Background: Bosnia and Herzegovina declared sovereignty in October 1991 and 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 ended 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 multi-ethnic and democratic government charged with conducting foreign diplomatic and fiscal policy. Also recognized was a second tier of government composed of two entities roughly equal in size: the Bosniak/Bosnian Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska (RS). The Federation and RS governments are responsible for overseeing most government functions. Additionally the Dayton Accords established the Office of the High Representative (OHR) to oversee the implementation of the civilian aspects of the agreement. The Peace Implementation Council (PIC) at its conference in Bonn in 1997 also gave the High Representative the authority to impose legislation and remove officials the so-called 'Bonn Powers.' An original NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops assembled in 1995 was succeeded over time by a smaller NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR). In 2004 European Union peacekeeping troops (EUFOR) replaced SFOR. Currently EUFOR deploys around 600 troops in theater in a policing capacity.

Geographic coordinates: 44 00 N 18 00 E

Area
Rank: 129
Land: 51,187 km²
Water: 10 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries
Border countries: (3) Croatia 956 km; Montenegro 242 km; Serbia 345 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 highest point: Maglic 2,386 m

Natural resources: coal iron ore bauxite copper lead zinc chromite cobalt manganese nickel clay gypsum salt sand timber hydropower

Land use
Permanent crops: 1.99%
Other: 78.38% (2011)

Irrigated land: 30 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 37.5 km³ (2011)

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 Montenegro and traditionally has been settled by an ethnic Croat majority in the west and an ethnic Serb majority in the east

Population: 3,871,643 (July 2014 est.)
Rank: 129
Growth rate: -0.11% (2014 est.)
Growth rate rank: 207
Below poverty line: 18.6% (2007 est.)

Nationality
Adjective: Bosnian Herzegovinian

Ethnic groups: Bosniak 48% Serb 37.1% Croat 14.3% other 0.6% (2000)

Languages: Bosnian (official) Croatian (official) Serbian (official)

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

Age structure
15-24 years: 12.7% (male 255,074/female 238,428)
25-54 years: 46.7% (male 906,265/female 899,870)
55-64 years: 13.7% (male 253,045/female 276,769)
65 years and over: 13.3% (male 199,515/female 313,713) (2014 est.)

Dependency ratios
Youth dependency ratio: 22 %
Elderly dependency ratio: 22.7 %
Potential support ratio: 4.4 (2014 est.)

Median age
Male: 39.4 years
Female: 42.2 years (2014 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.11% (2014 est.)
Rank: 207

Birth rate: 8.89 births/1000 population (2014 est.)
Rank: 211

Death rate: 9.64 deaths/1000 population (2014 est.)
Rank: 54

Net migration rate: -0.38 migrant(s)/1000 population (2014 est.)
Rank: 132

Urbanization
Rate of urbanization: 0.86% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: SARAJEVO (capital) 389,000 (2011)

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 signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
0-14 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.63 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth: 26.3 (2011 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 173
Male: 5.91 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 5.78 deaths/1000 live births (2014 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 84
Male: 73.33 years
Female: 79.55 years (2014 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.26 children born/woman (2014 est.)
Rank: 218

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 45.8% (2012)

Drinking water source:

Physicians density: 1.69 physicians/1000 population (2010)

Hospital bed density: 3.5 beds/1000 population (2010)

Sanitation facility access:

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2007 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 127
People living with hivaids: 900 (2007 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 151
Deaths: 100 (2001 est.)
Deaths rank: 128

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 26.5% (2008)
Rank: 47

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 1.5% (2012)
Rank: 128

Education expenditures: NA

Literacy
Total population: 98%
Male: 99.5%
Female: 96.7% (2011 est.)

Country name
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
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* - the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine) the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska Brcko District (Brcko Distrikt)*; note - Brcko District is in northeastern Bosnia and is a self-governing administrative unit under the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina and formally held in condominium between the two entities

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

National holiday: National Day (Statehood Day) 25 November (1943); note - observed only in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity

Constitution: 14 December 1995 (constitution included as part of the Dayton Peace Accords); amended several times last in 2003; note - each of the entities has its own constitution (2011)

Legal system: civil law system; Constitutional Court review of legislative acts

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age 16 if employed; universal

Executive branch
Head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Vjekoslav BEVANDA (since 12 January 2012)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairman; approved by the state-level House of Representatives
Elections: the three members of the presidency (one Bosniak one Croat one Serb) elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term but then ineligible for four years) by constituencies referring to the three ethnic groups; the candidate with the most votes in a constituency is elected; the chairmanship rotates every eight months and resumes where it left off following each general election; election last held on 3 October 2010 (next to be held in October 2014); the chairman of the Council of Ministers appointed by the presidency and confirmed by the state-level House of Representatives
Election results: percent of vote - Nebojsa RADMANOVIC with 48.9% of the votes for the Serb seat; Zeljko KOMSIC with 60.6% of the votes for the Croat seat; Bakir IZETBEGOVIC with 34.9% of the votes for the Bosniak seat

