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Bosnia
and Herzegovina |
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| 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 Agreement retained Bosnia and
Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a joint multi-ethnic
and democratic government. This national government was charged with
conducting foreign, economic, 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 internal functions. 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 although
troop levels were reduced to approximately 12,000 by the close of 2002.
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| 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
water: 0 sq km
land:
51,129 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: |
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,
hydropower |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 9.8%
permanent crops: 2.94%
other: 87.26% (1998 est.) |
| 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 |
| Environment
- international agreements: |
party to: Air Pollution, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, 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
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| Population: |
3,989,018 (July 2003 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years: 19.4% (male 397,810; female 377,005)
15-64
years: 70.5% (male 1,439,383; female 1,372,891)
65 years
and over: 10.1% (male 171,643; female 230,286) (2003 est.) |
| Median
age: |
total: 35.5 years
male: 35.1 years
female:
35.9 years (2002) |
| Population
growth rate: |
0.48% (2003 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
12.65 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
8.21 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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 (2003 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
total: 22.7 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
19.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 25.37 deaths/1,000
live births |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population: 72.29 years
male: 69.56 years
female: 75.22 years (2003 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
1.71 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
less than 0.1% (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
100 (2001 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Bosnian(s)
adjective: Bosnian |
| 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%, Protestant 4%, other 10%
|
| Languages: |
Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian |
| Literacy: |
definition: NA
total population: NA%
male:
NA%
female: NA%
|
| 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 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 hosted a number 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 recovered
in 1996-99 at high percentage rates from a low base; but output growth
slowed in 2000-02. GDP remains far below the 1990 level. Economic data
are of limited use because, although both entities issue figures, national-level
statistics are limited. Moreover, official data do not capture the large
share of black market activity. The marka - the national currency introduced
in 1998 - is now pegged to the euro, and the Central Bank of Bosnia
and Herzegovina has dramatically increased its reserve holdings. 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. 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 - $7.3 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
2.3% (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2002 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
13%
industry: 40.9%
services: 46.1% (2001 est.)
|
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
3.5% (2002 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
1.026 million |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
| Unemployment
rate: |
40% (2002 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$1.9 billion
expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
| 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: |
7% (2002 est.) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock |
| Exports: |
$1.15 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
metals, clothing, wood products |
| Exports
- partners: |
Italy 16.0%, Germany 16.8%, Switzerland 12.6%, Croatia 11.3% (2001)
|
| Imports: |
$2.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs |
| Imports
- partners: |
Croatia 17.1%, Italy 16.0%, Slovenia 13.0%, Germany 12.5% (2001) |
| Debt
- external: |
$2.8 billion (2001) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$650 million (2001 est.) |
| Currency: |
marka (BAM) |
| Currency
code: |
BAM |
| Exchange
rates: |
marka per US dollar - NA (2002), 2.1872 (2001), 2.1244 (2000), 1.8371
(1999), 1.7597 (1998) |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year
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