline: 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km)

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate: Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast

Terrain: geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands

Elevation
Highest point: Dinara 1,831 m
Lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
Mean elevation: 331 m

Natural resources: oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, gypsum, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower

Land use
Agricultural land: 23.7% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 16% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 1.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 6.2% (2018 est.)
Forest: 34.4% (2018 est.)
Other: 41.9% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 240 km² (2012)

Major rivers
By length in km: Danube (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km

Major watersheds area km²: Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Black Sea) Danube (795,656 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 455 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
Industrial: 184 million cubic meters (2017 est.)
Agricultural: 76 million cubic meters (2017 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 105.5 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes

Geography
Note: controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits; most Adriatic Sea islands lie off the coast of Croatia - some 1,200 islands, islets, ridges, and rocks

Population
Distribution: more of the population lives in the northern half of the country, with approximately a quarter of the populace residing in and around the capital of Zagreb; many of the islands are sparsely populated: 4,208,973 (July 2021 est.)
Growth rate: -0.48% (2021 est.)
Below poverty line: 18.3% (2018 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Croat(s), Croatian(s)
Adjective: Croatian
Note: the French designation of 'Croate' to Croatian mercenaries in the 17th century eventually became 'Cravate' and later came to be applied to the soldiers' scarves - the cravat; Croatia celebrates Cravat Day every 18 October

Ethnic groups: Croat 90.4%, Serb 4.4%, other 4.4% (including Bosniak, Hungarian, Slovene, Czech, and Romani), unspecified 0.8% (2011 est.)

Languages: Croatian (official) 95.6%, Serbian 1.2%, other 3% (including Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and Albanian), unspecified 0.2% (2011 est.)
Major language samples:

Religions: Roman Catholic 86.3%, Orthodox 4.4%, Muslim 1.5%, other 1.5%, unspecified 2.5%, not religious or atheist 3.8% (2011 est.)

Age structure
0-14 years: 14.16% (male 308,668/female 289,996)
15-24 years: 10.76% (male 233,602/female 221,495)
25-54 years: 39.77% (male 841,930/female 839,601)
55-64 years: 14.24% (male 290,982/female 310,969)
65 years and over: 21.06% (male 364,076/female 526,427) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 55.7
Youth dependency ratio: 22.6
Elderly dependency ratio: 33.1
Potential support ratio: 3 (2020 est.)

Median age
Total: 43.9 years
Male: 42 years
Female: 45.9 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.48% (2021 est.)

Birth rate: 8.68 births/1000 population (2021 est.)

Death rate: 12.78 deaths/1000 population (2021 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.74 migrant(s)/1000 population (2021 est.)

Population distribution: more of the population lives in the northern half of the country, with approximately a quarter of the populace residing in and around the capital of Zagreb; many of the islands are sparsely populated

Urbanization
Urban population: 57.9% of total population (2021)
Rate of urbanization: 0.05% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 685,000 ZAGREB (capital) (2021)

Environment
Current issues: air pollution improving but still a concern in urban settings and in emissions arriving from neighboring countries; surface water pollution in the Danube River Basin
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands, Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 17.03 micrograms per cubic meter (2016 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 17.49 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 3.98 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 28.9 years (2019 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio: 8 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 8.91 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 8.67 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 9.15 deaths/1000 live births (2021 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.97 years
Male: 73.83 years
Female: 80.3 years (2021 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.44 children born/woman (2021 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: NA

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 100% of population
Improved rural: 100% of population
Improved total: 100% of population
Unimproved urban: 0% of population
Unimproved rural: 0% of population
Unimproved total: 0% of population (2017 est.)

Current health expenditure: 6.8% (2018)

Physicians density: 3 physicians/1000 population (2016)

Hospital bed density: 5.5 beds/1000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban: 99.5% of population
Improved rural: 98.4% of population
Improved total: 99% of population
Unimproved urban: 0.5% of population
Unimproved rural: 1.6% of population
Unimproved total: 1% of population (2017 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: <.1% (2020 est.)
People living with hivaids: 1,700 (2020 est.)
Deaths: <100 (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: intermediate (2020)
Vector borne diseases: tickborne encephalitis

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 24.4% (2016)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: NA

Education expenditures: 3.9% of GDP (2017)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99.3%
Male: 99.7%
Female: 98.9% (2015)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 15 years
Male: 14 years
Female: 16 years (2019)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15-24 total: 21.1%
Rate ages 15-24 male: 18.7%
Rate ages 15-24 female: 25% (2020 est.)

Country name
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
Etymology: name derives from the Croats, a Slavic tribe who migrated to the Balkans in the 7th century A.D.

