Bosnia and Herzegovina Facts, Bosnia and Herzegovina Flag -- National Geographic

Fast Facts

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
Literacy Percent:: 97

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 From National Geographic Atlas of the World, Eighth Edition

Related Features

Serbs Face the Future

For more than a millennium, migrations and wars have dispersed Serbs across former Yugoslavia, the defunct federation once dominated by Serbia.
The Big Trip: Central Europe

Central Europe's new backcountry cycling routes show off the Old World's wild side.
Amalfi Coast Drive

Wind your way through the villages, beaches, and mountains of Italy's most scenic stretch of coastline.