Statistical information Bosnia and Herzegovina 1998

Bosnia and Herzegovina in the World

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Introduction 1998

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Background: On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the former Yugoslavia's three warring parties signed a peace agreement that brought to a halt over three years of interethnic civil strife in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). The Dayton Agreement, signed then by Bosnian President IZETBEGOVIC, Croatian President TUDJMAN, and Serbian President MILOSEVIC, divides Bosnia and Herzegovina roughly equally between the Muslim/Croat Federation and the Bosnian Serbs while maintaining Bosnia's currently recognized borders. In 1995-96, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops served in Bosnia to implement and monitor the military aspects of the agreement. IFOR was succeeded by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) whose mission is to deter renewed hostilities. SFOR will remain in place until June 1998. A High Representative appointed by the UN Security Council is responsible for civilian implementation of the accord, including monitoring implementation, facilitating any difficulties arising in connection with civilian implementation, and coordinating activities of the civilian organizations and agencies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bosnian conflict began in the spring of 1992 when the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina held a referendum on independence and the Bosnian Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia_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, Bosnia's Muslims and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement in Washington creating their joint Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Federation, formed by the Muslims and Croats in March 1994, is one of two entities (the other being the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska) that comprise Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Geography 1998

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Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia

Geographic coordinates: 44 00 N, 18 00 E

Map reference: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europe

Area
Total: 51,233 km²
Land: 51,233 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries
Total: 1,459 km
Border countries: (3) Croatia 932 km; , Serbia and Montenegro 527 km; (312 km; with Serbia, 215 km

Coastline: 20 km

Maritime claims: NA

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
Extremes lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
Extremes highest point: Maglic 2,386 m

Natural resources: coal, iron, bauxite, manganese, forests, copper, chromium, lead, zinc

Land use

Land use
Arable land: 14%
Permanent crops: 5%
Permanent pastures: 20%
Forests and woodland: 39%
Other: 22% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 20 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: frequent and destructive earthquakes

Geography
Note: within Bosnia and Herzegovina's recognized borders, the country is divided into a joint Muslim/Croat Federation (about 51% of the territory) and a Serb Republic, The Republika Srpska [RS] (about 49% of the territory; the region called Herzegovina is contiguous to Croatia and traditionally has been settled by an ethnic Croat majority

Bosnia and Herzegovina - People 1998

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Population: 3,365,727 (July 1998 est.)
Note: all data dealing with population is subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing
Growth rate: 3.63% (1998 est.)

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

Ethnic groups: Serb 40%, Muslim 38%, Croat 22% (est.)

Languages: Serbo-Croatian (often called Bosnian) 99%

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

Demographic profile

Age structure

Age structure
0-14 years: 18% (male 307,857; female 291,424)
15-64 years: 71% (male 1,177,516; female 1,195,419)
65 years and over: 11% (male 156,041; female 237,470) (July 1998 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 3.63% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 8.72 births/1000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 12.32 deaths/1000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: 39.91 migrant(s)/1000 population (1998 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants; sites for disposing of urban waste are limited; widespread casualties, water shortages, and destruction of infrastructure because of the 1992-95 civil strife
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 30.8 deaths/1000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 63.03 years
Male: 58.35 years
Female: 68.02 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.14 children born/woman (1998 est.)

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: NA

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Government 1998

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Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local long form: none
Local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina

Government type: emerging democracy

Capital: Sarajevo

Administrative divisions: there are two first-order administrative divisions approved by the US Government_the Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina) and Republika Srpska; it has been reported that the Muslim/Croat Federation is comprised of 10 cantons identified by either number or name - Goradzde (5), Livno (10), Middle Bosnia (6), Neretva (7), Posavina (2), Sarajevo (9), Tuzla Podrinje (3), Una Sana (1), West Herzegovina (8), Zenica Doboj (4)

Dependent areas

Independence: NA April 1992 (from Yugoslavia)

National holiday: Republika Srpska_"Republic Day," 9 January; Independence Day, 1 March; Bosnia_"Republic Day," 25 November

Constitution: the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, included a new constitution now in force

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
Chief of state: Chairman of the Presidency Alija IZETBEGOVIC (since 14 September 1996); other members of the three-member rotating presidency:Kresimir ZUBAK (since 14 September 1996_Croat) and Momcilo KRAJISNIK (since 14 September 1996 - Serb): ead of
Government: Cochairman of the Council of Ministers Haris SILAJDZIC (since NA January 1997); Cochairman of the Council of Ministers Boro BOSIC (since NA January 1997) NA
Cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairmen
Note: president of the Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina:Ejup GANIC (since 1 January 1998); president of the Republika Srpska:Biljana PLAVSIC (since September 1996)
Elections: the three presidency members (one each Muslim, Croat, Serb) are elected by direct election (first election for a two-year term, thereafter for a four-year term); the president with the most votes becomes the chairman; election last held 14 September 1996 (next to be held September 1998); the cochairmen are nominated by the presidency
Election results: Alija IZETBEGOVIC elected chairman of the collective presidency with the highest number of votes; percent of vote_Alija IZETBEGOVIC received 80% of the Muslim vote to Haris SILAJDZIC's 14%; Kresimir ZUBAK received 88% of the Croat vote to Ivo KOMSIC's 11%; Momcilo KRAJISNIK received 68% of the Serb vote to Mladen IVANIC's 30%

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the National House of Representatives or Vijece Opcina (42 seats_14 Serb, 14 Croat, and 14 Muslim; members serve two-year terms) and the House of Peoples or Vijece Gradanstvo (15 seats_5 Muslim, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members serve two-year terms)
Elections: National House of Representatives_elections last held 14 September 1996 (next to be held NA); note_the House of Peoples is elected by the Muslim/Croat Federation's 140-seat House of Representatives (two-thirds) and the Republika Srpska's 83-seat National Assembly (one-third)
Election results: National House of Representatives:two-thirds chosen from the Muslim/Croat Federation:percent of vote by party_NA; seats by party_SDA 16, HDZ-BiH 7, Joint List of Social Democrats 3, Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2; one-third chosen from the Bosnian Serb Republic:percent of vote by party_NA; seats by party_SDS 9, SDA 3, Democratic Patriotic Front/Union for Peace and Progress 2
Note: the Muslim/Croat Federation has a House of Representatives with 140 seats:seats by party_SDA 80, HDZ-BiH 33, Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina 11, Joint List of Social Democrats 10, other 6; the Republika Srpska has a National Assembly with 83 seats:seats by party_SDS 24, Serb Radical Party 15, Serb National Alliance 15, Socialist Party 9, Independent Social Democrats 2, Coalition for United Bosnia and Herzegovina and others 18

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, supervised by the Ministry of Justice; Constitutional Court, supervised by the Ministry of Justice

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation

Diplomatic representation

Flag description