Croatia Facts, Croatia Flag - National Geographic

Fast Facts

Population:: 4,438,000
Capital:: Zagreb; 688,000
Area:: 56,542 square kilometers (21,831 square miles)
Language:: Croatian
Religion:: Roman Catholic, Orthodox
Currency:: Kuna
Life Expectancy:: 74
GDP per Capita:: U.S. $9,800
Literacy Percent:: 99

A crescent-shaped country in southeast Europe, Croatia extends from the fertile plains of the Danube to the mountainous coast of the Adriatic Sea. In the Adriatic, Croatia has 1,185 islands—many are major tourist areas. The 1991-95 civil war between Croats and Serbs caused massive damage to cities and industries. War halted the tourist trade and drastically cut industrial output, including a lucrative ship-building business. Since the war, Croatia has progressed politically and economically; it applied for European Union membership in 2003.

ECONOMY

Industry: Chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics
Agriculture: Wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed; livestock
Exports: Transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels

—Text From National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition

Related Features

Photo Gallery: Europe's Best Small Ports

Set sail for six of Europe's harbor towns in Malta, Norway, France, Estonia, Poland, and Croatia.
Best of the World 2012

It's time to start planning your adventures for 2012. Here are Traveler magazine's 20 best places in the world to visit, including Istria, Croatia.
A Light on the Croatian Coast

The author journeys to a thousand-year-old community, hoping to find a lighthouse to call his own.