International Recognition Day in Croatia Date in the current year: January 15, 2024

On June 25, 1991, Croatia and Slovenia declared their independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and mutually recognized each other. However, it took the newly-independent countries some time to get recognized by other independent states.

Lithuania, Ukraine, Latvia and Estonia were among the first countries to recognize Croatia in 1991. However, they themselves were only partially recognized at the time due to having recently split from the Soviet Union.

Iceland became the first fully recognized country to recognize Croatian independence on December 14, 1991. Holy Sea (Vatican) and San Marino followed suit in January 1992, but a turning point came on January 15, 1992, when the independence of Croatia was recognized by all the then members of the European Union (Germany, the UK, Italy, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal, and Greece), as well as by Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Hungary, Malta, Norway, Poland, and Switzerland. The anniversary of this event is now celebrated in Croatia as International Recognition Day.

On May 22, 1992, Croatia was admitted to membership of the United Nations. On September 9, 1995, Croatia and Yugoslavia signed a peace treaty, and on August 23, 1996, the two countries established diplomatic relations.