The Republic of Croatia lies at the intersection of Mediterranean and Central Europe. Zagreb is its capital city and also the largest city in Croatia. The shape of Croatia in the world map resembles to that of a horseshoe or crescent. Croatia shares land borders with Montenegro on the south, Serbia on the east, Slovenia and Hungary on the north, Bosnia and Herzegovina on the south and east. Croatia shares sea border with Italy to the west. National Geographic Adventure Magazine named Croatia as Destination of the Year in 2006.

Croatia has 6 World Heritage sites and eight national parks. Croatia has three Noble Prize winners (Lavoslav Ružička – chemistry, Ivo Andrić – literature, Vladimir Prelog - chemistry) and many inventors to its credit. Some of the world's first fountain pens came from Croatia. The necktie (cravat) originated from Croatia.  The country has a long artistic, literary and musical tradition. Of particular interest is the diverse nature of Croatian cuisine.

The largest group living in Croatia is Croats 89.9%, the second largest is minority group Serbs 4.5% and others approximately 0.5% each. The predominant religion is Catholicism (87.8%), with some Orthodox (4.4%) and Sunni Muslim (1.3%) minorities.

Croatia has adopted its constitution in 1990 and thus became a democratic republic. There was semi presidential system during 1990 and 2000. Since 2000, Croatia has parliamentary system.  The President of Croatia is Head of the State and Commander in Chief of the armed forces. The president is elected for a five-year term.  President appoints the prime minister of Croatia with consent of the parliament. The Prime Minister runs the government machinery with the help of other ministers. The judicial system in Croatia consists of Supreme Court, country courts and municipal courts. The Constitutional Court rules on matters regarding the Constitution.

Croatian economy largely depends on service sector, which accounts for 67% of total GDP. Industrial products contribute to 27% of GDP.  Industrial sector mainly includes shipbuilding, food processing and chemicals. Agriculture started gaining momentum in recent years and accounts for 6% of total GDP. The blue water fishes from Croatia are in high demand in Japan and South Korea. Tourism is a notable source of income during the summer.  Croatia is ranked as eighteenth most popular tourist destination in the world.