Bosnia and Herzegovina

§1. Bosnia and Herzegovina Introduction

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.

§2. Bosnia and Herzegovina Geography

Location:
  Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia

Geographic coordinates:
  44 00 N, 18 00 E

Map references:
  Europe

Area:
  total: 51,129 km²
  land: 51,129 km²
  water: 0 km²

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: 19.61%
  permanent crops: 1.89%
  other: 78.5% (2005)

Irrigated land:
  20 km² (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

§3. Bosnia and Herzegovina People

Population:
  4,498,976 (July 2006 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) (2006 est.)

Median age:
  total: 38.4 years
  male: 37.2 years
  female: 39.5 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
  1.35% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
  8.77 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
  8.27 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
  13.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
  at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
  under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
  15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
  65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
  total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
  total: 9.82 deaths/1,000 live births
  male: 11.26 deaths/1,000 live births
  female: 8.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
  total population: 78 years
  male: 74.39 years
  female: 81.88 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate:
  1.22 children born/woman (2006 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: 94.6%
  male: 98.4%
  female: 91.1% (2000 est.)

§4. Bosnia and Herzegovina Government

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:
  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 Sulejman TIHIC (chairman since
    28 February 2006; presidency member since 5
  October 2002 - Bosniak); other members of the three-member presidency
    rotating (every eight months): Borislav PARAVAC (since 10 April 2003 -
    Serb) and Ivo Miro JOVIC (since 28 June 2005 - Croat)
  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
  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 in
    2006); 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 - 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 - Mirko SAROVIC resigned 2
    April 2003, replaced by Mirko PARAVAC, and Dragan COVIC was sacked by the
    High Representative serving the UN and EU on 29 March 2003, replaced by
    Ivo Miro JOVIC
  note: President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Niko LOZANCIC
    (since 27 January 2003); Vice Presidents
  Sahbaz DZIHANOVIC (since in 2003) and Desnica RADIVOJEVIC (since in 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
  elections: national House of Representatives - elections last held 5
    October 2002 (next to be held in 2006); 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 - SDA 21.9%, SDS 14.0%, SBiH 10.5%, SDP 10.4%, SNSD 9.8%,
    HDZ-BH 9.5%, PDP 4.6%, other 19.3%; seats by party/coalition - SDA 10,
    SDS 5, SBiH 6, SDP 4, SNSD 3, HDZ-BH 5, PDP 2, other 7; 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 5 October
    2002 (next to be held in October 2006); percent of vote by party - NA;
    seats by party/coalition - SDA 32, HDZ-BH 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, SBH 4, SPRS 3, DNZ 3, SDP 3, other 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 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); note - 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 Peoples Union [Milenko
  BRKIC]; Democratic National Union or DNZ [Rifet DOLIC]; Democratic Peoples
  Alliance [Marko PAVIC]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDS [Rasim KADIC]; New
  Croat Initiative or NHI [Kresimir ZUBAK]; Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina
  or SBiH [Safet HALILOVIC]; Party for Democratic Action or SDA [Sulejman
  TIHIC]; Party of Democratic Progress or PDP [Mladen IVANIC]; Serb
  Democratic Party or SDS [Dragan CAVIC]; 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, EBRD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
  IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA,
  MONUC, NAM (guest), OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE, SECI, UN,
  UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, 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 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

§5. Bosnia and Herzegovina Economy

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. Industry remains greatly overstaffed, a holdover from
  the socialist economic structure of Yugoslavia. TITO had pushed the
  development of military industries in the republic with the result that
  Bosnia was saddled with a host of industrial firms with little commercial
  potential. 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 2003-05. 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. 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; 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 economic problems. 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):
  $28.59 billion
  note: Bosnia has a large informal sector that could also be as much as 50%
    of official GDP (2005 est.)

GDP (official exchange rate):
  $8.68 billion (2005 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
  5.3% (2005 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP):
  $6,800 (2005 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
  agriculture: 14.2%
  industry: 30.8%
  services: 55% (2002)

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%: NA%
  highest 10%: NA%

Distribution of family income - Gini index:
  26.2 (2001)

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  1.4% (2005 est.)

Budget:
  revenues: $4.373 billion
  expenditures: $4.401 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005
    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:
  5.5% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
  10.51 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - consumption:
  8.849 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - exports:
  3.2 billion kWh (2003)

Electricity - imports:
  2.271 billion kWh (2003)

Oil - production:
  0 bbl/day (2003)

Oil - consumption:
  21,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)

Oil - exports:
  NA bbl/day

Oil - imports:
  NA bbl/day

Natural gas - production:
  0 m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - consumption:
  160 million m³ (2003 est.)

Natural gas - exports:
  0 m³ (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
  300 million m³ (2001 est.)

Current account balance:
  $-2.375 billion (2005 est.)

Exports:
  $2.7 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Exports - commodities:
  metals, clothing, wood products

Exports - partners:
  Italy 22.3%, Croatia 21.1%, Germany 20.8%, Austria 7.4%, Slovenia 7.1%,
  Hungary 4.8% (2004)

Imports:
  $6.8 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)

Imports - commodities:
  machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs

Imports - partners:
  Croatia 23.8%, Slovenia 15.8%, Germany 14.8%, Italy 11.4%, Austria 6.6%,
  Hungary 6.1% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
  $3 billion (2005 est.)

Debt - external:
  $3.1 billion (2005 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
  $650 million (2001 est.)

Currency (code):
  marka (BAM)

Exchange rates:
  marka per US dollar - 1.5727 (2005), 1.5752 (2004), 1.7329 (2003), 2.0782
  (2002), 2.1857 (2001)
  note: the marka is pegged to the euro

Fiscal year:
  calendar year

§6. Bosnia and Herzegovina Communications

Telephones - main lines in use:
  928,000 (2004)

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)

Television broadcast stations:
  33 (plus 277 repeaters) (September 1995)

Internet country code:
  .ba

Internet hosts:
  8,525 (2005)

Internet users:
  225,000 (2005)

§7. Bosnia and Herzegovina Transportation

Airports:
  27 (2005)

Airports - with paved runways:
  total: 8
  2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
  under 914 m: 3 (2005)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
  total: 19
  1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
  914 to 1,523 m: 7
  under 914 m: 11 (2005)

Heliports:
  5 (2005)

Railways:
  total: 1,021 km (795 km electrified)
  standard gauge: 1,021 km 1.435-m gauge (2004)

Roadways:
  total: 21,846 km
  paved: 11,425 km
  unpaved: 10,421 km (1999)

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

§8. Bosnia and Herzegovina Military

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:
  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 four months (July 2004)

Manpower available for military service:
  males age 18-49: 1,034,367 (2005 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:
  males age 18-49: 829,530 (2005 est.)

Manpower reaching military service age annually:
  males: 31,264 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
  $234.3 million (FY02)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
  4.5% (FY02)

§9. Bosnia and Herzegovina Transnational Issues

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 several small disputed sections of the
  boundary related to maritime access that hinder ratification of the 1999
  border agreement

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
  refugees (country of origin): 19,213 (Croatia)
  IDPs: 309,200 (Bosnian Croats, Serbs, and Muslims displaced in 1992-95 war)
    (2005)

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


<Factbook 2006>
