Bosnia and Herzegovina
Current issues: 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 Bosnian Serbs 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 will remain in
place until June 1998. 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 and Herzegovina. 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.
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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 a
Serb Republic, The 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
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Population: 3,365,727 (July 1998
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: 18% (male 307,857; female 291,424)
15-64 years: 71% (male 1,177,516; female 1,195,419)
65 years and over: 11% (male 156,041; female 237,470) (July
1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.63% (1998
est.)
Birth rate: 8.72 births/1,000
population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 12.32 deaths/1,000
population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: 39.91 migrant(s)/1,000
population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 30.8
deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 63.03 years
male: 58.35 years
female: 68.02 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.14 children
born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s)
adjective: Bosnian, Herzegovinian
Ethnic groups: Serb 40%, Muslim 38%,
Croat 22% (est.)
Religions: Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%,
Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other 10%
Languages: Serbo-Croatian (often
called Bosnian) 99%
Literacy: NA
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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
National capital: Sarajevo
Administrative divisions: there are
two first-order administrative divisions approved by the US
Government—the Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
(Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina) and Republika Srpska; it has been
reported that the Muslim/Croat Federation is comprised of 10
cantons identified by either number or name - Goradzde (5), Livno
(10), Middle Bosnia (6), Neretva (7), Posavina (2), Sarajevo (9),
Tuzla Podrinje (3), Una Sana (1), West Herzegovina (8), Zenica
Doboj (4)
Independence: NA April 1992 (from
Yugoslavia)
National holiday: Republika Srpska—"Republic
Day," 9 January; Independence Day, 1 March;
Bosnia—"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 Alija
IZETBEGOVIC (since 14 September 1996); other members of the
three-member rotating presidency: Kresimir ZUBAK (since 14
September 1996—Croat) and Momcilo KRAJISNIK (since 14 September
1996 - Serb)
head of government: Cochairman of the Council of Ministers
Haris SILAJDZIC (since NA January 1997); Cochairman of the Council
of Ministers Boro BOSIC (since NA January 1997) NA
cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council
chairmen
note: president of the Muslim/Croat Federation of Bosnia
and Herzegovina: Ejup GANIC (since 1 January 1998); president of
the Republika Srpska: Biljana PLAVSIC (since September 1996)
elections: the three presidency members (one each Muslim,
Croat, Serb) are elected by direct election (first election for a
two-year term, thereafter for a four-year term); the president
with the most votes becomes the chairman; election last held 14
September 1996 (next to be held September 1998); the cochairmen
are nominated by the presidency
election results: Alija IZETBEGOVIC elected chairman of the
collective presidency with the highest number of votes; percent of
vote—Alija IZETBEGOVIC received 80% of the Muslim vote to Haris
SILAJDZIC's 14%; Kresimir ZUBAK received 88% of the Croat vote to
Ivo KOMSIC's 11%; Momcilo KRAJISNIK received 68% of the Serb vote
to Mladen IVANIC's 30%
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 serve two-year terms) and the House of
Peoples or Vijece Gradanstvo (15 seats—5 Muslim, 5 Croat, 5
Serb; members serve two-year terms)
elections: National House of Representatives—elections
last held 14 September 1996 (next to be held NA); note—the House
of Peoples is elected by the Muslim/Croat Federation's 140-seat
House of Representatives (two-thirds) and the Republika Srpska's
83-seat National Assembly (one-third)
election results: National House of Representatives:
two-thirds chosen from the Muslim/Croat Federation: percent of
vote by party—NA; seats by party—SDA 16, HDZ-BiH 7, Joint List
of Social Democrats 3, Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina 2;
one-third chosen from the Bosnian Serb Republic: percent of vote
by party—NA; seats by party—SDS 9, SDA 3, Democratic Patriotic
Front/Union for Peace and Progress 2
note: the Muslim/Croat Federation has a House of
Representatives with 140 seats: seats by party—SDA 80, HDZ-BiH
33, Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina 11, Joint List of Social
Democrats 10, other 6; the Republika Srpska has a National
Assembly with 83 seats: seats by party—SDS 24, Serb Radical
Party 15, Serb National Alliance 15, Socialist Party 9,
Independent Social Democrats 2, Coalition for United Bosnia and
Herzegovina and others 18
Judicial branch: Supreme Court,
supervised by the Ministry of Justice; Constitutional Court,
supervised by the Ministry of Justice
Political parties and leaders: Party
of Democratic Action or SDA [Alija IZETBEGOVIC]; Croatian
Democratic Union of BiH or HDZ-BiH [Bozo RAJIC]; Serb Democratic
Party or SDS [Aleksa BUHA]; Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina or
