Croatia: Economy

Wheat and other grains, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, and soybeans are grown; dairying, beekeeping, and fishing are also important. More than one third of the country is forested, and lumber is a major export. Croatia is, excepting Slovenia, the most industrialized and prosperous of the former republics of Yugoslavia. There are oil fields and deposits of bauxite, iron ore, and other minerals. Shipbuilding, petroleum refining, and food processing are important; chief manufacturers include chemicals, plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, iron and steel, aluminum, paper, wood products, and textiles. Tourism, primarily along the Adriatic coast, also is important to the economy. Severely curtailed during the warfare of the early 1990s, the tourist trade grew in significance in the 21st cent. Transportation equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, and fuels are exported, while machinery, electrical equipment, chemicals, and fuels are imported. The main trading partners are Italy, Germany, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• An Independent Croatia
• Croatia in Yugoslavia
• History through the Nineteenth Century
• History
• Government
• Economy
• Land and People
• Bibliography

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