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 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.

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.)

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

Population: 3,222,584 (July 1997 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: 5.09% (1997 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%

Age structure
0-14 years: 18% (male 301,637; female 284,694)
15-64 years: 70% (male 1,123,477; female 1,140,604)
65 years and over: 12% (male 145,711; female 226,461) (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate: 5.09% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 8.29 births/1000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 13.88 deaths/1000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: 56.51 migrant(s)/1000 population (1997 est.)

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

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 37 deaths/1000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 59.42 years
Male: 54.58 years
Female: 64.59 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.09 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Literacy: NA

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 no first-order administrative divisions approved by the US Government, but it has been reported that the Muslim/Croat Federation is comprised of 10 cantons called 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)

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

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)
Head 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:Vladimir SOLJIC (since March 1997); 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 NA-year terms) and the House of Peoples or Vijece Gradanstvo (15 seats - 5 Muslim, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members serve NA-year terms)
Elections: National House of Representatives - elections last held 14 September 1996 (next to be held NA); note - the House of Peoples are elected by the Muslim-Croat Federation's 140-seat House of Representatives (two-thirds) and the Bosnian Serb Republic'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 50, Democratic Patriotic Front/Union for Peace and Progress 10, Serb Radical Party 7, SDA 6, other 10

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Sven ALKALAJ
In the us chancery: Suite 760, 1707 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20,036
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 833-3,612, 3,613, 3,615
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 833-2,061
In the us consulates general: New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Robert BEECROFT
From the us embassy: 43 Ul. Djure Djakovica, Sarajevo
From the us mailing address: American Embassy Sarajevo, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20,521-7,130
From the us telephone: [387] (71) 445-700
From the us FAX: [387] (71) 659-722

Flag description: white with a large blue shield; the shield contains white fleurs-de-lis with a white diagonal band running from the upper hoist corner to the lower outer side

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 perhaps 90% since 1990, unemployment to soar, and human misery to multiply. No reliable economic statistics for 1992-96 are available, although output almost certainly is well below $1,000 per head. In the Federation, unemployment remains in the 40%-50% range and inflation is low. By contrast, growth in the Republika Srpska in 1996 was flat and inflation surpassed 30%. The country receives substantial amounts of 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.

Real gdp growth rate: NA%

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $600 (1995 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: NA%
Industry: NA%
Services: NA%

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: NA%

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

Unemployment rate: officially about 70% but probably much lower, perhaps 40%-50% (1996 est.)

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

Fiscal year: calendar year

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

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

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

Exchange rates: NA

Electricity
Capacity: 3.991 million kW (1991)
Production: 1.87 billion kWh (1994)
Consumption per capita: 475 kWh (1995 est.)

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

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

Airports: 24 (1996 est.)
With paved runways total: 14
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 3
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 7 (1996 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 10
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 9 (1996 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 need repair and/or reconstruction

Waterways: NA km; Sava blocked by downed bridges

Merchant marine: none

Disputes international: disputes with Serbia over Serbian populated areas

Illicit drugs: transit point for minor regional marijuana trafficking routes