Official Name: Republika Hrvatska (Republic of Croatia)

Area: Europe

Size: 56,542 km²

Coastline: 5,835 km

Independence: from Austria-Hungary October 29, 1918 

Form of Govt.: Multiparty republic

Head of Govt.: Prime Minister

Capital: Zagreb

Largest City: Zagreb

Demographics (2005): 4,493,312,   81 /km²

Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, Bosniak 0.5%, Hungarian 0.4%

GDP per Capita (2005): $14,368

Languages: Croatian 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated 2.9%

Geography: Topographically, the country can be divided into three regions (1.) The barren, Rocky Mountains of Dalmatia which are part of the Dinaric Alps and extend through the center of Croatia. (2.) The rolling hills of the Zagorje region which is located north of Zagreb and (3.) the Pannonian Plain which is flat and bordered by the Drava, Danube and Sava Rivers to the east. The country's principal rivers are the Drava and Sava.

Climate: Croatia has two distinct climatic regions with a Mediterranean climate along the Adriatic coast which is characterized by short mild winters and long warm summers while there is a continental climate on the Pannonian Plain which is characterized by extreme heat in summer and subzero temperatures in winter. Average annual precipitation is 870 mm while average temperature ranges in Split are from 8.5 degrees in January to 26 degrees in July.