Cruising in CroatiaBackgroundThe 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. Current Weather ReportGeographyLocation: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia Coastline5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km) Maritime claimsterritorial sea: 12 nm ClimateMediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast TerrainGeographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands Elevation extremesLowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m EconomyBefore the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized area with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav average. The economy emerged from a mild recession in 2000 with tourism, banking, and public investments leading the way. Unemployment remains high, at about 18%, with structural factors slowing its decline. While macroeconomic stabilization has largely been achieved, structural reforms lag because of deep resistance on the part of the public and lack of strong support from politicians. Growth, while impressive at about 3% to 4% for the last several years, has been stimulated, in part, through high fiscal deficits and rapid credit growth. The EU accession process should accelerate fiscal and structural reform. Waterways785 km (2006) Merchant marineTotal: 76 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,090,162 GRT/1,738,590
DWT Sailing Specifics: Ports and terminalsOmisalj, Ploce, Rijeka, Sibenik, Vukovar (on Danube) Other Sailing Destinations in the RegionAlbania - Algeria - Bulgaria - Croatia - Cyprus - Egypt - France - Georgia - Gibraltar - Greece - Israel - Italy - Lebanon - Libya - Malta - Monaco - Morocco - Romania - Serbia and Montenegro - Slovenia - Spain - Syria - Tunisia - Turkey - Ukraine Further Reading |
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