top of pageBackground:
After four centuries of Ottoman rule over Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria-Hungary took control in 1878 and held the region until 1918, when it was incorporated into the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. After World War II, Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY).
Bosnia and Herzegovina declared sovereignty in October 1991 and independence from the SFRY on 3 March 1992 after a referendum boycotted by ethnic Serbs. Bosnian Serb militias, with the support of Serbia and Croatia, then tried to take control of territories they claimed as their own. From 1992 to 1995, ethnic cleansing campaigns killed thousands and displaced more than two million people. On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties initialed a peace agreement, and the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995.
The Dayton Accords retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a multiethnic and democratic government composed of two entities roughly equal in size: the predominantly Bosniak-Bosnian Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the predominantly Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska (RS). The Dayton Accords also established the Office of the High Representative to oversee the agreement's implementation. In 1996, the NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) took over responsibility for enforcing the peace. In 2004, European Union peacekeeping troops (EUFOR) replaced SFOR. As of 2022, EUFOR deploys around 1,600 troops in Bosnia in a peacekeeping capacity. Bosnia and Herzegovina became an official candidate for EU membership in 2022.
Climate: hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along coast
Natural resources: coal, iron ore, antimony, bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, cobalt, manganese, nickel, clay, gypsum, salt, sand, timber, hydropower
GeographyNote: 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
top of pageEthnic groups: Bosniak 50.1%, Serb 30.8%, Croat 15.4%, other 2.7%, not declared/no answer 1% (2013 est.)
Note: Republika Srpska authorities dispute the methodology and refuse to recognize the results; Bosniak has replaced Muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam
Languages: Bosnian (official) 52.9%, Serbian (official) 30.8%, Croatian (official) 14.6%, other 1.6%, no answer 0.2% (2013 est.)
Major-language samples: Knjiga svjetskih činjenica, neophodan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Bosnian); Knjiga svetskih činjenica, neophodan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Serbian); Knjiga svjetskih činjenica, nužan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Croatian); Gheos World Guide, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions: Muslim 50.7%, Orthodox 30.7%, Roman Catholic 15.2%, atheist 0.8%, agnostic 0.3%, other 1.2%, undeclared/no answer 1.1% (2013 est.)
Birth rate: 8.2 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)
Death rate: 10.3 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)
EnvironmentCurrent issues: air pollution; deforestation and illegal logging; inadequate wastewater treatment and flood management facilities; sites for disposing of urban waste are limited; land mines left over from the 1992-95 civil strife are a hazard in some areas
International agreements party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, 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
top of pageAdministrative divisions: 3 first-order administrative divisions - Brcko District (Brcko Distrikt) (ethnically mixed), Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine) (predominantly Bosniak-Croat), Republika Srpska (predominantly Serb)
Independence: 1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia)
Note: referendum for independence completed on 1 March 1992; independence declared on 3 March 1992
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 March (1992) and Statehood Day, 25 November (1943) - both observed in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity; Victory Day, 9 May (1945) and Dayton Agreement Day, 21 November (1995) - both observed in the Republika Srpska entity
Note: there is no national-level holiday
ConstitutionHistory: 14 December 1995 (constitution included as part of the Dayton Peace Accords)
Note: each of the political entities has its own constitution
Amendments: decided by the Parliamentary Assembly, including a two-thirds majority vote of members present in the House of Representatives; the constitutional article on human rights and fundamental freedoms cannot be amended; amended several times, last in 2009
Legal system: civil law system; Constitutional Court review of legislative acts
Suffrage: 18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal
