Dalmatia

Dalmatia, officially the Republic of Dalmatia, is a country located in the. The capital,, is home to half of the country's 800,000 inhabitants.

Dalmatia became independent following the removal of Italian forces in 1946 after the end of the, leaving behind a significant Dalmatian-Italian population behind, centered mostly in the city of. From then on, it was ruled by the People's Dalamtian Party (PDP) for much of the remaining 20th century. The PDP made Dalmatia a socialist state similar other eastern European countries, however, like its northern neighbor,, it remained independent of the Soviet sphere of influence. Its economy under socialist rule was lackadaisical, often relying on assistance from Yugoslavia. Food and resource shortages were not infrequent and Dalmatia was held by states as another example of the failure of socialism in Europe.

Following the fall of communism and the during the late 80s and early 90s, Dalmatia's economy was significantly liberalized. Initially, this led to a massive gap between the nation's richest and poorest but further developments helped to shrink this gap. Post-Cold War growth was hampered, however, by wars erupting from the fall of Yugoslavia in which an estimated 5,700 Dalmatians were killed. Various human rights abuses were committed during the conflicts which centered over the ethnic differences of the Dalmatian Italian and Croat populations. During the conflicts, sections of ethnic Croats, mostly in the north-west half of the country, sought unity with Croatia or independence as a separate nation, leading to the Dalmatian Insurgency.

After several years of conflict of varying intensity, a formal peace agreement was made between the Dalmatian government and Croat insurgents in 2001, ending one of the last of the Balkan Wars to continue into the 21st century. However, ethnic tensions between the Dalmatian-Italian and Croat populations still affect Dalmatian society. An active secessionist movement continues to influence Dalmatian politics.

With a GDP of only $23 billion and a per capita of $8,447, it is one of the poorer countries in Europe, still recovering from years of war. Recent stability it has achieved, however, has allowed it to maintain a steady growth rate as more people are moving to the country seeking employment opportunities. Its warm climate and tropical atmosphere make Dalmatia an attractive place for tourism which contributes a significant amount to its annual tax revenue.

It has been a member of the since 2000 and is in the process of joining.