Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia

Geographic coordinates: 44 00 N, 18 00 E

Map references: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europe

Area:
total: 51,129 sq km
land: 51,129 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries:
total: 1,459 km
border countries: Croatia 932 km, Serbia and Montenegro 527 km (312 km with Serbia, 215 km with Montenegro)
Coastline: 20 km

Maritime claims: NA

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

Terrain: mountains and valleys

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maglic 2,386 m
Natural resources: coal, iron, bauxite, manganese, forests, copper, chromium, lead, zinc, hydropower

Land use:
arable land: 14%
permanent crops: 5%
permanent pastures: 20%
forests and woodland: 39%
other: 22% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes

Environment - current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants; sites for disposing of urban waste are limited; widespread casualties, water shortages, and destruction of infrastructure because of the 1992-95 civil strife

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note: 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 [RS] (about 49% of the territory); the region called Herzegovina is contiguous to Croatia and traditionally has been settled by an ethnic Croat majority

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Population: 3,835,777
note: all data dealing with population are subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 20% (male 401,554; female 379,303)
15-64 years: 71% (male 1,403,618; female 1,323,307)
65 years and over: 9% (male 138,173; female 189,822) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.1% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 12.92 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 7.87 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: 25.92 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 25.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 71.49 years
male: 68.78 years
female: 74.38 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.71 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s)
adjective: Bosnian, Herzegovinian

Ethnic groups: Serb 31%, Bosniak 44%, Croat 17%, Yugoslav 5.5%, other 2.5% (1991)
note: Bosniak has replaced muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam

Religions: Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other 10%

Languages: Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian

Literacy:
definition: NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%

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Telephones - main lines in use: 238,000 (1995)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 4,000 (1999)

Telephone system: telephone and telegraph network is in need of modernization and expansion; many urban areas are below average when compared with services in other former Yugoslav republics
domestic: NA
international: no satellite earth stations

Radio broadcast stations: AM 8, FM 16, shortwave 1 (1998)

Radios: 940,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 33 (plus 292 repeaters) (September 1995)

Televisions: NA

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (1999)

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Railways:
total: 1,021 km (electrified 795 km; operating as diesel or steam until grids are repaired)
standard gauge: 1,021 km 1.435-m gauge (1995); note - some segments still need repair and/or reconstruction

Highways:
total: 21,846 km
paved: 11,425 km
unpaved: 10,421 km (1996 est.)
note: roads need maintenance and repair

Waterways: NA km; large sections of the Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris

Pipelines: crude oil 174 km; natural gas 90 km (1992); note - pipelines now disrupted

Ports and harbors: Bosanska Gradiska, Bosanski Brod, Bosanski Samac, and Brcko (all inland waterway ports on the Sava none of which are fully operational), Orasje

Merchant marine: none (1999 est.)
Airports: 27 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 9
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
under 914 m: 3 (1999 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 18
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 10 (1999 est.)

Heliports: 4 (1999 est.)

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