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the House of Peoples or Dom Naroda (15 seats 5 Bosniak 5 Croat 5 Serb; members designated by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Peoples and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve four-year terms); and the state-level House of Representatives or Predstavnicki Dom (42 seats 28 seats allocated for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 14 seats for the Republika Srpska; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms); note - Bosnia's election law specifies four-year terms for the state and first-order administrative division entity legislatures
Elections: House of Peoples - last constituted in 9 June 2011 (next likely to be constituted in 2015); state-level House of Representatives - election last held on 3 October 2010 (next to be held in October 2014)
Election results: House of Peoples - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - NA; state-level House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - Federation votes: SDP BiH 26.1% SDA 19.4% SBB BiH 12.2% HDZ BiH 11% SBIH 7.3% HDZ-1990/HSP BiH 4.9% NSRzB 4.8% DNZ 1.5%; Republika Srpska votes: SNSD 43.3% SDS 22.2% PDP 6.5% DNS 4.6%; seats by party/coalition - SDP BiH 8 SNSD 8 SDA 7 SDS 4 SBB BiH 4 HDZ-BiH 3 SBiH 2 HDZ-1990/HSP BiH 2 NSRzB 1 DNZ 1 PDP 1 DNS 1

Judicial branch
Judge selection and term of office: BiH Constitutional Court judges - 4 selected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives 2 selected by the Republika Srpska's National Assembly and 3 non-Bosnian judges selected by the president of the European Court of Human Rights; Court of BiH president and national judges appointed by the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council; Court of BiH president appointed for renewable 6-year term; other national judges appointed to serve until age 70; international judges recommended by the president of the Court of BiH and appointed by the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina; international judges appointed to serve until age 70
Subordinate courts: the Federation has 10 cantonal courts plus a number of municipal courts; the Republika Srpska has a supreme court 5 district courts and a number of municipal courts

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: BIS CD CE CEI EAPC EBRD FAO G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (NGOs) ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA MONUSCO NAM (observer) OAS (observer) OIC (observer) OIF (observer) OPCW OSCE PFP SELEC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNWTO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
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 consulate general: Chicago New York
From the us embassy: 1 Robert C. Frasure Street 71,000 Sarajevo
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address
From the us telephone: [387] (33) 704-000
From the us FAX: [387] (33) 659-722
From the us branch office: 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; the triangle approximates the shape of the country and its three points stand for the constituent peoples - Bosniaks Croats and Serbs; the stars represent Europe and are meant to be continuous (thus the half stars at top and bottom); the colors (white blue and yellow) are often associated with neutrality and peace and traditionally are linked with Bosnia

National symbols: golden lily

National anthem
Lyrics and music: Dusan SESTIC and Benjamin ISOVIC/Dusan SESTIC

Economy overview: Bosnia has a transitional economy with limited market reforms. The economy relies heavily on the export of metals energy textiles and furniture as well as on remittances and foreign aid. A highly decentralized government hampers economic policy coordination and reform while excessive bureaucracy and a segmented market discourage foreign investment. The interethnic warfare in Bosnia and Herzegovina 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 but slowed in 2000-02 and picked up again during 2003-08 when GDP growth exceeded 5% per year. However the country declined in 2009 reflecting local effects of the global economic crisis. GDP growth contracted again in 2012 but posted a small gain in 2013. Foreign banks primarily from Austria and Italy now control most of the banking sector. 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 remained stable. Bosnia's private sector is growing slowly but foreign investment has dropped sharply since 2007. Government spending - including transfer payments - remains high at roughly 40% of GDP because of redundant government offices at the state entity and municipal level. Privatization of state enterprises has been slow particularly in the Federation where political division between ethnically-based political parties makes agreement on economic policy more difficult. High unemployment remains the most serious macroeconomic problem. Successful implementation of a value-added tax in 2006 provided a steady source of revenue for the government and helped rein in gray-market activity. National-level statistics have also improved over time but a large share of economic activity remains unofficial and unrecorded. Bosnia and Herzegovina became a full member of the Central European Free Trade Agreement in September 2007. Bosnia and Herzegovina's top economic priorities are: acceleration of integration into the EU; strengthening the fiscal system; public administration reform; World Trade Organization (WTO) membership; and securing economic growth by fostering a dynamic competitive private sector. In 2009 Bosnia and Herzegovina was granted an International Monetary Fund (IMF) stand-by arrangement necessitated by sharply increased social spending and a fiscal crisis exacerbated by the global economic downturn. Disbursement of IMF aid was suspended in 2011 after a parliamentary deadlock left Bosnia without a state-level government for over a year. The IMF concluded a new stand-by arrangement with Bosnia in October 2012 which aims to improve national policy coordination continue fiscal contraction improve crisis preparedness and create an environment conducive to private sector development.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 112

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 178

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 131

Gross national saving:
Rank: 142

Gdp composition by end use
Government consumption: 22.1%
Investment in fixed capital: 17.7%
Investment in inventories: 1.5%
Exports of goods and services: 29%
Imports of goods and services: -52.4%: (2012 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Industry: 26.4%
Services: 65.5% (2013 est.)

