Formerly part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1945-91), Croatia declared independence on 25 June 1991 and on 8 October 1991 was recognised by the international community. This gave rise to a bitter conflict with the Serb minority which demanded autonomy from Zagreb and was supported at first by the Yugoslav Federal army and then directly by Serbia. This conflict took place mainly in Krajina and Slavonia. Between 1992 and 1995 Croatia participated in the war in Bosnia-Herzegovina; in the summer of 1995 Croatian troops re-conquered Krajina, and on 15 January 1998 regained control of eastern Slavonia. The death (on 11 December, 1999) of President Franjo Tudjman, in power since 1991, paved the way for political change, in a less nationalistic and more democratic direction. On 9 December 2011, Croatia signed the European Union accession treaty, which led to the country’s accession to the EU on 1 July 2013.
According to the 1990 Constitution, which was amended several times, the Head of State, whose powers are extensive, is elected by direct vote for five years; the single-chamber Assembly (or Sabor) comprises a minimum of 100 up to a maximum of 160 members, elected for four years (currently there are 151, eight of whom represent ethnic minorities and four representing citizens resident abroad); the Prime Minister, who is appointed by the President of the Republic, must be approved by Parliament. Croatia’s legal system is based on the continental European system. On 13 April 2018, the Parliament approved the ratification of the Istanbul Convention against domestic violence.

Population by age and gender (% - 2020)
	75+ 60-74 45-59 30-44 15-29 0-14
MALE	AGE	FEMALE

The war created a demographic shake-up, reducing the number of Serbs to about 4% (compared with 12.2% in 1991). There are about 17 800 Italians living in Croatia (2012); the Italian community was granted a certain amount of autonomy in the Treaty of Zagreb of 6 November 1996.

Economic situation.
In 2020, the GDP fell by 9% due to the global financial crisis caused by the pandemic and restrictions on tourism. The economy is expected to grow in 2021 (+4.7%). Initial steps have been taken to adopt the euro.

Primary sector.
Agriculture is concentrated in the northern plains; the main crops are maize, wheat, potatoes and sugar beet; vines and olives are grown along the coast. Croatia’s forests (which cover 34.3% of the territory) produce considerable amounts of timber, much of which is exported.

Secondary and tertiary sector.
Croatia has some reserves of natural gas and oil. The Adria oil pipeline starts from the port of Omišalj, then veers off towards Bratislava and Budapest; refineries are located in Rijeka and Sisak; there is a gas pipeline to Hungary, with another one from Albania nearing completion. A new regasification plant on the island of Krk, also built with funds from the EU, went into operation in January 2021: it will help to reduce the dependency on Russia for energy. The shipbuilding industry in Rijeka and Split is significant, while the Pula shipyards declared bankruptcy in 2019.
Other sectors include steel and metal-working, chemicals and petro-chemicals, mechanics, the food and textile industries.
Croatia’s main trading partners are Italy and Germany.
The country’s two top private banks are controlled by Italian banks. Tourism has a great strategic importance.

Main exports (M US$ - 2017) machinery 1 356, electrical and electronic equipment 1 351, pharmaceuticals 1 266, petroleum products 1 068, timber 859, apparel and accessories 756, iron and steel 670, vehicles and parts thereof 607, furniture and accessories 520, aluminium 479, electric energy 474, plastics 421, technical and electro-medical appliances 289

The Pelješac Bridge is scheduled to open in 2022, which will connect the south-east of Croatia to the rest of the country.