Executive branchChief of state: Chairperson of the Presidency Zeljka CVIJANOVIC (chairperson since 16 November 2024; presidency member since 16 November 2022 - Serb seat); Denis BECIROVIC (presidency member since 16 November 2022 - Bosniak seat); Zeljko KOMSIC (presidency member since 20 November 2018 - Croat seat)
Head of government: Chairperson of the Council of Ministers Borjana KRISTO (since 25 January 2023)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairperson, approved by the state-level House of Representatives
Elections/appointments: 3-member presidency (1 Bosniak and 1 Croat elected from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 1 Serb elected from the Republika Srpska) directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term but then ineligible for 4 years); the presidency chairpersonship rotates every 8 months with the new member of the presidency elected with the highest number of votes starting the new mandate as chair; election last held on 2 October 2022 (next to be held in October 2026); the chairperson of the Council of Ministers appointed by the presidency and confirmed by the state-level House of Representatives
Election results: 2022: percent of vote - Denis BECIROVIC - (SDP BiH) 57.4% - Bosniak seat; Zeljko KOMSIC (DF) 55.8% - Croat seat; Zeljka CVIJANOVIC (SNSD) 51.7% - Serb seat; 2018: percent of vote - Milorad DODIK (SNSD) 53.9% - Serb seat; Zeljko KOMSIC (DF) 52.6% - Croat seat; Sefik DZAFEROVIC (SDA) 36.6% - Bosniak seat
Note: President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Lidiia BRADARA (since 28 February 2023); Vice Presidents Refik LENDO (since 28 February 2023) and Igor STOJANOVIC (since 28 February 2023); President of the Republika Srpska Milorad DODIK (since 15 November 2022); Vice Presidents Camil DURAKOVIC (since 15 November 2022) and Davor PRANJIC (since 15 November 2022)
Legislative branchDescription: bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of: House of Peoples or Dom Naroda (15 seats - 5 Bosniak, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members designated by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's House of Peoples and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve 4-year terms), House of Representatives or Predstavnicki Dom (42 seats to include 28 seats allocated to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 14 to the Republika Srpska; members directly elected by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms)
Elections: House of Peoples - last held on 2 October 2022 (next to be held in 2026), House of Representatives - last held on 2 October 2022 (next to be held in 2026)
Elections results: House of Peoples - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - NA; composition - men 13, women 2, percentage women 13.3%, House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - SDA 17.2%, SNSD 16.3%, HDZ BiH 8.8%, SDP 8.2%, SDS 7.1%, DF-GS 6.4%, NiP 5%, PDP 4.6%, NS/HC 3.1%, NES 3%, For Justice and Order 2.1%, DEMOS 1.9%, US 1.6%, BHI KF 1.3%, other 13.4%; seats by party/coalition - SDA 9, SNSD 6, SDP 5, HDZ BiH 4, DF-GS 3, NiP 3, SDS 2, PDP 2, NS/HC 2, NES 2, For Justice and Order 1, DEMOS 1, US 1, BHI KF 1; composition - men 34, women 8, percentage women 19.1%; total Parliamentary Assembly percentage women 17.5%
Judicial branchHighest courts: Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members); Court of BiH (consists of 44 national judges and 7 international judges organized into 3 divisions - Administrative, Appellate, and Criminal, which includes a War Crimes Chamber)
Judge selection and term of office: BiH Constitutional Court judges - 4 selected by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina 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: Alliance of Independent Social Democrats or SNSD , Bosnian-Herzegovinian Initiative or BHI KF , Civic Alliance or GS , Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HDZ-BiH , Democratic Front or DF , Democratic Union or DEMOS, For Justice and Order, Our Party or NS/HC , Party for Democratic Action or SDA , Party of Democratic Progress or PDP , People and Justice Party or NiP, People's European Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or NES , Serb Democratic Party or SDS , Social Democratic Party or SDP, United Srpska or US
International organization participation: BIS, CD, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, 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)
Note: Bosnia-Herzegovina is an EU candidate country whose satisfactory completion of accession criteria is required before being granted full EU membership
Diplomatic representationIn the us: chief of mission: Ambassador Sven ALKALAJ (since 30 June 2023)
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 email address and website: info@bhembassy.org;
