As a local administration and self-government unit, Osijek-Baranja County is a part of the administrative-territorial organization of the Republic of Croatia established in 1993. It is located in the northeastern part of the Republic of Croatia in the Pannonian region, extending over the area of 4,152 km2. It encompasses the localities surrounding the lower flow of the Drava River prior to its confluence into the Danube. The periodically inundated Danube River area has created the Kopački rit (Kopački Wetlands), a world-known refuge for numerous bird species, proclaimed a Nature Park and protected as a special zoological reservation. Osijek-Baranja County is predominantly a plains region suitable for agricultural development. The fact that 260,778 ha are comprised of arable lands and 82,868 ha are forested speaks of the agricultural character of the region. The territory of the County is crisscrossed by more than 1,700 km of roads and 180 km of railroad tracks. The Danube and the Drava (the latter being navigable up to Donji Miholjac and having the status of an international waterway up to Osijek) connect the area also with the European riverine network. Two airports in the vicinity of Osijek (Osijek and Klisa) connect the County with the Croatian airport network. The European V/c traffic corridor, connecting the north of Europe (the Baltic) with its south (the Adriatic Sea), also takes its route via Osijek. Within the Transeuropean Motorway (TEM) project, the construction of the Transeuropean Budapest - Osijek - Sarajevo - Ploče Highway is being prepared.
