The Dubrovnik-Neretva County (; hr, Dubrovačko-neretvanska županija, ) is the southernmost

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

, located in south

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, stre ...

. The county seat is

Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterranea ...

and other large towns are

Korčula Korčula (, it, Curzola) is a Croatian island in the Adriatic Sea. It has an area of , is long and on average wide, and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 15,522 inhabitants (2011) make it the second most populous Adriatic island after ...

, Metković, Opuzen and Ploče. The Municipality of Neum, which belongs to neighbouring

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...

, divides the county in two parts which are connected only by the Pelješac Bridge. The southern part of the county consists of Dubrovnik and the surrounding area, including the Pelješac peninsula, and the islands of

Lastovo Lastovo (; it, Lagosta, german: Augusta, la, Augusta Insula, el, Ladestanos, Illyrian: ''Ladest'') is an island municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County in Croatia. The municipality consists of 46 islands with a total population of 792 p ...

, Mljet, Šipan, Lopud and Koločep. The northern part of the county includes the

Neretva Delta Neretva Delta is the river delta of the Neretva, a river that flows through Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia and empties in the Adriatic Sea. The delta is a unique landscape in southern Croatia, and a wetland that is listed under the Ramsar ...

, the

Baćina lakes The Baćina lakes ( hr, Baćinska jezera) are located in Dalmatia, Croatia. The lakes are named after the inland town of Baćina, Croatia, Baćina close to the port city of Ploče. The lakes are part of a picturesque landscape and surrounded by mou ...

north of Ploče, and a swath of hinterland near the southernmost slopes of Biokovo and around the hill of Rujnica. The northern part of the Mljet island is a

national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

. The Lastovo archipelago is a designated nature park. The southernmost tip of the county is the Prevlaka peninsula at the border with

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = ...

. It is the only Croatian county that borders Montenegro. Although the 9 kilometres-long stretch of coast belonging to Neum effectively makes the southern part of the county an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

(disconnecting it from mainland Croatia) it is still connected with the rest of the country via the Pelješac Bridge. 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 Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ch ...

and

alcoholic beverage An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...

s as they tend to be cheaper there.

Administrative division

On the local level, the Dubrovnik-Neretva County is further subdivided into 5

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

(''grad'', pl. ''gradovi'') and 17

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

(''općina'', pl. ''općine''): * City of

(county seat) * Town of

* Town of Metković * Town of Opuzen * Town of Ploče * Municipality of Blato * Municipality of

Dubrovačko Primorje Dubrovačko Primorje ("Dubrovnik Littoral") is municipality situated northwest of the city Dubrovnik in Dubrovnik-Neretva County in southern Croatia. The municipality's borders extend all the way up to Neum, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The cente ...

* Municipality of Janjina * Municipality of Konavle * Municipality of

Kula Norinska Kula Norinska is a village and a municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County in southeastern Croatia. Geography The municipality is situated on the northern border of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County. It borders the City of Ploče, the City of Op ...

* Municipality of

* Municipality of Lumbarda * Municipality of Mljet * Municipality of Orebić * Municipality of

Pojezerje Pojezerje is a municipality of Dubrovnik-Neretva County in the southwest of Croatia. It has a population of 1,223 (census 2001), in which absolute majority are Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a ...

* Municipality of Slivno * Municipality of Smokvica * Municipality of Ston * Municipality of Trpanj * Municipality of

Vela Luka Vela Luka (, it, Vallegrande) is a small town and a municipality in Dubrovnik-Neretva County in southern Dalmatia, Croatia. The town is located on the western side of the island of Korčula at the bottom of a wide bay which has many indented co ...

* Municipality of

Zažablje Zažablje is a municipality of Dubrovnik-Neretva County in southern Dalmatia, Croatia. It is located between Opuzen, Metković and Neum. In the 2011 census, Zažablje had a total population of 757, with Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) ...

* Municipality of Župa Dubrovačka

Demographics

Dubrovnik-Neretva County Population Pyramid Census 2011 ENG

As of the 2011 census, the county had 122,568 residents. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical ...

is 69 people per km². At the 2011 census, ethnic

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...

formed the vast majority with 94.4% of the population, followed by

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their ...

at 1.7% and 3.9% being other ethnic groups combined.

Protected areas

Mljet National Park Mljet (; la, Melita, it, Meleda) is the southernmost and easternmost of the larger Adriatic islands of the Dalmatia region of Croatia. The National Park includes the western part of the island, Veliko jezero, Malo jezero, Soline Bay and a sea be ...

archipelago nature park

References

External links

* {{Coord, 42, 39, 13, N, 18, 05, 41, E, display=title, region:HR_type:adm2nd_source:dewiki Enclaves and exclaves Counties of Croatia