Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Bosnia and Herzegovina is suffering from interethnic civil strife which began in March 1992 after the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina held a referendum on independence. Bosnia's Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia - responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to a "greater Serbia." Since the onset of the conflict, which has driven thousands from their homes, both the Bosnian Serbs and the Bosnian Croats have asserted control of large areas formerly under the control of the Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The UN and the EU are trying to mediate a plan for peace.


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Location: Southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula, between Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro

Geographic coordinates

Map reference:

Area
Total: 51,233 km²
Land: 51,233 km²

Land boundaries:

Coastline: 20 km
Exclusive economic zone: 12 nm
Exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Maritime claims

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

Natural resources: coal, iron, bauxite, manganese, timber, wood products, copper, chromium, lead, zinc

Land use
Arable land: 20%
Permanent crops: 2%
Meadows and pastures: 25%
Forest and woodland: 36%
Other: 17%

Irrigated land: NA km²

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography


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Population: 4,618,804 (July 1993 est.)
Growth rate: 0.72% (1993 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s)
Adjective: Bosnian, Herzegovinian

Ethnic groups: Muslim 44%, Serb 31%, Croat 17%, other 8%

Languages: Serbo-Croatian 99%
Total population: NA%
Male: NA%
Female: NA%

Religions: Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other 10%

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 0.72% (1993 est.)

Birth rate: 13.54 births/1000 population (1993 est.)

Death rate: 6.38 deaths/1000 population (1993 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (1993 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants; water scarce; sites for disposing of urban waste are limited; subject to frequent and destructive earthquakes

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 13.2 deaths/1000 live births (1993 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 74.8 years
Male: 72.11 years
Female: 77.67 years (1993 est.)

Total fertility rate

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local long form: Republika Bosna i Hercegovina
Local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina

Government type: emerging democracy

Capital: Sarajevo

Administrative divisions:

Dependent areas

Independence: NA April 1992 (from Yugoslavia)

National holiday: NA

Constitution: NA

Legal system: based on civil law system

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal

Executive branch: collective presidency, prime minister, deputy prime ministers, cabinet

Legislative branch: bicameral National Assembly consists of an upper house or Chamber of Municipalities (Vijece Opeina) and a lower house or Chamber of Citizens (Vijece Gradanstvo)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, Constitutional Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: CEI, CSCE, ECE, UN, UNCTAD, WHO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: NA
In the us telephone: NA
From the us: the US maintains full diplomatic relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina but has not yet established an embassy in Serajevo

Flag description: white with a large blue shield; the shield contains white Roman crosses with a white diagonal band running from the upper hoist corner to the lower fly side

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked next to Macedonia as the poorest republic in the old Yugoslav federation. Although agriculture has been almost all in private hands, farms have been small and inefficient, and the republic traditionally has been a net importer of food. Industry has been greatly overstaffed, one reflection of the rigidities of Communist central planning and management. Tito had pushed the development of military industries in the republic with the result that Bosnia hosted a large share of Yugoslavia's defense plants. As of March 1993, Bosnia and Herzegovina was being torn apart by the continued bitter interethnic warfare that has caused production to plummet, unemployment and inflation to soar, and human misery to multiply. No reliable economic statistics for 1992 are available, although output clearly fell below the already depressed 1991 level.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: -37% (1991 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $3,200 (1991 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: accounted for 9.0% of GDP in 1989; regularly produces less than 50% of food needs; the foothills of northern Bosnia support orchards, vineyards, livestock, and some wheat and corn; long winters and heavy precipitation leach soil fertility reducing agricultural output in the mountains; farms are mostly privately held, small, and not very productive

Industries: steel production, mining (coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, and bauxite), manufacturing (vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, 40% of former Yugoslavia's armaments including tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances), oil refining

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate NA%, but production is sharply down because of interethnic and interrepublic warfare (1991-92) per capita (1992)

Labor force: 1,026,254
By occupation agriculture: 2%
By occupation industry and mining: 45% (1991 est.)

Unemployment rate: 28% (February 1992 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $2,054 million (1990)
Commodoties: manufactured goods 31%, machinery and transport equipment 20.8%, raw materials 18%, miscellaneous manufactured articles 17.3%, chemicals 9.4%, fuel and lubricants 1.4%, food and live animals 1.2%
Partners: principally the other former Yugoslav republics

Imports: $1,891 million (1990)
Commodoties: fuels and lubricants 32%, machinery and transport equipment 23.3%, other manufactures 21.3%, chemicals 10%, raw materials 6.7%, food and live animals 5.5%, beverages and tobacco 1.9%
Partners: principally the other former Yugoslav republics

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: NA


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Electricity

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: $NA, NA% of GDP

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 27
Usable: 22
With permanentsurface runways: 8
With runways over 3659: 0
With runways 2440-3659 m: 4
With runways 1220-2439 m: 5

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil 174 km, natural gas 90 km (1992; note - pipelines now disrupted

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: NA km

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: Serbia and Montenegro and Croatia seek to cantonize Bosnia and Herzegovina; Muslim majority being forced from many areas

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: NA