|
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. EUFOR's mission
changed from peacekeeping to civil policing in October 2007, with its
presence reduced from nearly 7,000 to 2,500 troops. |
|
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
land: 51,129 sq km
water: 0 sq km |
|
Area - comparative: |
slightly smaller than West
Virginia |
|
Land boundaries: |
total: 1,459 km
border countries: 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
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 sq km (2003) |
|
Total renewable water resources: |
37.5 cu km (2003) |
|
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, Desertification, 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 Montenegro, and traditionally has been
settled by an ethnic Croat majority in the west and an ethnic Serb
majority in the east |
|
Population: |
4,552,198 (July 2007 est.)
|
|
Age structure: |
0-14 years: 15% (male
353,163/female 331,133)
15-64 years: 70.4% (male
1,615,011/female 1,587,956)
65 years and over: 14.6% (male
273,240/female 391,695) (2007 est.) |
|
Median age: |
total: 38.9 years
male: 37.7 years
female: 40.1 years (2007 est.)
|
|
Population growth rate: |
1.003% (2007 est.) |
|
Birth rate: |
8.8 births/1,000 population
(2007 est.) |
|
Death rate: |
8.42 deaths/1,000 population
(2007 est.) |
|
Net migration rate: |
9.65 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2007 est.) |
|
Sex ratio: |
at birth: 1.07
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.067 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.017 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.698 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female
(2007 est.) |
|
Infant mortality rate: |
total: 9.58 deaths/1,000
live births
male: 10.98 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 8.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
|
Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 78.17
years
male: 74.57 years
female: 82.03 years (2007
est.) |
|
Total fertility rate: |
1.23 children born/woman (2007
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: |
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
|
|
Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and
over can read and write
total population: 96.7%
male: 99%
female: 94.4% (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 completed 1 March 1992; independence declared
3 March 1992) |
|
National holiday: |
National Day, 25 November
(1943) |
|
Constitution: |
the Dayton Agreement, signed 14
December 1995 in Paris, included a new constitution now in force; note -
each of the entities also has its own constitution |
|
Legal system: |
based on civil law system; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
|
Suffrage: |
18 years of age, universal
|
|
Executive branch: |
chief of state: Chairman
of the Presidency Zeljko KOMSIC (chairman since 6 July 2007; and
presidency member since 1 October 2006 - Croat); other members of the
three-member presidency rotating (every eight months): Nebojsa RADMANOVIC
(presidency member since 1 October 2006 - Serb); and Haris SILAJDZIC
(presidency member since 1 October 2006 - Bosniak)
head of
government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Nikola SPIRIC (since
11 January 2007); note - resigned his post on 1 November 2007, and is
overseeing a caretaker government
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, 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); 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
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, SBH 8, SNSD 7, SDP 5, SDS 3, HDZ-BH 3, HDZ 1990
2, other 5; 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, SBH 24, SDP 17, HDZ-BH 8, HDZ100 7, other 14; and a House of
Peoples (58 seats - 17 Bosniak, 17 Croat, 17 Serb, 7 other); 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: |
BH 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); BH 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); a War Crimes Chamber
opened in March 2005
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 1990 or HDZ1990 [Bozo
LJUBIC]; 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 SBH [Haris
SILAJDZIC]; Party for Democratic Action or SDA [Sulejman TIHIC]; Party of
Democratic Progress or PDP [Mladen IVANIC]; Serb Democratic Party or SDS
[Mladen BOSIC]; 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] |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
|
International organization participation: |
BIS, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO,
G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (observer),
OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UNMEE, UNWTO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
|
Diplomatic representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Bisera TURKOVIC
chancery: 2109 E Street NW,
Washington, DC 20037
telephone: [1] (202) 337-1500
FAX: [1] (202) 337-1502
consulate(s) general:
Chicago, New York |
|
Diplomatic representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Charles L. ENGLISH
embassy: Alipasina 43, 71000
Sarajevo
mailing address: use embassy 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 - 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. 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 (purchasing power parity): |
$29.89 billion
note:
Bosnia has a large informal sector that could also be as much as 50% of
