Last updated on June 8th, 2022
37. The Walls of Ston, Croatia, is the longest fortress system anywhere in the world. The great walls protected the city from Ottomans for the last 500 years. The walls are 5 kilo-meter long and aptly surround Ston and its neighbor Mali Ston.
38. Croatia has only one Noble Prize winner so far. That too was born in Austria-Hungary at that time. Leopold Ruzicka won the Noble Prize in Chemistry in 1939.
39. Croatia also has a city continuously inhabited for the last 8000 years – Vinkovci, in eastern Croatia.
40. Croatia has the second highest rate of immigration in the world. Ireland is on the number one spot.
Related: Interesting facts about Slovenia
41. 47% of Croatia’s land and 39% of its sea is designated as specially protected areas and areas of conservation.
42. The 6th largest amphitheater in the world is in Pula, Croatia.
43. Croats are also accredited with inventing the necktie. They did it in the 17th century.
44. Croats like to play football the most. However, the countrymen also follow water polo, basketball and handball as well.
45. Kids pay attention here: Nikola Tesla, the famous inventor of alternating current was born in Serbia ( now Croatia.) Tesla’s birthplace was opened as a museum on July 10, 2006.
46. Some famous people from Croatia include: Luka Modric (Soccer player), Mario Andretti (Race Car Driver) and Jelena Rozga (pop Singer).
47. Adult Eagle owl found in Croatia can have a wing span of up to 2 meters. It is the largest European owl. There are around 1200 pairs of these living in Croatia.
48. Croatia became the 28th member state of the EU on 1 July 2013.
49. Kolinda Grabar-Kiratovic is Croatia’s first female president.
50. Dalmatian dog is a well known breed from Dalmatia. However, this name was given in the 19th century in USA. Previously it was known as the “Dubrovnik hunter”.
51. There is a Museum of Broken Relationships in Croatia. Heartbroken people donate the remainders of their loved ones in the museum. Nearly 1,000 people visit the museum every week.
Croatia facts for kids
52. By geographical area, Croatia is 127th largest country in the world.
53. Parachute was also invented in Croatia by Faust Vraneiae in 1617.
54. Azithromycin: A world best-selling Antibiotic, was also invented in Croatia by Pliva, a pharmaceutical company headquartered in Zagreb.
55. Croatian currency (Kuna notes) is named after the Marten and (Lipa, the hundredth part of the kuna) after a lime tree.
56. Croatia is called Hrvatska in Croatian.
57. Primary and secondary education is free in Croatia.
58. You can have a majestic look of Dubrovnik city from a loft 405 m while riding on a cable car which takes you from just north of the city walls to Mt Srđ in under four minutes.
59. Croatia has 1165 islands on the Adriatic Sea of which 66 are inhibited.
60. Croatia’s largest mountain, the Velebit, lies in Paklenica National Park.
Croatia – country at a glance
| Independence | 25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia) |
|---|---|
| Capital City | Zagreb (45°48′N 16°0′E) |
| Largest City | Zagreb (45°48′N 16°0′E) |
| Area | total: 56,594 sq km land: 55,974 sq km water: 620 sq km |
| Population | 3,865,840 (2024 est.) |
| Literacy | 99.4 % (2021 est.) |
| Official Language | Croatian |
| Borders | Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia, Hungary and Montenegro. |
| Currency | Kuna (HRK) |
| Demonym | Croatian |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Life expectancy at birth | 77.7 Years (2024 est.) |
| 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 |
| Mean elevation | 331 m |
| Lowest point | Adriatic Sea 0 m |
| Highest point | Dinara 1,831 m |
| Natural resources | oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, gypsum, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower |
| Agricultural land | 23.7% |
| Literacy rate | 99.3% |
| Birth rate | 8.5 births/1,000 population (2024 est. |
| Death rate | 13.1 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Sex ratio | 0.93 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Government type | parliamentary republic |
| President | Zoran Milanović |
| Prime Minister | Andrej Plenković |
| National anthem | "Lijepa nasa domovino" (Our Beautiful Homeland) |
| National symbol | red-white checkerboard |
| National colors | red, white, blue |
| 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 |
| Exports | $44.969 billion (2023 est.) refined petroleum, electricity, natural gas, garments, wood (2022) |
| Imports | $46.571 billion (2023 est.) natural gas, refined petroleum, electricity, garments, cars (2022) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | $41,300 (2023 est.) |
| Internet country code | .hr |
| Time Zone | CET (UTC+1) Summer (DST) - CEST (UTC+2) |
| Calling Code | +385 |
| Drives on the | Right |
| Table last updated | November 06, 2024 |
References:
- http://ww2history.com/blog/ww2-relevance/croatias-dark-history/
- http://www.coloursofistria.com/en/destinations/istria/hum-the-smallest-city-in-the-world
- https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/1939/ruzicka-facts.html
- http://www.likecroatia.com/news-tips/top-ten-reasons-to-date-a-croatian/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sport_in_Croatia
- http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36338383
- http://www.croatianhistory.net/etf/gen.html
- http://luxurycroatia.net/more-interesting-facts-about-croatia/
- http://www.croatianhistory.net/etf/dogs.html
- http://inventors.about.com/od/pstartinventions/ss/Parachute.htm
- http://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/croatia