About
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.
More...
Source: The World Factbook
Population: 4,025,476 (July 2005 est.)
Capital: Sarajevo
Languages: Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian
Religions: Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, other 14%
Government: emerging federal democratic republic
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
Geography: 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
Ethnic groups: Serb 37.1%,
Bosniak 48%, Croat 14.3%, other 0.6% (2000)
Bosniak has replaced Muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of
Islam
Economy: 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 per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2005 est.)
GDP real growth: 5.2% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate: 45.5% officially; however, grey economy may reduce actual unemployment to between 25 and 30%
(31 December 2004 est.)
Internet country code: .ba
Dial code: +387
Cities
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Find a flight to any city in Bosnia-Herzegovina
Local currency is the Bosnia-Herzegovina Convertible Mark
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