"text":"Bosnia and Herzegovina declared sovereignty in October 1991 and independence from the former Yugoslavia on 3 March 1992 after a referendum boycotted by ethnic Serbs. 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 initialed a peace agreement that ended three years of interethnic civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). ++ The Dayton Peace Accords retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a multiethnic and democratic government charged with conducting foreign, diplomatic, and fiscal policy. Also recognized was a second tier of 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 Federation and RS governments are responsible for overseeing most government functions. Additionally, the Dayton Accords established the Office of the High Representative to oversee the implementation of the civilian aspects of the agreement. The Peace Implementation Council at its conference in Bonn in 1997 also gave the High Representative the authority to impose legislation and remove officials, the so-called \"Bonn Powers.\" An original NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops assembled in 1995 was succeeded over time by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR). In 2004, European Union peacekeeping troops (EUFOR) replaced SFOR. Currently, EUFOR deploys around 600 troops in theater in a security assistance and training capacity."
"text":"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; deforestation"
},
"Environment - international agreements":{
"party to":{
"text":"Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands"
},
"signed, but not ratified":{
"text":"none of the selected agreements"
}
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"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 Montenegro, and traditionally has been settled by an ethnic Croat majority in the west and an ethnic Serb majority in the east"
"text":"the methodology remains disputed and Republika Srspka authorities 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 (2013 est.)"
"text":"the larger northern territory is named for the Bosna River; the smaller southern section takes its name from the German word \"herzog,\" meaning \"duke,\" and the ending \"-ovina,\" meaning \"land,\" forming the combination denoting \"dukedom\""
"text":"2 first-order administrative divisions and 1 internationally supervised district* - the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine) (predominantly Bosniak-Croat), the Republika Srpska (predominately Serb), Brcko District (Brcko Distrikt)*; note - Brcko District is in northeastern Bosnia and is a self-governing administrative unit under the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina and formally held in condominium between the two entities"
"text":"National Day (Statehood Day), 25 November (1943); Independence Day, 1 March (1992); note - observed only in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina ++ Dayton Agreement Day, 21 November (2007); note - observed only in the Republika Srpska",
"text":"14 December 1995 (constitution included as part of the Dayton Peace Accords); note - each of the political entities has its own constitution"
},
"amendments":{
"text":"decided by the Parliamentary Assembly, including a two-thirds majority vote of members present in the House of Representatives; the constitutional article on human rights and fundamental freedoms cannot be amended; amended several times, last in 2009 "
"text":"Chairman of the Presidency Mladen IVANIC (chairman since 17 November 2016, presidency member since 17 November 2014 - Serb); Dragan COVIC (presidency member since 17 November 2014 - Croat); Bakir IZETBEGOVIC (presidency member since 10 November 2010 - Bosniak)"
"text":"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 and resumes where it left off following each general election; election last held on 12 October 2014 (next to be held in October 2018); the chairman of the Council of Ministers appointed by the presidency and confirmed by the state-level House of Representatives"
"text":"President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Marinko CAVARA (since 11 February 2015); Vice Presidents Melika MAHMUTBEGOVIC (since 11 February 2015), Milan DUNOVIC (since 11 February 2015); President of the Republika Srpska Milorad DODIK (since 15 November 2010); Vice Presidents Ramiz SALKIC (since 24 November 2014), Josip JERKOVIC (since 24 November 2014)"
"text":"bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the House of Peoples or Dom Naroda (15 seats - 5 Bosniak, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members designated by the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's House of Peoples and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve 4-year terms) and the state-level House of Representatives or Predstavnicki Dom (42 seats to include 28 seats allocated to the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 14 to the Republika Srpska; members directly elected by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms); note - the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina has a bicameral legislature that consists of the House of Peoples (58 seats - 17 Bosniak, 17 Croat, 17 Serb, 7 other) and the House of Representatives (98 seats; members directly elected by proportional representation vote to serve 4-year terms); Republika Srpska's unicameral legislature is the National Assembly (83 directly elected delegates serve 4-year terms)"
"text":"House of Peoples - last constituted in 11 February 2015 (next likely to be constituted in 2019); state-level House of Representatives - election last held on 12 October 2014 (next to be held in October 2018)"
"text":"BiH Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members); Court of BiH (consists of 44 national judges and 7 international judges organized into 3 divisions - Administrative, Appellate, and Criminal, which includes a War Crimes Chamber)"
},
"judge selection and term of office":{
