Dubrovnik-Neretva County

The Dubrovnik-Neretva County (pronounced [dǔbroːʋniːk-něreːtʋa]; Croatian: Dubrovačko-neretvanska županija [dǔbroʋat͡ʃko-nerěːtʋanskaː ʒupǎnija]) is the southernmost Croatian county, located in south Dalmatia. The county seat is Dubrovnik and other large towns are Korčula, Metković, Opuzen and Ploče. The Municipality of Neum, which belongs to neighbouring Bosnia and Herzegovina, divides the county in two parts.

Dubrovnik-Neretva County

Dubrovačko-neretvanska županija
County
Flag
Coat of arms
Dubrovnik-Neretva County within Croatia
CountryCroatia
County seatDubrovnik
Government
 • ŽupanNikola Dobroslavić (HDZ)
 • Assembly
Area
 • Total1,781 km2 (688 sq mi)
Population
 (2011)[2]
 • Total122,568
 • Density69/km2 (180/sq mi)
Area code020
ISO 3166 codeHR-19
HDI (2018)0.846[3]
very high · 4th
Websiteedubrovnik.org

The southern part of the county consists of Dubrovnik and the surrounding area, including the Pelješac peninsula, and the islands of Korčula, Lastovo, Mljet, Šipan, Lopud and Koločep. The northern part of the county includes the Neretva Delta, the Baćina lakes north of Ploče, and a swath of hinterland near the southernmost slopes of Biokovo and around the hill of Rujnica.

Although the 9 kilometres-long stretch of coast belonging to Neum effectively makes the southern part of the county an exclave (disconnecting it from mainland Croatia) it is still connected with the rest of the country via territorial waters. Road traffic going to and from Dubrovnik through Neum is usually less subject to customs controls in order to reduce the traffic congestion. The road connecting Dubrovnik to the rest of the country via Neum has one lane per direction and bus lines passing through Neum often make rest stops there so that passengers can take advantage of lower Bosnian taxes and purchase tobacco and alcoholic beverages as they tend to be cheaper there.

The Croatian and Bosnian governments are planning to build an expressway that would connect Dubrovnik through the Neum municipality and would not require any border control. The regional government of the county is also planning to build a sea bridge at Komarna that would directly connect the southern tip of the northern part of the county to the Pelješac peninsula (the Pelješac bridge), thereby linking the southern part of the county as well.

The northern part of the Mljet island is a national park. The Lastovo archipelago is a designated nature park. The southernmost tip of the county is the demilitarized Prevlaka peninsula at the border with Montenegro.

It is the only Croatian county that borders Montenegro.

Administrative division

On the local level, the Dubrovnik–Neretva county is further subdivided into 5 cities (grad, pl. gradovi) and 17 municipalities (općina, pl. općine):

Demographics
Population pyramid of Dubrovnik-Neretva County per the 2011 Census
Historical populations of Dubrovnik-Neretva County
YearPop.±%
1857 63,379—    
1869 63,292−0.1%
1880 69,185+9.3%
1890 74,708+8.0%
1900 83,135+11.3%
1910 87,665+5.4%
1921 86,610−1.2%
1931 90,577+4.6%
YearPop.±%
1948 88,535−2.3%
1953 94,812+7.1%
1961 99,593+5.0%
1971 108,131+8.6%
1981 115,683+7.0%
1991 126,329+9.2%
2001 122,870−2.7%
2011 122,568−0.2%
Source: Naselja i stanovništvo Republike Hrvatske 1857–2001, Croatian Bureau of Statistics, Zagreb, 2005

As of the 2011 census, the county had 122,568 residents. The population density is 69 people per km2.

Ethnic Croats form the majority with 94.4% of the population, followed by Serbs at 1.7%.[4]

Protected areas

References
  1. Ostroški, Ljiljana, ed. (December 2015). Statistički ljetopis Republike Hrvatske 2015 [Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Croatia 2015] (PDF). Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Croatia (in Croatian and English). 47. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. p. 62. ISSN 1333-3305. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  2. "Population by Age and Sex, by Settlements, 2011 Census: County of Dubrovnik-Neretva". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. December 2012.
  3. "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2018-09-13.
  4. "Population by Ethnicity, by Towns/Municipalities, 2011 Census: County of Dubrovnik-Neretva". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. December 2012.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.