Country Information

The Republic of Croatia extends from the foothills of the Julian Alps in the northwest and the Pannonian Plain in the east, over the Dinara mountain range in its central region, to the Adriatic coast in the south. The Republic of Croatia is a parliamentary democracy; divided into 21 units of regional self-government counties. According to the Constitution Croatia has a one-chamber Parliament. The President of the Republic is the Head of State, directly elected for a term of five years. The President is also Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, and represents the Republic of Croatia, The Government, headed by the Prime Minister, is politically responsible only to the Croatian Parliament, which is comprised of the House of Representatives. Members of the House of Representatives serve four-year terms. The Government in the Republic of Croatia is organised on the principle of the separation of powers into three branches: legislative (the Parliament), executive (the President of the Republic, the Government) and judicial.

Croatia’s territory covers an area of 56.594 km² with a population of 4.2 million, most of which live in its capital and largest city – Zagreb.

Croatia became the 28th member state of the European Union on 1 July 2013.