"text":"BiH Constitutional Court judges - 4 selected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives, 2 selected by the Republika Srpska's National Assembly, and 3 non-Bosnian judges selected by the president of the European Court of Human Rights; Court of BiH president and national judges appointed by the High Judicial and Prosecutorial Council; Court of BiH president appointed for renewable 6-year term; other national judges appointed to serve until age 70; international judges recommended by the president of the Court of BiH and appointed by the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina; international judges appointed to serve until age 70"
},
"subordinate courts":{
"text":"the Federation has 10 cantonal courts plus a number of municipal courts; the Republika Srpska has a supreme court, 5 district courts, and a number of municipal courts"
"text":"Alliance for a Better Future of BiH or SBB BiH [Fahrudin RADONCIC] ++ Alliance of Independent Social Democrats or SNSD [Milorad DODIK] ++ Alternative Party for Democratic Activity or A-SDA [Nermin OGRESEVIC] ++ Bosnian-Herzegovinian Patriotic Party-Sefer Halilovic or BPS-Sefer Halilovic [Sefer HALILOVIC] ++ Croat Peasants' Party or HSS [Mario KARAMATIC] ++ Croatian Christian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HKDU [Ivan MUSA] ++ Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HDZ-BiH [Dragan COVIC] ++ Croatian Democratic Union 1990 or HDZ-1990 [acting president Ilija CVITANOVIC] ++ Croatian Party of Rights or HSP BiH [Stanko PRIMORAC] ++ Croatian Party of Rights of Herceg-Bosne or HSP HB [Vesna PINJUH] ++ Croatian People's Party-Liberal Democrats or HNS [Ivan VRDOLJAK] ++ Democratic Front of DF [Zeljko KOMSIC] ++ Democratic Peoples' Alliance or DNS [Marko PAVIC] ++ Party for Democratic Action or SDA [Bakir IZETBEGOVIC] ++ Party of Democratic Progress or PDP [Branislav BORENOVIC] ++ People's Democratic Movement or NDP [Dragan CAVIC] ++ Serb Democratic Party or SDS [Vukota GOVEDARICA] ++ Social Democratic Party or SDP [Nermin NIKSIC]"
"text":"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; the triangle approximates the shape of the country and its three points stand for the constituent peoples - Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs; the stars represent Europe and are meant to be continuous (thus the half stars at top and bottom); the colors (white, blue, and yellow) are often associated with neutrality and peace, and traditionally are linked with Bosnia",
"note":{
"text":"one of several flags where a prominent component of the design reflects the shape of the country; other such flags are those of Brazil, Eritrea, and Vanuatu"
"text":"Bosnia has a transitional economy with limited market reforms. The economy relies heavily on the export of metals, energy, textiles, and furniture as well as on remittances and foreign aid. A highly decentralized government hampers economic policy coordination and reform, while excessive bureaucracy and a segmented market discourage foreign investment. Foreign banks, primarily from Austria and Italy, now control most of the banking sector. The konvertibilna marka (convertible mark or BAM) - the national currency introduced in 1998 - is pegged to the euro, and confidence in the currency and the banking sector has remained stable. ++ ++ Interethnic warfare in Bosnia and Herzegovina caused production to plummet by 80% from 1992 to 1995 and unemployment to soar, but the economy made progress until 2008, when the global economic crisis caused a downturn. Bosnia and Herzegovina became a full member of the Central European Free Trade Agreement in September 2007. ++ ++ Bosnia's private sector is growing slowly, but foreign investment has dropped sharply since 2007. Government spending - including transfer payments - remains high, at roughly 40% of GDP, because of redundant government offices at the national, sub-national, and municipal level. High unemployment remains the most serious macroeconomic problem. Successful implementation of a value-added tax in 2006 provided a steady source of revenue for the government and helped rein in gray-market activity. National-level statistics have also improved over time but a large share of economic activity remains unofficial and unrecorded. ++ ++ Bosnia and Herzegovina's top economic priorities are: acceleration of integration into the EU; strengthening the fiscal system; public administration reform; World Trade Organization membership; and securing economic growth by fostering a dynamic, competitive private sector."
"text":"data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as int"
"text":"post-war reconstruction of the telecommunications network, aided by an internationally sponsored program, resulted in sharp increases in fixed-line telephone availability"
"text":"fixed-line teledensity roughly 20 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has been increasing rapidly and stands at roughly 90 telephones per 100 persons"
"text":"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 bro (2010)"
"text":"Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Oruzanih Snaga Bosne i Hercegovine, OSBiH): Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Air Force and Air Defense (Brigada Zracnih Snaga i Protuzracne Odbrane, br ZSiPZO), Tactical Support Brigade (Brigada Takticke Podrske, br TP) (2015)"
},
"Military service age and obligation":{
"text":"18 years of age for voluntary military service; mandatory retirement at age 35 or after 15 years of service for E-1 through E-4, mandatory retirement at age 50 and 30 years of service for E-5 through E-9, mandatory retirement at age 55 and 30 years of service for all officers (2014)"
},
"Military expenditures":{
"text":"0.98% of GDP (2014) ++ 1.04% of GDP (2013) ++ 1.35% of GDP (2012) ++ 1.15% of GDP (2011) ++ 1.35% of GDP (2010)"
}
},
"Transnational Issues":{
"Disputes - international":{
"text":"Serbia delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but sections along the Drina River remain in dispute"
"text":"98,324 (Bosnian Croats, Serbs, and Bosniaks displaced by inter-ethnic violence, human rights violations, and armed conflict during the 1992-1995 war) (2015)"
"text":"increasingly a transit point for heroin being trafficked to Western Europe; minor transit point for marijuana; remains highly vulnerable to money-laundering activity given a primarily cash-based and unregulated economy, weak law enforcement, and instances of corruption"
