World Facts Index
 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. EUFOR's mission changed from peacekeeping to civil policing in October
2007, with its presence reduced from nearly 7,000 to 2,500 troops.
Geography of Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
Location:
|
Southeastern Europe,
bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia |
|
Coordinates:
|
44 00 N, 18 00 E |
|
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 |
|
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, 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 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 |
|
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 of Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
Population:
|
4,590,310 (July 2008 est.) |
|
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) |
|
Median age:
|
38.4 years |
|
Growth rate:
|
1.35% |
|
Infant mortality:
|
9.82 deaths/1,000 live births |
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population: 78.33 years
male: 74.74 years
female: 82.19 years |
|
Total fertility rate:
|
1.22 children born/woman |
|
Nationality:
|
noun: Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s)
adjective: Bosnian, Herzegovinian |
|
Ethnic groups:
|
Bosniak 48%, Serb 37.1%, 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 |
Government
|
Country name:
|
conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina
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 Haris
SILAJDZIC (chairman since 6 March 2008; presidency member since 1 October 2006 -
Bosniak); other members of the three-member presidency rotating (every eight
months): Nebojsa RADMANOVIC (presidency member since 1 October 2006 - Serb); and
Zeljko KOMSIC (presidency member since 1 October 2006 - Croat)
head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Nikola SPIRIC (since 11
January 2007)
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 chairmanship rotates every eight
months and resumes where it left off following each national election; 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 votes
for the Serb seat; Zeljko KOMSIC received 39.6% of the votes for the Croat seat;
Haris SILAJDZIC received 62.8% of the votes for the Bosniak seat
note: President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Borjana KRISTO
(since 21 February 2007); Vice Presidents Spomenka MICIC (since NA 2007) and
Mirsad KEBO (since NA 2007); President of the Republika Srpska: Rajko KUSMANOVIC
(since 28 December 2007) |
|
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 |
|
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 |
Economy
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. The private sector is growing and foreign investment is
slowly increasing, but government spending, at nearly 40% of adjusted GDP,
remains unreasonably high. 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 2003-07 when GDP growth exceeded 5% per year. 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. Implementing privatization,
however, has been slow, particularly in the Federation, although more
successful in the Republika Srpska. 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
macroeconomic problems. On 1 January 2006 a new value-added tax (VAT) went
into effect. The VAT has been successful in capturing much of the gray market
economy and has developed into a significant and predictable source of
revenues for all layers of government. Bosnia and Herzegovina became a full
member of the Central European Free Trade Agreement in September 2007. The
country receives substantial reconstruction assistance and humanitarian aid
from the international community but will have to prepare for an era of
declining assistance.
|
GDP:
|
$27.7 billion (2007 est.) |
|
GDP growth rate:
|
5.3% |
|
GDP per capita:
|
$6,100 |
|
GDP composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 14.2%
industry: 30.8%
services: 55% |
|
Inflation rate:
|
4.4% |
|
Labor force:
|
1.026 million |
|
Unemployment:
|
45.5% official rate; grey economy may reduce actual
unemployment to 25-30% |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $4.373 billion
expenditures: $4.401 billion |
|
Electricity production by source:
|
fossil fuel: 53.5%
hydro: 46.5%
other: 0% |
|
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) |
|
Agriculture:
|
wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock |
|
Exports:
|
metals, clothing, wood products |
|
Export partners:
|
Croatia 19.4%, Italy 17.8%, Germany 14.1%, Slovenia 13.7%,
Austria 6.8%, Hungary 5.7%, China 4.4% (2005) |
|
Imports:
|
machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels,
foodstuffs |
|
Import partners:
|
Croatia 25.5%, Germany 14.2%, Slovenia 13.3%, Italy 11%,
Austria 7%, Hungary 5.7% (2005) |
|
Currency:
|
marka (BAM) |
SOURCES: The CIA World Factbook, U.S. Department of State, Area Handbook of the US Library of Congress
Copyright 2004 - 2008 worldfacts.us |