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Croatia (Croatian: Hrvatska listen (help·info)), officially the Republic of Croatia (Republika Hrvatska), is a country in Europe at the crossroads of the Mediterranean and Central Europe. Its capital is Zagreb. Croatia shares land borders with Slovenia and Hungary on the north, Serbia on the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina on the south and east, and Montenegro on the south, as well as a sea border with Italy to the west. It is a candidate for membership in the European Union and NATO.
Croatia is located in Southern Europe. Its shape resembles that of a crescent or a horseshoe, which flanks its neighbours Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. To the north lie Slovenia and Hungary; Italy lies across the Adriatic Sea. Its mainland territory is split in two non-contiguous parts by the short coastline of Bosnia and Herzegovina around Neum.
Its terrain is diverse, including:
plains, lakes and rolling hills in the continental north and northeast (Central Croatia and Slavonia, part of the Pannonian plain);
densely wooded mountains in Lika and Gorski Kotar, part of the Dinaric Alps;
rocky coastlines on the Adriatic Sea (Istria, Northern Seacoast and Dalmatia).
The country is famous for its many national parks. Croatia has a mixture of climates. In the north and east it is continental, Mediterranean along the coast and a semi-highland and highland climate in the south-central region. Offshore Croatia consists of over one thousand islands varying in size.
National Geographic Adventure Magazine named Croatia as Destination of the Year in 2006.
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