[13] Croatia provides social security, universal health care, and tuition-free primary and secondary education while supporting culture through public institutions and corporate investments in media and publishing.

Conversely, the Iranian theory proposes Sarmatian-Alanic origin of Proto-Croats, based on Tanais Tablets containing Ancient Greek inscriptions of given names Χορούαθος, Χοροάθος, and Χορόαθος (Khoroúathos, Khoroáthos, and Khoróathos) and their interpretation as anthroponyms related to the Croatian ethnonym.

[31] According to the work De Administrando Imperio written by 10th-century Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII, Croats settled in the Roman province of Dalmatia in the first half of the 7th century after they defeated the Avars.

[32][33][34] Although there exist some scholarly disputes about the account's reliability and interpretation,[35][36] recent archaeological data has established that the migration and settlement of the Slavs/Croats was in the late 6th and early 7th century.

[57] Subsequently, the emperor pledged to respect all privileges and political rights of the Kingdom of Croatia, and Queen Maria Theresa made significant contributions to Croatian affairs, such as introducing compulsory education.

Between 1797 and 1809, the First French Empire increasingly occupied the eastern Adriatic coastline and its hinterland, ending the Venetian and the Ragusan republics, establishing the Illyrian Provinces.

The Yugoslav government retained control of defence, internal security, foreign affairs, trade, and transport while other matters were left to the Croatian Sabor and a crown-appointed Ban.

[72] With German and Italian military and political support,[73] the regime introduced racial laws and launched a genocide campaign against Serbs, Jews, and Roma.

[86]With Allied support in logistics, equipment, training and airpower, and with the assistance of Soviet troops taking part in the 1944 Belgrade Offensive, the Partisans gained control of Yugoslavia and the border regions of Italy and Austria by May 1945.

[88] The political aspirations of the Partisan movement were reflected in the State Anti-fascist Council for the National Liberation of Croatia, which developed in 1943 as the bearer of Croatian statehood and later transformed into the Parliament in 1945, and AVNOJ—its counterpart at the Yugoslav level.

[106][107] In the meantime, tensions escalated into overt war when the Serbian-controlled Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and various Serb paramilitary groups attacked Croatia.

[124][125][126] After the end of the war, Croatia faced the challenges of post-war reconstruction, the return of refugees, establishing democracy, protecting human rights, and general social and economic development.

[127] In November 2000 and March 2001, the Parliament amended the Constitution, first adopted on 22 December 1990, changing its bicameral structure back into its historic unicameral form and reducing presidential powers.

[131] On 29 October 2001, Croatia signed a Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Union,[132] submitted a formal application for the EU membership in 2003,[133] was given the status of a candidate country in 2004,[134] and began accession negotiations in 2005.

[135] Although the Croatian economy had enjoyed a significant boom in the early 2000s, the financial crisis in 2008 forced the government to cut spending, thus provoking a public outcry.

Throughout the accession process, Croatia was to implement numerous reforms that will advance all spheres of activity – from public services and the justice system to education, transport, finance, health, and trade.

Higher wind velocities are more often recorded in cooler months along the coast, generally as the cool northeasterly bura or less frequently as the warm southerly jugo.

[162][163] Croatia has four types of biogeographical regions—the Mediterranean along the coast and in its immediate hinterland, Alpine in most of Lika and Gorski Kotar, Pannonian along Drava and Danube, and Continental in the remaining areas.

In addition to serving as commander in chief of the armed forces, the president has the procedural duty of appointing the prime minister with the parliament and has some influence on foreign policy.

Croatia maintains intensive contacts with Croatian communities abroad (e.g., administrative and financial support of cultural, sports activities, and economic initiatives).

According to a presidential decree issued in 2006, the CAF employed around 18,100 active duty military personnel, 3,000 civilians and 2,000 voluntary conscripts between 18 and 30 years old in peacetime.

[197] Croatian-made weapons and vehicles used by CAF include the standard sidearm HS2000 manufactured by HS Produkt and the M-84D battle tank designed by the Đuro Đaković factory.

[220] Germany, Slovenia, Austria, Italy, United Kingdom, Czechia, Poland, Hungary, France, Netherlands, Slovakia and Croatia itself provide the most visitors.

[268] According to the 2021 census, the majority of inhabitants are Croats (91.6%), followed by Serbs (3.2%), Bosniaks (0.62%), Roma (0.46%), Albanians (0.36%), Italians (0.36%), Hungarians (0.27%), Czechs (0.20%), Slovenes (0.20%), Slovaks (0.10%), Macedonians (0.09%), Germans (0.09%), Montenegrins (0.08%), and others (1.56%).

[275][276] The following minority languages are also recognised: Albanian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, German, Hebrew, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Polish, Romanian, Istro-Romanian, Romani, Russian, Rusyn, Slovene, Turkish, and Ukrainian.

[297][298] Croatia has a universal health care system, whose roots can be traced back to the Hungarian-Croatian Parliament Act of 1891, providing a form of mandatory insurance of all factory workers and craftsmen.

[327] Squares named after culture heroes, parks, and pedestrian-only zones, are features of Croatian towns and cities, especially where large scale Baroque urban planning took place, for instance in Osijek (Tvrđa), Varaždin, and Karlovac.

[330] The architecture is the Mediterranean with a Venetian and Renaissance influence in major coastal urban areas exemplified in works of Giorgio da Sebenico and Nicolas of Florence such as the Cathedral of St. James in Šibenik.

Dalmatia and Istria have culinary influences of Italian and other Mediterranean cuisines which prominently feature various seafood, cooked vegetables and pasta, and condiments such as olive oil and garlic.

Croatia's most successful male players Goran Ivanišević and Marin Čilić have both won Grand Slam titles and have got into the top 3 of the ATP rankings.