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 Peace Accords retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a joint multi-ethnic and democratic government charged with conducting foreign diplomatic 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 most government functions. The Office of the High Representative (OHR) was established to oversee the implementation of the civilian aspects of the agreement. 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 was to deter renewed hostilities. European Union peacekeeping troops (EUFOR) replaced SFOR in December 2004; their mission is to maintain peace and stability throughout the country.

Geographic coordinates: 44 00 N 18 00 E

Map reference: Europe

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

Land boundaries
Total: 1,459 km
Border countries: (3) Croatia 932 km; , Montenegro 225 km; , Serbia 302 km

Coastline: 20 km

Maritime claims: no data available

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 ore bauxite copper lead zinc chromite cobalt manganese nickel clay gypsum salt sand forests hydropower

Land use
Arable land: 19.61%
Permanent crops: 1.89%
Other: 78.5% (2005)

Irrigated land: 30 km² (2003)

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: 4,498,976 (July 2006 est.)
Growth rate: 1.35% (2006 est.)
Below poverty line: 25% (2004 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Bosnian, Herzegovinian
Adjective: Bosnian, Herzegovinian

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: Bosnian Croatian Serbian

Religions: Muslim 40% Orthodox 31% Roman Catholic 15% other 14%

Age structure
0-14 years: 15.5% (male 359,739/female 336,978)
15-64 years: 70.1% (male 1,590,923/female 1,564,665)
65 years and over: 14.4% (male 265,637/female 381,034) (2006 est.)

Median age
Total: 38.4 years
Male: 37.2 years
Female: 39.5 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.35% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 8.77 births/1000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 8.27 deaths/1000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 13.01 migrant(s)/1000 population (2006 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; deforestation
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, 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: 1.07 male/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male/female
Total population: 0.97 male/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 9.82 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 11.26 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 8.28 deaths/1000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 78 years
Male: 74.39 years
Female: 81.88 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.22 children born/woman (2006 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 900 (2003 est.)
Deaths: 100 (2001 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 94.6%
Male: 98.4%
Female: 91.1% (2000 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: none
Conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Local long form: none
Local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina
Former: People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Government type: emerging federal democratic republic

Capital
Name: Sarajevo
Geographic coordinates: 43 52 N, 18 25 E
Time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions: 2 first-order administrative divisions and 1 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: 18 years of age universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Chairman of the Presidency Nebojsa RADMANOVIC (chairman since 6 November 2006; presidency member since 1 October 2006 - Serb); other members of the three-member presidency rotating (every eight months): Zeljko KOMSIC (since 1 October 2006 - Croat) and Haris SILAJDZIC (since 1 October 2006 - Bosniak)
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
Elections: the three members of the presidency (one Bosniak, one Croat, one Serb) are elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term, but then ineligible for four years); 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 1 October 2006 (next to be held in 2010); the chairman of the Council of Ministers is appointed by the presidency and confirmed by the National House of Representatives
Election results: percent of vote - Nebojsa RADMANOVIC with 53.3% of the Serb vote; Zeljko KOMSIC received 39.6% of the Croat vote; Haris SILAJDZIC received 62.8% of the Bosniak vote
Note: President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Niko LOZANCIC (since 27 January 2003); Vice Presidents Sahbaz DZIHANOVIC (since in 2003) and Desnica RADIVOJEVIC (since in 2003); President of the Republika Srpska: Milan JELIC (since 9 November 2006)

Legislative branch
Elections: national House of Representatives - elections last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held in 2010); House of Peoples - last constituted in January 2003 (next to be constituted in 2007)
Election results: national House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA%; seats by party/coalition - SDA 9, SBiH 8, SNSD 7, SDP 5, SDS 3, HDZ-BH 3, other 7; House of Peoples - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - NA
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 1 October 2006 (next to be held in October 2010); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party/coalition - SDA 28, SBiH 24, SDP 17, HDZ-BH 8, HDZ100 7, other 14; 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 1 October 2006 (next to be held in the fall of 2010); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party/coalition - SNSD 41, SDS 17, PDP 8, DNS 4, SBH 4, SPRS 3, SDA 3, other 3; 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 including eight Croats, eight Bosniaks, eight Serbs, and four members of the smaller communities

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 [Ibrahim SPAHIC]; Croat Christian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HKDU [Marin TOPIC]; Croat Party of Rights or HSP [Zvonko JURISIC]; Croat Peasants Party or HSS [Marko TADIC]; Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HDZ-BH [Dragan COVIC]; Croatian Democratic Union 100 or HDZ100; Croatian Peoples Union [Milenko BRKIC]; Democratic National Union or DNZ [Rifet DOLIC]; Democratic Peoples Alliance or DNS [Marko PAVIC]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDS [Rasim KADIC]; New Croat Initiative or NHI [Kresimir ZUBAK]; Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina or SBiH [Haris SILAJDZIC]; Party for Democratic Action or SDA [Sulejman TIHIC]; Party of Democratic Progress or PDP [Mladen IVANIC]; Serb Democratic Party or SDS [Dragan CAVIC]; Serb Radical Party of the Republika Srpska or SRS-RS [Milanko MIHAJLICA]; Serb Radical Party-Dr. Vojislav Seselj or SRS-VS [Radislav KANJERIC]; Social Democratic Party of BIH or SDP [Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA]; Social Democratic Union or SDU [Sejfudin TOKIC]; Socialist Party of Republika Srpska or SPRS [Petar DJOKIC]

