The Republic of Croatia is a crescent-shaped country in Europe bordering the Mediterranean, Central Europe and the Balkans. Its capital is Zagreb. In recent history, it was a republic in the SFR Yugoslavia, but it achieved independence in 1991. It is a candidate for membership of the European Union.

 

Name
Croatia is the Latinized version of the native name of the country: Hrvatska listen (help·info). The letter "r" in the first syllable "hrv" is rolled or continuant.

However, instead of the Latinized version, many languages use a form more similar to the native one. Various forms are listed in Wiktionary.

The country code for Croatia is HR (per ISO 3166)and the Croatian Internet root domain ends with .hr.

Universal despiction:

Capital Zagreb
45°48′N 16°0′E
Largest city Zagreb
Official language(s) Croatian
Government
President
Prime minister
 Parliamentary republic
Stjepan Mesić
Ivo Sanader
Independence
 June 25, 1991
Area
 - Total
 
 - Water (%)		  
56,542 km² (124th)
21,831 sq mi 
0.01
Population
 - July 2004 est.
 - 2001 census
 - Density		  
4,496,869 (117th)
4,437,460
83/km² (116th)
215/sq mi 
GDP (PPP)
 - Total
 - Per capita		 2005 estimate
$55,638 million (72nd)
$12,364 (56th)
HDI (2003) 0.841 (45th) – high
Currency Kuna (kn)  (HRK)
Time zone
 - Summer (DST)		 CET (UTC+1)
CEST (UTC+2)
Internet TLD .hr
Calling code +385