Factbook dossier
Background
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). 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. 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 cand…
Location
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia
Area
total : 51,197 sq km land: 51,187 sq km water: 10 sq km
Natural resources
coal, iron ore, antimony, bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, cobalt, manganese, nickel, clay, gypsum, salt, sand, timber, hydropower
Natural hazards
destructive earthquakes
Population
total: 3,653,499 (2025 est.) male: 1,778,548 female: 1,874,951
Ethnic groups
Bosniak 50.1%, Serb 30.8%, Croat 15.4%, other 2.7%, not declared/no answer 1% (2013 est.) note: Republika Srpska authorities dispute the methodology and refuse to recognize the results; Bosniak has replaced Muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam
Languages
Bosnian (official) 52.9%, Serbian (official) 30.8%, Croatian (official) 14.6%, other 1.6%, no answer 0.2% (2013 est.) major-language sample(s): Knjiga svjetskih činjenica, neophodan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Bosnian) Knjiga svetskih činjenica, neophodan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Serbian) Knjiga svjetskih činjenica, nužan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Croatian) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
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.)
Environmental issues
air pollution; deforestation and illegal logging; inadequate wastewater treatment and flood management facilities; urban waste disposal; uncleared land mines from the 1990s
Government type
parliamentary republic
Capital
name: Sarajevo geographic coordinates: 43 52 N, 18 25 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October etymology: the name derives from the Turkish word saray , meaning "palace" or "mansion"
Executive branch
chief of state: Chairperson of the Presidency Zeljko KOMSIC (chairperson since 16 July 2025; presidency member since 20 November 2018 - Croat seat); Denis BECIROVIC (presidency member since 16 November 2022 - Bosniak seat); Zeljka CVIJANOVIC (presidency member since 16 November 2022 - Serb seat) head of government: Chairperson of the Council of Ministers Borjana KRISTO (since 25 January 2023) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairperson, approved by the state-level House of Representatives election/appointment process: 3-member presidency (1 Bosniak and 1 Croat elected from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 1 Serb elected from the Republika Srpska) directly elected by simple-majority popular vote for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term but then ineligible for 4 years); the presidency chairpersonship rotates every 8 months, with the new member of the presidency elected with the highest number of votes starting the new mandate as chair; the chairperson of the Council of Ministers appointed by the presidency and confirmed by the state-level House of Representatives most recent election date: 2 October 2022 election results: 2022: percent of vote - Denis BECIROVIC - (SDP BiH) 57.4% - Bosniak seat; Zeljko KOMSIC (DF) 55.8% - Croat seat; Zeljka CVIJANOVIC (SNSD) 51.7% - Serb seat 2018: percent of vote - Milorad DODIK (SNSD) 53.9% - Serb seat; Zeljko KOMSIC (DF) 52.6% - Croat seat; Sefik DZAFEROVIC (SDA) 36.6% - Bosniak seat expected date of next election: October 2026 note: President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Lidiia BRADARA (since 28 February 2023)
Legislative branch
legislature name: Parliamentary Assembly (Skupstina) legislative structure: bicameral
Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$64.641 billion (2024 est.) $63.077 billion (2023 est.) $61.843 billion (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Real GDP per capita
$20,400 (2024 est.) $19,800 (2023 est.) $19,300 (2022 est.) note: data in 2021 dollars
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
1.7% (2024 est.) 6.1% (2023 est.) 14% (2022 est.) note: annual % change based on consumer prices
Exports - partners
Germany 15%, Croatia 14%, Serbia 12%, Austria 10%, Slovenia 9% (2023) note: top five export partners based on percentage share of exports
Imports - partners
Italy 13%, Germany 11%, Serbia 11%, China 9%, Croatia 8% (2023) note: top five import partners based on percentage share of imports
Military and security forces
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 Ministry of Security: Border Police (2025)
Military expenditures
0.8% of GDP (2024 est.) 0.8% of GDP (2023 est.) 0.8% of GDP (2022 est.) 0.9% of GDP (2021 est.) 0.9% of GDP (2020 est.)