Flag of Croatia Coat of Arms of Croatia
Croatia Republic of Croatia , is a country in Central and Southeast Europe , on the coast of the Adriatic Sea . It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro to the southeast, and shares a maritime border with Italy to the west. The Croatian archipelago contains over 1,000 islands and islets, the largest overseas territory on the Adriatic Sea. Its capital, largest city and main cultural and economic centre is Zagreb . Major urban centers include Split , Rijeka , and Osijek . The country is composed of twenty counties spanning 56,594 square kilometres (21,851 square miles) within four administrative regions . Croatia has a population of nearly 3.9 million as of 2026
Croatian history began with the 6th century arrival of the Croats to Roman Illyria . Settled as two duchies a century later, Croatia was granted independence in 878 under Duke Branimir and elevated into a kingdom under King Tomislav in 925. The Trpimirović dynastic succession crisis placed Croatia into a personal union with Hungary in 1102. In 1527, amid Ottoman conflict , Croatia aligned with the Habsburg monarchy . It reorganized into the State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs before merging into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1918. During World War II , most of Croatia was invaded by the Axis powers who installed a puppet state known as the Independent State of Croatia . A resistance movement restored sovereignty, emerging as the Socialist Republic of Croatia within the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1943. Croatia declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, successfully fighting the War of Independence until 1995.
Modern Croatia is a representative democracy with a prime minister , president , and unicameral parliament . Its constitution ensures separation of powers between the executive , legislative , and judicial branches . Croatian politics reflect a multi-party system . Croatia is part of many international organizations and forums including the European Union , United Nations , WTO , and NATO , among others. It exerts regional influence as a small power in Europe, particularly within neighboring Southeast Europe. Since 1999, the Croatian armed forces have deployed internationally for a variety of UN peacekeeping missions and multilateral military interventions. Croatia was elected to serve on the non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council from 2008 to 2009.
A developed country , Croatia has an advanced economy considered high-income and dominated by its service, industrial, and agricultural sectors. Its tourism sector is prominent, generating significant economic activity across the country. Croatia has heavily invested in infrastructure, especially in transport routes and facilities along European corridors . An emerging energy power in Europe, it has strategic investments in liquefied natural gas , geothermal networks , and electric transport. It has extensive biodiversity, wildlife, and natural resources across its geography . Croatia provides social security , universal health care , and subsidized primary and secondary education while supporting culture through media and publishing . (Full article…
Entries here consist of Good and Featured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards. The politics of Croatia parliamentary , representative democratic republic framework, where the Prime Minister of Croatia is the head of government in a multi-party system . Executive power is exercised by the Government and the President of Croatia . Legislative power is vested in the Croatian Parliament (Croatian : Sabor ). The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The parliament adopted the current Constitution of Croatia on 22 December 1990 and decided to declare independence from Yugoslavia on 25 June 1991. The Constitutional Decision on the Sovereignty and Independence of the Republic of Croatia
came into effect on 8 October 1991. The constitution has since been amended several times. The first modern parties in the country developed in the middle of the 19th century, and their agenda and appeal changed, reflecting major social changes, such as the breakup of Austria-Hungary , the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes , dictatorship and social upheavals in the kingdom, World War II , the establishment of Communist rule and the breakup of the SFR Yugoslavia .
The President of the Republic (Croatian : Predsjednik/ica Republike ) is the head of state and the commander in chief of the Croatian Armed Forces and is directly elected to serve a five-year term. The government (Croatian : Vlada ), the main executive power of Croatia, is headed by the prime minister, who has four deputy prime ministers who serve also as government ministers. Twenty ministers are in charge of particular activities. The executive branch is responsible for proposing legislation and a budget, executing the laws, and guiding the foreign and internal policies. The parliament is a unicameral legislative body. The number of Sabor representatives (MPs) ranges from 100 to 160; they are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. The powers of the legislature include enactment and amendment of the constitution and laws; adoption of the government budget , declarations of war and peace, defining national boundaries, calling referendums and elections, appointments and relief of officers, supervising the Government of Croatia and other holders of public powers responsible to the Sabor, and granting of amnesties. The Croatian constitution and legislation provides for regular presidential and parliamentary elections, and the election of county prefects (county presidents) and assemblies, and city and municipal mayors and councils. (Full article…
The following are images from various Croatia-related articles on Wikipedia.
