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Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina Facts Map
Photo: Bosnia and Herzegovina
Mostar's 16th century Ottoman bridge was destroyed during the 1992-95 civil war. Rebuilt in 2004, it is a hopeful link between the wary Croat and Muslim communities on opposite sides of the river.
Photograph by Robert Everts/Getty Images
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Bosnia and Herzegovina Information and History

In mountainous southeastern Europe, Bosnia's Muslims, or Bosniacs, trace their ancestry to Christian Slavs who converted to Islam under the Ottomans for tax and landholding advantages. Yugoslavia recognized Bosniacs as a separate people in 1969. Muslim Slavs and Roman Catholic Croats voted in early 1992 for independence from Yugoslavia; most Eastern Orthodox Serbs were fiercely opposed. In the ensuing 1992-95 civil war, some 250,000 people died. The Dayton Peace Accord ended the war and partitioned the country into a Muslim-Croat region and a Serbian region (Serbian Republic). High unemployment and ethnic tensions continue to hamper the country.

ECONOMY

Industry: steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, vehicle assembly.
Agriculture: wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock.
Exports: metals, clothing, wood products.

Text source: National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition, 2004
Bosnia and Herzegovina Flag and Fast Facts
Flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Population
3,840,000
Capital
Sarajevo; 579,000
Area
51,129 square kilometers
(19,741 square miles)
Language
Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian
Religion
Muslim, Orthodox, Roman Catholic
Currency
marka
Life Expectancy
72
GDP per Capita
U.S. $1,900
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