Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the House of Representatives
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 7 February 2000 (next to be held NA 2005); prime minister nominated by the president in line with the balance of power in the Assembly
election results: Stjepan MESIC elected president; percent of vote - Stjepan MESIC (HNS) 56%, Drazen BUDISA (HSLS) 44%
note: government coalition - SDP, HSLS, HSS, LP, HNS, IDS
Legislative branch: bicameral Assembly or Sabor consists of the House of Counties or Zupanijski Dom (68 seats, 63 directly elected by popular vote, 5 appointed by the president; members serve four-year terms; note - House of Counties to be abolished in 2001) and House of Representatives or the Zastupnicki Dom (151 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Counties - last held 13 April 1997; House of Representatives - last held 2–3 January 2000 (next to be held NA 2004)
election results: House of Counties - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - HDZ 42, HSLS/HSS 11, HSS 2, IDS 2, SDP/PGS/HNS 2, SDP/HNS 2, HSLS/HSS/HNS 1, HSLS 1; note - in some districts certain parties ran as coalitions, while in others they ran alone; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - HDZ 46, SDP 44, HSLS 24, HSS 17, HSP/HKDU 5, IDS 4, HNS 2, independents 4, minority representatives 5
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the House of Representatives
Political parties and leaders: Alliance of Croatian Coast and Mountains Department or PGS [Luciano SUSANJ]; Croatian Christian Democratic Union or HKDU [Marko VESELICA]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Dobroslav PARAGA]; Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Zlatko TOMCIC]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Vesna PUSIC]; Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Drazen BUDISA]; Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Liberal Party or LP [leader NA]; Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Ivica RACAN]
note: the Social Democratic Party or SDP and the Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS formed a coalition as did the HSS, HNS, LP, and IDS, which together defeated the Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ in the 2000 lower house parliamentary election
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC,
EBRD, ECE, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM,
ISO, ITU, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Ivan GRDESIC
chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 588–5899
FAX: [1] (202) 588–8936
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Cleveland, Los Angeles, New York
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador
Lawrence G. ROSSIN
embassy: Andrije Hebranga 2, 100000 Zagreb
mailing address: use street address
telephone: [385] (1) 455–55-00
FAX: [385] (1) 455–85-85
Flag description: red, white, and blue horizontal bands with
Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered)
Croatia Economy
Economy - overview: Before 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. Croatia faces considerable economic problems stemming from: the legacy of longtime communist mismanagement of the economy; damage during the internecine fighting to bridges, factories, power lines, buildings, and houses; the large refugee and displaced population, both Croatian and Bosnian; and the disruption of economic ties. Stepped-up Western aid and investment, especially in the tourist and oil industries, would help bolster the economy. The economy emerged from its mild recession in 2000 with tourism the main factor. Massive unemployment remains a key negative element. The government's failure to press the economic reforms needed to spur growth is largely the result of coalition politics and public resistance, particularly from the trade unions, to measures that would cut jobs, wages, or social benefits.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $24.9 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 3.2% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 10%
industry: 19%
services: 71% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: 4% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 6% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 1.68 million (October 2000)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services
NA%
Unemployment rate: 22% (October 2000)
Budget: revenues: $6 billion
expenditures: $4.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 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: 1.7% (2000)
Electricity - production: 10.96 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 40.89%
hydro: 59%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0.11% (1999)
Electricity - consumption: 13.643 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports: 1 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity
