- Population:
- 3,875,000
- Religion:
- Christianity
Croatia's history dates back to the medieval Croatian Kingdom, which later became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Following World War I, it joined the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which became Yugoslavia. Croatia declared independence in 1991, leading to a war with Yugoslav forces. Since the 1990s, it has developed into a stable democracy, joining the European Union in 2013 and becoming a key tourist destination.
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, on the Adriatic Sea. It shares borders with Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the southeast, and Montenegro to the southeast, and has a maritime border with Italy to the west. Covering an area of approximately 56,594 square kilometers, Croatia has a population of about 3.8 million people as of 2023. The capital and largest city is Zagreb. The official language is Croatian. Croatia operates as a unitary parliamentary republic. The economy is classified as high-income and is diversified, with key sectors including tourism, shipbuilding, agriculture, and information technology. Croatia is a member of the European Union, the United Nations, NATO, and the World Trade Organization.