Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Croatia
conventional short form: Croatia
local long form: Republika Hrvatska
local short form: Hrvatska
former: People's Republic of Croatia, Socialist Republic of Croatia
etymology: name derives from the Croats, a Slavic tribe who migrated to the Balkans in the 7th century A.D.

Government type:
parliamentary republic

Capital:
name: Zagreb
geographic coordinates: 45 48 N, 16 00 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
etymology: the name seems to be related to "digging"; archeologists suggest that the original settlement was established beyond a water-filled hole or "graba" and that the name derives from this; "za" in Slavic means "beyond"; the overall meaning may be "beyond the trench (fault, channel, ditch)"

Administrative divisions:
20 counties (zupanije, zupanija - singular) and 1 city* (grad - singular) with special county status; Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska(Bjelovar-Bilogora), Brodsko-Posavska (Brod-Posavina), Dubrovacko-Neretvanska (Dubrovnik-Neretva), Istarska (Istria), Karlovacka (Karlovac), Koprivnicko-Krizevacka (Koprivnica-Krizevci), Krapinsko-Zagorska (Krapina-Zagorje), Licko-Senjska (Lika-Senj), Medimurska (Medimurje), Osjecko-Baranjska (Osijek-Baranja), Pozesko-Slavonska (Pozega-Slavonia), Primorsko-Goranska (Primorje-Gorski Kotar), Sibensko-Kninska (Sibenik-Knin), Sisacko-Moslavacka (Sisak-Moslavina), Splitsko-Dalmatinska (Split-Dalmatia), Varazdinska (Varazdin), Viroviticko-Podravska (Virovitica-Podravina), Vukovarsko-Srijemska (Vukovar-Syrmia), Zadarska (Zadar), Zagreb*, Zagrebacka (Zagreb county)

Independence:
25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia); notable earlier dates: ca. 925 (Kingdom of Croatia established); 1 December 1918 (Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) established)

National holiday:
Independence Day, 8 October (1991) and Statehood Day, 25 June (1991); note - 25 June 1991 was the day the Croatian parliament voted for independence; following a three-month moratorium to allow the European Community to solve the Yugoslav crisis peacefully, parliament adopted a decision on 8 October 1991 to sever constitutional relations with Yugoslavia

Constitution:
history: several previous; latest adopted 22 December 1990
amendments: proposed by at least one fifth of the Assembly membership, by the president of the republic, by the Government of Croatia, or through petition by at least 10% of the total electorate; proceedings to amend require majority vote by the Assembly; passage requires two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly; passage by petition requires a majority vote in a referendum and promulgation by the Assembly; amended several times, last in 2014 (2016)

Legal system:
civil law system influenced by legal heritage of Austria-Hungary; note - Croatian law was fully harmonized with the European Community acquis as of the June 2010 completion of EU accession negotiations

International law organization participation:
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship:
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Croatia
dual citizenship recognized: yes
residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
[see also: Suffrage country ranks ]

Executive branch:
chief of state: President Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC (since 19 February 2015)
head of government: Prime Minister Andrej PLENKOVIC (since 19 October 2016); Deputy Prime Ministers Damir KRSTICEVIC (since 19 October 2016), Predrag STROMAR (since 9 June 2017), Marija Pejcinovic BURIC (since 19 June 2017), and Tomislav TOLUSIC (since 25 May 2018)
cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the Assembly
elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 22 December 2019 with a runoff on 5 January 2020 (next to be held in 2024); the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually appointed prime minister by the president and approved by the Assembly
election results: Zoran MILANOVIC elected president in second round; percent of vote - Zoran MILANOVIC (SDP) 52.7%, Kolinda GRABAR-KITAROVIC (HDZ) 47.3%; note - MILANOVIC takes office on 19 February 2020

