-
Geographical position:
Croatia extends from the furthest eastern edges of the Alps in the north-west to the Pannonian lowlands and the banks of the Danube in the east; its central region is covered by the Dinara mountain range, and its southern parts extend to the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
-
Surface:
the mainland covers 56,594 km2; surface area of territorial waters totals 31,067 km2.
-
Population:
4,437,460 inhabitants; composition of population: the majority of the population are Croats; national minorities are Serbs, Slovenes, Hungarians, Bosnians, Italians, Czechs and others.
-
System of government:
Multi-party parliamentary republic.
-
Capital:
Zagreb (779,145 inhabitants), the economic, traffic, cultural and academic centre of the country.
-
Coastline:
5,835.3 km, of which 4,058 km comprise the coastlines of islands, solitary rocks and reefs. Number of islands, solitary rocks and reefs: 1,185; the largest islands are Cres and Krk; there are 47 inhabited islands.
-
Highest peak:
Dinara - 1,831 m above sea level.
-
Climate:
Croatia has three climate zones; the prevailing climate in the country’s interior is moderately rainy; on the highest peaks, a forest climate with snow falls, while the areas along the Adriatic coast have a pleasantly mild Mediterranean climate with a large number of sunny days; summers are dry and hot, winters mild and wet with significant precipitations. Average temperatures in the interior: January -2 to 0 oC, somewhat lower at the highest altitudes; August - about 20 oC and about 12 oC on the highest peaks. Average temperature in the littoral: January - 5 to 9 oC, August - 22 to 25 oC; sea temperature in winter: 2 oC; in summer, about 25 oC.
-
Currency:
kuna (1 kuna = 100 lipa). Foreign currency can be exchanged in banks, exchange offices, post offices, travel agencies, hotels, camps, marinas; cheques can be cashed in banks.
-
Culture:
Although one of Europe's smaller states, Croatia is a country with an incredibly diverse folk tradition. In numerous regions of this land there occurs a dramatic meeting of the cultures of cautious Middle Europe, the exuberant Mediterranean and the harsh Balkans. It is therefore practically impossible to subsume Croatian music and dance culture under a common denominator and identity since it is concurrently living several identities. And as Croatia has not, as yet, reached its post-industrial phase in the technological sense, it can be described as a kind of ecological oasis. It also needs to be said that rural parts of Croatia still preserve some of the archaic folk customs in their ancient forms. In this country, folklore has not yet completely lost the power of daily ritual. The indigenous still retains its powerful rural sources in areas where civilization has not yet dismantled the immemorial links between nature and mankind.
