01
Physical geography
Geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands.
Local timeZagreb ·
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.
Map: Natural Earth. Boundaries show geographic context, not a position on sovereignty. Small islands may use enlarged markers.
At a glance
- Capital
- Zagreb
- Languages
- Croatian
- 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 mapGeography & languages
02
Languages
Languages used in public life include Croatian.
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Location
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia.
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
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.
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Croatia declares independence
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Croatia joins the European Union
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The euro is introduced
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
Population & economic trends
Dated World Bank observations. Population uses selected years; real GDP uses all available annual observations.
Population, 1970–2025
Millions of people3.92025 · millions of people
Population estimates may be revised. Selected years are shown.
Sources: World Bank · Population
View data table
| 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 dollars71.42025 · 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
| 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).
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.