|
|
|
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. |
|
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, 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: 13.6%
permanent crops: 2.96%
other: 83.44% (2001) |
|
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; 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 |
|
Population:
|
4,025,476
(July 2005 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14
years: 18.3% (male 378,784/female 358,784)
15-64 years: 70.7% (male 1,458,405/female
1,388,793)
65 years and over: 10.9% (male 188,741/female
251,969) (2005 est.) |
|
Median age:
|
total:
36.21 years
male: 35.81 years
female: 36.63 years (2005 est.) |
|
Population growth rate:
|
0.44%
(2005 est.) |
|
Birth rate:
|
12.49
births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
|
Death rate:
|
8.44
deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
|
Net migration rate:
|
0.3
migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
|
Sex ratio:
|
at
birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
|
|
Infant mortality rate:
|
total:
21.05 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 23.62 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 18.31 deaths/1,000 live births (2005
est.) |
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total
population: 77.83 years
male: 74.21 years
female: 81.72 years (2005 est.) |
|
Total fertility rate:
|
1.71
children born/woman (2005 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:
|
Serb
37.1%, Bosniak 48%, 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.) |
|
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 Ivo Miro JOVIC
(since 28 June 2005; presidency member since 9 May 2005
- Croat; note - Dragan COVIC was sacked by High
Representative Paddy ASHDOWN on 29 Mar 2005); other
members of the three-member rotating (every eight
months) presidency: Borislav PARAVAC (since 10 April
2003 - Serb); and Sulejman TIHIC (since 5 October 2002 -
Bosniak)
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 NA 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 (note -
SAROVIC resigned in April 2003); Dragan COVIC received
61.5% of the Croat vote; Sulejman TIHIC received 37% of
the Bosniak vote
note: President of the Federation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina: Niko LOZANCIC (since 27 January 2003); Vice
Presidents Sahbaz DZIHANOVIC (since NA 2003) and Desnica
RADIVOJEVIC (since NA 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
NA 2006); House of Peoples - last constituted NA 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 9.5%, PDP 4.6%, others 19.3%; seats by
party/coalition - SDA 10, SDS 5, SBiH 6, SDP 4, SNSD 3,
HDZ 5, PDP 2, others 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 NA October 2006); percent
of vote by party - NA%; seats by party/coalition - SDA
32, HDZ-BiH 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, SPRS 3, DNZ 3,
SBiH 4, SDP 3, others 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 8 Croats, 8
Bosniaks, 8 Serbs, and 4 members of the smaller
communities |
|
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 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, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), OAS
(observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE, 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 |
|
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 has been greatly
overstaffed, one reflection of 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):
|
$28.26
billion
Note: Bosnia has a large informal sector that
could also be as much as 50 percent of official GDP.
(2005 est.) |
|
GDP (official exchange rate):
|
$8.889
billion (2005 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate:
|
5.2%
(2005 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita:
|
purchasing power parity - $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%
officially; however, grey economy may reduce actual
unemployment to between 25 and 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% |
|
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 (2001) |
|
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 (2001)
|
|
Oil - imports:
|
NA (2001)
|
|
Natural gas - production:
|
0 cu m
(2001 est.) |
|
Natural gas - consumption:
|
300
million cu m (2001 est.) |
|
Natural gas - exports:
|
0 cu m
(2001 est.) |
|
Natural gas - imports:
|
300
million cu m (2001 est.) |
|
Current account balance:
|
$-2.375
billion (2005 est.) |
|
Exports:
|
$2.7
billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) |
|
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 - 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 - 1.43 (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 |
|
Telephones - main lines in use:
|
938,000
(2003) |
|
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:
|
6,994
(2004) |
|
Internet users:
|
100,000
(2002) |
|
Airports:
|
27 (2004
est.) |
|
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 est.) |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways:
|
total:
19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 11 (2005 est.) |
|
Heliports:
|
5 (2005
est.) |
|
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
because of no agreement with neighboring countries
(2004) |
|
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:
|
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 4 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) |
|
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 |
|
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
|
IDPs:
327,200 (Bosnian Croats, Serbs, and Muslims displaced in
1992-95 war) (2004) |
|
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 |
|
|
| |
|
|
