The amphitheatre in Pula, known as the Arena, built in the first century, the sixth largest in the Roman Empire, could host 25,000 spectators. Today, it is used for large cultural and sporting events.

In 1990 Croatia was, with Slovenia and the Czech Republic, among the most developed Central European transition countries. However, its economic development was burdened by significant war damage, estimated at $37.1 billion, which made its transition to a market economy more difficult. The level of pre-war GDP (1990) was only reached again in 2004, and today’s GDP per capita amounts to 61% of the EU average (2012). The kuna, the national currency, was introduced in 1994.

The Baška Tablet, one of the earliest preserved written monuments in Croatian, dated about 1100. This white limestone tablet, which measures 199 x 99.5 x 9 cm, contains the first mention of the word Croatia in Croatian – in the title given to Zvonimir, 'king of the Croats'.

Celebrating Croatia’s admission into the UN on the main square in Zagreb upon the return of President Tuđman from New York on 24 May 1992. Croatia declared its independence on 25 June 1991, confirmed this decision on 8 October 1991 at the expiration of the moratorium, and was recognised by the international community on 15 January 1992.

With 13 entries on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, Croatia is, with Spain, the European country with the highest number of entries.

Emergence of Croatia

The first Slavic tribes arrived in the area which is modern-day Croatia in the 6th and 7th centuries, during the Migration Period. Among them were the Croats, who are mentioned in sources in connection with a wider area, but were ethnically most ...

Demographic picture

With a population density of 76 per km², Croatia is one of the more sparsely populated European countries, along with Norway, Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ireland and Bulgaria. In the last 150 years, several factors have influenced population ...

Major companies

In Croatia there are several large companies under private ownership which play a significant role in foreign trade. Some of them are significant technological innovators ...

Counties

The basic units of regional self-government are the counties (županija in Croatian). The present administrative territorial division of the country was introduced in 1997, when the 1992 division was changed. Smaller administrative territorial units within counties ...

Adriatic Sea and islands

The Adriatic Sea is the most indented section of the Mediterranean Sea on the continent of Europe. In its present shape, it was formed by the rising of the sea level by 96 metres following the last ice age ...

Ancient times and the early Christian period

Thanks to trade routes and communications, the ancient peoples of the Bronze and Iron Ages living in the land which is present-day Croatia were in touch with the artistic output of the Greek and Etruscans ...

Music

The coexistence of two types of performance in Croatian ecclesiastical music was the outcome of medieval European culture: Gregorian chant (preserved in the late 11th century Neum Codex) developed in Dalmatia and Istria into ...

Croatia in brief

Croatia has been present on the contemporary international political stage since its independence from the Yugoslav Federation, i.e. for a little over two decades, but in terms of history and culture, is one of the oldest European countries ...