1992 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1992 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along coast
Coastline
20 km
Comparative area
slightly larger than Tennessee
Contiguous zone
NA nm
Continental shelf
20-meter depth
Disputes
Serbia and Croatia seek to cantonize Bosnia and Herzegovina; Muslim majority being forced from many areas
Environment
air pollution from metallurgical plants; water scarce; sites for disposing of urban waste are limited; subject to frequent and destructive earthquakes
Exclusive economic zone
12 nm
Exclusive fishing zone
12 nm
Land area
51,233 km2
Land boundaries
1,369 km; Croatia (northwest) 751 km, Croatia (south) 91 km, Serbia and Montenegro 527 km
Land use
20% arable land; 2% permanent crops; 25% meadows and pastures; 36% forest and woodland; 16% other; includes 1% irrigated
Natural resources
coal, iron, bauxite, manganese, timber, wood products, copper, chromium, lead, zinc
Note
Controls large percentage of important land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits
Terrain
mountains and valleys
Territorial sea
12 nm
Total area
51,233 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
14.5 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate
6.5 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Ethnic divisions
Muslim 44%, Serb 33%, Croat 17%
Infant mortality rate
15.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force
1,026,254; 2% agriculture, industry, mining 45% (1991 est.)
Languages
Serbo-Croatian 99%
Life expectancy at birth
68 years male, 73 years female (1980-82)
Literacy
85.5% (male 94.5%, female 76.7%) age 10 and over can read and write (1981 est.)
Nationality
noun - Muslim, Serb, Croat (s); adjective - Muslim, Serbian, Croatian
Net migration rate
NA migrants/1,000 population (1991)
Organized labor
NA
Population
4,364,000 (July 1991), growth rate 0.5% (1991)
Religions
Slavic Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%
Total fertility rate
NA children born/woman (1991)
Government
Administrative divisions
NA
Capital
Sarajevo
Chief of State
President Alija IZETBEGOVIC (since December 1990), Vice President NA
Constitution
NA
Diplomatic representation
NA
Elections
NA
Executive branch
president, prime minister, deputy prime minister
Flag
NA
Head of Government
Prime Minister Jore PELIVAN (since January 1991), Deputy Prime Minister Muhamed CENGIC and Rusmir MAHMUTCEHAJIC (since January 1991)
Independence
December 1918; April 1992 from Yugoslavia
Judicial branch
NA
Legal system
based on civil law system
Legislative branch
NA
Long-form name
none
Member of
CSCE
National holiday
NA
Other political or pressure groups
NA
Political parties and leaders
Party of Democratic Action, Alija IZETBEGOVIC; Croatian Democratic Union, Mate BOBAN; Serbian Democratic Party, Radovah KARADZIC; Muslim Bosnian Organization, Muhamed Zulfikar PASIC; Socialist Democratic Party, Nijaz DURAKOVIC
Suffrage
at age 16 if employed; universal at age 18
Type
emerging democracy
Economy
Agriculture
accounted for 8.6% of national income in 1989; regularly produces less than 50% of food needs; the foothills of northern Bosnia support orchards, vineyards, livestock, and some wheat and corn; long winters and heavy precipitation leach soil fertility reducing agricultural output in the mountains; farms are mostly privately held, small, and not very productive
Budget
revenues $NA million; expenditures $NA million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (19__)
Currency
none; note - Croatian dinar used in ethnic Croat areas, Yugoslav dinar used in all other areas
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-87), $NA billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-86), $NA million; Communist countries (1971-86), $NA million
Electricity
14,400 million kW capacity; NA million kWh produced, 3,303 kWh per capita (1991)
Exchange rates
NA
Exports
$2,054 million (1990) commodities: manufactured goods (31%), machinery and transport equipment (20.8%), raw materials (18%), miscellaneous manufactured articles (17.3%), chemicals (9.4%), fuel and lubricants (1.4%), food and live animals (1.2%) partners: principally the other former Yugoslav republics
External debt
NA
Fiscal year
calendar year
GDP
$14 billion; real growth rate --37% (1991)
Illicit drugs
NA
Imports
$1,891 million (1990) commodities: fuels and lubricants (32%), machinery and transport equipment (23.3%), other manufactures (21.3%), chemicals (10%), raw materials (6.7%), food and live animals (5.5%), beverages and tobacco (1.9%) partners: principally the other former Yugoslav republics
Industrial production
sharply down because of interethnic and interrepublic warfare (1991-92)
Industries
steel production, mining (coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, and bauxite), manufacturing (vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, 40% of former Yugoslavia's armaments including tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances), oil refining
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
80% per month (1991)
Overview
Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked next to Macedonia as the poorest component in the old Yugoslav federation. Although agriculture has been almost all in private hands, farms have been small and inefficient, and the republic traditionally has been a net importer of food. Industry has been greatly overstaffed, one reflection of the rigidities of Communist central planning and management. Tito had pushed the development of military industries in the republic with the result that Bosnia hosted a large share of Yugoslavia's defense plants. As of April 1992, the newly independent republic was being torn apart by bitter interethnic warfare that has caused production to plummet, unemployment and inflation to soar, and human misery to multiply. The survival of the republic as a political and economic unit is in doubt. Both Serbia and Croatia have imposed various economic blockades and may permanently take over large areas populated by fellow ethnic groups. These areas contain most of the industry. If a much smaller core Muslim state survives, it will share many Third World problems of poverty, technological backwardness, and dependence on historically soft foreign markets for its primary products. In these circumstances, other Muslim countries might offer assistance.
Unemployment rate
28% (February 1992 est.)
Communications
Airports
2 main, NA usable; NA with permanent-surface runways; NA with runways over 3,659 m; NA with runways 2,440-3,659 m; NA with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
NA major transport aircraft
Highways
21,168 km total (1991); 11,436 km paved, 8,146 km gravel, 1,586 km earth
Inland waterways
NA km perennially navigable
Merchant marine
NA ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling NA GRT/NA DWT; includes NA cargo, NA container, NA liquefied gas, NA petroleum tanker
Pipelines
crude oil 174 km, petroleum products NA km, natural gas NA km
Ports
maritime - none; inland - Bosanski Brod
Railroads
NA km all 1.000-meter gauge (includes NA km electrified)
Telecommunications
Bosnia's telephone and telegraph network is in need of modernization and expansion, many urban areas being below average compared with services in other former Yugoslav republics; 727,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 9 AM, 2 FM, 6 (0 repeaters) TV; 840,000 radios; 1,012,094 TVs; NA submarine coaxial cables; satellite ground stations - none
Military and Security
Branches
Territorial Defense Force
Defense expenditures
$NA, NA% of GDP
Manpower availability
males 15-49, NA; NA fit for military service; 39,000 reach military age (18) annually