SBiH [Haris SILAJDZIC]; Joint List (consists of the following
parties: UBSD, RP, MBO, HSG, and SPP); Civic Democratic Party or
GDS [Ibrahim SPAHIC]; Croatian Peasants' Party of BiH or HSS [Ivo
KOMSIC]; Independent Social Democratic Party or SNSD [Milorad
DODIK]; Liberal Bosniak Organization or LBO [Muhamed FILIPOVIC];
Liberal Party or LS [Rasim KADIC, president]; Muslim-Bosniac
Organization or MBO [Adil ZULFIKARPASIC]; Republican Party of
Bosnia and Herzegovina or RS [Stjepan KLJUIC]; Serb Civic Council
or SGV [Mirko PEJANOVIC]; Social Democratic Party or SDP (formerly
the Democratic Party of Socialists or DSS) [Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA];
Socialist Party of Republika Srpska or SPRS [Zivko RADISIC];
Social Democrats of Bosnia Herzegovina [Selim BESLAGIC]; Serb
Radical Party of RS [Nikola POPLASEN]; Serb Party of Krojina and
Posavina or SSKIP [Predrag LAZAREVIC]; National Democratic Union
(also known as Democratic People's Union or DNZ) [Fikret ABDIC];
Serb National Alliance or SNS [Biljana PLAVSIC]; Coalition for a
United and Democratic BiH (coalition of SDA, SBiH, LS, and GDS)
note: 82 parties participated in the September 1997
municipal elections
Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA
International organization participation:
CE (guest), CEI, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU,
NAM (guest), OIC (observer), OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Sven ALKALAJ
chancery: Suite 760, 1707 L Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 833-3612, 3613, 3615
FAX: [1] (202) 833-2061
consulate(s) general: New York
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Richard KAUZLARICH
embassy: 43 Ul. Dure Dakovica, Sarajevo
mailing address: use street address
telephone: [387] (71) 445-700, 667-391, 667-389, 667-743,
667-390, 659-969, 659-992
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
Accords, the 1995 peace agreement which was officially signed in
Paris on 14 December 1995 by Bosnian President IZETBEGOVIC,
Croatian President TUDJMAN, and 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
Accords 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. As mandated by the Dayton Accords,
the Bosnians on 14 September 1996 participated in the first
post-war elections of national, entity, and cantonal leaders. The
Bosnians have been slow to form and install new joint
institutions. A new Federation cabinet was sworn in 18 December
1996 and the new Bosnian central government cabinet was confirmed
on 3 January 1997. The Bosnians on 13-14 September 1997
participated in municipal elections, postponed in 1996 because of
voter registration irregularities.
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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
1996-97 at high percentage rates on a low base, but remains less
than half the 1990 level. The country, especially in the
Muslim-Croat area, receives substantial amounts of 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.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$4.41
billion (1997 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 35% (1997
est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power
parity—$1,690 (1997 est.)
GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 19%
industry: 23%
services: 58% (1996 est.)
Inflation rate—consumer price index:
NA%
Labor force:
total: 1,026,254
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:
NA%
Electricity—capacity: 2.339 million
kW (1995)
Electricity—production: 1.4 billion
kWh (1995)
Electricity—consumption per capita:
506 kWh (1995)
Agriculture—products: wheat, corn,
fruits, vegetables; livestock
Exports:
total value: $152 million (1995 est.)
commodities: NA
partners: NA
Imports:
total value: $1.1 billion (1995 est.)
commodities: NA
partners: NA
Debt—external: $3.5 billion
(yearend 1995 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: $1.2 billion (1997 pledged)
Currency: 1 convertible marka = 100
convertible pfenniga; former currencies still used
Exchange rates: NA
Fiscal year: calendar year
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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 9, FM 2,
shortwave 0
Radios: 840,000
Television broadcast stations: 6
Televisions: 1,012,094
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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; Sava blocked by
downed bridges
Pipelines: crude oil 174 km; natural
gas 90 km (1992); note—pipelines now disrupted
Ports and harbors: Bosanski Brod (an
inland waterway port on the Sava which is not useable), Orasje
(ferry)
Merchant marine: none
Airports: 26 (1997 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 (1997 est.)
Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 17
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 9
under 914 m: 7 (1997 est.)
Heliports: 2 (1997 est.)
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Military branches: Army
Military manpower—military age: 19
years of age
Military manpower—availability:
males age 15-49: 912,536 (1998 est.)
Military manpower—fit for military
service:
males: 733,931 (1998 est.)
Military manpower—reaching military age
annually:
males: 26,114 (1998 est.)
Military expenditures—dollar figure:
$NA
Military expenditures—percent of GDP:
NA%
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Disputes—international: disputes
with Serbia over Serbian populated areas
Illicit drugs: transit point for
minor regional marijuana and opiate trafficking routes
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