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  Bosnia and Herzegovina   Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina
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 Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina

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.
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
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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