Croatia vs Serbia

Why people mix them up

Croatia and Serbia are neighbours that were both part of Yugoslavia until the early 1990s. Their standard languages are very close and mutually understandable, and both flags are red, white and blue horizontal tricolours with a coat of arms. For people outside the region the names also sound alike, as two-syllable Balkan countries ending in "-ia", so they are often swapped in quizzes and in conversation.

How to tell them apart

• Croatia has a long Adriatic coastline with more than a thousand islands; Serbia is landlocked.
• Croatia's flag runs red-white-blue from top to bottom with a red-and-white checkerboard shield; Serbia's runs red-blue-white with a white double-headed eagle.
• Croatian is written in the Latin alphabet; Serbian uses both Cyrillic and Latin, with Cyrillic as the official script.
• Croatia is in the European Union and uses the euro; Serbia is not an EU member and uses the dinar.
• The capitals are Zagreb (Croatia) and Belgrade (Serbia). Belgrade stands where the Sava meets the Danube.
• Croatia has a curved, crescent-like shape; Serbia is a more compact block further inland to the east.

Memory hook

Croatia has the Coast and the Checkerboard; Serbia is the one Surrounded by land.

On the map

Find the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Croatia is the country hugging that shore in a long thin strip, then bending northeast inland towards Hungary, forming a curve around Bosnia and Herzegovina. Serbia lies further east, inland, bordering Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria, with the Danube flowing through its north. If the country you are tapping touches the sea, it is Croatia.