Study Abroad Programs in Croatia

Croatia, located in Southeast Europe, is situated on the Adriatic Sea just across the peninsula of Italy. Croatia’s neighbors are Montenegro to the south, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the southeast, Hungary to the north, and Slovenia to the northwest. About the same size as West Virginia, Croatia has a population of over 4.4 million people.

The majority of Croatia’s inhabitants are Croats, over 90 percent, with about twenty minority groups, most prominently including Serbs, Romanian, Czechs, Germans, Slovenes, Italians, Hungarians, and Bosnians. The predominant religion in Croatia is Roman Catholicism. Minority religions include Christianity and Islam, although more than five percent of the population does not align themselves with any religion.

The climate in Croatia is dependent on any given location’s distance from the Adriatic Sea. The regions located near the coast experience a predominantly Mediterranean climate with mild winters and warm summers. Further inland locals experience a Continental climate, with colder winters and warm summers.

Areas in the coastal region are ideal destinations throughout the year. The warmest temperatures are experienced during July and August, daytime temperatures average in the mid to lower 80’s. Nighttime temperatures can drop to approximately the mid 60’s, however. The coastal region is at its coldest during January and February, with daytime highs in the 50’s and nighttime temperatures as low as the 40’s.

The best time to visit the nation’s more inland areas is during the summer. The warmest months in the area are still the months of July and August, when temperatures range from upper 70’s to the low 80’s. Winter months in inland Croatia can get very wet, and nighttime temperatures often drop below freezing.