Home>Europe>Bosnia and Herzegovina

Background: On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the former Yugoslavia's three warring parties signed a peace agreement that brought to a halt over three years of interethnic civil strife in Bosnia and Herzegovina (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). The Dayton Agreement, signed then by Bosnian President IZETBEGOVIC, Croatian President TUDJMAN, and Serbian President MILOSEVIC, divides Bosnia and Herzegovina roughly equally between the Muslim/Croat Federation and the Republika Srpska while maintaining Bosnia's currently recognized borders. 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 is to deter renewed hostilities. SFOR remains in place. A High Representative appointed by the UN Security Council is responsible for civilian implementation of the accord, including monitoring implementation, facilitating any difficulties arising in connection with civilian implementation, and coordinating activities of the civilian organizations and agencies in Bosnia. The Bosnian conflict began in the spring of 1992 when the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina held a referendum on independence and the Bosnian Serbs—supported by neighboring Serbia—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, Bosnia's Muslims and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement in Washington creating their joint Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Federation, formed by the Muslims and Croats in March 1994, is one of two entities (the other being the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska) that comprise Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia

Geographic coordinates: 44 00 N, 18 00 E

Map references: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europe

Area:
total: 51,233 sq km
land: 51,233 sq km
water: 0 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 (312 km with Serbia, 215 km with Montenegro)

Coastline: 20 km

Maritime claims: NA

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

Land use:
arable land: 14%
permanent crops: 5%
permanent pastures: 20%
forests and woodland: 39%
other: 22% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: frequent and destructive earthquakes

Environment—current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants; sites for disposing of urban waste are limited; widespread casualties, water shortages, and destruction of infrastructure because of the 1992-95 civil strife

Environment—international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
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 Muslim/Croat Federation (about 51% of the territory) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska [RS] (about 49% of the territory); the region called Herzegovina is contiguous to Croatia and traditionally has been settled by an ethnic Croat majority

Population: 3,482,495 (July 1999 est.)
note: all data dealing with population is subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing

Age structure:
0-14 years: 17% (male 310,430; female 294,298)
15-64 years: 71% (male 1,221,791; female 1,240,097)
65 years and over: 12% (male 166,876; female 249,003) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.2% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 9.36 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 10.81 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 33.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 24.52 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 66.98 years
male: 62.55 years
female: 71.71 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.21 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s)
adjective: Bosnian, Herzegovinian

Ethnic groups: Serb 40%, Muslim 38%, Croat 22% (est.); note—the Croats claim they now make up only 17% of the total population

Religions: Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other 10%

Languages: Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian

Literacy: NA

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina
local long form: none
local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina

Data code: BK

Government type: emerging democracy

Capital: Sarajevo

Administrative divisions: there are two first-order administrative divisions—the Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska; note—the status of Brcko in north eastern Bosnia is to be determined by arbitration

Independence: NA April 1992 (from Yugoslavia)

National holiday: Republika Srpska—"Republic Day," 9 January; Independence Day, 1 March; Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina—"Republic Day," 25 November

Constitution: the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, included a new constitution now in force

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 Zivko RADISIC (since 13 October 1998—Serb); other members of the three-member rotating (every 8 months) presidency: Ante JELAVIC (since NA September 1998—Croat) and Alija IZETBEGOVIC (since 14 March 1996—Muslim)
head of government: Cochairman of the Council of Ministers Haris SILAJDZIC (since NA January 1997); Cochairman of the Council of Ministers Suetozar MIHAJLOVIC (since 3 February 1999)
cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairmen
note: President of the Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Ivo ANDRIC-LUZANIC (since 1 January 1999); Vice President is Ejup GANIC; note—president and vice president rotate every 3 months; President of the Republika Srpska: Nikola POPLASEN (since 29 October 1998)
elections: the three-person presidency members (one Muslim, one Croat, one Serb) are elected by popular vote for a four-year term; the president with the most votes becomes the chairman unless he was the incumbent chairman at the time of the election; election last held 12-13 September 1998 (next to be held September 2002); the cochairmen of the Council of Ministers are appointed by the presidency
election results: percent of vote—Zivko RADISIC with 52% of the Serb vote was elected chairman of the collective presidency for the first 8 months; Ante JELAVIC with 52% of the Croat vote will follow RADISIC in the rotation; Alija IZEBEGOVIC with 87% of the Muslim vote won the highest number of votes in the election but was ineligible to serve consecutive terms as chairman

