Bosnia And Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina declared sovereignty in October 1991 and independence from the former Yugoslavia on 3 March 1992 after a referendum boycotted by ethnic Serbs. The Bosnian Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia and Montenegro - responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to form a "Greater Serbia." In March 1994, Bosniaks and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement creating a joint Bosniak-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties initialed a peace agreement that ended three years of interethnic civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). The Dayton Peace Accords retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a multiethnic and democratic government charged with conducting foreign, diplomatic, and fiscal policy. Also recognized was a second tier of government composed of two entities roughly equal in size: the predominantly Bosniak-Bosnian Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the predominantly Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska (RS). The Federation and RS governments are responsible for overseeing most government functions. Additionally, the Dayton Accords established the Office of the High Representative to oversee the implementation of the civilian aspects of the agreement. The Peace Implementation Council at its conference in Bonn in 1997 also gave the High Representative the authority to impose legislation and remove officials, the so-called "Bonn Powers." An original NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops assembled in 1995 was succeeded over time by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR). In 2004, European Union peacekeeping troops (EUFOR) replaced SFOR. Currently, EUFOR deploys around 600 troops in theater in a security assistance and training capacity.

geography

location

44.0° N, 18. 0° E
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia

area

51,197 sq km
land
51,187 sq km
water
10 sq km

land boundaries

1,543 km

coastline

20 km

climate

hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along coast

terrain

mountains and valleys

elevation

500 m
lowest point
Adriatic Sea
0 m
highest point
Maglic
2,386 m

natural resources

  • coal
  • iron ore
  • antimony
  • bauxite
  • copper
  • lead
  • zinc
  • chromite
  • cobalt
  • manganese
  • nickel
  • clay
  • gypsum
  • salt
  • sand
  • timber
  • hydropower

land use

arable land
19.7 %
permanent crops
2 %
permanent pasture
20.5 %
forest
42.8 %
other
15 %

population distribution

the northern and central areas of the country are the most densely populated

people

population

  • 3,835,586
  • 131
    global rank

nationality

  • Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s)
    noun
  • Bosnian, Herzegovinian
    adjective

ethnic groups

Bosniak
50.1 %
Serb
30.8 %
Croat
15.4 %
other
2.7 %
not declared/no answer
1 %

languages

  • Bosnian
    official
  • Serbian
    official
  • Croatian
    official
  • other
  • no answer

religions

Muslim
50.7 %
Orthodox
30.7 %
Roman Catholic
15.2 %
atheist
0.8 %
agnostic
0.3 %
other
1.2 %
undeclared/no answer
1.1 %

birth rate

  • 8.6
    per 1,000 population
  • 214
    global rank

death rate

  • 10.2
    per 1,000 population
  • 33
    global rank

urban population

49 %

major urban areas

  • Sarajevo
    pop. 343,000

life expectancy

  • 77.5
    total population
  • 79
    global rank
74.5
male
80.7
female

adult obesity rate

  • 17.9%
    percent of adults
  • 118
    global rank

government

country name

    conventional

  • none
    long form
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
    short form

    local

  • none
    long form
  • Bosna i Hercegovina
    short form

government type

parliamentary republic

capital

Sarajevo
43.52 N, 18.25 E

independence

national holidays

  • Independence Day
    1 March
  • Victory Day
    9 May

legal system

civil law system; Constitutional Court review of legislative acts

age of suffrage

18

flag description

a wide blue vertical band on the fly side with a yellow isosceles triangle abutting the band and the top of the flag; the remainder of the flag is blue with seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars top and bottom along the hypotenuse of the triangle; the triangle approximates the shape of the country and its three points stand for the constituent peoples - Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs; the stars represent Europe and are meant to be continuous (thus the half stars at top and bottom); the colors (white, blue, and yellow) are often associated with neutrality and peace, and traditionally are linked with Bosnia

national colors

  • blue
  • yellow
  • white

national anthem

"Drzavna himna Bosne i Hercegovine" (The National Anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina)

economy

overview

Bosnia and Herzegovina has a transitional economy with limited market reforms. The economy relies heavily on the export of metals, energy, textiles, and furniture as well as on remittances and foreign aid. A highly decentralized government hampers economic policy coordination and reform, while excessive bureaucracy and a segmented market discourage foreign investment. The economy is among the least competitive in the region. Foreign banks, primarily from Austria and Italy, control much of the banking sector, though the largest bank is a private domestic one. The konvertibilna marka (convertible mark) - the national currency introduced in 1998 - is pegged to the euro through a currency board arrangement, which has maintained confidence in the currency and has facilitated reliable trade links with European partners. Bosnia and Herzegovina became a full member of the Central European Free Trade Agreement in September 2007. In 2016, Bosnia began a three-year IMF loan program, but it has struggled to meet the economic reform benchmarks required to receive all funding installments. Bosnia and Herzegovina's private sector is growing slowly, but foreign investment dropped sharply after 2007 and remains low. High unemployment remains the most serious macroeconomic problem. Successful implementation of a value-added tax in 2006 provided a steady source of revenue for the government and helped rein in gray-market activity, though public perceptions of government corruption and misuse of taxpayer money has encouraged a large informal economy to persist. National-level statistics have improved over time, but a large share of economic activity remains unofficial and unrecorded. Bosnia and Herzegovina's top economic priorities are: acceleration of integration into the EU; strengthening the fiscal system; public administration reform; World Trade Organization membership; and securing economic growth by fostering a dynamic, competitive private sector.

GDP

44,830,000,000 USD
2017

agriculture products

  • wheat
  • corn
  • fruits
  • vegetables
  • livestock

poverty level

16.9%
2015

budget

  • 7,993,000,000
    revenue (USD)
  • 7,607,000,000
    expenditures (USD)

communications

telephones

    fixed lines

  • 792,535
    total subscriptions
  • 83
    global rank

    mobile cellular

  • 3,461,058
    total subscriptions
  • 137
    global rank

broadcast media

3 public TV broadcasters: Radio and TV of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federation TV (operating 2 networks), and Republika Srpska Radio-TV; a local commercial network of 5 TV stations; 3 private, near-national TV stations and dozens of small independent TV broadcasting stations; 3 large public radio broadcasters and many private radio stations

internet

.ba
country code

    users

  • 2,699,544
    total
  • 70.12
    % of population
  • 104
    global rank

energy

electricity access

100%
2016

transportation

air transport

    national system

  • 1
    registered air carriers
  • 7,070
    annual passenger traffic

    airports

  • 24
    total
  • 7
    paved

railways

965 km
total length

roadways

22,926 km
total length

military

expenditures

expenditures here

service age

18