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Introduction | Bosnia and Herzegovina

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, 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 was to maintain peace and stability throughout the country.

Geography | Bosnia and Herzegovina

Location: | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia
Geographic coordinates: | 44 00 N, 18 00 E
Map references: | Europe
Area: | total: 51,129 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 51,129 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries: | total: 1,459 km border countries: Croatia 932 km, Serbia and Montenegro 527 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 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: 13.6% permanent crops: 2.96% other: 83.44% (2001)
Irrigated land: | 20 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: | destructive earthquakes
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
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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

People | Bosnia and Herzegovina

Population: | 4,007,608 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 18.9% (male 389,062; female 368,721) 15-64 years: 70.6% (male 1,447,725; female 1,379,729) 65 years and over: 10.5% (male 180,801; female 241,570) (2004 est.)
Median age: | total: 35.9 years male: 35.5 years female: 36.2 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate: | 0.45% (2004 est.)
Birth rate: | 12.56 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate: | 8.33 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate: | 0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 21.88 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.08 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 24.5 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 72.57 years male: 69.82 years female: 75.51 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 1.71 children born/woman (2004 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 900 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 100 (2001 est.)
Nationality: | noun: Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s) adjective: Bosnian, Herzegovinian
Ethnic groups: | Serb 37.1%, Bosniak 48%, Croat 14.3%, other 0.6% (2000) note: Bosniak has replaced Muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam
Religions: | Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, other 14%
Languages: | Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian
Literacy: | definition: NA total population: NA male: NA female: NA

Government | Bosnia and Herzegovina

Country name: | conventional long form: none conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina local long form: none former: People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina
Government type: | emerging federal democratic republic
Capital: | Sarajevo
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 Borislav PARAVAC (chairman since 28 October 2004; presidency member since 10 April 2003 - Serb) other members of the three-member rotating (every eight months) presidency: Dragan COVIC (since 5 October 2002 - Croat) and Sulejman TIHIC (since 5 October 2002 - Bosniak); 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 CAVIC (since 28 November 2002)
Legislative branch: | bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the National House of Representatives or Predstavnicki Dom (42 seats - elected by proportional representation, 28 seats allocated from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 14 seats from the Republika Srpska; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Peoples or Dom Naroda (15 seats - 5 Bosniak, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members elected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve four-year terms); note - Bosnia's election law specifies four-year terms for the state and first-order administrative division entity legislatures 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: | BiH Constitutional Court (consists of nine members: four members are selected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives, two members by the Republika Srpska's National Assembly, and three non-Bosnian members by the president of the European Court of Human Rights); BiH State Court (consists of nine judges and three divisions - Administrative, Appellate and Criminal - having jurisdiction over cases related to state-level law and appellate jurisdiction over cases initiated in the entities; note - a War Crimes Chamber may be added at a future date) 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]; Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HDZ-BH [Barisa COLAK]; 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 [Marko TADIC]; 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]; Serb Democratic Party or SDS [Dragan CAVIC - acting]; 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 [Miro LAZOVIC]; Socialist Party of Republika Srpska or SPRS [Petar DJOKIC]
Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA
International organization participation: | BIS, CE, CEI, EBRD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, 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 chancery: 2109 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037 FAX: [1] (202) 337-1502 consulate(s) general: New York telephone: [1] (202) 337-1500
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Douglas L. McELHANEY embassy: Alipasina 43, 71000 Sarajevo mailing address: use street address telephone: [387] (33) 445-700 FAX: [387] (33) 659-722 branch office(s): 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 | Bosnia and Herzegovina

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 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 2003-04. National-level statistics are limited. Moreover, official data do not capture the large share of black market activity. The konvertibilna marka (convertible mark or BAM)- 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.
GDP: | purchasing power parity - $24.31 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 3.5% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $6,100 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 13% industry: 40.9% services: 46.1% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line: | NA (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 0.9% (2003 est.)
Labor force: | 1.026 million (2001)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA
Unemployment rate: | 40% (2002 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $3.271 billion expenditures: $3.242 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 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: | 5.5% (2003 est.)
Electricity - production: | 9.979 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - consumption: | 8.116 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: | 2.569 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: | 1.405 billion kWh (2001)
Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 20,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: | NA (2001)
Oil - imports: | NA (2001)
Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 300 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: | 300 million cu m (2001 est.)
Current account balance: | $-2.195 billion (2003)
Exports: | $1.28 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities: | metals, clothing, wood products
Exports - partners: | Italy 28.7%, Croatia 18.3%, Germany 17.1%, Austria 9.2%, Slovenia 7.1% (2003)
Imports: | $4.7 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities: | machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs
Imports - partners: | Croatia 24.5%, Slovenia 14.7%, Germany 13.7%, Italy 12.2%, Hungary 7.8%, Austria 6.7% (2003)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: | $1.796 billion (2003)
Debt - external: | $3.5 billion (2003)
Economic aid - recipient: | $650 million (2001 est.)
Currency: | marka (BAM)
Currency code: | BAM
Exchange rates: | marka per US dollar - 1.7329 (2003), 1.7329 (2002), 2.1857 (2001), 2.1244 (2000), 1.8371 (1999)
Fiscal year: | calendar year

Communications | Bosnia and Herzegovina

Telephones - main lines in use: | 938,000 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 1.05 million (2003)
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
Radio broadcast stations: | AM 8, FM 16, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: | 940,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: | 33 (plus 277 repeaters) (September 1995)
Televisions: | NA
Internet country code: | .ba
Internet hosts: | 6,994 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 3 (2000)
Internet users: | 100,000 (2002)

Transportation | Bosnia and Herzegovina

Railways: | total: 1,021 km (795 km electrified) standard gauge: 1,021 km 1.435-m gauge (2003)
Highways: | total: 21,846 km paved: 11,424 km unpaved: 10,422 km (1999 est.)
Waterways: | Sava River (northern border) open to shipping but use limited because of no agreement with neighboring countries (2004)
Ports and harbors: | Bosanska Gradiska, Bosanski Brod, Bosanski Samac, and Brcko (all inland waterway ports on the Sava), Orasje
Merchant marine: | none
Airports: | 27 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 19 under 914 m: 11 (2004 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7
Heliports: | 5 (2003 est.)

Military | Bosnia and Herzegovina

Military branches: | VF Army (the air and air defense forces are subordinate commands within the Army), VRS Army (the air and air defense forces are subordinate commands within the Army)
Military manpower - military 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 4 months (July 2004)
Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 1,133,847 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 898,451 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 30,130 (2004 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $234.3 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 4.5% (FY02)

Transnational Issues | Bosnia and Herzegovina

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 problem sections around Kostajnica on the Una River and villages at the base of Mount Pljesevica
Refugees and internally displaced persons: | IDPs: 327,200 (Bosnian Croats, Serbs, and Muslims displaced in 1992-1995 war) (2004)
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

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005