Government type: parliamentary republic

Capital
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
Etymology: the name seems to be related to 'digging'; archeologists suggest that the original settlement was established beyond a water-filled hole or 'graba' and that the name derives from this; 'za' in Slavic means 'beyond'; the overall meaning may be 'beyond the trench (fault, channel, ditch)'

Administrative divisions: 20 counties (zupanije, zupanija - singular) and 1 city* (grad - singular) with special county status; Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska (Bjelovar-Bilogora), Brodsko-Posavska (Brod-Posavina), Dubrovacko-Neretvanska (Dubrovnik-Neretva), Istarska (Istria), Karlovacka (Karlovac), Koprivnicko-Krizevacka (Koprivnica-Krizevci), Krapinsko-Zagorska (Krapina-Zagorje), Licko-Senjska (Lika-Senj), Medimurska (Medimurje), Osjecko-Baranjska (Osijek-Baranja), Pozesko-Slavonska (Pozega-Slavonia), Primorsko-Goranska (Primorje-Gorski Kotar), Sibensko-Kninska (Sibenik-Knin), Sisacko-Moslavacka (Sisak-Moslavina), Splitsko-Dalmatinska (Split-Dalmatia), Varazdinska (Varazdin), Viroviticko-Podravska (Virovitica-Podravina), Vukovarsko-Srijemska (Vukovar-Syrmia), Zadarska (Zadar), Zagreb*, Zagrebacka (Zagreb county)

Independence: 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia); 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; notable earlier dates: ca. 925 (Kingdom of Croatia established); 1 December 1918 (Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) established)

National holiday: Statehood Day (National Day), 30 May (1990); note - marks the day in 1990 that the first modern multi-party Croatian parliament convened

Constitution
History: several previous; latest adopted 22 December 1990
Amendments: proposed by at least one fifth of the Assembly membership, by the president of the republic, by the Government of Croatia, or through petition by at least 10% of the total electorate; proceedings to amend require majority vote by the Assembly; passage requires two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly; passage by petition requires a majority vote in a referendum and promulgation by the Assembly; amended several times, last in 2014 (2021)

Legal system: civil law system influenced by legal heritage of Austria-Hungary; note - Croatian law was fully harmonized with the European Community acquis as of the June 2010 completion of EU accession negotiations

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descentonly: at least one parent must be a citizen of Croatia
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Zoran MILANOVIC (since 18 February 2020)
Head of government: Prime Minister Andrej PLENKOVIC (since 19 October 2016); Deputy Prime Ministers Damir KRSTICEVIC (since 19 October 2016), Predrag STROMAR (since 9 June 2017), Marija Pejcinovic BURIC (since 19 June 2017), and Tomislav TOLUSIC (since 25 May 2018)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the Assembly
Elections and appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 22 December 2019 with a runoff on 5 January 2020 (next to be held in 2024); the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president and approved by the Assembly
Election results:

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Assembly or Hrvatski Sabor (151 seats; 140 members in 10 multi-seat constituencies and 3 members in a single constituency for Croatian diaspora directly elected by proportional representation vote using the D'Hondt method with a 5% threshold; an additional 8 members elected from a nationwide constituency by simple majority by voters belonging to minorities recognized by Croatia; the Serb minority elects 3 Assembly members, the Hungarian and Italian minorities elect 1 each, the Czech and Slovak minorities elect 1 jointly, and all other minorities elect 2; all members serve 4-year terms
Elections: early election held on 5 July 2020 (next to be held by 2024)
Election results: percent of vote by coalition/party - HDZ-led coalition 37.3%, Restart coalition 24.9%, DPMS-led coalition 10.9%, MOST 7.4%, Green-Left coalition 7%, P-F-SSIP 4%, HNS-LD 1.3%, NS-R 1%, other 6.2%; number of seats by coalition/party - HDZ-led coalition 66, Restart coalition 41, DPMS-led coalition 16, MOST 8, Green-Left coalition 7, P-F-SSIP 3, HNS-LD 1, NS-R 1, national minorities 8; composition - men 116, women 35, percent of women 23.2%
Note: seats by party as of March 2021 - HDZ 62, SDP 33, DP 9, Most 6, Croatian Sovereignists 4, We Can! 4, IDS 3, SDSS 3, HSS 2, HSLS 2, BZH 1, Center 1, FOKUS 1, GLAS 1, HDS 1, HSU 1, NL 1, Reformists 1, SSIP 1, WF 1, independent 12

