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Europe / Southeast Europe · Card 009

Croatia

Croatia is a country in Southeast Europe. Its capital is Zagreb.

Find Croatia

● Capital · Gold highlights this card’s area.
Map: Natural Earth. Boundaries show geographic context, not a position on sovereignty. Small islands may use enlarged markers.

At a glance

Capital: Zagreb
Language guide: Languages spoken & official status
Currency: Euro (EUR)
Population: 3.9 million2025 · World Bank
Area: 56,594 km²21,851.06 square miles
Independence: 1991from Yugoslavia

Croatia in context

Europe and its surrounding regions. The dot marks Zagreb; the mapped territory is highlighted in gold.

Natural Earth · locator map

Geography & environment

Landscape

Croatia combines Adriatic coastal country with Dinaric mountains and northern lowlands. Its long, indented coast includes many islands. Inland, higher limestone terrain separates parts of the coast from plains connected to the Sava and Drava rivers.

Plitvice Lakes show water moving through a stepped limestone landscape, while the Dalmatian coast has rocky shores and islands. These environments differ from the broad agricultural lowlands farther northeast. The country therefore spans both Mediterranean and continental settings.

Climate & seasons

The Adriatic coast has Mediterranean conditions, with dry summers and milder winters. Inland areas have a more continental climate with colder winters.

Water & limestone

Karst terrain includes caves, underground drainage and springs. Rivers and lakes can build mineral barriers as well as erode rock. Coastal habitats experience dry summers, while inland and mountain areas have different rainfall and temperature patterns.

Flag

Three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue -- the pan-Slav colors -- with the Croatian coat of arms in the center, which consists of a main shield (a checkerboard of 13 red and 12 silver fields) with five smaller shields that form a crown over the main shield

Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile

Landscapes & nature

Languages

Public and official use

Croatian is the official language and is written in the Latin alphabet.

Community and regional languages

Serbian, Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, Romani and other languages are used by minority communities. Some have local official uses where legal conditions are met, rather than being official everywhere in Croatia.

Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile

History & independence

Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991. War accompanied the breakup, and the peaceful reintegration of Eastern Slavonia was completed in 1998. Croatia joined the EU in 2013 and adopted the euro in 2023.

1991
Croatia declares independence
2013
Croatia joins the European Union
2023
The euro is introduced

Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile

Economy

Main activities

Adriatic tourism is a major source of export earnings. Services, food production, pharmaceuticals and manufacturing also contribute. Seasonal tourism creates both employment and dependence on visitor demand.

Industry and production

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

Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile

Population & economic trends

Dated World Bank observations. Population uses selected years; real GDP uses all available annual observations.

Population, 1970–2025

Millions of people

3.92025 · millions of people

Population estimates may be revised. Selected years are shown.

Sources: World Bank · Population

View data table

Population: source values and plotted units
Year	People	Millions of people
1970	4,412,252	4.412
1980	4,599,782	4.600
1990	4,777,368	4.777
2000	4,468,302	4.468
2010	4,295,427	4.295
2020	3,914,206	3.914
2025	3,876,200	3.876

Real GDP, 1990–2025

Billions of constant 2015 US dollars

71.42025 · billions of constant 2015 US dollars

Constant prices adjust for inflation. This is total economic output, not current-dollar GDP or income per person. Missing years are left as gaps.

Sources: World Bank · Real GDP

View data table

Real GDP: source values and plotted units
Year	Constant 2015 US$	Billions of constant 2015 US dollars
1990	46,602,093,839	46.602
1991	36,774,331,749	36.774
1992	32,466,847,438	32.467
1993	29,861,194,012	29.861
1994	31,614,187,836	31.614
1995	33,748,057,523	33.748
1996	35,810,546,859	35.811
1997	38,018,382,839	38.018
1998	38,875,109,178	38.875
1999	38,544,496,744	38.544
2000	39,680,657,122	39.681
2001	40,915,080,021	40.915
2002	43,288,734,001	43.289
2003	45,699,236,427	45.699
2004	47,605,119,873	47.605
2005	49,665,562,073	49.666
2006	52,183,539,129	52.184
2007	54,818,202,927	54.818
2008	55,899,090,638	55.899
2009	52,091,418,017	52.091
2010	51,395,391,839	51.395
2011	51,338,072,036	51.338
2012	50,189,628,843	50.190
2013	50,123,096,929	50.123
2014	49,842,639,322	49.843
2015	50,999,271,059	50.999
2016	52,766,972,837	52.767
2017	54,499,873,307	54.500
2018	56,086,403,566	56.086
2019	57,826,469,011	57.826
2020	53,020,817,679	53.021
2021	59,718,022,506	59.718
2022	64,074,327,526	64.074
2023	66,484,829,952	66.485
2024	69,028,396,205	69.028
2025	71,377,484,556	71.377

Human development

The Human Development Index combines health, education and income. Scores range from 0 to 1.

HDI · 20230.889Very High human developmentRank 41 of 193 · 2025 report

Human Development Index over time

20000.769

20100.831

20200.867

20230.889

78.6 yearsLife expectancy at birth

12.1 yearsMean schooling, adults aged 25+

The latest values refer to 2023. All historical scores use the same report edition. HDI does not describe every aspect of inequality or quality of life.

Sources: UNDP · Human Development Report 2025

Government

Parliamentary republic. Croatian Parliament (Hrvatski Sabor) has one chamber (a unicameral legislature).

Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile

Knowledge check

Three questions about Croatia.

QUESTION 1 OF 3

Tourism on which coast is a major source of Croatian export earnings?

Sources & notes

Sources: CIA World Factbook · archived profile

Prepared 24 September 2026. World Bank series: SP.POP.TOTL (persons) and NY.GDP.MKTP.KD (constant 2015 US dollars); downloaded 24 September 2026, provider update 13 July 2026. UNDP values use the 2025 report and 2023 observation year. These are dated statistical snapshots, not live population or economic counters.

Maps use Natural Earth geographic data. Background geography, flag descriptions and selected historical facts use archived public-domain CIA World Factbook profiles, supplemented by the sources linked above. The Factbook is no longer updated; dated statistics here come from the separately named providers.