Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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Background: Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of sovereignty in October of 1991 was followed by a referendum for independence from the former Yugoslavia in February of 1992. 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 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 signed a peace agreement that brought to a halt the three years of interethnic civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). The Dayton Agreement divides Bosnia and Herzegovina roughly equally between the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska. 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 with troop levels to be reduced to about 19,000 by spring 2000.


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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
Comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries

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

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

Land use

Irrigated land: 20 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes

Geography
Note: within Bosnia and Herzegovina's recognized borders the country is divided into a joint Bosniak/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: 3,835,777
Growth rate: 3.1% (2000 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality

Ethnic groups: Serb 31% Bosniak 44% Croat 17% Yugoslav 5.5% other 2.5% (1991)

Languages: Croatian Serbian Bosnian

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

Demographic profile

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 3.1% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 12.92 births/1000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 7.87 deaths/1000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 25.92 migrant(s)/1000 population (2000 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

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 25.17 deaths/1000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

Total fertility rate: 1.71 children born/woman (2000 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

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name

Government type: emerging democracy

Capital: Sarajevo

Administrative divisions: there are two first-order administrative divisions - the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska; note - Brcko in northeastern Bosnia is a self-governing administrative unit under the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina; it is not part of either the Federation or Republika Srpska

Dependent areas

Independence: NA April 1992 (from Yugoslavia)

National holiday: Bosnia and Herzegovina - BiH National 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

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 Bosniak; members elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) and the House of Peoples or Vijece Gradanstvo (15 seats - 5 Bosniak 5 Croat 5 Serb; members elected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve two-year terms)

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

Political parties and leaders: Bosnian Party of Rights or BSP [leader NA]; Bosnian Party or BOSS [Mirnes AJANOVIC]; Bosnian Patriotic Party or BPS [Sefer HALILOVIC]; Center Coalition or KC (includes LBO RS) [leader NA]; Civic Democratic Party or GDS [Ibrahim SPAHIC]; Coalition for King and Fatherland or KKO (Dubravko Prstojevic]; Coalition for a United and Democratic BIH or KCD [Alija IZETBEGOVIC; includes SDA and SBH]; Croatian Democratic Union of BiH or HDZ-BiH [Ante JELAVIC]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Zdravko HRSTIC]; Croatian Peasants Party of BiH or HSS-BiH [Ilija SIMIC]; Democratic Party for Banja Luka and Krajina [Nikola SPIRIC]; Democratic Party of Pensioners or DSP [Alojz KNEZOVIC]; Democratic Peoples Union or DNZ [Fikret ABDIC]; Liberal Bosniak Organization or LBO [Muhamed FILIPOVIC]; Liberal Party or LS [Rasim KADIC president]; Muslim-Bosnia Organization or MBO [Dzevad HADZIAVDIC]; New Croatian Initiative or NHI [Kresimir ZUBAK]; Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina or SBH [Haris SILAJDZIC]; Party for Democratic Action or SDA [Alija IZETBEGOVIC]; Party of Democratic Progress of the Republika Srpska [Mladen IVANIC]; Party of Independent Social Democrats or SNSD [Milorad DODIK]; Radical Party Republika Srpska of RSRS [Miroslav RADOVANOVIC]; Republican Party or RS [Stjepan KLJUIC]; Serb Coalition for Republika Srpska or SKRS [Predrag LAZAREVIC]; Serb Democratic Party or Serb Lands or SDS [Dragan KALINIC]; Serb National Alliance or SNS [Biljana PLAVSIC]; Serb Radical Party-Republika Srpska or SRS-RS [Nikola POPLASEN] (banned by the Office of the High Representative - see Government note - from participation in the April elections); Sloga or Unity [Zivko RADISIC] (includes SNS SPRS SNSD); Social Democratic Party BIH or SDP-BiH [Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA]; Socialist Party of Republika Srpska or SPRS [Zivko RADISIC]

International organization participation: CE (guest) CEI EBRD ECE FAO G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO IDA IFAD IFC ILO IMF IMO Inmarsat 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

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 socialist economic structure of Yugoslavia. 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 recovered in 1996-98 at high percentage rates on a low base; but output growth slowed appreciably in 1999 and GDP remains far below the 1990 level. 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. In 1999 the convertible mark - the national currency introduced in 1998 - gained wider acceptance and the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina dramatically increased its reserve holdings. Implementation of privatization however faltered in both areas. Banking reform is also lagging. The country receives substantial amounts of reconstruction assistance and humanitarian aid from the international community but will have to prepare for an era of declining assistance.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 5% (1999 est.)

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

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: 5%-10% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 1.026 million
By occupation agriculture: NA%
By occupation industry: NA%
By occupation services: NA%

Unemployment rate: 35%-40% (1999 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: NA%

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Current account balance

Inflation rate consumer prices: 5% (1997 est.)

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: $450 million (1997 est.)
Commodities: NA
Partners: NA

Imports: $2.95 billion (1997 est.)
Commodities: NA
Partners: NA

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $4.1 billion (1997 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: convertible marks per US$1 - 1.9 (1999)


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 2.22 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity consumption: 2.065 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity exports: 0 kWh (1998)

Electricity imports: 0 kWh (1998)

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular: 4,000 (1999)

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

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $N/A
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: 27 (1999 est.)

Airports with paved runways

Airports with unpaved runways

Heliports: 4 (1999 est.)

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

Railways

Roadways

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

Merchant marine: none (1999 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: disputes with Serbia over Serbian populated areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Refugees and internally displaced persons

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