Image 1 Savka Dabčević-Kučar ,
Croatian Spring participant; Europe’s first female prime minister (from
History of Croatia )
Image 3 The
flag of Croatia was hoisted together with the
flag of Europe on the building of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs in Zagreb as a symbol of Croatia’s membership in both the
Council of Europe and the
European Union (from
History of Croatia )
Image 4 Clockwise from top left: The central street of
Dubrovnik , the
Stradun , in ruins during the
Siege of Dubrovnik ; the damaged
Vukovar water tower , a symbol of the early conflict, flying the
Croatian tricolor ; soldiers of the
Croatian Army getting ready to destroy a
Serbian tank; the
Vukovar Memorial Cemetery; a Serbian
T-55 tank destroyed on the road to
Drniš (from
History of Croatia )
Image 5 Croatians in a caffe bars on Bogovićeva street, in
Zagreb (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 6 Vučedol dove – the most famous piece of bronze age
Vučedol culture . (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 7 The 1527 Cetingrad Charter, preserved in the
National Archives of Austria contains seals of most distinguished Croatian nobles such as:
Ivan Karlović ,
Nikola III Zrinski as well as seal with
Croatian checkerboard . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 9 Modern-day
necktie , originating from
cravat worn by Croatian soldiers in 17th century (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 11 One of the seats of 14th-century magnate
Paul Šubić , in
Bribir . Paul held the hereditary titles of the
Ban of Croatia and
Lord of Bosnia . Croatian historians sometimes refer to Paul as “the uncrowned king of Croatia”. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 13 The
Split pluteus with the figure of a king, dating from the 11th century. It is hypothesized to depict a Croatian king, probably
Petar Krešimir IV or
Zvonimir . It was originally situated in
Hollow Church . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 14 President
Zoran Milanović with other Western leaders at the
2025 NATO Summit (from
Croatia )
Image 15 The
Law Code of Vinodol from 1288, written in
Glagolitic script , is the earliest legal text written in the Croatian language. This code regulated relations between inhabitants of the town of
Vinodol and their overlords, the
counts of Krk . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 16 Self-portrait with Dog (
Autoportret sa psom ) by
Miroslav Kraljević (1910)
Modern Gallery, Zagreb (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 17 Two parts of the Triune Kingdom: Croatia-Slavonia (number 17) and Dalmatia (number 5) within Austria-Hungary (from
History of Croatia )
Image 18 The
Baška Tablet from the 11th century, written in the Croatian language and Glagolitic script. (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 20 Marko Marulić (18 August 1450 – 5 January 1524), Croatian poet, lawyer, judge, and Renaissance humanist who coined the term “psychology”. He is the
national poet of Croatia. (from
Croatia )
Image 21 Tounj bridge on
Jozephina road (from
History of Croatia )
Image 23 A 16th century depiction of
Vrana monastery , seat of
John of Palisna . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 28 The
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within
Austria-Hungary created in 1868 following the
Croatian–Hungarian Settlement . (from
Croatia )
Image 31 A map of the Istrian peninsula from the Roman map
Tabula Peutingeriana , made sometime in the 4th century (from
History of Croatia )
Image 32 Poštak Wind Farm near
Gračac ,
Zadar County (from
Croatia )
Image 33 Tourist cruise on the
Danube river, eastern
Slavonia (from
Croatia )
Image 35 Galešnjak island in a shape of a heart (from
Croatia )
Image 36 Portal of the
Trogir cathedral by sculptor
Radovan , c. 1240 (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 37 Klis Fortress in the hinterland of town of
Split was one of the places that saw action during the
First Mongol invasion of Hungary in 1242. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 38 Kingdom of Croatia c. 925, during the reign of
King Tomislav (from
Croatia )
Image 40 Cardinal
Aloysius Stepinac with the Croatian communist leader
Vladimir Bakarić at the celebration of
