Bosnia and Herzegovina

I

Introduction

Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnian Bosna i Hercegovina), country in southeastern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Formerly a constituent republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence in March 1992. War then broke out among Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), Croats, and Serbs in the country (see Wars of Yugoslav Succession). At the end of the war, in 1995, Serbs controlled 49 percent of the country’s territory, comprising an area known as the Serb Republic (Republika Srpska). The remaining territory, officially known as the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina), was controlled by a federation of Bosniaks and Croats. Today, the Bosniak-Croat federation and the Serb Republic together constitute the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In reality, since the war the country has remained divided three ways—among the Bosniaks, Croats, and Serbs—despite international attempts to unite it.

In the 14th century the principality of Bosnia joined with a duchy to the south that would eventually be called Herzegovina as part of a short-lived medieval kingdom. The modern-day country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, often referred to simply as Bosnia, is still divided geographically into a northern region of Bosnia and a southern region of Herzegovina. The republic is bounded on the north and west by Croatia and on the east by the republics of Serbia and Montenegro. Bosnia also has 20 km (12 mi) of coastline along the Adriatic Sea, wedged between Croatian territories. The capital and largest city is Sarajevo.

II

Land and Resources

Bosnia has an area of 51,129 sq km (19,741 sq mi). It is a mountainous country. In particular, extensions of the Dinaric Alps, which form Bosnia’s western border with Croatia, traverse the western and southern parts of the republic. The highest peak is Mount Maglič, measuring 2,387 m (7,831 ft), on the border with Montenegro. Much of the republic also lies within the Karst, a barren limestone plateau broken by depressions and ridges. The northern part of the republic is heavily forested, while the south has flatter areas of fertile soil. Those flatter areas are used primarily as farmland.

Bosnia’s principal rivers include the Bosna, the Sava, which flows along the northern frontier, and the Sava’s tributaries, the Una, Drina, and Vrbas. These rivers all flow north; only a few other rivers, notably the Neretva, flow toward the Adriatic Sea. The valleys of the northern rivers widen into the fertile Sava plain, which stretches across the northern third of Bosnia.

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A Mediterranean climate prevails in the south, with sunny, warm summers and mild, rainy winters. A modified continental climate of warm summers and cold winters dominates the northern inland territory. At higher elevations, short, cool summers and long, severe winters with snow are common. The average temperature for Sarajevo, in the continental zone, is -1°C (30°F) in January and 20°C (68°F) in July.

Bosnia’s soils are predominantly brown earths. Beech forests constitute the primary natural vegetation. Among the wildlife found in the country are hares, lynxes, weasels, otters, foxes, wildcats, wolves, gray bears, chamois, deer, eagles, vultures, mouflon (wild sheep), and hawks. Lynxes, weasels, and otters have the status of endangered species.

Bosnia is rich in natural resources. These resources include large tracts of arable land, extensive forests, and valuable deposits of minerals such as salt, manganese, silver, lead, copper, iron ore, chromium, and coal.

Air pollution from metallurgical plants, water shortages, and poor or failing sanitation services are a few of the problems facing the country, but the destruction of its infrastructure because of the civil war that took place from 1992 to 1995 is the most pressing current issue. Most activity since the war’s end has been concentrated on restoring basic needs and services, rather than addressing environmental problems directly. However, despite their preoccupation with rebuilding a war-torn infrastructure, leaders in Bosnia and Herzegovina have not lost sight of environmental issues—the country was an observer at the World Conservation Congress in Montréal in 1996.

III

The People of Bosnia and Herzegovina

In 1991, in the last census taken in Yugoslavia, Bosnia had a population of 4,364,574. Bosnia’s population subsequently decreased during the civil war, which left hundreds of thousands dead and forced many thousands of others to flee. Casualty rates during the war were approximately equal for the ethnic Muslims and Serbs (between 1992 and 1995, 7.4 percent of the prewar Muslim population and 7.1 percent of the prewar Serb population were killed or listed as missing); the casualty rate for the ethnic Croats was much lower. Of the Bosnians who fled, most went to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (now the separate countries of Serbia and Montenegro), Germany, Croatia, and Sweden.

In 2007, the population of Bosnia was estimated to be 4,552,198, giving the country an average population density of 89 persons per sq km (231 per sq mi). In 2005, 45 percent of the population lived in cities and towns. The largest cities are Sarajevo, the capital and an important cultural and commercial center; Zenica; Banja Luka; Mostar; and Tuzla.

A

Ethnic Groups, Religions, and Languages

Bosnia’s major ethnic groups are Bosnian Muslims, Serbs, and Croats. Since 1994 Bosnian Muslims, long considered an ethnic group, have officially been known as Bosniaks. A small number of Roma (Gypsies) also live in Bosnia. In the 1991 census, prior to independence, Muslims represented 44 percent of the population, Serbs 31 percent, Croats 17 percent, Yugoslavs (people of mixed Muslim, Serb, and Croat ancestry) 6 percent, and others 2 percent. The “Yugoslav' identity claimed in 1991 was abandoned when Yugoslavia broke up. In 2003 the government estimated that Bosniaks constituted 73 percent of the population, Croats 22 percent, and Serbs 4 percent.

The primary difference among the largest ethnic groups is religious, the Serbs being traditionally Orthodox Christians and the Croats Roman Catholics. The Bosniaks, descendants of Slavs who converted to Islam in the 15th and 16th centuries, are generally Sunni Muslims (see Sunni Islam). Bosnia also has a small number of Jews.

The people of Bosnia speak the Bosnian language. However, according to the Bosnian government, the country officially has three languages: Serbian, Bosnian (the language associated with Bosniaks), and Croatian. In writing, the Serbs use the Cyrillic alphabet, while Bosniaks and Croats use the Latin alphabet.

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