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The republic includes Croatia proper, Slavonia, Dalmatia, and most of Istria. Western Croatia lies in the Dinaric Alps; the eastern part, drained by the Sava and Drava rivers, is mostly low lying and agricultural. The Pannonian plain is the chief farming region. More than one third of Croatia is forested, and lumber is a major export. There are oil fields and deposits of bauxite, copper, and iron ore.
The Croats, who make up some 80% of the population, are Roman Catholic. The Serbs, who belong largely to the Orthodox Church, were the largest minority before forced evictions during the early 1990s reduced their numbers. Both Croats and Serbs speak Serbo-Croatian. Croatia is, excepting Slovenia, the most industrialized and prosperous of the former republics of Yugoslavia. Tourism, especially along the Adriatic coast, is important to the economy. Severely curtailed during the warfare of the early 1990s, the tourist trade had largely recovered by 2000.
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