Celebrating Croatia’s admission into the UN on the main square in Zagreb upon the return of President Tuđman from New York on 24 May 1992. Croatia declared its independence on 25 June 1991, confirmed this decision on 8 October 1991 at the expiration of the moratorium, and was recognised by the international community on 15 January 1992.

With 13 entries on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Croatia is, with Spain, the European country with the highest number of entries.

The Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts is the oldest in Southeast Europe (1866) and has up to 160 full members (academicians) in its 9 departments. It also encompasses several scientific-research and art institutes, as well as numerous scientific boards and councils.

About 60% of the population live in urban centres, and one in four live in one of the four largest cities (Zagreb, Split, Rijeka, Osijek).

Croatian emigrants on board ship heading for Canada, 1923. According to estimates, the Croatian diaspora, from Europe across North and South America to Australia, comprises over two and a half million people.

Legislative power

In accordance with legal tradition, the Croatian Parliament is traditionally titled the Sabor. The oldest preserved records of sessions of the Sabor date back to 1273. Until the 16th century, the Slavonian and Croatian Sabors sat separately, but from 1681 ...

The Prehistoric period

The earliest traces of human presence on Croatian soil date back to the Palaeolithic Age. In Šandalja Cave near Pula, and in Punikve near Ivanec, flints made by pre-Neanderthal people have been found, while the remains of Neanderthal prehistoric ...

Adriatic Sea and islands

The Adriatic Sea is the most indented section of the Mediterranean Sea on the continent of Europe. In its present shape, it was formed by the rising of the sea level by 96 metres following the last ice age ...

Climate

Thanks to its position in the moderate climate belt along the 45th parallel, Croatia enjoys a predominantly moderate climate, with four clearly marked seasons. Local climate differences are determined primarily by the diversity of the relief ...

Relief

Although the land area of Croatia is not large (56,594 km², 19th in size among the countries of the European Union), it has an extremely varied relief, as it adjoins several large European relief forms. There are three main types of relief in Croatia...

Ancient times and the early Christian period

Thanks to trade routes and communications, the ancient peoples of the Bronze and Iron Ages living in the land which is present-day Croatia were in touch with the artistic output of the Greek and Etruscans ...

The Constitution

The Croatian Parliament adopted the Constitution of the Republic of Croatia on 22 December 1990. It is popularly known as the ‘Christmas Constitution’. Parliament adopted amendments to the Constitution in 1997, 2000, 2001 and 2010. The Constitution of the Republic ...

Croatia in brief

Croatia has been present on the contemporary international political stage since its independence from the Yugoslav Federation, i.e. for a little over two decades, but in terms of history and culture, is one of the oldest European countries ...