May Day in 1945. (from
Croatia )
Image 42 Ethnic structure of Croatia in 2021. (from
Croatia )
Image 44 The capital city of
Zagreb is the nation’s primary economic and financial centre. (from
Croatia )
Image 45 Zlatni Rat beach on the Island of
Brač (from
Croatia )
Image 46 Landscapes of
Motovun in
Istrian peninsula (from
Croatia )
Image 47 Franjo Tuđman , the 1st president of the modern independent
Republic of Croatia (from
History of Croatia )
Image 48 The
Memorial Cemetery — the central site of the
National Remembrance Day , commemorating all war victims and the
Vukovar massacre in 1991 (from
Croatia )
Image 49 The historic centre of
Trogir has been included in the
UNESCO list of
World Heritage Site since 1997. (from
Croatia )
Image 51 “Remnants of the Remnants” (
Reliquiae Reliquiarum ), shown on this map in yellow, represent the territory under the jurisdiction of Croatian-Slavonian
Sabor at the height of the Ottoman advance (from
History of Croatia )
Image 52 A map of 10th-century Croatian counties (
županije ), as they were mentioned in
De Administrando Imperio . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 53 Poglavnik of the Independent State of Croatia,
Ante Pavelić , shakes hands with
Adolf Hitler in 1941. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 54 Zagreb Cathedral in
Zagreb , the capital of Croatia (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 56 Bust of a Roman woman, found in
Solin (Salona),
Croatia . (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 57 Traditional Croatian musicians playing violins (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 58 The climax of Hasan Pasha’s Great Offensive was
third Battle of Sisak on 22 June 1593. The battle is depicted here by
Johann Weikhard von Valvasor . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 59 Ozalj Castle – one of Zrinski-Frankopan conspirators center and a center of Ozalj literary-linguistic circle which produced Croatian
baroque literature such as:
Putni tovaruš ,
Gazophylacium or
Gartlic za čas kratiti . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 60 Mass protests in Zagreb against the unification of the
State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs with the
Kingdom of Serbia in 1918 (from
Croatia )
Image 61 The assassination of Croatian MPs in the National Assembly in Belgrade was one of the events which greatly damaged relations between Serbs and Croats in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 62 A chair designed by Bernardo Bernardi in 1956. (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 63 Josip Broz Tito led
Yugoslavia from 1944 to 1980; Pictured: Tito with the US president
Richard Nixon in the
White House , 1971 (from
Croatia )
Image 64 Pluteus with the figure of king from 11th century, found in
Hollow Church in
Solin is thought to most likely depict a King of Croatia, probably
Petar Krešimir IV or
Demetrius Zvonimir . Above the sculpture,
Croatian interlace can also be seen, which is a common feature of
Croatian pre-romanesque art . (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 65 Iapodian headwear and other material culture from
Gacka valley , Croatia. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 67 Pelješac Bridge connects the peninsula of
Pelješac and through it the southernmost part, including
Dubrovnik , with the
Croatian mainland . (from
Croatia )
Image 69 A border marking of Illyrian Provinces on Sava river shores in modern-day
Zagreb . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 70 Proclamation of severing ties with
Austria-Hungary in front of
Croatian Sabor in 1918. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 71 Croatian borders similar to those established with the
Peace of Karlowitz in 1699. Although the peace treaty meant relief from Ottoman pressure, Croatia lost the compactness of its territory. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 72 Radio Zagreb , now a part of
Croatian national
public broadcasting company,
Croatian Radiotelevision , was the first public radio station in Southeast Europe. (from
Croatia )
Image 73 Novigrad Castle , near
Zadar was a place where anti-court supporters held queens Mary and Elizabeth in captivity.
