Irrigated land: 30 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: frequent and destructive earthquakes

Environment-current issues: air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; widespread casualties and destruction of infrastructure in border areas affected by civil strife

Environment-international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Desertification

Geography-note: controls most land routes from Western Europe to
Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits

@Croatia:People

Population: 4,671,584 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 17% (male 411,022; female 389,354) 15-64 years: 68% (male 1,591,716; female 1,592,485) 65 years and over: 15% (male 262,471; female 424,536) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.13% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 10.45 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)