Bosnia and Herzegovina Tourism - Travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina
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| Quick Facts | |
| Capital | Sarajevo |
| Government | emerging federal democratic republic |
| Currency | marka (BAM) |
| Area | total: 51,129 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 51,129 sq km |
| Population | 3,964,388 note: all data dealing with population are subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing (July 2002 est.) |
| Language | Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian |
| Religion | Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other 10% |
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosna i Hercegovina) is a Balkan country in southeastern Europe that was formerly part of Yugoslavia. It has Croatia to the north, west and southwest, Serbia and Montenegro to the east and a small portion of Adriatic Sea coastline to the west.
| Table of contents |
Regions in Bosnia and Herzegovina
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.
Map of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Administrative divisions
- there are two first-order administrative divisions and one internationally supervised district* - Brcko district (Brcko Distrikt)*, the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska; note - Brcko district is in northeastern Bosnia and is an administrative unit under the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina; it is not part of either Republika Srpska or the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the district remains under international supervision
Cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Sarajevo - Capital
Ports and harbors
- Inland waterway ports on the Sava):
Other destinations - Travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina
Understand Bosnia and Herzegovina Tourism
Climate in Bosnia and Herzegovina
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; Natural hazards : destructive earthquakes.- Highest point
- Maglic 2,386 m
History of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- National holiday
- National Day, 25 November (1943)
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.
- Independence
- 1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia; referendum for independence was completed 1 March 1992; independence was declared 3 March 1992)
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 signed a peace agreement that brought to a halt the three years of interethnic civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995).
- Constitution
- the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, included a new constitution now in force; note - each of the entities also has its own constitution.
The Dayton Agreement retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a joint multi-ethnic and democratic government. This national government was charged with conducting foreign, economic, 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 internal functions.
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 remains in place although troop levels were reduced to approximately 12,000 by the close of 2002.
Get into Bosnia and Herzegovina
Travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina By Plane
Travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina By Train
A Train Service runs from Sarajevo to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia, and onto the rest of Europe.
Travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina By car
Travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina By Bus
A Coach service runs from Sarajevo to Split on the Croatian coast via Mostar
Travel to Bosnia and Herzegovina By Boat
Get around in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina Talk
- Languages
- Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian
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The rest of this article is an import from the CIA World Factbook 2002. It's a starting point for creating a real aTRAVELdirectory country article according to our country article template. Please plunge forward and integrate it into the article above.
Geography in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Geographic coordinates
- 44 00 N, 18 00 E
- Area
- total: 51,129 sq km
water: 0 sq km
land: 51,129 sq km - Area - comparative
- slightly smaller than West Virginia
- Coastline
- 20 km
- Natural resources
- coal, iron, bauxite, manganese, forests, copper, chromium, lead, zinc, hydropower
- Land use
- arable land: 9.8%
permanent crops: 2.94%
other: 87.26% (1998 est.) - Irrigated land
- 20 sq km (1998 est.)
- Environment - current issues
- air pollution from metallurgical plants; sites for disposing of urban waste are limited; water shortages and destruction of infrastructure because of the 1992-95 civil strife
People in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Population
- 3,964,388
note: all data dealing with population are subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing (July 2002 est.) - Age structure
- 0-14 years: 19.8% (male 403,391; female 382,037)
15-64 years: 70.6% (male 1,432,559; female 1,366,224)
65 years and over: 9.6% (male 161,659; female 218,518) (2002 est.) - Population growth rate
- 0.76% (2002 est.)
- Birth rate
- 12.76 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
- Death rate
- 8.1 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
- Net migration rate
- 2.97 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
- Infant mortality rate
- 23.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
- Life expectancy at birth
- total population: 72.02 years
female: 74.93 years (2002 est.)
male: 69.3 years - Total fertility rate
- 1.71 children born/woman (2002 est.)
- HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
- 0.04% (1999 est.)
- Nationality
- noun: Bosnian(s)
adjective: Bosnian - Ethnic groups
- Serb 37.1%, Bosniak 48%, Croat 14.3%, other 0.5% (2000)
note: Bosniak has replaced Muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam - Religions
- Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other 10%
Government in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Country name
- conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina
local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina - Government type
- emerging federal democratic republic
- Legal system
- based on civil law system
- Suffrage
- 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal
- 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
- The Dayton Agreement, signed in Paris on 14 December 1995, retained Bosnia and Herzegovina'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 Agreement also recognized a second tier of government, comprised of two entities - a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina 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. The Bosniak/Croat Federation is further divided into 10 cantons. The Dayton Agreement established the Office of the High Representative (OHR) to oversee the implementation of the civilian aspects of the agreement. About 250 international and 450 local staff members are employed by the OHR.
Economy in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 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 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 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 recovered in 1996-99 at high percentage rates from a low base; but output growth slowed in 2000 and 2001. GDP remains far below the 1990 level. Economic data are of limited use because, although both entities issue figures, national-level statistics are limited. Moreover, official data do not capture the large share of activity that occurs on the black market. The marka - the national currency introduced in 1998 - is now pegged to the euro, and the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina has dramatically increased its reserve holdings. 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. 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.
- Labor force
- 1.026 million
- Unemployment rate
- 40% (2001 est.)
- Industries
- steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances, oil refining
- Electricity - production
- 2.615 billion kWh (2000)
- Electricity - production by source
- fossil fuel: 38%
hydro: 62% - Agriculture - products
- wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock
- Exports - commodities
- miscellaneous manufactures, crude materials
- Imports - commodities
- machinery and transport equipment, industrial products, foodstuffs
- Currency
- marka (BAM)
- Currency code
- BAM
- Exchange rates
- marka per US dollar - 2.161 (October 2001), 2.124 (2000), 1.837 (1999), 1.760 (1998), 1.734 (1997)
- Fiscal year
- calendar year
Communications
- Telephones - main lines in use
- 303,000 (1997)
- Telephones - mobile cellular
- 9,000 (1997)
- Telephone system
- general assessment: telephone and telegraph network needs modernization and expansion; many urban areas are below average as contrasted with services in other former Yugoslav republics
domestic: NA
international: no satellite earth stations - Radio broadcast stations
- AM 8, FM 16, shortwave 1 (1998)
- Radios
- 940,000 (1997)
- Television broadcast stations
- 33 (plus 277 repeaters) (September 1995)
- Televisions
- NA
- Internet country code
- .ba
- Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
- 3 (2000)
- Internet users
- 45,000 (2002)
Transportation in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Railways
- total: 1,021 km (795 km electrified; operating as diesel or steam until grids are repaired)
standard gauge: 1,021 km 1.435-m gauge; note - many segments still need repair and/or reconstruction because of war damage (2000 est.) - Highways
- total: 21,846 km
paved: 14,020 km
note: road system is in need of maintenance and repair (2001)
unpaved: 7,826 km - Waterways
- NA km; large sections of the Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris
- Pipelines
- crude oil 174 km; natural gas 90 km (1992)
- Airports
- 27 (2001)
- Airports - with paved runways
- total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 3 (2002) - Airports - with unpaved runways
- total: 19
under 914 m: 11 (2002)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 7 - Heliports
- 5 (2002)
Transnational Issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Disputes - international
- Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro have delimited about half of their boundary, but several segments, particularly along the meandering Drina River, remain in dispute; discussions continue with Croatia on the disputed boundary in the Una River near Kostajnica, Hrvatska Dubica, and Zeljava; protests Croatian claim to the tip of the Klek Peninsula and several islands near Neum
- Illicit drugs
- minor transit point for marijuana and opiate trafficking routes to Western Europe; organized crime launders money, but the lack of a well-developed financial infrastructure limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center
