Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia is a state in the south of Central Europe or in Southern Europe, partly in the west of the Balkan Peninsula, the former union republic within Yugoslavia, which became independent in 1991. The population, as of December 31, 2016, is 4,154,213 people, the territory is 56,594 km². It occupies 126th place in the world in terms of population and 126th in territory.

The form of government is a parliamentary republic. Since October 19, 2016, the post of Prime Minister has been held by Andrei Plenkovich, and since February 19, 2015, Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovich has been President.

The capital and largest city is Zagreb. Croatia borders in the northwest with Slovenia, in the northeast with Hungary and Serbia, in the south with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro; in the west it is washed by the Adriatic Sea and has a sea border with Italy.

The state currency is kuna.

The country has been a member of the UN since 1992; OSCE, Council of Europe, NATO since 2009; European Union since 2013.