Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a federal parliamentary republic in the Western Balkans, bordering Montenegro, Croatia and Serbia. The capital is Sarajevo. The total population is approximately 3.2 million.
Until 1992, it was part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Following the referendum for independence, Bosnia was caught up in the conflict that erupted between the other former states of Yugoslavia. Until 1995, it was affected by violent clashes, reprisals and violations of human rights and humanitarian law, which also led to the involvement of NATO. In 1995, Bosnia and Herzegovina became independent and assumed its current institutional set-up.
Also due to the multi-ethnic and multi-religious composition of its population, during the years of the Balkan Wars, Bosnia was shattered by acts and clashes of particular ferocity: above all, the Srebrenica massacre remains one of the most painful events. The majority of the population is Muslim, of Bosnian ethnicity (about 50% of the population), while the inhabitants of Serbian ethnicity, and of predominantly Christian Orthodox religion, are about 30%. The remaining 15% are Croats of the Catholic religion and a small remainder of other ethnicities.
As a result of this ethnic mosaic, there are three official languages in the country: Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian, and even at the institutional level, the Presidency of the Republic itself is a collegial body composed of three representatives, each representing one of the constituent peoples.
At the current time, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country still troubled by ethnic-religious tensions, which is trying to continue in a process of modernisation and rapprochement with Europe. In fact, in 2007, it signed the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Union, the first step towards European integration, which started a long and complex process of institutional and political reforms to achieve the necessary objectives to meet the conditions for EU membership. On 15 December 2022, the European Council finally granted Bosnia and Herzegovina candidate status for EU membership.
| Head of state | Zeljko Komsic (seggio croato), Zeljka Cvijanovic (seggio serbo), Denis Becirovic (seggio bosniaco) |
| Head of Government | Borjana Kristo |
| Institutional Form | Parliamentary republic |
| Capital | Sarajevo |
| Legislative Power | Bicameral Parliament: Dom Naroda (15 seats, 5 Bosnians, 5 Croats, 5 Serbs) and Predstavnicki Dom (42 seats: 28 for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 14 to the Republic of Srpska) |
| Judicial Power | Constitutional Court (composed of 9 members); Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina (composed of 44 national judges e 7 international judges) |
| Ambassador to Italy | Amira Arifović Harms |
| Total Area kmq | 51,197 km2 |
| Land | 51,187 km2 |
| Weather | Hot summers and cold winters; high altitude areas have short, cool summers and long, harsh winters; mild, rainy winters along the coast |
| Natural resources | Coal, iron ore, antimony, bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, cobalt, manganese, nickel, clay, gypsum, salt, sand, timber, hydroelectric power |
| Economic summary | The economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina is heavily dominated by imports; the lack of private sector investment and the low diversification of production activities do not permit the high rate of unemployment to be brought down; there is a large amount of Chinese investment in energy infrastructure. |
| GDP | $24.53 billion (Dec. 2022) |
| Pro-capite GDP (Purchasing power parity) | $16,703 (Dec. 2022) |
| Exports | $9.948 billion (2021) |
| Export partner | Germany, Croatia, Italy (2021) |
| Imports | $12.726 billion (2021) |
| Import partner | Italy, Germany, Serbia (2021) |
| Trade With Italy | €1.719 billion (2022) |
| Population | 3.44 billion (Dec. 2022) |
| Population Growth | -0.23% (2023 est.) |
| Ethnicities | Bosniaks 50.1%, Serbs 30.8%, Croats 15.4%, other 2.7% |
| Languages | Bosnian (official) 52.9%, Serbian (official) 30.8%, Croatian (official) 14.6%, other 1.6% |
| Religions | Muslims 50.7%, Orthodox 30.7%, Catholics 15.2%, atheists 0.8%, agnostics 0.3%, other 1.2% |
| Urbanization | 50.3% (2023) |
| Literacy | 98.1% |
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a federal parliamentary republic in the Western Balkans, bordering Montenegro, Croatia and Serbia. The capital is Sarajevo. The total population is approximately 3.2 million.
Until 1992, it was part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Following the referendum for independence, Bosnia was caught up in the conflict that erupted between the other former states of Yugoslavia. Until 1995, it was affected by violent clashes, reprisals and violations of human rights and humanitarian law, which also led to the involvement of NATO. In 1995, Bosnia and Herzegovina became independent and assumed its current institutional set-up.
Also due to the multi-ethnic and multi-religious composition of its population, during the years of the Balkan Wars, Bosnia was shattered by acts and clashes of particular ferocity: above all, the Srebrenica massacre remains one of the most painful events. The majority of the population is Muslim, of Bosnian ethnicity (about 50% of the population), while the inhabitants of Serbian ethnicity, and of predominantly Christian Orthodox religion, are about 30%. The remaining 15% are Croats of the Catholic religion and a small remainder of other ethnicities.
As a result of this ethnic mosaic, there are three official languages in the country: Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian, and even at the institutional level, the Presidency of the Republic itself is a collegial body composed of three representatives, each representing one of the constituent peoples.
At the current time, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country still troubled by ethnic-religious tensions, which is trying to continue in a process of modernisation and rapprochement with Europe. Indeed, in 2007, it signed the Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the European Union, the first step towards European integration, which started a long and complex process of institutional and political reforms to achieve the necessary objectives to meet the conditions for EU membership. On 15 December 2022, the European Council finally granted Bosnia and Herzegovina candidate status for EU membership.
