Taylor's+European+Nation+Profile

=The Republic of Croatia= toc

The Republic of Croatia, commonly known as Croatia, is a charming country in Southern Europe. The countries' beautiful and clean beaches on the coast of the Adriatic Sea are of great envy to many other countries. This Wiki will focus in on it's recreation, people, and food.

Recreation
Recreation in Croatia includes many different activities. The average Croatian typically either enjoys watching, coaching, or playing some sort of sport. Among the most popular sports to play in Croatia are soccer, basketball, handball, water polo, and sailing. Croatia also enjoys watching and participating in riflery, boxing, hockey, skiing, bowling, and swimming. Most likely you will find that the average Croatian citizen also keeps up with the games and statistics of Croatia’s national soccer team. Sporting is a very big part of Croatia’s recreational activities.

Aside from sports, there are many other activities Croatians enjoy taking part in. In the summer time 1 to 4 week long vacations are often spent exploring the quaint countryside, breezy beaches along the Adriatic sea, or some other fascinating place in Croatia. Tourism is more important to Croatians than most other EU nations. Also, enjoying street festivals and listening to live theater are fun pastimes that Croatians like to explore. Other pleasureful things to do are going on picnics, going on long walks with friends, and meeting at cafes. Croatians like to be relaxed and just have fun.



People
The people of Croatia, over all, are highly educated and optimistic people. The total population is around 4.5 million people. Croats account for 90 percent of the population and Serbs make up about 5 percent. The 5 percent that are Serbs come mainly from refugees that fled Serbia/Yugoslavia during hard times concerning the government leaders. Over half Croatia’s population (57%) lives in an urban area. Education, in Croatia, is free at all ages, from pre-K to college. In the schools in Croatia, learning English and Latin are both required, as well as Croatian, the country’s national language. The literacy rate, 99% of males and 97% of females, is very high when compared to other countries without as extraordinary schooling systems.

In Croatia, religion is very important to their people. An astonishing 90 percent of the population is Roman Catholic, whereas Orthodox Christians are about 4 and a half, and Muslims, Jews, and Protestants take up the remaining 2 percent. The people in Croatia are always properly dressed for their surroundings and occasion. One example of this would be that adults don’t wear shorts in public except for in recreational situations or at the beach. Croatia has an outstanding medical care system. The average life expectancy is age 72 for males and 80 for females. Also the infant mortality rate is lower than other European countries at 6 per 1000 births. Croatia’s people are highly educated and well-rounded.

Food
Croatians have a well balanced and fairly healthy diet and way of eating. Most often, they start out their day with a combination of strong coffee, cheese, bread, or yogurt. Later on in the morning a relatively small amount of meat or fish is eaten as a mid-morning snack. The main meal of their day is lunch. Lunch normally consists of soup, meat, salad, bread or potatoes, and dessert. The meat portion of this meal is more often than not a dish made with chicken, beef, fish, pork, and lamb. Dinner is a lighter meal with cold cuts, bread, cheese, and egg.

Croatian cuisine has influences from many other European countries. The Croatian version of a hamburger would be Cevapcici. Cevapcici is a spicy, flavored meatball that in some ways resembles the American version of a hamburger. Pag cheese is considered a delicacy in Croatia. Pag cheese is only made on the small island of Pag with sheep's milk. It's served in thin slices with olives or another vegetable. These two foods represent Croatia's food culture and why Croatians take pride in their carefully crafted food.

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