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of the court president and vice president, 25 civil department justices, and 16 criminal department justices)
Judge selection and term of office: president of Supreme Court nominated by the president of Croatia and elected by the Sabor for a 4-year term; other Supreme Court justices appointed by the National Judicial Council; all judges serve until age 70
Subordinate courts: Administrative Court; county, municipal, and specialized courts; note - there is an 11-member Constitutional Court with jurisdiction limited to constitutional issues but is outside of the judicial system

Political parties and leaders: Bloc for Croatia or BLOK [Zlatko HASANBEGOVIC]
The Bridge or Most [Bozo PETROV] (formerly the Bridge of Independent Lists)
Center or Centar [Ivica PULJAK] (formerly Pametno and Party with a First and Last Name or SSIP) 
Civic Liberal Alliance or GLAS [Ankar Mrak TARITAS]
Croatian Demochristian Party or HDS [Goran DODIG
Croatian Democratic Alliance of Slavonia and Baranja or HDSSB [Branimir GLAVAS]
Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Andrej PLENKOVIC]
Croatian Democratic Union-led coalition (includes HSLS, HDS, HDSSB)
Croatian Party of Pensioners or HSU [Veselko GABRICEVIC]
Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Kreso BELJAK]
Croatian People's Party - Liberal Democrats or HNS-LD [Stjepan CURAJ]
Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Dario HREBAK]
Croatian Sovereignists or HS [Marijan PAVLICEK]
Focus on the Important or Focus [Davor NADI]
Green-Left coalition (includes MOZEMO!, RF, NL)
Homeland Movement or DP [Ivan PENAVA]
Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Milorad PUPOVAC]
Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Dalibor PAUS]
New Left or NL [Ivana KEKIN]
People's Party - Reformists or NS-R [Radimir CACIC]
Restart Coalition (includes HSLS, HDS, HDSSB)
Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Peda GRBIN]
We Can! or Mozemo! [collective leadership]
Workers' Front or RF [collective leadership]

International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CD, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EMU, EU, FAO, G-11, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (observer), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Pjer SIMUNOVIC (since 8 September 2017)
In the us chancery: 2,343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 588-5,899
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 588-8,936; [1] (202) 588-8,937
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Mark FLEMING (since May 2021)
From the us embassy: Ulica Thomasa Jeffersona 2, 10,010 Zagreb
From the us mailing address: 5,080 Zagreb Place, Washington DC  20,521-5,080
From the us telephone: [385] (1) 661-2,200
From the us FAX: [385] (1) 661-8,933
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue - the Pan-Slav colors - superimposed by the Croatian coat of arms; the coat of arms consists of one main shield (a checkerboard of 13 red and 12 silver (white) fields) surmounted by five smaller shields that form a crown over the main shield; the five small shields represent five historic regions (from left to right): Croatia, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria, and Slavonia
Note: the Pan-Slav colors were inspired by the 19th-century flag of Russia

National symbols: red-white checkerboard; national colors: red, white, blue

National anthem
Name: 'Lijepa nasa domovino' (Our Beautiful Homeland)
Lyrics and music: Antun MIHANOVIC/Josip RUNJANIN
Note: adopted in 1972 while still part of Yugoslavia; 'Lijepa nasa domovino,' whose lyrics were written in 1835, served as an unofficial anthem beginning in 1891

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2010 dollars

Real gdp growth rate: 2.94% (2019 est.)

2.7% (2018 est.)

3.14% (2017 est.)

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2010 dollars

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 57.3% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 19.5% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 20% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 51.1% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -48.8% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 3.7% (2017 est.)
Industry: 26.2% (2017 est.)
Services: 70.1% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: maize, wheat, sugar beet, milk, barley, soybeans, potatoes, pork, grapes, sunflower seed

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

Industrial production growth rate: 1.2% (2017 est.)

Labor force: 1.656 million (2020 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 1.9%
By occupation industry: 27.3%
By occupation services: 70.8% (2017 est.)

Unemployment rate: 8.07% (2019 est.)

9.86% (2018 est.)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15-24 total: 21.1%
Rate ages 15-24 male: 18.7%
Rate ages 15-24 female: 25% (2020 est.)

Population below poverty line: 18.3% (2018 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 30.4 (2017 est.)

32.1 (2014 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.7%
Highest 10: 23% (2015 est.)

Budget
Revenues: $25.24 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: $24.83 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: $0.8% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 46.1% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt: 77.8% of GDP (2017 est.)

82.3% of GDP (2016 est.)

Revenue
From forest resources forest revenues: 0.26% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal coal revenues: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 0.7% (2019 est.)

1.4% (2018 est.)

1.1% (2017 est.)

Current account balance: $1.597 billion (2019 est.)

$1 billion (2018 est.)

Exports: $23.66 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2020 est.)

