Geography 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: at Wikipedia, at CIA World Factbook

Area:
continent: 56,542 km²

• land: 56,414 km²
• water: 128 km²

sea: 33,200 km²
grand total: 89,742 km²

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries:
total: 2,197 km
border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Slovenia 670 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia and Montenegro (north) 241 km, Serbia and Montenegro (south) 25 km

Coastline: 5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km)
See also: List of islands of Croatia

Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast

Terrain: geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Dinara 1,830 m

Natural resources: oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 23.55%
permanent crops: 2.24%
other: 74.21% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 30 km² (1998 est.)

Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes

Environment - current issues: air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; landmine removal and reconstruction of infrastructure consequent to 1992-95 civil strife

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

Geography - note: controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits

See also : Croatia