Zadar County is a county in Croatia, it encompasses northern Dalmatia and southeastern Lika. Its center is the city of Zadar.
Population
According to the 2011 census, Zadar County has population of 170,017, accounting for 4.0% of the total Croatia's population. Croats make up the majority with 92.57% of the population, while Serbs, Bosniaks, Albanians and Italians form the remainder.
Geography
Among the largest towns in the county of Zadar are: Zadar, Benkovac, Bibinje, Biograd, Nin, Obrovac and Pag. The county of Zadar includes the islands of Dugi otok, Ugljan, Pašman, Molat, Lavdara, Zverinac, Vir and most of Pag, as well as a number of other, smaller islands. It also features the Paklenicanational park. The county's area is 7,854 km2, 3,646 km2 is land, which accounts for 6.4% of the territory of Croatia. The sea area of the County is 3,632 km2 and the insular area is 580 km2, with more than 300 smaller and larger islands. The length of its coastline is 1,300 km.
Infrastructure
The County of Zadar plays a leading role in road and railway traffic links between northern and southern Croatia. The main road along the Adriatic Sea passes through the county, as does the new Zagreb-Dubrovnik highway, completed as far as Split in 2005. The Zagreb-Knin-Split railway line with branch-lines to Zadar and Šibenik pass through the County. Maritime traffic is carried by the coastal route of the Adriatic Sea, by the Zadar-Ancona international car ferry route which is the shortest link between Central Europe and Italy, via Zagreb and Zadar to Rome and southward. Another route by which intensive traffic is carried is Zadar - Maslenica Bridge - St. Rok Tunnel - Zagreb. The Zadar Airport has recently been reconstructed and modernised. With runway improvements still to be undertaken it will eventually have the capacity to handle jumbo-jets. There is also a very frequent maritime passenger port in the town of Zadar and the cargo maritime port in the Gazenica area whose current manipulative capacity amounts to one million tonnes per year. A construction of a wharf would raise this significantly. The port's manipulative and warehouse capacities are used only in part.
Economy
The Ravni Kotari area constitutes the greater part of the County's inland, containing most of the cultivated farmland and towns having industry, crafts, trade and traffic development potential. Tourism is one of the County's most important industries, owing to its geographical position, mild climate, indented coast, clear sea, numerous bays, inlets and beaches on 1,300 km of the sea coast and islands. Tourist amenities of the Zadar County are also the areas of outstanding natural beauty: the Velebit, Telaščica and Paklenica and adjacent Krka and Kornatinational parks in the south and the Plitvice Lakes national park in the north.
