Pray for Croatia

Croatia is located in Central and Southeastern Europe.
It is bordered by Hungary in the northeast, Serbia in the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina
in the south-east, Montenegro in the south-east, the Adriatic Sea in the south-west and
Slovenia in the northwest.

Croatia also controls over 1000 islands along the Adriatic coast.

The capital and largest city is Zagreb.
The population is 4.29 million

FACTS
Croatia is located at the crossroads of Central Europe, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean.

Roman Emperor Diocletian  retired to Croatia in 305 A.D.

Dalmatia is a coastal region of Croatia.
The Dalmatian was originally bred in Dalmatia as a guard dog.

Croatia is ranked among the top 20 most popular tourist destinations in the world.

DEMOGRAPHICS
90/4% Croats
4.4%    Serbs
5.2%    Others

88%        Catholic
5%          Atheist/Agnostic
4.44%     Orthodox
1%          Muslim
0.34%     Protestant
3.24%     Others

HISTORY
Croatia has been inhabited by many different peoples for thousands of years.

During the Iron Age is was settled by Illyrians and Celts.
Greek colonies were established on the islands.

In 9 A.D. Croatia became part of the Roman Empire.

The Avar and Croats invaded and settled Croatia during the 7th century.

The Croats organized the country into two Duchies by the 9th century.
In 925 Croatia became a kingdom.

Croatia entered a personal union with Hungary in 1102.

Venice gained control over most of the region of Dalmatia by 1428.

During the 15th and 16th century there were frequent attacks from the Ottomans.

In 1527 Croatia became part of the Austria-Hungarian Empire.

After World War I, Croatia became part of Yugoslavia.

After WWII Croatia, along with the rest of Yugoslavia came under Communist rule.

In 1991 Yugoslavia broke up as a result of political upheavals and conflicts.

The Yugoslav Wars (1991-1999) erupted between former republics that wanted sovereignty
and Serbia which opposed it.
The most severe conflicts took place in Croatia and Bosnia.

The wars were characterized by bitter ethnic conflicts, mostly between Serbs on one
side and Croats and Bosniaks on the other.
The wars became infamous for the war crimes involved, including rapes, mass murder
and genocide.

Croatia fought a war of independence from 1991-1995.

Croatia was devastated by the war.
25% of the economy was destroyed.
Many Croatian cities were damaged by artillery, missiles, and aircraft bombs.
Over 20,000 people died and thousands were displaced on both sides.

CONDITIONS
Croatia's economy is service-based.
Shipbuilding, food processing and chemical industry are important.

Tourism is a major sector and since the end of the war it has rapidly grown.
Over 10 million tourists come each year, mostly from Germany, Slovenia, Austria
and the Czech Republic.

Since the late 1980s Croatia's economy has experienced difficulties
due to deindustrialization, war destruction and the loss of markets.

The economy has been slow to recover from the recession.
Progress in economic reforms has been slow.

The country suffers from a high unemployment rate.
The judiciary system is heavily backlogged and there is inefficient public administration.

There have been issues regarding land ownership and corruption in the public sector.

Many are still suffering from psychological and emotional trauma from the war.

There are still tensions between the Serbs and the Croats.

SPIRITUAL CONDITIONS
Most of the population is Catholic and the Catholic Church is highly influential.
About 15% of Catholics regularly attend mass, a high proportion for Europe.

For many, church membership is purely ethnic/cultural.
Religion is tied tightly to ethnicity.

There have been increasing numbers of atheists/agnostics.

Evangelical churches are few in number but growing.

Evangelicals are one of the few groups that straddle the ethnic divides.

Prayer movements have been springing up

There has often been division among the churches.

Many evangelical pastors have no formal theological education and are often bi-vocational.

PRAYER NEEDS
Pray for those who suffered during the war.

Pray that ethnic tensions cease.
Pray that there be forgiveness and reconciliation between Serbs and Croats.

Pray that the economy continue to stabilize and grow.

Pray for those suffering from unemployment.

Pray that administration and the judiciary improve.

Pray that corruption cease.

Pray that land ownership issues be resolved fairly

Pray that there be revival among the churches.

Pray that church members look to Jesus alone and not rituals and membership.

Pray that the Gospel continue to spread.

Pray that evangelicals continue to demonstrate the universal love of God.

Pray that Prayer movements continue.

Pray that there be greater unity among churches.

Pray that church leaders gain for effective and affordable training.