Croatia is a country in south-eastern Europe bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia, Herzegovina and Slovenia. In 1991 Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia. They have since joined NATO (2009) and the EU (2013), which shows that they are motivated to improve the country towards more universally accepted standards. With a population of 4.7 million, they have relatively modern ideas about human rights and fundamental civic freedoms, as set out in their constitution. They have accepted the idea of ​​comprehensive human rights protection that points towards a progressive society moving towards greater freedoms and success. Current human rights issues include steps towards social protection such as social security, greater property protection, and freedom of speech. They have moderate levels of corruption that can increase costs for business ventures and can be ethically challenging. However, the relatively high growth potential and first-mover advantage opportunities from an international perspective could prove very effective. There has been minimal outside investment in Croatia due to its youth and potentially due to corruption and cultural standards. Croatia also has controversies left over from its independence conflicts. The Danube border with Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina is still in dispute, although peaceful. Due to corruption and the latent potential for unrest, the capacity for growth is large, but at present the risks are too high. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Economically, although currently risky, Croatia is attracting growing interest in investments. With the government's growing interest in privatizing non-strategic assets, a shift towards a freer market economy is taking place. They are one of the richest republics of the former Yugoslavia and after the fall of the Berlin Wall they missed the first investments in Central and Eastern Europe. This could place them in a profitable position for investment. By 2019 or early 2020, Croatia is planning to become a regional energy hub by taking liquefied natural gas and regasifying it, then redistributing it across southeastern Europe. Their GDP over the period 2000-2007 improved between 4% and 6% thanks to tourism and credit-driven consumer spending, along with currency inflation that remained stable. During the 2008 recession, Croatia's growth was stagnant and sometimes even negative. However, in 2014 they returned to positive GDP and closed 2017 with an average growth of 2.8%. 2017 was a good economic year for Croatia, the government worked to resolve the economic crisis with the reduction of income tax and some business costs were removed from income tax in 2018. With the first budget surplus of 0.8% since independence in 1991, it appears that Croatia is on its way to success. The government's new economic reform plans are expected to take hold in 2019 and continue to improve the economy. They are taking steps to become a larger part of Europe, including plans to adopt the euro by 2024. If this is successful, it could mean great growth potential for the future as well as greater economic security and a stronger investment climate. Croatia's largest private company almost collapsed in 2017, but an American investor provided the resources it needed to continue operating. This could;.