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. 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 Mediterran ...

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 Metković () is a town in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the river Neretva and on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. Demographics The total population of the city municipal ...

Opuzen Opuzen ( it, Forte Opus) is a small town in Dubrovnik-Neretva County in Croatia. The town is located upstream from the mouth of the river Neretva, in southern Dalmatia. This settlement is known as a major center of tangerine production in Croatia ...

and

Ploče Ploče (; it, Porto Tolero) is a town and seaport in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. Geography Ploče is located on the Adriatic coast in Dalmatia just north of the Neretva Delta and is the natural seaside endpoint of most north-south ...

. 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 H ...

, divides the county in two parts which are connected only by the

Pelješac Bridge The Pelješac Bridge ( hr, Pelješki most, ) is a cable-stayed bridge in Dubrovnik-Neretva County, Croatia. The bridge provides a fixed link from the southeastern Croatian semi-exclave to the rest of the country while bypassing Bosnia and Herzeg ...

. The southern part of the county consists of Dubrovnik and the surrounding area, including the

Pelješac Pelješac (; Chakavian: ; it, Sabbioncello) is a peninsula in southern Dalmatia in Croatia. The peninsula is part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and is the second largest peninsula in Croatia. From the isthmus that begins at Ston, to the to ...

peninsula, and the

islands An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

, Lastovo,

Mljet 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 ...

, Šipan,

Lopud Lopud () is a small island off the coast of Dalmatia, southern Croatia. Lopud is economically the most developed of the Elaphiti Islands, and can be reached by boat from Dubrovnik, Trsteno, Orašac and Zaton. The island is famous for its sandy ...

and Koločep. The northern part of the county includes the Neretva Delta, the Baćina lakes north of Ploče, and a swath of hinterland near the southernmost slopes of

Biokovo Biokovo () is the second-highest mountain range in Croatia, located along the Dalmatian coast of the Adriatic Sea, between the rivers of Cetina and Neretva. It is sometimes referred to as Bijakovo, especially among inhabitants of the easte ...

and around the hill of Rujnica. The northern part of the Mljet island is a national park. The Lastovo archipelago is a designated nature park. The southernmost tip of the county is the

Prevlaka Prevlaka () is a small peninsula in southern Croatia, near the border with Montenegro, at the entrance to the Bay of Kotor on the eastern Adriatic coast. Because of its strategic location in the southern Adriatic, in the aftermath of the SFR Yu ...

peninsula at the border with

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

. 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 (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 ...

and alcoholic beverages 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 go ...

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

(county seat) * Town of

* Town of

* Municipality of Blato * Municipality of Dubrovačko Primorje * Municipality of Janjina * Municipality of

Konavle Konavle () is a municipality and a small region located southeast of Dubrovnik, Croatia. It is administratively part of the Dubrovnik-Neretva County and the center of the municipality is Cavtat. Demographics The total municipality population wa ...

* Municipality of Kula Norinska * Municipality of Lastovo * Municipality of Lumbarda * Municipality of

* Municipality of Orebić * Municipality of Pojezerje * Municipality of Slivno * Municipality of Smokvica * Municipality of

Ston Ston () is a settlement and a municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia, located at the south of isthmus of the Pelješac peninsula. History Because of its geopolitical and strategic position, Ston has had a rich history since ant ...

* Municipality of Trpanj * Municipality of Vela Luka * Municipality of Zažablje * Municipality of

Župa Dubrovačka A župa (or zhupa, županija) is a historical type of administrative division in Southeast Europe and Central Europe, that originated in medieval South Slavic culture, commonly translated as "parish", later synonymous "kotar", commonly transla ...

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 na ...

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

Protected areas

* Mljet National Park * Lastovo 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