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Croatia's declaration of independence in 1991 was followed by four years of war and the best part of a decade of authoritarian nationalism under President Franjo Tudjman. By early 2003 it had made enough progress in shaking off the legacy of those years to apply for EU membership, becoming the second former Yugoslav republic after Slovenia to do so. A country of striking natural beauty with a stunning Adriatic coastline, Croatia is again very popular as a tourist destination.
Overview
Croatia's EU accession talks were held up because the country's most prominent war crimes suspect, Gen Ante Gotovina, remained at large until 2005. Gen Gotovina was finally convicted by the UN War Crimes Tribunal in the Hague in April 2011, and shortly after this, Croatia successfully completed its EU accession negotiations. It is due to become the EU's 28th member state in 2013.
Tourists flock to the medieval port of Dubrovnik
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At the time of President Tudjman's death in December 1999, the country was still in a parlous state. Its citizens suffered from government-backed attacks on their civil and political rights. The governing party, the HDZ, was mired in corruption and the economy was in severe difficulties. Presidential and parliamentary elections at the beginning of 2000 ushered in politicians who pledged commitment to Croatia's integration into the European mainstream. The constitution was changed to shift power away from the president to the parliament. Croatia joined the World Trade Organisation and pledged to open up its economy. However, organised crime and mafia-linked violence continued to be a major concern, and the government had to demonstrate that it was serious about tackling the problem so as not to jeopardise its EU membership bid. A dispute with Slovenia over sea and land borders dating back to the break-up of Yugoslavia also threatened to derail Croatia's journey to EU membership until June 2010, when a Slovene referendum cleared this outstanding obstacle to Croatia's EU accession.
Facts
- Full name: Republic of Croatia
- Population: 4.4 million (UN, 2010)
- Capital: Zagreb
- Area: 56,594 sq km (21,851 sq miles)
- Major language: Croatian
- Major religion: Christianity
- Life expectancy: 74 years (men), 80 years (women) (UN)
- Monetary unit: 1 kuna = 100 lipa
- Main exports: Machinery and transport equipment, clothing, chemicals
- GNI per capita: US $13,810 (World Bank, 2009)
- Internet domain: .hr
- International dialling code: +385
Leaders
President: Ivo Josipovic Social Democrat Ivo Josipovic was elected for a five-year term in January 2010. He pledged to fight corruption and help Croatia achieve EU membership. The role of the president is largely ceremonial. He proposes the prime minister but it is for parliament to approve the nomination. The president can dissolve parliament and call elections. Prime minister: Jadranka Kosor
Declining living standards have sapped support for Ms Kosor's government
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Parliament approved Jadranka Kosor as prime minister in July 2009, days after the unexpected resignation from the post of Ivo Sanader. Ms Kosor, who had been deputy prime minister since 2003, is the first woman premier in the country's history. She graduated with a law degree from Zagreb University and pursued a successful career as a print and radio journalist before entering politics in the mid-1990s. In 2005 Ms Kosor ran for Croatia's presidency but was defeated in the second round of voting by Stipe Mesic. A member of Mr Sanader's centre-right Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), Jadranka Kosor promised to continue her predecessor's policies. She said she would lead the government with a "strong female hand", adding that her key task would be to fight Croatia's serious economic downturn. Six months into her premiership, she was enjoying unprecedently high ratings in the opinion polls, especially after she took a tough line against her predecessor when corruption allegations against him began to mount. However, her popularity dipped as the state of the economy became a more pressing issue for most Croatians and unemployment continued to climb steadily.
Media
Croatia's media enjoy a high degree of independence. However, Reporters Without Borders said in 2009 that aspects of Serbo-Croat relations were off-limits for the media. Croatian Radio-Television, HRT, is the state-owned public broadcaster and is financed by advertising and a licence fee. Public TV is the main source of news and information. National commercial networks and dozens of private local TV stations compete for viewers. Croatia hopes to complete a transition to digital TV broadcasting by 2011. The cable and satellite market is well developed. The radio landscape comprises three national public networks, four national commercial channels, regional public channels and more than 130 local and regional radios. In the newspaper sector, there are six national and four regional dailies. Austrian and German concerns have large stakes in the print media. Around 2.4 million Croatians are online (Internetworldstats.com, 2010). There are an estimated 22,000 registered websites in Croatia. The telecommunications sector is the most developed in the region. The press
Television
Radio
News agencies/internet
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