Croatia

World Factbook as of November 2014: "Though still one of the wealthiest of the former Yugoslav republics, Croatia's economy suffered badly during the 1991-95 war. The country's output during that time collapsed and Croatia missed the early waves of investment in Central and Eastern Europe that followed the fall of the Berlin Wall. Between 2000 and 2007, however, Croatia's economic fortunes began to improve with moderate but steady GDP growth between 4% and 6% led by a rebound in tourism and credit-driven consumer spending. Inflation over the same period remained tame and the currency, the kuna, stable. Croatia experienced an abrupt slowdown in the economy in 2008 and has yet to recover... Difficult problems still remain, including a stubbornly high unemployment rate, uneven regional development, and a challenging investment climate. Croatia continues to face reduced foreign investment. On 1 July 2013 Croatia joined the EU, following a decade-long application process. [Croatia] has cut spending since 2012, and the government also raised additional revenues through more stringent tax collection and by raising the Value Added Tax. The government has also sought to accelerate privatization of non-strategic assets, with mixed success."

Export commondities
Transport equipment, machinery, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels

Income distribution among families – GINI index
Ranks 129th among 140 countries (lower rank number is less equal). More equal than Britain, which ranks 94th, and the US, which ranks 45th.

People

Living in an urban area
2010: 58%

Ethnic groups
2001 census: Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, other 5.9% (including Bosniak, Hungarian, Slovene, Czech, and Roma). Many Croats remain hostile to Serbs.

Religions
2001 census: Roman Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.9%, none

Living in an urban area
2010: 58%

Net migration rate:
2012: More arriving than leaving. A net gain of 1.51 persons per year per 1,000 population

Geography

Southeastern Europe, at the northeast of the Adriatic Sea, north of Bosnia-Herzegovina, south of Slovenia.

Government

A presidential/parliamentary democracy. Capital: Zagreb.

Recent History

The World Factbook in 2004 writes: "Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands. Under UN supervision, the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998."

January 16, 2005: President Stipe Mesic, supported by a center-left coalition, has won a second five-year term, with 66 percent of the vote. He spoke of his pride in the maturity of Croatia's democracy.

SOURCES:
The World Factbook