Day of International Recognition of Croatia

Republic of CroatiaOn January 15, 1992, the Republic of Croatia, then another Yugoslav republic, was internationally recognized by 12 European Union countries. On the same day, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Hungary, Malta, Poland and Switzerland joined them.

The first country to recognize Croatia was Iceland, which on December 19, 1991 adopted a corresponding decision. On January 13, Croatia was recognized by the Vatican and San Marino on January 14.

In the autumn of 1991, the Republic of Croatia was also recognized by countries that were not recognized themselves: Slovenia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Latvia and Estonia.

Until the end of January 1992, Croatia was recognized by seven other countries: Finland, Romania, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia. The first Asian country to recognize Croatia, not counting Turkey, was Iran, and the African – Egypt. On May 22, 1992, Croatia was admitted to the UN, and by that time it was also recognized by Russia, Japan, the United States, Israel and China.

Since then, Croatia has 48 embassies, six permanent missions in various international organizations, 23 consulates and maintains diplomatic relations with more than 120 countries.