Agriculture products: wheat corn fruits vegetables; livestock

Industries: steel coal iron ore lead zinc manganese bauxite aluminum motor vehicle assembly textiles tobacco products wooden furniture ammunition domestic appliances oil refining

Industrial production growth rate: 11.7% (2013 est.)
Rank: 8

Labor force: 1.49 million (2012 est.)
Rank: 129
By occupation industry: 29.8%
By occupation services: 51.3% (2013)

Unemployment rate: 44.1% (2012 est.)
Rank: 193

Population below poverty line: 18.6% (2007 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Highest 10: 27.3% (2007)

Distribution of family income gini index: 36.2 (2007)
Rank: 87

Budget
Expenditures: $7.497 billion (2013 est.)
Surplus or deficit: 1% of GDP (2013 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 28

Taxes and other revenues: 40.8% of GDP (2013 est.)
Rank: 34

Public debt: 42.9% of GDP (2012 est.)
Rank: 78

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices: 1.8% (2012 est.)
Rank: 10

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 6.8% (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 123

Stock of narrow money: $4.122 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 106

Stock of broad money: $10.21 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 104

Stock of domestic credit: $10.82 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 95

Market value of publicly traded shares: $N/A

Current account balance: $1.639 billion (2012 est.)
Rank: 119

Exports: $5.161 billion (2012 est.)
Rank: 111
Commodities: metals clothing wood products
Partners: Germany 15.6% Croatia 14.2% Italy 12.1% Serbia 9.1% Austria 8.2% Slovenia 8.1% (2012 est.)

Imports: $10.02 billion (2012 est.)
Rank: 99
Commodities: machinery and equipment chemicals fuels foodstuffs
Partners: Germany 11.4% Russian Federation 9.9% Serbia 9.8% Italy 9.7% China 6% Slovenia 5% Croatia 12.8% (2012 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $4.852 billion (31 January 2013 est.)
Rank: 95

Debt external: $10.81 billion (31 December 2012 est.)
Rank: 98

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $7.58 billion
Rank: 87

Exchange rates:

Electricity
Production: 12.93 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Production rank: 89
Consumption: 12.62 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Consumption rank: 86
Exports: 1.569 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Exports rank: 48
Imports: 1.245 billion kWh (2012 est.)
Imports rank: 62
Installed generating capacity: 3.963 million kW (2012 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 81
Generation sources fossil fuels: 43.3% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 165
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 50
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 53.2% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 39
Generation sources other renewable sources: 3.5% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 55

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 154
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2012 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 86
Crude oil imports: 22,140 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 68
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2013 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 109

Refined petroleum
Products production: 22,430 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 91
Products consumption: 27,540 bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 118
Products exports: 10,460 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 84
Products imports: 16,330 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 114

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Production rank: 105
Consumption: 256.9 million m³ (2013 est.)
Consumption rank: 100
Exports: 0 m³ (2013 est.)
Exports rank: 67
Imports: 256.9 million m³ (2013 est.)
Imports rank: 67
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (1 January 2013 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 116

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 22.2 million Mt (2011 est.)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 878,000 (2012)
Main lines in use rank: 82
Mobile cellular: 3.35 million (2012)
Mobile cellular rank: 127

Telephone system
Domestic: fixed-line teledensity roughly 25 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has been increasing rapidly and stands at roughly 80 telephones per 100 persons
International: country code - 387; no satellite earth stations (2011)

Broadcast media: 3 public TV broadcasters: Radio and TV of Bosnia and Herzegovina Federation TV (operating 2 networks) and Republika Srpska Radio-TV; a local commercial network of 5 TV stations; 3 private near-national TV stations and dozens of small independent TV stations broadcasting; 3 large public radio broadcasters and many private radio stations (2010)

Internet
Country code: .ba
Hosts: 155,252 (2012)
Hosts rank: 77
Users: 1.422 million (2009)
Users rank: 85

Military expenditures:
Rank: 75

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; mandatory retirement at age 35 or after 15 years of service (2013)

Airports: 24 (2013)
Rank: 130
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 4
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With paved runways under 914 m: 2 (2013)
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 5
With unpaved runways: 11 (2013)

Heliports: 6 (2013)

Pipelines: gas 147 km; oil 9 km (2013)

Railways
Rank: 107
Standard gauge: 601 km 1.435-m gauge (392 km electrified) (2009)

Roadways
Rank: 102
Paved: 19,426 km (4,652 km of interurban roads)
Unpaved: 3,500 km (2010)

Waterways: (Sava River on northern border; open to shipping but use limited) (2011)

Disputes international: Serbia delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia and Herzegovina but sections along the Drina River remain in dispute

Refugees and internally displaced persons
IDPs: 103,400 (Bosnian Croats Serbs and Bosniaks displaced by intern-ethnic violence human rights violations and armed conflict during the 1992-1995 war) (2013 est.)
Stateless persons: 4,500 (2012)

Illicit drugs: increasingly a transit point for heroin being trafficked to Western Europe; minor transit point for marijuana; remains highly vulnerable to money-laundering activity given a primarily cash-based and unregulated economy weak law enforc