Legislative branch: bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the National House of Representatives or Vijece Opcina (42 seats—14 Serb, 14 Croat, and 14 Muslim; members elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) and the House of Peoples or Vijece Gradanstvo (15 seats—5 Muslim, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members elected by the Muslim/Croat Federation's House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve two-year terms)
elections: National House of Representatives—elections last held 12-13 September 1998 (next to be held in the fall 2000); House of Peoples—last held NA (next to be held NA)
election results: National House of Representatives—percent of vote by party/coalition—NA; seats by party/coalition—KCD 17, HDZ-BiH 6, SDP 4, Sloga 4, SDS 4, SDBIH 2, SRS-RS 2, DNZ 1, NHI 1, RSRS 1; House of Peoples—percent of vote by party/coalition—NA; seats by party/coalition—NA
note: the Muslim/Croat Federation has a House of Representatives (140 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve NA year terms); elections last held NA (next to be held NA); percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party/coalition—KCD 68, HDZ-BiH 28, SDP 19, SDBIH 6, NHI 4, DNZ 3, DSP 2, BPS 2, HSP 2, SPRS 2, BSP 1, KC 1, BOSS 1, HSS 1; the Republika Srpska has a National Assembly (83 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve NA year terms); elections last held NA (next to be held NA); percent of vote by party—NA; seats by party/coalition—SDS 19, KCD 15, SNS 12, SRS-RS 11, SPRS 10, SNSD 6, RSRS 3, SKRS 2, SDP 2, KKO 1, HDZ-BiH 1, NHI 1

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, consists of nine members: four members are selected by the Muslim/Croat Federation's House of Representatives, two members by the Republika Srpska National Assembly, and three non-Bosnian members by the president of the European Court of Human Rights

Political parties and leaders: Bosnian Party of Rights or BSP [leader NA]; Bosnian Party or BOSS [Mirnes AJANOVIC]; Bosnian Patriotic Party or GPS [Sefer HALILOVIC]; Center Coalition or KC (includes LBO, RS) [leader NA]; Civic Democratic Party or GDS [Ibrahim SPAHIC]; Coalition for King and Fatherland or KKO (Dugravko Prstojevic]; Coalition for a United and Democratic BIH or KCD [Alija IZETBEGOVIC; includes SDA, SBH, GDS, LS]; Croatian Democratic Union of BiH or HDZ-BiH [Ante JELAVIC]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Zdravko HRSTIC]; Croatian Peasants Party of BiH or HSS-BiH [Ilija SIMIC]; Democratic Party for Banja Luka and Krajina [Nikola SPIRIC]; Democratic Party of Pensioners or DSP [Alojz KNEZOVIC]; Democratic Peoples Union or DNZ [Fikret ABDIC]; Liberal Bosniak Organization or LBO [Muhamed FILIPOVIC]; Liberal Party or LS [Rasim KADIC, president]; Muslim-Bosnia Organization or MBO [Salih BUREK]; New Croatian Initiative or NHI [Kresimir ZUBAK]; Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina or SBH [Haris SILAJDZIC]; Party for Democratic Action or SDA [Alija IZETBEGOVIC]; Party of Independent Social Democrats or SNSD [Milorad DODIK]; Radical Party Republika Srpska of RSRS [Miroslav RADOVANOVIC]; Republican Party or RS [Sjepan KJLUJIC]; Serb Coalition for Republika Srpska or SKRS [Predrag LAZEREVIC]; Serb Democratic Party or Serb Lands or SDS [Dragan KALINIC]; Serb National Alliance or SNS [Biljana PLAVSIC]; Serb Radical Party-Republika Srpska or SRS-RS [Nikola POPLASEN]; Sloga or Unity [Biljana PLAVSIC; includes SNS, SPRS, SNSD]; Social Democratic Party BIH or SDP (formerly the Democratic Party of Socialists or DSS) [Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA]; Socialist Party of Republika Srpska or SPRS [Zivko RADISIC]
note: note—SDP and SDBIH announced a merger in 1999

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: CE (guest), CEI, EBRD, ECE, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Dragan BOZANIC
chancery: 2109 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037
telephone: [1] (202) 337-1500
FAX: [1] (202) 337-1502
consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard D. KAUZLARICH
embassy: Alipasina 43, 71000 Sarajevo
mailing address: use street address
telephone: [387] (71) 445-700
FAX: [387] (71) 659-722

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

Government—note: Until declaring independence in spring 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina existed as a republic in the former Yugoslavia. Bosnia was partitioned by fighting during 1992-95 and governed by competing ethnic factions. Bosnia's current governing structures were created by the Dayton Agreement, the 1995 peace agreement which was officially signed in Paris on 14 December 1995 by then Bosnian President IZETBEGOVIC, Croatian President TUDJMAN, and then Serbian President MILOSEVIC. This agreement retained Bosnia's exterior border and created a joint multi-ethnic and democratic government. This national government—based on proportional representation similar to that which existed in the former socialist regime—is charged with conducting foreign, economic, and fiscal policy. The Dayton Agreement also recognized a second tier of government, comprised of two entities—a joint Muslim/Croat Federation and the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska (RS)—each presiding over roughly one-half the territory. The Federation and RS governments are charged with overseeing internal functions.

