Background: Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of sovereignty in October 1991 was followed by a declaration of independence from the former Yugoslavia on 3 March 1992 after a referendum boycotted by ethnic Serbs. The Bosnian Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia and Montenegro - 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 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 initialed a peace agreement that brought to a halt three years of interethnic civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). The Dayton Agreement retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a joint multi-ethnic and democratic government. This national government was charged with conducting foreign economic and fiscal policy. Also recognized was a second tier of government comprised of two entities roughly equal in size: the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska (RS). The Federation and RS governments were charged with overseeing internal functions. 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 although troop levels were reduced to approximately 12,000 by the close of 2002.

Geographic coordinates: 44 00 N 18 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 51,129 km²
Water: 0 km²
Land: 51,129 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries
Total: 1,459 km
Border countries: (2) Croatia 932 km; , Serbia and Montenegro 527 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 hydropower

Land use
Arable land: 9.8%
Permanent crops: 2.94%
Other: 87.26% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 20 km² (1998 est.)

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 or RS (about 49% of the territory); the region called Herzegovina is contiguous to Croatia and Serbia and Montenegro (Montenegro) and traditionally has been settled by an ethnic Croat majority in the west and an ethnic Serb majority in the east

Population: 3,989,018 (July 2003 est.)
Growth rate: 0.48% (2003 est.)
Below poverty line: NA%

Nationality
Noun: Bosnian
Adjective: Bosnian

Ethnic groups
Note: Bosniak has replaced Muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam

Languages: Croatian Serbian Bosnian

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 19.4% (male 397,810; female 377,005)
15-64 years: 70.5% (male 1,439,383; female 1,372,891)
65 years and over: 10.1% (male 171,643; female 230,286) (2003 est.)

Median age
Total: 35.5 years
Male: 35.1 years
Female: 35.9 years (2002)

Population growth rate: 0.48% (2003 est.)

Birth rate: 12.65 births/1000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate: 8.21 deaths/1000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.32 migrant(s)/1000 population (2003 est.)

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

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.07 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.06 male/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male/female
Total population: 1.01 male/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 22.7 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 19.85 deaths/1000 live births (2003 est.)
Male: 25.37 deaths/1000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 72.29 years
Male: 69.56 years
Female: 75.22 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.71 children born/woman (2003 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: NA
Deaths: 100 (2001 est.)

Literacy
Definition: NA
Total population: NA%
Male: NA%
Female: 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 federal democratic republic

Capital: Sarajevo

Administrative divisions: there are two first-order administrative divisions and one internationally supervised district* - Brcko district (Brcko Distrikt)* the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska; note - Brcko district is in northeastern Bosnia and is an administrative unit under the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the district remains under international supervision

Independence: 1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia; referendum for independence was completed 1 March 1992; independence was declared 3 March 1992)

National holiday: National Day 25 November (1943)

Constitution: the Dayton Agreement signed 14 December 1995 included a new constitution now in force; note - each of the entities also has its own constitution

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 Dragan COVIC (chairman since 27 June 2003; presidency member since 5 October 2002 - Croat) other members of the three-member rotating (every eight months) presidency: Sulejman TIHIC (since 5 October 2002 - Bosniak) and Borislav PARAVAC (since 10 April 2003 - Serb); note - Mirko SAROVIC resigned 2 April 2003
Elections: the three members of the presidency (one Bosniak, one Croat, one Serb) are elected by popular vote for a four-year term; the member with the most votes becomes the chairman unless he or she was the incumbent chairman at the time of the election, but the chairmanship rotates every eight months; election last held 5 October 2002 (next to be held NA 2006); the chairman of the Council of Ministers is appointed by the presidency and confirmed by the National House of Representatives
Head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Adnan TERZIC (since 20 December 2002),
Cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairman; approved by the National House of Representatives
Election results: percent of vote - Mirko SAROVIC with 35.5% of the Serb vote was elected chairman of the collective presidency for the first eight months; Dragan COVIC received 61.5% of the Croat vote; Sulejman TIHIC received 37% of the Bosniak vote
Note: President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Niko LOZANCIC (since 27 January 2003); Vice Presidents Sahbaz DZIHANOVIC (since NA 2003) and Desnica RADIVOJEVIC (since NA 2003); President of the Republika Srpska: Dragan COVIC (since 28 November 2002)

Legislative branch
Election results: National House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - SDA 21.9%, SDS 14.0%, SBiH 10.5%, SDP 10.4%, SNSD 9.8%, HDZ 9.5%, PDP 4.6%, others 19.3%; seats by party/coalition - SDA 10, SDS 5, SBiH 6, SDP 4, SNSD 3, HDZ 5, PDP 2, others 7; House of Peoples - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA%; seats by party/coalition - NA
Elections: National House of Representatives - elections last held 5 October 2002 (next to be held in NA 2006); House of Peoples - last constituted NA January 2003 (next to be constituted in 2007)
Note: the Bosniak/Croat Federation has a bicameral legislature that consists of a House of Representatives (98 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections last held 5 October 2002 (next to be held NA October 2006); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party/coalition - SDA 32, HDZ-BiH 16, SDP 15, SBiH 15, other 20; and a House of Peoples (60 seats - 30 Bosniak, 30 Croat); last constituted December 2002; the Republika Srpska has a National Assembly (83 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections last held 5 October 2002 (next to be held in the fall of 2006); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party/coalition - SDS 26, SNSD 19, PDP 9, SDA 6, SRS 4, SPRS 3, DNZ 3, SBiH 4, SDP 3, others 6; as a result of the 2002 constitutional reform process, a 28-member Republika Srpska Council of Peoples (COP) was established in the Republika Srpska National Assembly; each constituent nation and 'others' will have eight delegates

