Bosnia and Herzegovina

World Book Index

Introduction

Background
Austria-Hungary controlled Bosnia and Herzegovina from 1878 to 1918, when it joined the new Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. In 1945, Bosnia and Herzegovina became part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY), until declaring independence in 1992. Three years of interethnic war ended in 1995, and the country became an official candidate for EU membership in 2022.

Geography

Area
total : 51,197 sq km
land: 51,187 sq km
water: 10 sq km

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

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

People and Society

Population
total: 3,798,671 (2024 est.)

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

Languages
Bosnian (official) 52.9%, Serbian (official) 30.8%, Croatian (official) 14.6%, other 1.6%, no answer 0.2% (2013 est.)

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.)

Population growth rate
-0.25% (2024 est.)

Government

Government type
parliamentary republic

Capital
name: Sarajevo

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)

Diplomatic representation in the US
chief of mission: Ambassador Sven ALKALAJ (since 30 June 2023)

Diplomatic representation from the US
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires Daniel KOSKI (since February 2025)

Economy

Economic overview
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

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)
$64.641 billion (2024 est.)
$63.077 billion (2023 est.)
$61.843 billion (2022 est.)

Real GDP per capita
$20,400 (2024 est.)
$19,800 (2023 est.)
$19,300 (2022 est.)

Exports
$12.141 billion (2024 est.)
$12.126 billion (2023 est.)
$11.838 billion (2022 est.)

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

Exports - commodities
footwear, electricity, garments, plastic products, insulated wire (2023)

Imports
$16.202 billion (2024 est.)
$15.37 billion (2023 est.)
$15.166 billion (2022 est.)

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

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

Human Development Index

The country's Human Development Index (HDI) is 0.804, ranking it 74th out of 193 countries tested. (more information)

World Happiness Report

The World Happiness Report ranked the country 32nd out of 158 countries tested with a score of 6.491. (more information)