from
CIA World Factbook 2006
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.
Geography
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and
Croatia
Geographic 44 00 N, 18 00 E
coordinates:
Map Europe
references:
Area: total: 51,129 sq km
land: 51,129 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - slightly smaller than West Virginia
comparative:
Land total: 1,459 km
boundaries: border countries: Croatia 932 km, Montenegro 225 km,
Serbia 302 km
Coastline: 20 km
Maritime no data available
claims:
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 lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
extremes: highest point: Maglic 2,386 m
Natural coal, iron ore, bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, chromite,
resources: cobalt, manganese, nickel, clay, gypsum, salt, sand,
forests, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 19.61%
permanent crops: 1.89%
other: 78.5% (2005)
Irrigated 30 sq km (2003)
land:
Natural destructive earthquakes
hazards:
Environment - air pollution from metallurgical plants; sites for
current disposing of urban waste are limited; water shortages
issues: and destruction of infrastructure because of the
1992-95 civil strife; deforestation
Environment - party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
international Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life
agreements: Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements
Geography - within Bosnia and Herzegovina's recognized borders, the
note: 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
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 1.35% (2006 est.)
growth rate:
Birth rate: 8.77 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 8.27 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration 13.01 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
rate:
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 total: 9.82 deaths/1,000 live births
mortality male: 11.26 deaths/1,000 live births
rate: female: 8.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life total population: 78 years
expectancy at male: 74.39 years
birth: female: 81.88 years (2006 est.)
Total 1.22 children born/woman (2006 est.)
fertility
rate:
HIV/AIDS - less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
adult
prevalence
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 900 (2003 est.)
people living
with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - 100 (2001 est.)
deaths:
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.)
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 emerging federal democratic republic
type:
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 2 first-order administrative divisions and 1
divisions: 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 National Day, 25 November (1943)
holiday:
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 chief of state: Chairman of the Presidency Sulejman
branch: 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 (eligible for a second term,
but then ineligible for four years); 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 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 Serb vote; Zeljko KOMSIC received
39.6% of the Croat vote; Haris SILAJDZIC received 62.8%
of the Bosniak vote; note - they will be sworn in in a
few months
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 bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists
branch: 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 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, SBiH 8, SNSD 7, SDP 5, SDS 3,
HDZ-BH 3, 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 1 October 2006
(next to be held in October 2010); percent of vote by
party - NA; seats by party/coalition - SDA 28, SBiH 24,
SDP 17, HDZ-BH 8, HDZ100 7, other 14; 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 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 BH Constitutional Court (consists of nine members: four
branch: 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 Alliance of Independent Social Democrats or SNSD
parties and [Milorad DODIK]; Bosnian Party or BOSS [Mirnes
leaders: 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 100 or HDZ100; 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 SBiH [Haris
SILAJDZIC]; 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 NA
pressure
groups and
leaders:
International BIS, CE, CEI, EBRD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt,
organization ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO,
participation: 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 chief of mission: Ambassador Bisera TURKOVIC
representation chancery: 2109 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037
in the US: telephone: [1] (202) 337-1500
FAX: [1] (202) 337-1502
consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Douglas L. McELHANEY
representation embassy: Alipasina 43, 71000 Sarajevo
from the US: mailing address: use street address
telephone: [387] (33) 445-700
FAX: [387] (33) 659-722
branch office(s): Banja Luka, Mostar
Flag a wide medium blue vertical band on the fly side with a
description: 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
Economy - Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked next to Macedonia as the
overview: 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 $23.09 billion
(purchasing note: Bosnia has a large informal sector that could
power parity): also be as much as 50% of official GDP (2005 est.)
GDP (official $8.495 billion (2005 est.)
exchange
rate):
GDP - real 5% (2005 est.)
growth rate:
GDP - per $5,200 (2005 est.)
capita (PPP):
GDP - agriculture: 14.2%
composition by industry: 30.8%
sector: services: 55% (2002)
Labor force: 1.026 million (2001)
Labor force - agriculture: NA%
by occupation: industry: NA%
services: NA%
Unemployment 45.5% official rate; grey economy may reduce actual
rate: unemployment to 25-30% (31 December 2004 est.)