Velebit mountain can be seen in castle’s background. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 74 Ban
Josip Jelačić at the opening of the first modern
Croatian Parliament (
Sabor ), 5 June 1848. The Croatian tricolour flag can be seen in the background. (from
Croatia )
Image 75 Pula Film Festival is held each year during summer. Its main stage is
Roman amphitheatre in Pula. (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 79 University Hospital Centre Zagreb is the largest hospital in Croatia and the teaching hospital of the
University of Zagreb . (from
Croatia )
Image 80 Late 9th century
Church of Holy Salvation with a Carolingian
westwork , built at the time of duke
Branimir of Croatia . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 81 Pula Arena , Roman amphitheatre located in
Pula , constructed between 27 BC and AD 68. (from
Croatia )
Image 82 Croatian musical
diva Josipa Lisac . (from
Culture of Croatia )
Image 84 Dubrovnik is Croatia’s most visited and most popular destination. (from
Croatia )
Image 85 Ban
Josip Jelačić at the opening of the first Croatian civic Parliament (
Sabor ) whose deputies were elected on 5 June 1848.
In earlier Sabors, members represented feudal estates rather than citizens. The Croatian tricolor flag can also be seen in the background. Dragutin Weingärtner, 1885. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 87 People of Zagreb celebrating
liberation on 12 May 1945 by
Croatian Partisans (from
Croatia )
Image 88 The woodcut by
Leonhard Beck , from
c. 1515, depicts the
Battle of Krbava Field between the Army of Croatian nobility and Ottoman akinjis. (from
History of Croatia )
Image 89 Medieval Croatia (dark green) south of
Gvozd Mountain shown in relation to medieval Slavonia (green) centered around
Diocese of Zagreb . (from
History of Croatia )
Image 91 Croatia joined the
EU in 2013 and the
Eurozone a decade later in 2023. (from
Croatia )
Image 92 The 1835 issue of the magazine
Danicza , with lyrics of what would later become the Croatian national anthem “
Lijepa naša domovino ” (“Our Beautiful Homeland”). (from
History of Croatia )
Lisa Nemec at the 2015 Berlin Marathon
Lisa Christina Nemec Stublić ; born May 18, 1984) is a Croatian American long-distance runner . Born and raised in the United States, where she competed for the Columbia University , Stublić moved to Croatia, her father’s homeland, and established herself as a leading long-distance athlete in the country, having set the Croatian records in 3000 meters steeplechase , 5000 meters , half marathon , and marathon . She is the first Croatian marathon runner ever to qualify for the Olympic Games . She finished 52nd in the marathon at the 2012 Olympics.
On 31 March 2016, Nemec was banned for doping for four years following an out-of-competition test taken in October 2015. (Full article…
Croatian Littoral on a map of Croatia Croatian Littoral Sometimes considered part of the Croatian Littoral
Croatian Littoral Croatian : Hrvatsko primorje ) is a historical name for the region of Croatia comprising mostly the coastal areas between traditional Dalmatia to the south, Mountainous Croatia to the north, Istria and the Kvarner Gulf of the Adriatic Sea to the west. The term “Croatian Littoral ” developed in the 18th and 19th centuries, reflecting the complex development of Croatia in historical and geographical terms.
The region saw frequent changes to its ruling powers since classical antiquity , including the Roman Empire , the Ostrogoths , the Lombards , the Byzantine Empire , the Frankish Empire , and the Croats , some of whose major historical heritage originates from the area—most notably the Baška tablet . The region and adjacent territories became a point of contention between major European powers, including the Republic of Venice , the Kingdom of Hungary , and the Habsburg and Ottoman Empires , as well as Austria , the First French Empire , the Kingdom of Italy , and Yugoslavia . (Full article…
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