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Croatia
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FactsBackground: The lands that today comprise Croatia were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the close of World War I. In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became a federal independent Communist state under the strong hand of Marshal TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands. Under UN supervision, the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998. In April 2009, Croatia joined NATO; it is a candidate for eventual EU accession. note: data are in 2010 US dollars GDP (official exchange rate): $59.92 billion (2010 est.); GDP - real growth rate: -1.4% (2010 est.); -5.8% (2009 est.); 2.4% (2008 est.); GDP - per capita (PPP): $17,500 (2010 est.); $17,700 (2009 est.); $18,800 (2008 est.); note: data are in 2010 US dollars GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 6.8%; industry: 27.2%; services: 66% (2010 est.); Population below poverty line: 17% (2008); Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.6%; highest 10%: 23.1% (2005 est.); Labor force: 1.762 million (2010 est.); Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 5%; industry: 31.3%; services: 63.6% (2008); Unemployment rate: 17.6% (2010 est.); 16.1% (2009 est.); Budget: revenues: $22 billion; expenditures: $24.29 billion (2010 est.); Industries: chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products, construction materials, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and beverages, tourism; Industrial production growth rate: -0.9% (2010 est.); Electricity - production: 11.49 billion kWh (2008 est.); Electricity - consumption: 18 billion kWh (2008 est.); Electricity - exports: 5.668 billion kWh (2008 est.); Electricity - imports: 12.24 billion kWh (2008 est.); Statistics: CIA World Factbook. Press 1 2 Displaying 1 to 7 of 9 items. 24 Sata(Independent daily), Zagreb Glas Istre(Independent, Regional daily), Pula Jutarnji List(Independent daily), Zagreb Lider(Business weekly), Zagreb Nacional(Independent weekly), Zagreb Novi List(Independent daily), Rijeka Poslovni dnevnik(Business daily), Zagreb Croatia in the NewsDisplaying 1 to 4 of 9 items. Brake on E.U. Enlargement Dims Hope for the BalkansCountries of the Western Balkans have expected to be next on the list of E.U. enlargement for quite some time, but the global economic crisis has made those expectations a distant prospect. The Endless Marathon: Brussels Assesses Progress in the BalkansThe European Commission (EC) annual reports on would-be members brought a mixture of hope and bitterness in the Balkans. The Hardest WordsCroatia and Serbia-Montenegro have moved toward reconciliation as the countries’ respective presidents, Stipe Mesic and Svetozar Marovic, expressed remorse during a meeting in Belgrade. Katarina Subasic reports from Belgrade. Caught Between America and EuropeAngered by French President Jacques Chirac, Eastern European countries are cementing their ties with the United States, Franko Egro writes in Shekulli |
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