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 has been almost all in private hands, farms have been small and inefficient, and the republic traditionally has been a net importer of food. Industry has been greatly overstaffed, one reflection of the rigidities of communist central planning and management. TITO had pushed the development of military industries in the republic with the result that Bosnia hosted a large share of Yugoslavia's defense plants. The bitter interethnic warfare in Bosnia caused production to plummet by 80% from 1990 to 1995, unemployment to soar, and human misery to multiply. With an uneasy peace in place, output has recovered in 1996-98 at high percentage rates on a low base, but remains far below the 1990 level. Key achievements in 1998 included approval of privatization legislation, the introduction of a national currency—the convertible mark, agreement with the Paris Club to reschedule official debt, and the conclusion of a Standby Agreement with the IMF. Economic data are of limited use because, although both entities issue figures, national-level statistics are not available. Moreover, official data do not capture the large share of activity that occurs on the black market. The country receives substantial amounts of reconstruction assistance and humanitarian aid from the international community. Wide regional differences in war damage and access to the outside world have resulted in substantial variations in living conditions among local areas and individual families. In 1999, Bosnia's major goals are to implement privatization and make progress in fiscal reform and management. In addition, Bosnia will have to prepare for an era of declining assistance from the international community.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$5.8 billion (1998 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: 30% (1998 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$1,720 (1998 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 19%
industry: 23%
services: 58% (1996 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%

Labor force: 1,026,254

Labor force—by occupation: NA%

Unemployment rate: 40%-50% (1996 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Industries: steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances, oil refining (much of capacity damaged or shut down) (1995)

Industrial production growth rate: 35% (1998 est.)

Electricity—production: 2.3 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 34.78%
hydro: 65.22%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1996)

Electricity—consumption: 2.504 billion kWh (1996)

Electricity—exports: 182 million kWh (1996)

Electricity—imports: 386 million kWh (1996)

Agriculture—products: wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock

Exports: $152 million (1995 est.)

Exports—commodities: NA

Exports—partners: NA

Imports: $1.1 billion (1995 est.)

Imports—commodities: NA

Imports—partners: NA

Debt—external: $3.5 billion (yearend 1995 est.)

Economic aid—recipient: $1.2 billion (1997 pledged)

Currency: 1 convertible marka (KM) = 100 convertible pfenniga

Exchange rates: NA

Fiscal year: calendar year

Telephones: 727,000

Telephone system: telephone and telegraph network is in need of modernization and expansion; many urban areas are below average when compared with services in other former Yugoslav republics
domestic: NA
international: no satellite earth stations

Radio broadcast stations: AM 8, FM 16, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios: 840,000

Television broadcast stations: 21 (1997)

Televisions: 1,012,094

Railways:
total: 1,021 km (electrified 795 km; operating as diesel or steam until grids are repaired)
standard gauge: 1,021 km 1.435-m gauge (1995); note—some segments still need repair and/or reconstruction

Highways:
total: 21,846 km
paved: 11,425 km
unpaved: 10,421 km (1996 est.)
note: roads need maintenance and repair

Waterways: NA km; large sections of Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris

Pipelines: crude oil 174 km; natural gas 90 km (1992); note—pipelines now disrupted

Ports and harbors: Bosanska Gradiska, Bosanski Brod, Bosanski Samac, and Brcko (all inland waterway ports on the Sava none of which are fully operational), Orasje

Merchant marine: none

Airports: 25 (1998 est.)

Airports—with paved runways:
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1
under 914 m: 2 (1998 est.)

Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 16
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 8 (1998 est.)

Heliports: 3 (1998 est.)

Military branches: Federation Army or VF (composed of both Croatian and Bosnian Muslim elements), Army of the Serb Republic (composed of Bosnian Serb elements); note—within both of these forces air and air defense are subordinate commands

Military manpower—military age: 19 years of age

Military manpower—availability:
males age 15-49: 951,541 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 764,992 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—reaching military age annually:
males: 28,438 (1999 est.)

Military expenditures—dollar figure: $NA

Military expenditures—percent of GDP: NA%

Disputes—international: disputes with Serbia over Serbian populated areas

Illicit drugs: minor transit point for marijuana and opiate trafficking routes to Western Europe

Source: 1999 CIA World Factbook