BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

GEOGRAPHY AND POPULATION

Official name: Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Capital: Sarajevo.
Area: 51.129 sq. km.
Population: 3.900.000
Official languages: Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian.
Monetary unit:  Convertible Mark (KM).
Population distribution: Urban: 29.8%/ Semiurban: 24.20% /Rural: 45.92%
Ethnic/cultural composition: Bosniaks 48 %, Serbs 37.1 %, Croats 14.3 %, other 0.6%.
Religion: Muslim 41%, Orthodox 34%, Catholic 15%, others 10%.
Human Development Index: Position no. 62 of 177
Annual population growth rate: -0.2 % (2004)
Fertility rate: 1,3 (2000-05) 
Life expectancy: 74,1 years. (2000-05)
Child mortality: 9.58 per thousand inhabitants.
Annual GDP growth: 5.3% (2006)
GDP per capita: 2.440USD

GDP Distribution:
Primary Sector: 14.2%.
Secondary Sector: 30.8%.
Tertiary Sector: 55% (2002)

Inflation: 8.2 %.
External debt: USD 3.927 million (estimate for 2006)
Unemployment rate: 45.5%.
Access to drinking water: Urban: 100% / Rural: 96%

Geography

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a mountainous country. The Dinaric Alps make up the western border with Croatia, crossing the western and southern region of the country. Its highest peak is Maglic (2.387 m), on the border with Montenegro. The greatest part of the country lies on Karst, a dry landscape with depressions and spurs crossing the limestone bedrock. The major rivers of the country are Bosna, Sava, Drina and Neretva. At the north, the river valleys widen in the fertile plain of Sava, spreading over entire northern third of Bosnia. The north is covered with woods while the south has flatter topography with fertile ground, mostly used for agriculture. Bosnia and Herzegovina also has 20 km of Adriatic coast.

Climate

The Mediterranean climate prevails in the south, with sunny and warm summers and mild and rainy winters. On the contrary, the interior and the north of the country have the continental climate with warm summers and cold winters. At higher altitudes the summers are short and fresh while the winters are long and hard. The average temperature in Sarajevo, in the continental area, is scaling between –1ºC in January and 20ºC in July.

Natural resources

This is a country rich in natural resources, covered with large areas of farming land, extensive woods and valuable deposits of minerals such as magnesium, iron, lead, copper, chrome and carbon.

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL DATA

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a young democracy which came into existence after the independence referendum of former Yugoslavia on March 3, 1992. Its Constitution was furnished to support the Dayton Peace Agreement, signed on December 14, 1995, bringing an end to the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Dayton Peace Agreement established that the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina is to be comprised of two Entities with ample autonomy, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH, of Bosniak-Croat majority, 51% of the territory) and Republika Srpska (RS, of Serb majority, 49% of the territory), as well as the Brcko District which was given a special status.

On a state level, BiH has one collective and rotating Presidency comprised of three members of the constituent peoples: Bosniak, Bosnian Croat and Bosnian Serb.

The Chairman of the Council of Ministers is appointed by the Presidency and approved by the House of Representatives.

Members of the Presidency: Željko Komšić (Bosnian Croat), Haris Silajdžić (Bosniak), Nebojša Radmanović (Bosnian Serb).
The Chairman of the Council of Ministers: Nikola Špirić

The Parliamentary Assembly is the legislative organ in BiH. It is bicameral, consisting of the House of Peoples (formed by 15 delegates: 5 Bosniaks, 5 Croats and 5 Serbs) and the House of Representatives (formed by 42 members: 2/3 elected by FBiH and 1/3 elected by RS).

The Central State has only nine Ministries:

1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
2. The Ministry of External Commerce and  Economic Relations
3. The Ministry of Finance and Treasury
4. The Ministry of Communications and Transport
5. The Ministry of Civil Affairs
6. The Ministry of Human Rights and Refugees
7. The Ministry of Justice
8. The Ministry of Security
9. The Ministry of Defense

The remaining Ministries with its respective jurisdictions are established on the Entity level.

Nevertheless, the country is also under the tutelage of the High Representative of the International Community (OHR) whose task is to invigilate the civil fulfillment of the Dayton Peace Accord. The High Representative at the moment is Miroslav Lajcak who has the authority to intervene directly in the running of the country, imposing laws. His mandate is scheduled to finalize in June 2008.   

The two Entities which form the country are:

The Federation of BiH - has a President, a Prime Minister and two Vice-Presidents, a bicameral Parliament consisting of the House of Peoples (98 seats) and the House of Representatives (58 seats). FBiH is divided in ten Cantons governed by their own governments and parliaments. (http://www.fbihvlada.gov.ba/)

The Republika Srpska has a President, Prime Minister and two Vice-Presidents from among different constituent peoples. It has an 83-member National Assembly and the House of Peoples (28 members). (http://www.vladars.net/)

Currently, Bosnia and Herzegovina has the status of potential candidate for EU membership. As a step prior to the attainment of candidate status, BiH should sign the Stabilization and Association Agreement, which obliges the country and its institutions to meet a set of political and economic requirements, as well as to proceed to the harmonization of its total normative practice in accordance to the European parameters.

Information for the traveler

You can find more information in the document prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain

Note: Information presented on this page was obtained thanks to the Reports prepared by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain (MFA), World Bank (WB), The Fact Book, UNDP Human Development Report.