Bosnia and Herzegovina | Facts & Information

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff

Infoplease has everything you need to know about Bosnia and Herzegovina. Check out our country profile, full of essential information about Bosnia and Herzegovina's geography, history, government, economy, population, culture, religion and languages. If that's not enough, click over to our collection of world maps and flags.

Facts & Figures

  • Chairman of the Presidency: Sefik Dzaferovic (Bosniak, 2022)

    Members of the Presidency: Zeljko Komsic (Croat, 2018), Milorad Dodik (Serb, 2018)

    Prime Minister: Zoran Tegeltija (2019)

    Total area: 19,767 sq mi (51,197 sq km)

    Population (2022 est.): 3,816,459 (growth rate: -0.22%); birth rate: 8.41/1000; infant mortality rate: 5.21/1000; life expectancy: 77.98

    Capital and largest city (2022 est) Sarajevo, 344,000

    Monetary unit: Marka

    National name: Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina

    Current Government Officials

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

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

    Religion: 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.)

    National Holiday: Independence Day, March 1

    Literacy rate: 98.5% (2015 est.)

    Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2020 est.): $47.05 billion; per capita $14,300. Real growth rate: 3% (2017 est.). Inflation: 1.2% (2017 est.). Unemployment: 33.28% (2019 est.). Arable land: 19.7%. Agriculture: maize, milk, vegetables, potatoes, wheat, plums/sloes, apples, barley, cabbages, poultry. Labor force: 806,000; agriculture 18%, industry 30.4%, services 51.7%. Natural resources: coal, iron ore, antimony, bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, cobalt, manganese, nickel, clay, gypsum, salt, sand, timber, hydropower. Industries: steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, aluminum, motor vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, ammunition, domestic appliances, oil refining. Exports: $6.81 billion (2020): electricity, seating, leather shoes, furniture, insulated wiring. Major trading partners (exports): Germany 14%, Italy 12%, Croatia 11%, Serbia 11%, Austria 9%, Slovenia 8% (2019). Imports: $9.71 billion (2020): refined petroleum, cars, packaged medicines, coal, electricity. Major trading partners (imports): Croatia 15%, Serbia 13%, Germany 10%, Italy 9%, Slovenia 7%, China 6% (2019).

    Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 706,135 (2020); mobile cellular: 3,509,674 (2020). Radio broadcast stations: 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 broadcasting stations; 3 large public radio broadcasters and many private radio stations (2019). Internet users: 2,394,995 (2020).

    Transportation: Highways: total: 22,926 km; (2010). Waterways: 990 km (2022) (Sava River on northern border; open to shipping but use limited). Ports and harbors: Bosanska Gradiska, Bosanski Brod, Bosanski Samac, Brcko, Orasje (Sava River). Airports: 24 (2021).

    International disputes: Issues with Serbia regarding sections of the Drina River and the boundaries of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

    Major sources and definitions