Croatia - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Croatia. Controls most land routes from Western Europe to the Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits; most Adriatic Sea islands lie off the coast of Croatia -- some 1,200 islands, islets, ridges, and rocks. Mother's mean age at first birth is 29 years (2020 est.) (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 3 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Geographical data of Croatia
| Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 45 10 N, 15 30 E |
| Map references | Europe |
| Tarrain | geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands |
| Natural Resources | oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, gypsum, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower |
| Natural Hazards | destructive earthquakes |
| Irrigated Land | 170 sq km (2022) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | Dunav (Danube) (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth |
| Major aquifers | |
| Land Boundaries | 2,237 km |
| Border Countries | Bosnia and Herzegovina 956 km; Hungary 348 km; Montenegro 19 km; Serbia 314 km; Slovenia 600 km |
| Coastline | 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km; islands 4,058 km) |
| Climate | Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast |
| Area | |
| Total Area | |
| Land Area | 55,974 sq km |
| Water Area | 620 sq km |
| comparative Area | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Territorial sea | 12 nm |
| Continental shelf | 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Dinara 1,831 m |
| Lowest point | Adriatic Sea 0 m |
| Mean elevation | 331 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 25.9% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 15.2% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 1.4% (2022 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 9.2% (2022 est.) |
| Forest | 34.7% (2022 est.) |
| Other | 39.4% (2022 est.) |
Population Distribution
More of the population lives in the northern half of the country, with approximately a quarter of the populace residing in and around the capital of Zagreb; many of the islands are sparsely populated
People and Society
In Croatia, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Croat 91.6%, Serb 3.2%, other 3.9% (including Bosniak, Romani, Albanian, Italian, and Hungarian), unspecified 1.3% (2021 est.)
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | -0.46% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 8.5 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 13.1 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | |
| Physicians Density | |
| Hospital bed Density | 5.6 beds/1,000 population (2020 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 1.46 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 0.71 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 50.8% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | |
| Education expenditures | |
| Net Migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Croatian | Croat(s), Croatian(s) |
| Languages | |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 79%, Orthodox 3.3%, Protestant 0.3%, other Christian 4.8%, Muslim 1.3%, other 1.1%, agnostic 1.7%, none or atheist 4.7%, unspecified 3.9% (2021 est.) |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 13.8% (male 296,527/female 278,236) |
| 15-64 years | 63.1% (male 1,307,814/female 1,309,394) |
| 65 years and over | 23.1% (2024 est.) (male 399,090/female 559,055) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 55.2 (2024 est.) |
| Youth dependency ratio | 21.6 (2024 est.) |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 33.6 (2024 est.) |
| Potential support ratio | 3 (2024 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 45.1 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 43.2 years |
| Female | 47 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 58.6% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 0.05% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 684,000 ZAGREB (capital) (2023). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.06 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.07 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 1 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.71 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 0.93 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 8.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 8.2 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 8.7 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 77.7 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 74.6 years |
| Female | 81 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population (2022 est.) |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population (2022 est.) |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | |
| Total | 9.64 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Beer | 4.75 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Wine | 3.52 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Spirits | 1.37 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Other alcohols | 0.36 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Tobacco use | |
| Total | 32.8% (2025 est.) |
| Male | 33.6% (2025 est.) |
| Female | 32.1% (2025 est.) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Croatia
Want to know more about Croatia? Check all different factbooks for Croatia below.
