Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Central Europe, and the Balkans. Its capital is Zagreb. Croatia borders with Slovenia and Hungary to the north, Serbia to the northeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the east, Montenegro to the far southeast, and the Adriatic Sea to the south.

Area
56,542 sq km (21,831 sq miles).

Population
4,437,460 (official estimate 2004).

Population Density
78.4 per sq km.

Capital
Zagreb. Population: 779,145 (official estimate 2004).

Geography
Croatia stretches along the Adriatic coast (narrowing northsouth; the major ports being Rijeka, Pula, Zadar, Sibenik, Split and Dubrovnik) with a larger inland area (running west–east from Zagreb to the border with Serbia & Montenegro). The northern two-thirds of this border are formed by the River Danube. The country borders Slovenia and Hungary to the north, Serbia & Montenegro to the east and Bosnia & Herzegovina (southeast from Zagreb; northeast from the Adriatic coastline).

Language
Croatian, written in the Latin alphabet (although the cyrillic script is still in use in parts).