Legislative branch:
description: unicameral Assembly or Hrvatski Sabor (151 seats; 140 members in 10 multi-seat constituencies and 3 members in a single constituency for Croatian diaspora directly elected by proportional representation vote using the D'Hondt method with a 5% threshold; an additional 8 members elected from a nationwide constituency by simple majority by voters belonging to minorities recognized by Croatia; the Serb minority elects 3 Assembly members, the Hungarian and Italian minorities elect 1 each, the Czech and Slovak minorities elect 1 jointly, and all other minorities elect 2; all members serve 4-year terms
elections: last held on 11 September 2016 as a snap election following dissolution of the Assembly on 15 July 2016 (next to be held by 23 December 2020)
election results: percent of vote by coalition/party - NA; number of seats by coalition/party - HDZ coalition 61, People's Coalition 54, Most-HL 13, Only Option 8, minorities 8 (includes SDSS 3), other 7; composition - men 123, women 28, percent of women 18.5%
note: seats by party as of June 2019 - HDZ 55, SDP 29, MOST-NL 10, HNS 4, HSS 4, GLAS 4, IDS 3, SDSS 3, BM365-SRS 3, Human Shield 2, HDS 2, NHR 2, other 8, independent 21

Judicial branch:
highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of the court president and vice president, 25 civil department justices, and 16 criminal department justices)
judge selection and term of office: president of Supreme Court nominated by the president of Croatia and elected by the Sabor for a 4-year term; other Supreme Court justices appointed by the National Judicial Council; all judges serve until age 70
subordinate courts: Administrative Court; county, municipal, and specialized courts; note - there is an 11-member Constitutional Court with jurisdiction limited to constitutional issues but is outside of the judicial system

Political parties and leaders:
Bloc of Pensioners Together or BUZ [Milivoj SPIKA]
Bridge of Independent Lists or Most-NL [Bozo PETROV]
Civic Liberal Alliance or GLAS [Ankar Mrak TARITAS]
Croatian Christian Democratic Party or HDS [Goran DODIG]
Croatian Democratic Congress of Slavonia and Baranja or HDSSB [Branimir GLAVAS]
Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Andrej PLENKOVIC]
Croatian Laborists - Labor Party or HL [David BREGOVAC]
Croatian Party of Rights - Dr. Ante Starcevic or HSP AS [Hrvoje NICE]
Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Kreso BELJAK]
Croatian Pensioner Party or HSU [Silvano HRELJA]
Croatian People's Party - Liberal Democrats or HNS [Ivan VRDOLJAK]
Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Darinko KOSOR]
Forward Croatia Progressive Alliance [Ivo JOSIPOVIC]
Human Shield (Zivi Zid) [Vilibor SINCIC]
Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Milorad PUPOVAC]
Independents for Croatia or NHR [Bruna ESIH]
Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Boris MILETIC]
Let's Change Croatia or PH [Ivan LOVRINOVIC]
Milan Bandic 365 - Party of Labor and Solidarity or BM365-SRS [Milan BANDIC]
Movement for Successful Croatia or HRAST [Ladislav ILCIC]
People's Party - Reformists Party [Radimir CACIC]
Power-People’s and Civic Engagement Party or SNAGA [Goran ALEKSIC]
Smart Party or PAMETNO [Marijana PULJAK]
Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Davor BERNARDIC]

International organization participation:
Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CD, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EMU, EU, FAO, G-11, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, NAM (observer), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
Ambassador Pjer SIMUNOVIC (since 8 September 2017)
chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899
FAX: [1] (202) 588-8936
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador W. Robert KOHORST (since 12 January 2018)
telephone: [385] (1) 661-2200
embassy: 2 Thomas Jefferson Street, 10010 Zagreb
mailing address: use embassy street address
FAX: [385] (1) 661-2373

Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and blue - the Pan-Slav colors - superimposed by the Croatian coat of arms; the coat of arms consists of one main shield (a checkerboard of 13 red and 12 silver (white) fields) surmounted by five smaller shields that form a crown over the main shield; the five small shields represent five historic regions (from left to right): Croatia, Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria, and Slavonia
note: the Pan-Slav colors were inspired by the 19th-century flag of Russia

National symbol(s):
red-white checkerboard; national colors: red, white, blue

National anthem:
name: "Lijepa nasa domovino" (Our Beautiful Homeland)
lyrics/music: Antun MIHANOVIC/Josip RUNJANIN
note: adopted in 1972 while still part of Yugoslavia; "Lijepa nasa domovino," whose lyrics were written in 1835, served as an unofficial anthem beginning in 1891