Croatia is a country in central and south-eastern Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Adriatic Sea. Its capital (and largest city) is Zagreb, Croatia borders Slovenia and Hungary to the north, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the southeast, and Serbia and Montenegro to the east.
Croatia covers a land area of 56,691 square kilometres and has a population of about 4.4 million people (2001 census). Over 90% of the population is Croat (the majority of whom are Roman Catholics), but there are also Serbian, Bosnian, Hungarian and Italian minorities. The main population centres are Zagreb, the capital (with a population of just under 800,000), Osijek in the northwest, and the ports of Rijeka, and Split in the south. The official language is Croatian, which is written in the Latin script.
Croatia has an amazing 5,835km of coastline, 4,057km of which belongs to islands, cliffs and reefs. There are 1,185 islands in the Adriatic, but only about 50 are populated. The largest island is Krk (near Rijeka) which has a land area of 462 square km.
Croatia Quick Facts
Capital: Zagreb
Government: parliamentary democracy
Currency: kuna (HRK)
Area: 56,542 sq km
Population: 4,493,312
Language: Croatian 96%, other 4% (including Serbian, Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) Religion: Roman Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, Muslim 1.3%, other Christian 0.4%, others and unknown 6.1%
Electricity: 230V/50Hz (European plug)
Calling Code: +385 Internet TLD .hr
Time Zone: UTC +1
Map of Crotia
Climate
Northern Croatia has a temperate continental climate whereas central, semi-mountainous and mountainous regions have a mountainous climate. The entire Adriatic coast has a pleasant Mediterranean climate. Spring and autumn are mild along the coast, while winter is cold and snowy in central and northern regions. The average temperature inland in January ranges from -10 to 5°C, August 19 to 39°C. The average temperature at the seaside is higher: January 6 to 11°C, August 21 to 39°C. The climate is Mediterranean along the Adriatic coast, meaning warm dry summers and mild winters, with 2,600 hours of sunlight on average yearly - it is one of the sunniest coastlines in Europe! In the interior of the country, the climate is continental with hot summers and cold, snowy winters.
