Croatia

Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a Central and Southeast European country on the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and shares a maritime border with Italy. The capital and largest city is Zagreb, which is part of twenty counties, alongside other major cities like Split, Rijeka, and Osijek. The country covers 56,594 square kilometers and has a population of nearly 3.9 million.

The Croats settled in Croatia by the late 6th century, evolving into duchies by the 7th century. Croatia was first recognized as independent on June 7, 879, and became a kingdom in 925. It entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102, and after the Ottoman threat in 1527, it elected Ferdinand I of Austria as king. Following World War I, Croatia joined the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It declared independence on June 25, 1991, leading to the War of Independence.

Today, Croatia is a parliamentary republic, a member of the European Union, NATO, and other international organizations. With a developed, high-income economy, tourism is a major revenue source, attracting nearly 20 million visitors in 2019. The government has invested in infrastructure and energy projects, and Croatia offers social security, universal healthcare, and free primary and secondary education.

Image Credit | By Thebeon – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=99050482

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