Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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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 Republika Srpska 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 remains in place. 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. 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.


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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
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 the Bosnian Serb-led 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


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Population: 3,482,495 (July 1999 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: 3.2% (1999 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

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

Ethnic groups: Serb 40%, Muslim 38%, Croat 22% (est.), note_the Croats claim they now make up only 17% of the total population

Languages: Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian

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

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 17% (male 310,430; female 294,298)
15-64 years: 71% (male 1,221,791; female 1,240,097)
65 years and over: 12% (male 166,876; female 249,003) (1999 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 3.2% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 9.36 births/1000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 10.81 deaths/1000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 33.42 migrant(s)/1000 population (1999 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: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 24.52 deaths/1000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 66.98 years
Male: 62.55 years
Female: 71.71 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.21 children born/woman (1999 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


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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_the Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska; note_the status of Brcko in north eastern Bosnia is to be determined by arbitration

Dependent areas

Independence: NA April 1992 (from Yugoslavia)

National holiday: Republika Srpska_"Republic Day," 9 January; Independence Day, 1 March; Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina_"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 Zivko RADISIC (since 13 October 1998_Serb); other members of the three-member rotating (every 8 months) presidency:Ante JELAVIC (since NA September 1998_Croat) and Alija IZETBEGOVIC (since 14 March 1996_Muslim)
Head of government: Cochairman of the Council of Ministers Haris SILAJDZIC (since NA January 1997); Cochairman of the Council of Ministers Suetozar MIHAJLOVIC (since 3 February 1999)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairmen
Note: President of the Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina:Ivo ANDRIC-LUZANIC (since 1 January 1999); Vice President is Ejup GANIC; note_president and vice president rotate every 3 months; President of the Republika Srpska:Nikola POPLASEN (since 29 October 1998)
Elections: the three-person presidency members (one Muslim, one Croat, one Serb) are elected by popular vote for a four-year term; the president with the most votes becomes the chairman unless he was the incumbent chairman at the time of the election; election last held 12-13 September 1998 (next to be held September 2002); the cochairmen of the Council of Ministers are appointed by the presidency
Election results: percent of vote_Zivko RADISIC with 52% of the Serb vote was elected chairman of the collective presidency for the first 8 months; Ante JELAVIC with 52% of the Croat vote will follow RADISIC in the rotation; Alija IZEBEGOVIC with 87% of the Muslim vote won the highest number of votes in the election but was ineligible to serve consecutive terms as chairman

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 elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) and the House of Peoples or Vijece Gradanstvo (15 seats_5 Muslim, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members elected by the Muslim/Croat Federation's House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve two-year terms)
Elections: National House of Representatives_elections last held 12-13 September 1998 (next to be held in the fall 2000); House of Peoples_last held NA (next to be held NA)
Election results: National House of Representatives_percent of vote by party/coalition_NA; seats by party/coalition_KCD 17, HDZ-BiH 6, SDP 4, Sloga 4, SDS 4, SDBIH 2, SRS-RS 2, DNZ 1, NHI 1, RSRS 1; House of Peoples_percent of vote by party/coalition_NA; seats by party/coalition_NA
Note: the Muslim/Croat Federation has a House of Representatives (140 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve NA year terms); elections last held NA (next to be held NA); percent of vote by party_NA; seats by party/coalition_KCD 68, HDZ-BiH 28, SDP 19, SDBIH 6, NHI 4, DNZ 3, DSP 2, BPS 2, HSP 2, SPRS 2, BSP 1, KC 1, BOSS 1, HSS 1; the Republika Srpska has a National Assembly (83 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve NA year terms); elections last held NA (next to be held NA); percent of vote by party_NA; seats by party/coalition_SDS 19, KCD 15, SNS 12, SRS-RS 11, SPRS 10, SNSD 6, RSRS 3, SKRS 2, SDP 2, KKO 1, HDZ-BiH 1, NHI 1

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, consists of nine members:four members are selected by the Muslim/Croat Federation's House of Representatives, two members by the Republika Srpska National Assembly, and three non-Bosnian members by the president of the European Court of Human Rights

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: CE (guest), CEI, EBRD, ECE, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Dragan BOZANIC
In the us chancery: 2,109 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20,037
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 337-1500
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 337-1502
In the us consulates general: New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Richard D. KAUZLARICH
From the us embassy: Alipasina 43, 71,000 Sarajevo
From the us mailing address: use street address
From the us telephone: [387] (71) 445-700
From the us FAX: [387] (71) 659-722

Flag description: a wide medium 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 medium blue with seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars top and bottom along the hypotenuse of the triangle

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked next to The Former Yugoslav Republic of 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. The bitter interethnic warfare in Bosnia caused production to plummet by 80% from 1990 to 1995, unemployment to soar, and human misery to multiply. With an uneasy peace in place, output has recovered in 1996-98 at high percentage rates on a low base, but remains far below the 1990 level. Key achievements in 1998 included approval of privatization legislation, the introduction of a national currency_the convertible mark, agreement with the Paris Club to reschedule official debt, and the conclusion of a Standby Agreement with the IMF. Economic data are of limited use because, although both entities issue figures, national-level statistics are not available. Moreover, official data do not capture the large share of activity that occurs on the black market. The country receives substantial amounts of reconstruction assistance and humanitarian aid from the international community. Wide regional differences in war damage and access to the outside world have resulted in substantial variations in living conditions among local areas and individual families. In 1999, Bosnia's major goals are to implement privatization and make progress in fiscal reform and management. In addition, Bosnia will have to prepare for an era of declining assistance from the international community.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 30% (1998 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity: $1,720 (1998 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 19%
Industry: 23%
Services: 58% (1996 est.)

Agriculture products: wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock

Industries: steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances, oil refining (much of capacity damaged or shut down) (1995)

Industrial production growth rate: 35% (1998 est.)

Labor force: 1,026,254
By occupation: NA%

Unemployment rate: 40%-50% (1996 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $N/A
Expenditures: $N/A, including capital expenditures of $N/A

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: $152 million (1995 est.)
Commodities: NA
Partners: NA

Imports: $1.1 billion (1995 est.)
Commodities: NA
Partners: NA

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $3.5 billion (yearend 1995 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: NA


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Electricity
Production: 2.3 billion kWh (1996)
Production by source fossil fuel: 34.78%
Production by source hydro: 65.22%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 0% (1996)
Consumption: 2.504 billion kWh (1996)
Exports: 182 million kWh (1996)
Imports: 386 million kWh (1996)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones: 727,000

Telephone system: telephone and telegraph network is in need of modernization and expansion; many urban areas are below average when compared with services in other former Yugoslav republics
Domestic: NA
International: no satellite earth stations

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $NA
Percent of gdp: NA%

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: 25 (1998 est.)
With paved runways total: 9
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 4
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 2 (1998 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 16
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 7
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 8 (1998 est.)

Heliports: 3 (1998 est.)

Pipelines: crude oil 174 km; natural gas 90 km (1992; note_pipelines now disrupted

Railways
Total: 1,021 km (electrified 795 km; operating as diesel or steam until grids are repaired)
Standard gauge: 1,021 km 1.435-m gauge (1995); note_some segments still need repair and/or reconstruction

Roadways

Waterways: NA km; large sections of Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris

Merchant marine: none

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: disputes with Serbia over Serbian populated areas

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: minor transit point for marijuana and opiate trafficking routes to Western Europe