Croatia Country Overview
Where is Croatia located? Croatia lies between Central and Southeastern Europe. On the time zone map, however, it is in “Central European Time” (CET). This means that in Croatia the clocks have a standard difference of 1 hour to the coordinated world time. This clock Croatian clocks are ahead of the world time (UTC+1). From the end of March to the end of October in Croatia, as in many other Central European countries, the clocks are put forward by one hour. This is known as “Central European Summer Time” and the difference to Universal Time is then (UTC+2).
Bordering Countries of Croatia
According to abbreviationfinder, Croatia is bordered by five countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the east and southeast, Serbia to the east, Hungary to the north, Slovenia to the northwest, and Montenegro to the south. To the east lies the Adriatic Sea. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country with a population of 3.5 million people. Its economy largely relies on agriculture, tourism, remittances from abroad, and foreign aid. The country has a rich cultural heritage with many diverse ethnic groups living together in harmony. Serbia is a landlocked country with 7 million inhabitants. It has an emerging market economy that relies heavily on its services sector as well as its manufacturing industry. Serbia is known for its beautiful natural landscapes including national parks and rivers as well as its vibrant capital Belgrade which was once an important trading hub in Europe. Hungary is located to the north of Croatia with 10 million inhabitants and a strong economy based on services and manufacturing industries such as automotive production. The country has many natural attractions including thermal baths and picturesque lakes which attract tourists from all over Europe. Slovenia is located to the northwest of Croatia with 2 million people living there. It has one of the most developed economies in Central Europe based mainly on services such as banking and finance along with some light manufacturing sectors such as pharmaceuticals production. Slovenia is known for its stunning alpine scenery featuring beautiful lakes surrounded by majestic mountains which make it a popular tourist destination for outdoor activities like skiing or hiking. Finally, Montenegro lies south of Croatia with 600 thousand people living there. It has an emerging market economy based mainly on tourism as well as some light industries such as textiles production or electronics assembly plants. Montenegro is known for its rugged coastline featuring many hidden beaches surrounded by lush vegetation that attracts visitors from all over Europe who come here looking for relaxation or adventure activities like kayaking or diving into crystal clear waters.
Population Distribution
As of 2023, the latest population of Croatia is 4,227,746, based on our calculation of the current data from UN (United Nations).
| Total population | 4,227,746 |
| Population growth rate | -0.50% |
| Birth rate | 8.90 births per 1,000 people |
| Life expectancy | |
| Overall | 76.20 years |
| Men | 72.60 years |
| Women | 80.00 years |
| Age structure | |
| 0-14 years | 14.21% |
| 15-64 years | 65.89% |
| 65 years and above | 19.91% |
| Median age | 42.63 years |
| Gender ratio (Male to Female) | 0.93 |
| Population density | 74.70 residents per km² |
| Urbanization | 59.00% |
| Ethnicities | |
| 90.4% Croatians, 4.4% Serbs, 5.2% others (Bosnians and others) – proportion of foreigners 2015: 0.9% | |
| Religions | |
| Catholics (Roman Catholic) 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, Muslims 1.3%, Protestants 0.3%, other and unknown 10.8% (2001) | |
| Human Development Index (HDI) | 0.837 |
| HDI ranking | 46th out of 194 |
People in Croatia
Most of the people living in Croatia are Croatians: 90 out of 100. There is also a small proportion of Serbs – five in 100 – and a small proportion of Bosnians, Italians, Hungarians and Albanians. Most of the people in Croatia live in the capital Zagreb. Since Croatia used to be one of six constituent republics of Yugoslavia and people could settle in all of these republics, they mixed up. During and after the civil war, in which the republics fought for their independence, problems arose because people of other origins were no longer tolerated and in some cases were fought and ultimately driven out (see also history).
Languages in Croatia
Most of the people in Croatia speak Croatian, an Indo-European language. Croatian is similar to Serbian and Bosnian. All three languages are also summarized as Serbo-Croatian, because they are very similar. Today Croatian is spoken as a mother tongue not only in Croatia, but also in Bosnia-Herzegovina and some other regions.
There are also several dialects of Croatian, which sound different depending on the region. On the coast you will also hear words borrowed from Italian, and if you go east, the Hungarian influence is also evident in the language. The influence of Serbian becomes stronger towards the south, but while Serbian uses the Cyrillic script, the Croatians use the Latin script.
The population of Croatia is growing barely to little, as the birth rate is very low. A woman in Croatia has around 1.5 children on average. That is little.
Religions in Croatia
Most of the people in Croatia are Roman Catholic. The Serbs in the country are Greek Orthodox. There are also a few Muslims and Jews living in the country.