[link]In the us consulates general: Chicago
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Michael J. MURPHY (since 23 February 2022)
From the us embassy: 1 Robert C. Frasure Street, 71,000 Sarajevo
From the us mailing address: 7,130 Sarajevo Place, Washington DC 20,521-7,130
From the us telephone: [387] (33) 704-000
From the us fax: [387] (33) 659-722
From the us email address and website: sarajevoACS@state.gov;
[link]From the us branch offices: Banja Luka, Mostar
Flag description: a wide 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 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
Note: one of several flags where a prominent component of the design reflects the shape of the country; other such flags are those of Brazil, Eritrea, and Vanuatu
National anthemName: 'Drzavna himna Bosne i Hercegovine' (The National Anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Lyrics/music: none officially/Dusan SESTIC
Note: music adopted 1999; lyrics proposed in 2008 and others in 2016 were not approved
top of pageEconomy overview: import-dominated economy; remains consumption-heavy; lack of private sector investments and diversification; jointly addressing structural economic challenges; Chinese energy infrastructure investments; high unemployment; tourism industry impacted by COVID-19
Real gdp growth rate: 1.68% (2023 est.); 4.23% (2022 est.); 7.39% (2021 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency
Agriculture products: maize, milk, vegetables, potatoes, plums, wheat, apples, barley, chicken, pears (2022)
Note: top ten agricultural products based on tonnage
Industries: steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, aluminum, motor vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, ammunition, domestic appliances, oil refining
Labor force: 1.369 million (2023 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work
Unemployment rate: 10.42% (2023 est.); 12.66% (2022 est.); 14.9% (2021 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment
BudgetRevenues: $10.195 billion (2023 est.)
Expenditures: $9.739 billion (2023 est.)
Note: central government revenues (excluding grants) and expenses converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated
Public debt: 41.74% of GDP (2022 est.)
Note: central government debt as a % of GDP
Current account balance: -$760.467 million (2023 est.); -$1.065 billion (2022 est.); -$418.984 million (2021 est.)
Note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars
Exports: $11.942 billion (2023 est.); $11.794 billion (2022 est.); $10.058 billion (2021 est.)
Note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Partners: Croatia 14%, Germany 14%, Serbia 13%, Italy 10%, Austria 9% (2022)
Partners note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
Commodities: aluminum, electricity, footwear, garments, plastic products (2022)
Commodities note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars
Imports: $15.398 billion (2023 est.); $15.162 billion (2022 est.); $12.738 billion (2021 est.)
Note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Partners: Croatia 16%, Serbia 13%, Germany 8%, Italy 8%, China 7% (2022)
Partners note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
Commodities: refined petroleum, aluminum, garments, coal, cars (2022)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $9.205 billion (2023 est.); $8.762 billion (2022 est.); $9.475 billion (2021 est.)
Note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars
Debt external: $4.521 billion (2022 est.)
Note: present value of external debt in current US dollars
Exchange rates:
konvertibilna markas (BAM) per US dollar - 1.809 (2023 est.)
1.859 (2022 est.)
1.654 (2021 est.)
1.717 (2020 est.)
1.747 (2019 est.)
top of pagetop of pagetop of pageMilitary expenditures: 0.8% of GDP (2023 est.); 0.8% of GDP (2022); 0.9% of GDP (2021); 0.9% of GDP (2020); 0.8% of GDP (2019)
Military and security forces: Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFBiH or Oruzanih Snaga Bosne i Hercegovine, OSBiH): Army, Air, Air Defense forces organized into an Operations Command and a Support Command; Ministry of Security: Border Police (2024)
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription abolished in 2005 (2024)
Note: as of 2024, women made up about 9% of the military's full-time personnel
Terrorist groups: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Qods Force
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide
top of pageWaterways: 990 km (2022) (Sava River on northern border; open to shipping but use limited)
top of pageIllicit drugs: drug trafficking groups are major players in the procurement and transportation of of large quantities of cocaine destined for European markets
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