General information about the economy of croatia
Since the adoption of the 1990 Constitution, Croatia has been a parliamentary democracy. The Croatian Parliament is a unicameral legislative body of 152 representatives (one seat was added in the November 2003 parliamentary elections), all elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms.
Industry in Croatia
The industrial sector in Croatia is dominated by shipbuilding, with food processing and the chemical industry also taking a significant portion of industrial output. It represents 27% of total economic output.
Croatian agriculture
In Croatia, 80% of the land is in private hands. Domestic agricultural production is sufficient for Croatian needs only concerning corn and sugar. The rest of agricultural products need to be imported. The agricultural sector in Croatia started to thrive in recent years; exports of blue water fish experienced a surge in demand, especially from Japan and South Korea. Croatia is a strong producer of organic foods and much of it as of late is being exported to the European Union, as are Croatian wines, olive oils and lavender.
Construction sector
Construction is one of the most significant sectors in Croatia. The industry’s share of GDO amounts to 5.5% and total construction output equals €2,406 million. There are about 6,400 companies operating in this field.
Transportation
Infrastructure in Croatia plays a significant role but its condition is unsatisfactory, especially concerning harbours and ports (both coastal and river). The railway network in Croatia has routes with a length of 2,726 km, while roadways in total measures 28,788 km, including 1081 km of expressways.
Tourism in Croatia
Croatia is one of the largest Mediterranean tourist countries. It offers not only beautiful sand beaches but also historical monuments, landscaped parks, spas and a very favourable climate. This sector was significantly affected by the civil war, but in recent years has developed dynamically. Croatia was visited by over 10 million tourists in 2006, which generated revenue of over €7 billion.
Investment in Croatia
Croatia's largest trading partner is the European Union, particularly Italy and Germany. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Croatia has been low compared to other countries in the region. According to government figures, in 2006 FDI stock was estimated at €2.7 billion, considerably higher than €1.35billion recorded in 2005. The majority of FDI has taken the form of investment in privatisation, with more than half of investments between 1993 and 2004 concentrating on supermarket construction and the banking and insurance sectors.
In 2006-2007, the Croatian government's policy towards foreign investment has been to seek foreign investors for large privatisations of state-held assets in metals and the financial sectors. Barriers to investment, particularly 'Greenfield investment', include the slow implementation of land administration reforms and ongoing problems relating to corruption. However, in 2008-2010 the government aims to focus on judicial reform to speed up contract enforcement procedures. Administrative and judiciary reforms have been identified as key areas to be addressed in EU accession negotiations.
Telecommunication in Croatia
In 2006 there were 1.5 million people using internet, over 4.4 million mobile phone users in 2006 and in 2005 there were 19,369 internet hosts registered.
Area: 56,542 sq km
Population: 4.5 million
Capital city: Zagreb
Language: Croatian
Ethnic groups: Croat 89.9%, Serb 4.5%, Bosniak 0.5%, Hungarian 0.4%, Slovene 0.3%, Czech 0.2%, Roma 0.2%, Albanian 0.1%, Montenegrin 0.1%, others 3.8% (2006)
Land boundaries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia
MACRO DATA
GDP (real growth): 4.8%*
GDP (PPP): € 34,117.14 million**
GDP per capita: € 7,581.58**
Inflation: 3.2%*
Unemployment: 11.8%*
Export: € 8.273 billion f.o.b.
Import: € 17,134 billion f.o.b.
*source: U.S. Department of State
**source: Republic of Croatia – Central Bureau of Statistic
USEFUL DATA
Currency: kuna (HRK) = 100 lip
Exchange rate
(2006 avg.): €/HRK 7.3228
Time zone: GMT +1
Area code: +385
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