official GDP (2007 est.) |
|
GDP (official exchange rate): |
$14.2 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
GDP - real growth rate: |
5.5% (2007 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita (PPP): |
$6,600 (2007 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 10.2%
industry: 23.9%
services: 66% (2006 est.) |
|
Labor force: |
1.026 million (2001) |
|
Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
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%: 3.9%
highest 10%: 21.4% (2001) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index: |
26.2 (2001) |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
1.5% (2007 est.) |
|
Budget: |
revenues: $6.952 billion
expenditures: $7.094 billion (2007 est.) |
|
Public debt: |
39% of GDP (2007 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 |
|
Industrial production growth rate: |
8% (2007 est.) |
|
Electricity - production: |
12.22 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 53.5%
hydro: 46.5%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
|
|
Electricity - consumption: |
8.574 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - exports: |
3.58 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - imports: |
2.174 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Oil - production: |
0 bbl/day (2005) |
|
Oil - consumption: |
26,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
|
|
Oil - exports: |
0 bbl/day (2004) |
|
Oil - imports: |
24,940 bbl/day (2004) |
|
Oil - proved reserves: |
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - production: |
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
|
Natural gas - consumption: |
383.6 million cu m (2005 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - exports: |
0 cu m (2005 est.) |
|
Natural gas - imports: |
383.6 million cu m (2005)
|
|
Natural gas - proved reserves: |
0 cu m (1 January 2006) |
|
Current account balance: |
-$2.021 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
Exports: |
$3.923 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.) |
|
Exports - commodities: |
metals, clothing, wood products
|
|
Exports - partners: |
Croatia 19.6%, Slovenia 16.7%,
Italy 15.4%, Germany 12.3%, Austria 8.7%, Hungary 5.3% (2006) |
|
Imports: |
$9.294 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.) |
|
Imports - commodities: |
machinery and equipment,
chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs |
|
Imports - partners: |
Croatia 24%, Germany 14.5%,
Slovenia 13.2%, Italy 10%, Austria 5.9%, Hungary 5.2% (2006) |
|
Economic aid - recipient: |
$546.1 million (2005 est.)
|
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |
$4.5 billion (31 December 2007
est.) |
|
Debt - external: |
$7.057 billion (31 December
2007 est.) |
|
Market value of publicly traded shares: |
$NA |
|
Currency (code): |
konvertibilna marka
(convertible mark) (BAM) |
|
Currency code: |
BAM |
|
Exchange rates: |
konvertibilna maraka per US
dollar - 1.4419 (2007), 1.5576 (2006), 1.5727 (2005), 1.5752 (2004),
1.7329 (2003)
note: the convertible mark is pegged to the euro
|
|
Fiscal year: |
calendar year |
|
Telephones - main lines in use: |
989,000 (2006) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular: |
1.888 million (2006) |
|
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: fixed-line teledensity is roughly
20 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density is about 22 per 100
persons
international: country code - 387; no satellite earth
stations (2006) |
|
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: |
39,627 (2007) |
|
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): |
3 (2000) |
|
Internet users: |
950,000 (2006) |
|
Airports: |
28 (2007) |
|
Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 8
2,438 to
3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 3
(2007) |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 20
1,524
to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 12
(2007) |
|
Heliports: |
5 (2007) |
|
Railways: |
total: 608 km
standard gauge: 608 km 1.435-m gauge (2006) |
|
Roadways: |
total: 21,846 km
paved: 11,425 km (4,714 km of interurban roads)
unpaved: 10,421 km (2006) |
|
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 |
|
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 service age and obligation: |
17 years of age for voluntary
military service in the Federation and in the Republika Srpska;
conscription abolished January 2006; 4-month service obligation (2006)
|
|
Manpower available for military service: |
males age 18-49:
1,119,508
females age 18-49: 1,079,435 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower fit for military service: |
males age 18-49: 910,539
females age 18-49: 881,446 (2005 est.) |
|
Manpower reaching military service age annually: |
males age 18-49: 32,942
females age 18-49: 31,466 (2005 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: |
4.5% (2005 est.)
|
|
Disputes - international: |
Bosnia and Herzegovina and
Serbia 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 final ratification of the 1999 border agreement |
|
Refugees and internally displaced persons: |
refugees (country of
origin): 7,458 (Croatia)
IDPs: 180,251 (Bosnian Croats,
Serbs, and Muslims displaced in 1992-95 war) (2006) |
|
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 enforcement, and
instances of corruption |
This page was last updated on 12 February, 2008
|