About Croatia
Located in southern Europe due directly east of Italy, Croatia has been a host to many foreign rulers in the past, including the Roman, Venetian, Italian and Austro-Hungarian Empires. Post World war one and the collapse of the Austro Hungarian Empire, the Croats Serbs and Slovenes formed the kingdom known as Yugoslavia. Post world war two Yugoslavia became a communist state under the reign of Marshal Tito. Although in 1991 Croatia gained independence from Yugoslavia, it took 4 years of ruthless and bitter fighting for the remaining Serb forces to leave Croatia.
Whenever you travel to a new country it can be daunting and because of this it is often important to have some background information on your destination. Because of this we have provided a general outline of Croatia below. Please be advised that information contained in this page is subject to change without prior warning or knowledge, and as such you should consult an expert for the most accurate details.
Official Name: Republic of Croatia
Capital City: Zagreb
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia
Size: Croatia is 56,542 sq kms, comparatively this is slightly smaller than Lithuania.
Climate: Croatia experiences hot southern European summers and dry cold European winters.
Population: Croatia’s population is 4,491,543 which is approximately just bigger than New Zealand and less than Singapore.
Life Expectancy at birth: Croatians life expectancy at birth is 75.13 years which is well above the world average of approximately 66 years and below the European average of 77.32 years.
Major Illness: Tick-borne encephalitis is common to parts of Croatia, especially in the summer months and caution should be exercised to ticks when out in forested areas.
Ethnicities: Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, other 5.9%, including Hungarians, Italians, Slovenes.
Languages: Croatian 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other 2.9%
Religion: Roman Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.9%, none 5.2%
Government: Croatia is a presidential/parliamentary democracy in which the president is directly elected by people over 18 and over 16 if they are employed.
Head of State: Stjepan Mesić
Economy: Once one of the richest of the Yugoslavian republics, Croatia fell victim of war poverty, due to poor output in all sectors of the economy, during its civil war during 1991-1995. Since the turn of the millennium, however, Croatia has seen large amounts of investment into and progression of its economy, particularly in the tourism sector. This is due to Croatia’s natural beauty, which includes many isolated Mediterranean islands that attracts tourists from around the region, particularly high profile European celebrities. Furthermore Croatia has seen real GDP growths of 4% – 6%, whilst inflation has remained tame, helped by the fact that the currency has remained stable. However while the economy has improved and Croatia is economically stable, potential future economic misdemeanors are starting to surface, which include stubbornly high unemployment and a growing trade deficit. The government of Croatia still plays a large role in the economy as efforts to privatize sectors have been met by large public opposition. The recent EU accession process should help to improve structural and fiscal reform within the economy.
GDP: The Croatian purchasing power is $75.93 billion
For more information about Croatia, the international health insurance plans that we can offer there, or to receive a free quote, please contact one of our expert advisers today.