Bosnia and Herzegovina

After four centuries of Ottoman rule over Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria-Hungary took control in 1878 and held the region until 1918, when it was incorporated into the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. After World War II, Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). <br><br>Bosnia and Herzegovina declared sovereignty in October 1991 and independence from the SFRY on 3 March 1992 after a referendum boycotted by ethnic Serbs. Bosnian Serb militias, with the support of Serbia and Croatia, then tried to take control of territories they claimed as their own. From 1992 to 1995, ethnic cleansing campaigns killed thousands and displaced more than two million people. On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties initialed a peace agreement, and the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995. <br><br>The Dayton Accords retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a multiethnic and democratic government composed of two entities roughly equal in size: the predominantly Bosniak-Bosnian Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the predominantly Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska (RS). The Dayton Accords also established the Office of the High Representative to oversee the agreement's implementation. In 1996, the NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) took over responsibility for enforcing the peace. In 2004, European Union peacekeeping troops (EUFOR) replaced SFOR. As of 2022, EUFOR deploys around 1,600 troops in Bosnia in a peacekeeping capacity. Bosnia and Herzegovina became an official candidate for EU membership in 2022.

Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia

44 00 N, 18 00 E

Europe

slightly smaller than West Virginia

20 km

NA

hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along coast

mountains and valleys

coal, iron ore, antimony, bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, cobalt, manganese, nickel, clay, gypsum, salt, sand, timber, hydropower

30 sq km (2012)

the northern and central areas of the country are the most densely populated

destructive earthquakes

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 Montenegro

Bosniak 50.1%, Serb 30.8%, Croat 15.4%, other 2.7%, not declared/no answer 1% (2013 est.)

Muslim 50.7%, Orthodox 30.7%, Roman Catholic 15.2%, atheist 0.8%, agnostic 0.3%, other 1.2%, undeclared/no answer 1.1% (2013 est.)

-0.67% (2025 est.)

6.88 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

12.29 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

-1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

the northern and central areas of the country are the most densely populated

346,000 SARAJEVO (capital) (2023)

27.7 years (2019 est.)

6 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

1.15 children born/woman (2025 est.)

0.56 (2025 est.)

2.58 physicians/1,000 population (2019)

2.3 beds/1,000 population (2019 est.)

17.9% (2016)

air pollution; deforestation and illegal logging; inadequate wastewater treatment and flood management facilities; urban waste disposal; uncleared land mines from the 1990s

hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along coast

26.2 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

37.5 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

parliamentary republic

3 first-order administrative divisions - Brcko District (Brcko Distrikt) (ethnically mixed), Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine) (predominantly Bosniak-Croat), Republika Srpska (predominantly Serb)

civil law system; Constitutional Court review of legislative acts

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age, 16 if employed; universal

Alliance of Independent Social Democrats or SNSD <br>Bosnian-Herzegovinian Initiative or BHI KF <br>Civic Alliance or GS <br>Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HDZ-BiH <br>Democratic Front or DF <br>Democratic Union or DEMOS<br>For Justice and Order<br>Our Party or NS/HC <br>Party for Democratic Action or SDA <br>Party of Democratic Progress or PDP <br>People and Justice Party or NiP <br>People's European Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or NES <br>Serb Democratic Party or SDS <br>Social Democratic Party or SDP<br>United Srpska or US

BIS, CD, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MONUSCO, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia)

Independence Day, 1 March (1992) and Statehood Day, 25 November (1943) - both observed in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity; Victory Day, 9 May (1945) and Dayton Agreement Day, 21 November (1995) - both observed in the Republika Srpska entity

<strong>description:</strong> a wide blue vertical band on the right side, with a large yellow isosceles triangle in the middle of the flag, based at the top; the rest of the flag is blue, with seven five-pointed white stars and two half-stars along the triangle's hypotenuse<br><br><strong>meaning:</strong> the triangle approximates the country's shape, and its three points stand for the Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs; the stars represent Europe; the colors (white, blue, and yellow) are traditional and are also associated with neutrality and peace

golden lily

blue, yellow, white

import-dominated economy; remains consumption-heavy; lack of private sector investments and diversification; jointly addressing structural economic challenges; Chinese energy infrastructure investments; high unemployment; tourism industry impacted by COVID-19

$28.343 billion (2024 est.)

maize, milk, vegetables, potatoes, plums, wheat, apples, barley, chicken, tomatoes (2023)

steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, aluminum, motor vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, ammunition, domestic appliances, oil refining

-2.4% (2024 est.)

1.356 million (2024 est.)

16.9% (2015 est.)

19.1% (of GDP) (2023 est.)

Germany 15%, Croatia 14%, Serbia 12%, Austria 10%, Slovenia 9% (2023)

footwear, electricity, garments, plastic products, insulated wire (2023)

Italy 13%, Germany 11%, Serbia 11%, China 9%, Croatia 8% (2023)

refined petroleum, cars, garments, plastic products, packaged medicine (2023)

3 public TV broadcasters: Radio and TV of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federation TV (operating 2 networks), and Republika Srpska Radio-TV; a local commercial network of 5 TV stations; 3 private, near-national TV stations and dozens of small independent TV stations; 3 large public radio broadcasters and many private radio stations (2019)

.ba

T9

20 (2025)

3 (2025)

Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFBiH or Oruzanih Snaga Bosne i Hercegovine, OSBiH): Army, Air, Air Defense forces organized into an Operations Command and a Support Command<br><br>Ministry of Security: Border Police (2025)

approximately 10,000 active duty Armed Forces (2025)

the military's inventory of weapons and equipment is a combination of material originating from the former Soviet Union/former Yugoslavia and some newer acquisitions from suppliers such as T&uuml;rkiye, the UK, and the US (2025)

18 -27 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription ended in January 2006 (2025)

the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (AFBiH) are responsible for territorial defense, providing assistance to civil authorities during disasters or other emergencies, and participating in collective security and peace support operations; each of the AFBiH's three combat brigades are headquartered inside of their respective ethnicity territory, while its main headquarters is in Sarajevo; Bosnia and Herzegovina aspires to join NATO; Bosnia and Herzegovina joined NATO’s Partnership for Peace (PfP) program in 2006 and was invited to join NATO’s Membership Action Plan in 2010; the AFBiH is undergoing a 10-year (2017-2027) defense modernization and reform program for preparing to join and integrate with NATO; it has contributed small numbers of troops to EU, NATO, and UN missions<br><br>NATO maintains a military headquarters in Sarajevo with the mission of assisting Bosnia and Herzegovina with the PfP program and promoting closer integration with NATO, as well as providing logistics and other support to the EU Force Bosnia and Herzegovina (EUFOR), which has operated in the country to oversee implementation of the Dayton/Paris Agreement since taking over from NATO's Stabilization Force (SFOR) in 2004 (2025)

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Qods Force