<P> As tensions rose, Croatia declared independence on 25 June 1991; however, the full implementation of declaration only came into effect on 8 October 1991 . In the meantime, tensions escalated into overt war when the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) and various Serb paramilitary groups attacked Croatia . By the end of 1991, a high - intensity conflict fought along a wide front reduced Croatia to control of only about two - thirds of its territory . The various Serb paramilitary groups then began pursuing a campaign of killing, terror and expulsion against the non-Serb population in the rebel territories, killing hundreds of Croat civilians and forcing a further 170,000 from their homes . </P> <P> On 15 January 1992, Croatia gained diplomatic recognition by the European Economic Community members, and subsequently the United Nations . The war effectively ended in August 1995 with a decisive victory by Croatia . This was accompanied by the exodus of about 200,000 Serbs from the rebel territories, whose lands were subsequently settled by Croat refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina . The remaining occupied areas were restored to Croatia pursuant to the Erdut Agreement of November 1995, with the process concluded in January 1998 . Croatia became a World Trade Organization (WTO) member on 30 November 2000 . The country signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union in October 2001 . Croatia became a member of NATO on 1 April 2009, and joined the European Union on 1 July 2013 . </P> <P> Croatia is located in Central and Southeast Europe, bordering Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the southeast, Montenegro to the southeast, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest and Slovenia to the northwest . It lies mostly between latitudes 42 ° and 47 ° N and longitudes 13 ° and 20 ° E. Part of the territory in the extreme south surrounding Dubrovnik is a practical exclave connected to the rest of the mainland by territorial waters, but separated on land by a short coastline strip belonging to Bosnia and Herzegovina around Neum . </P> <P> The territory covers 56,594 square kilometres (21,851 square miles), consisting of 56,414 square kilometres (21,782 square miles) of land and 128 square kilometres (49 square miles) of water . It is the 127th largest country in the world . Elevation ranges from the mountains of the Dinaric Alps with the highest point of the Dinara peak at 1,831 metres (6,007 feet) near the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina in the south to the shore of the Adriatic Sea which makes up its entire southwest border . Insular Croatia consists of over a thousand islands and islets varying in size, 48 of which are permanently inhabited . The largest islands are Cres and Krk, each of them having an area of around 405 square kilometres (156 square miles). </P>

Where is croatia located on the world map
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