Croatia

Croatia is a country at the intersection of Central and Southeastern Europe in the Adriatic Sea. Croatia borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the southeast, and Montenegro, and shares a maritime boundary with Italy to the west and southwest. Zagreb, the largest city in its capital, forms one of the major subdivisions of a country of 20 counties. Croatia has an area of ​​56,594 square kilometers (21,851 square miles) and a population of 4.07 million.

The Croats arrived in the 6th century and by the 9th century had organized their territories into two principalities. Croatia was first recognized as internationally independent on June 7, 879, during the reign of the Duke of Branimir. Tomislav became the first king by 925 and promoted Croatia to the status of a kingdom. During the succession crisis after the end of the Torpimilovich dynasty, Croatia joined the personal union with Hungary in 1102. In the face of the conquest of the Ottoman Empire in 1527, the Croatian Parliament elected Austrian Ferdinand I to the throne of Croatia. In October 1918, Slovenes, Croatians and Serbs, independent of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, were declared in Zagreb and integrated into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in December 1918. After the Axis invasion of Yugoslavia in April 1941, most of Croatia was incorporated into the Nazi-established puppet state of Croatia. The Resistance movement led to the creation of the Socialist Republic of Croatia and became a founding member and member of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia after the war. On June 25, 1991, Croatia declared independence, and the War of Independence fought four years after the declaration.

Croatia, a sovereign state, is a republic governed by a parliamentary system. It is a member of the European Union, the United Nations, the Council of Europe, NATO, the World Trade Organization and a founding member of the Union for the Mediterranean. Croatia is an active participant in UN peacekeeping operations, sending troops to the International Security Assistance Force and becoming a permanent member of the UN Security Council for a term of 2008-2009. Since 2000, the Croatian government has invested in infrastructure, especially transportation routes and facilities along the Pan-European Corridor.

Croatia is classified by the World Bank as a high-income economy and ranks very high in the Human Development Index. Services, the industrial sector and agriculture dominate the economy. Tourism is an important source of income and Croatia is ranked among the 20 most popular tourist destinations. The state controls part of the economy with considerable government spending. The European Union is Croatia's most important trading partner. Croatia provides social security, universal insurance, and free primary and secondary education, while supporting culture through corporate investment in public institutions, the media and publishing.