Population 25% (2004 est.)
below poverty
line:
Household lowest 10%: NA%
income or highest 10%: NA%
consumption by
percentage
share:
Distribution 26.2 (2001)
of family
income - Gini
index:
Inflation rate 4.4% (2005 est.)
(consumer
prices):
Budget: revenues: $4.373 billion
expenditures: $4.401 billion; including capital
expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Public debt: 29% of GDP
Agriculture - wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock
products:
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 5.5% (2003 est.)
production
growth rate:
Electricity - 10.51 billion kWh (2003)
production:
Electricity - fossil fuel: 53.5%
production by hydro: 46.5%
source: nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - 8.849 billion kWh (2003)
consumption:
Electricity - 3.2 billion kWh (2003)
exports:
Electricity - 2.271 billion kWh (2003)
imports:
Oil - 0 bbl/day (2003)
production:
Oil - 21,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
consumption:
Oil - exports: NA bbl/day
Oil - imports: NA bbl/day
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2003 est.)
production:
Natural gas - 160 million cu m (2003 est.)
consumption:
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2001 est.)
exports:
Natural gas - 300 million cu m (2001 est.)
imports:
Current $-2.087 billion (2005 est.)
account
balance:
Exports: $2.7 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - metals, clothing, wood products
commodities:
Exports - Croatia 18.4%, Italy 17.1%, Slovenia 14.6%, Germany
partners: 12.8%, Austria 6.5%, Hungary 5.2%, China 4.2% (2005)
Imports: $6.8 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs
commodities:
Imports - Croatia 24.7%, Germany 13.7%, Slovenia 13.1%, Italy
partners: 11%, Austria 6.9%, Hungary 5.5% (2005)
Reserves of $2.531 billion (2005 est.)
foreign
exchange and
gold:
Debt - $3.116 billion (2005 est.)
external:
Economic aid - $650 million (2001 est.)
recipient:
Currency marka (BAM)
(code):
Currency code: BAM
Exchange marka per US dollar - 1.5727 (2005), 1.5752 (2004),
rates: 1.7329 (2003), 2.0782 (2002), 2.1857 (2001)
note: the marka is pegged to the euro
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones - 968,900 (2005)
main lines in
use:
Telephones - 1.594 million (2005)
mobile
cellular:
Telephone general assessment: telephone and telegraph network
system: 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 AM 8, FM 16, shortwave 1 (1998)
broadcast
stations:
Radios: 940,000 (1997)
Television 33 (plus 277 repeaters) (September 1995)
broadcast
stations:
Televisions: NA
Internet .ba
country code:
Internet 31,490 (2006)
hosts:
Internet 3 (2000)
Service
Providers
(ISPs):
Internet 806,400 (2005)
users:
Transportation
Airports: 28 (2006)
Airports - total: 8
with paved 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
runways: 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 3 (2006)
Airports - total: 20
with unpaved 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
runways: 914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 12 (2006)
Heliports: 5 (2006)
Railways: total: 608 km (777 km electrified)
standard gauge: 608 km 1.435-m gauge (2005)
Roadways: total: 21,846 km
paved: 11,425 km (4,686 km of interurban roads)
unpaved: 10,421 km (2005)
Waterways: Sava River (northern border) open to shipping but use
limited (2006)
Ports and Bosanska Gradiska, Bosanski Brod, Bosanski Samac, and
terminals: Brcko (all inland waterway ports on the Sava), Orasje
Military
Military VF Army (the air and air defense forces are subordinate
branches: commands within the Army), VRS Army (the air and air
defense forces are subordinate commands within the
Army)
Military 18 years of age for compulsory military service in the
service age Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; 16 years of age
and in times of war; 18 years of age for Republika Srpska;
obligation: 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 males age 18-49: 1,119,508
available for females age 18-49: 1,079,435 (2005 est.)
military
service:
Manpower fit males age 18-49: 910,539
for military females age 18-49: 881,446 (2005 est.)
service:
Manpower males age 18-49: 32,942
reaching females age 18-49: 31,466 (2005 est.)
military
service age
annually:
Military $234.3 million (FY02)
expenditures -
dollar figure:
Military 4.5% (FY02)
expenditures -
percent of
GDP:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro have
international: 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 refugees (country of origin): 19,213 (Croatia)
internally IDPs: 309,200 (Bosnian Croats, Serbs, and Muslims
displaced displaced in 1992-95 war) (2005)
persons:
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