$31.07 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2019 est.)

$30.71 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2018 est.)
Partners: Italy 13%, Germany 13%, Slovenia 10%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 9%, Austria 6%, Serbia 5% (2019)
Commodities: refined petroleum, packaged medicines, cars, medical cultures/vaccines, lumber (2019)

Imports: $27.59 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2020 est.)

$31.39 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2019 est.)

$31.32 billion note: data are in current year dollars (2018 est.)
Partners: Italy 14%, Germany 14%, Slovenia 11%, Hungary 7%, Austria 6% (2019)
Commodities: crude petroleum, cars, refined petroleum, packaged medicines, electricity (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $18.82 billion (31 December 2017 est.)

$14.24 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

Debt external: $48.263 billion (2019 est.)

$51.176 billion (2018 est.)

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100% (2020)
Production: 12.2 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption: 15.93 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Exports: $3.2 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Imports: 8.702 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity: 4.921 million kW (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 45% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 40% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources: 16% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 14,000 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports: 55,400 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves: 71 million bbl (1 January 2018 est.)

Refined petroleum
Products production: 74,620 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products consumption: 73,000 bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products exports: 40,530 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 35,530 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 1.048 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption: 2.577 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Exports: 172.7 million m³ (2017 est.)
Imports: 1.841 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Proven reserves: 24.92 billion m³ (1 January 2018 est.)

Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 1,300,105 (2020)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 31.67 (2020 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 4,375,699 (2020)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 106.6 (2020 est.)

Broadcast media: the national state-owned public broadcaster, Croatian Radiotelevision, operates 4 terrestrial TV networks, a satellite channel that rebroadcasts programs for Croatians living abroad, and 6 regional TV centers; 2 private broadcasters operate national terrestrial networks; 29 privately owned regional TV stations; multi-channel cable and satellite TV subscription services are available; state-owned public broadcaster operates 4 national radio networks and 23 regional radio stations; 2 privately owned national radio networks and 117 local radio stations (2019)

Internet
Country code: .hr
Users total: 3.27 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 78.32% (2020 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 1,030,973 (2020)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 25.11 (2020 est.)

Military expenditures: 2.79% of GDP (2021 est.)

1.83% of GDP (2020)

1.65% of GDP (2019)

1.57% of GDP (2018)

1.67% of GDP (2017)

Military and security forces: Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia (Oruzane Snage Republike Hrvatske, OSRH): Ground Forces (Hrvatska Kopnena Vojska, HKoV), Naval Forces (Hrvatska Ratna Mornarica, HRM, includes Coast Guard), Air Force and Air Defense Forces; Military Police Force supports each of the three Croatian military forces (2021)

Military service age and obligation: 18-27 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription abolished in 2008 (2021)

National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 2 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 18
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 2,093,577 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 530,000 mt-km (2018)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: 9A

Airports
Total: 69 (2013)
With paved runways total: 24
With paved runways over 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 6
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 3
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 3
With paved runways under 914 m: 10 (2017)
With unpaved runways total: 45
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 6
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 38 (2013)

Heliports: 1 (2013)

Pipelines: 2,410 km gas, 610 km oil (2011)

Railways
Total: 2,722 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 2,722 km 1.435-m gauge (980 km electrified) (2014)

Roadways
Total: 26,958 km (includes 1,416 km of expressways) (2015)

Waterways: 785 km (2009)

Merchant marine
Total: 354
By type: bulk carrier 14, general cargo 32, oil tanker 16, other 292 (2021)

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Ploce, Rijeka, Sibenik, Split
Oil terminals: Omisalj
River ports: Vukovar (Danube)

Disputes international: dispute remains with Bosnia and Herzegovina over several small sections of the boundary related to maritime access that hinders ratification of the 1999 border agreement; since the breakup of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, Croatia and Slovenia have each claimed sovereignty over Piranski Bay and four villages, and Slovenia has objected to Croatia's claim of an exclusive economic zone in the Adriatic Sea; in 2009, however Croatia and Slovenia signed a binding international arbitration agreement to define their disputed land and maritime borders, which led to Slovenia lifting its objections to Croatia joining the EU; Slovenia continues to impose a hard border Schengen regime with Croatia, which joined the EU in 2013 but has not yet fulfilled Schengen requirements

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Stateless persons: 2,900 (2020)
Note: 732,698 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-November 2021); flows slowed considerably in 2017; Croatia is predominantly a transit country and hosts about 340 asylum seekers as of the end of June 2018

Illicit drugs: drug trafficking groups are major players in the procurement and transportation of of large quantities of cocaine  destined for  European markets