Judicial branch
Note: the entities each have a Supreme Court; each entity also has a number of lower courts; there are 10 cantonal courts in the Federation, plus a number of municipal courts; the Republika Srpska has five municipal courts

Political parties and leaders: Alliance of Independent Social Democrats or SNSD [Milorad DODIK]; Bosnian Party or BOSS [Mirnes AJANOVIC]; Civic Democratic Party or GDS [Ilija SIMIC]; Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HDZ [Barisa COLAK (acting)]; Croat Christian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HKDU [Mijo IVANIC-LONIC]; Croat Party of Rights or HSP [Zdravko HRISTIC]; Croat Peasants Party or HSS [Ilija SIMIC]; Democratic National Union or DNZ [Fikret ABDIC]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDS [Rasim KADIC]; New Croat Initiative or NHI [Kresimir ZUBAK]; Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina or SBiH [Safet HALILOVIC]; Party of Democratic Action or SDA [Sulejman TIHIC]; Party of Democratic Progress or PDP [Mladen IVANIC]; Pro-European People's Party or PROENS [Jadranko PRLIC]; Serb Democratic Party or SDS [Dragan KALINIC]; Serb Radical Party of the Republika Srpska or SRS-RS [Radislav KANJERIC]; Social Democratic Party of BIH or SDP [Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA]; Socialist Party of Republika Srpska or SPRS [Petar DJOKIC]

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Igor DAVIDOVIC
In the us chancery: 2,109 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20,037
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 337-1500
In the us consulates general: New York
In the us fax: [1] (202) 337-1502
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Clifford G. BOND
From the us embassy: Alipasina 43, 71,000 Sarajevo
From the us mailing address: use street address
From the us telephone: [387] (33) 445-700
From the us fax: [387] (33) 659-722
From the us branch offices: Banja Luka, Mostar

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

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 is almost all in private hands farms are small and inefficient and the republic traditionally is 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 number 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 1996-99 at high percentage rates from a low base; but output growth slowed in 2000-02. GDP remains far below the 1990 level. Economic data are of limited use because although both entities issue figures national-level statistics are limited. Moreover official data do not capture the large share of black market activity. The marka - the national currency introduced in 1998 - is now pegged to the euro and the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina has dramatically increased its reserve holdings. Implementation of privatization however has been slow and local entities only reluctantly support national-level institutions. Banking reform accelerated in 2001 as all the Communist-era payments bureaus were shut down. 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 growth rate: 2.3% (2002 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $1900 (2002 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 13%
Industry: 40.9%
Services: 46.1% (2001 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 (2001)

Industrial production growth rate: 7% (2002 est.)

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

Unemployment rate: 40% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA%

Budget
Revenues: $1.9 billion
Expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 3.5% (2002 est.)

Exports: $1.15 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities: metals clothing wood products
Partners: Italy 31.6% Croatia 18% Germany 12.9% Austria 10.1% Slovenia 6.9% Greece 4.3% (2002)

Imports: $2.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment chemicals fuels foodstuffs
Partners: Croatia 23.7% Slovenia 14.8% Germany 14% Italy 13.1% Hungary 8% Austria 7.7% (2002)

Debt external: $2.8 billion (2001)

Exchange rates: marka per US dollar - NA (2002) 2.19 (2001) 2.12 (2000) 1.84 (1999) 1.76 (1998)

Electricity
Production: 9.979 billion kWh (2001)
Production by source fossil fuel: 53.5%
Production by source hydro: 46.5%
Production by source other: 0% (2001)
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Consumption: 8.116 billion kWh (2001)
Exports: 2.569 billion kWh (2001)
Imports: 1.405 billion kWh (2001)

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2001 est.)
Consumption: 300 million m³ (2001 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2001 est.)
Imports: 300 million m³ (2001 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 303,000 (1997)
Mobile cellular: 9,000 (1997)

Telephone system
General assessment: telephone and telegraph network needs modernization and expansion; many urban areas are below average as contrasted with services in other former Yugoslav republics
Domestic: NA
International: no satellite earth stations

Internet
Country code: .ba
Service providers isps: 3 (2000)
Users: 45,000 (2002)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $234.3 million (FY02)
Percent of gdp: 4.5% (FY02)

Airports: 32 (2002)
With paved runways total: 14
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 5
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 5
With paved runways under 914 m: 3 (2002)
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With unpaved runways total: 18
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 7
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 10 (2002)

Heliports: 5 (2002)

Pipelines: gas 170 km; oil 9 km (2003)

Railways
Total: 1,021 km (795 km electrified)
Standard gauge: 1,021 km 1.435-m gauge (2002)

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

Merchant marine: none (2002 est.)

Disputes international: Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro have delimited about half of their boundary but sections along the Drina River remain in dispute; discussions continue with Croatia on problem sections of the Una River and villages at the base of Mount Pljesevica

Illicit drugs: minor transit point for marijuana and opiate trafficking routes to Western Europe; organized crime launders money but the lack of a well-developed financial infrastructure limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center