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Bisera TURKOVIC
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: Chicago, New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Douglas L. McELHANEY
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 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 remains greatly overstaffed a holdover from the socialist economic structure of Yugoslavia. TITO had pushed the development of military industries in the republic with the result that Bosnia was saddled with a host of industrial firms with little commercial potential. The interethnic warfare in Bosnia caused production to plummet by 80% from 1992 to 1995 and unemployment to soar. 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. Part of the lag in output was made up in 2003-05. National-level statistics are limited and do not capture the large share of black market activity. The konvertibilna marka (convertible mark or BAM)- the national currency introduced in 1998 - is pegged to the euro and confidence in the currency and the banking sector has increased. 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; foreign banks primarily from Western Europe now control most of the banking sector. A sizeable current account deficit and high unemployment rate remain the two most serious economic problems. 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
Note: Bosnia has a large informal sector that could also be as much as 50% of official GDP (2005 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 5% (2005 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $5,200 (2005 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 14.2%
Industry: 30.8%
Services: 55% (2002)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 5.5% (2003 est.)

Labor force: 1.026 million (2001)
By occupation agriculture: NA%
By occupation industry: NA%
By occupation services: NA%

Unemployment rate: 45.5% official rate; grey economy may reduce actual unemployment to 25-30% (31 December 2004 est.)

Population below poverty line: 25% (2004 est.)

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

Distribution of family income gini index: 26.2 (2001)

Budget
Revenues: $4.373 billion
Expenditures: $4.401 billion; including capital expenditures of $N/A (2005 est.)

Public debt: 29% of GDP

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 4.4% (2005 est.)

Current account balance: $-2.087 billion (2005 est.)

Exports: $2.7 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: metals clothing wood products
Partners: Croatia 18.4% Italy 17.1% Slovenia 14.6% Germany 12.8% Austria 6.5% Hungary 5.2% China 4.2% (2005)

Imports: $6.8 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: machinery and equipment chemicals fuels foodstuffs
Partners: Croatia 24.7% Germany 13.7% Slovenia 13.1% Italy 11% Austria 6.9% Hungary 5.5% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $2.531 billion (2005 est.)

Debt external: $3.116 billion (2005 est.)

Exchange rates
Note: the marka is pegged to the euro

Electricity
Production: 10.51 billion kWh (2003)
Consumption: 8.849 billion kWh (2003)
Exports: 3.2 billion kWh (2003)
Imports: 2.271 billion kWh (2003)

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2003 est.)
Consumption: 160 million m³ (2003 est.)
Exports: 0 m³ (2001 est.)
Imports: 300 million m³ (2001 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 968,900 (2005)
Mobile cellular: 1.594 million (2005)

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: country code - 387; no satellite earth stations

Internet
Country code: .ba
Hosts: 31,490 (2006)
Users: 806,400 (2005)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 4.5% (FY02)

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory military service in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; 16 years of age in times of war; 18 years of age for Republika Srpska; 17 years of age for voluntary military service in the Federation and in the Republika Srpska; by law military obligations cover all healthy men between the ages of 18 and 60 and all women between the ages of 18 and 55; service obligation is four months (July 2004)

Airports: 28 (2006)
With paved runways total: 8
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 4
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 3 (2006)
With unpaved runways total: 20
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 7
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 12 (2006)

Heliports: 5 (2006)

Railways
Total: 608 km (777 km electrified)
Standard gauge: 608 km 1.435-m gauge (2005)

Roadways
Total: 21,846 km
Paved: 11,425 km (4,686 km of interurban roads)
Unpaved: 10,421 km (2005)

Waterways: Sava River (northern border) open to shipping but use limited (2006)

Ports and terminals: Bosanska Gradiska Bosanski Brod Bosanski Samac and Brcko (all inland waterway ports on the Sava) Orasje

Disputes international: Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro have delimited most of their boundary but sections along the Drina River remain in dispute; discussions continue with Croatia on several small disputed sections of the boundary related to maritime access that hinder ratification of the 1999 border agreement

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 19,213 (Croatia)
Idps: 309,200 (Bosnian Croats, Serbs, and Muslims displaced in 1992-95 war) (2005)

Illicit drugs: minor transit point for marijuana and opiate trafficking routes to Western Europe; remains highly vulnerable to money-laundering activity given a primarily cash-based and unregulated economy weak law enforcement and instances of corruption