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Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina
General information
Common nameBosnia and Herzegovina
Local name 
 
Name 
 
Anthem

Državna himna Bosne i Hercegovine / Државна химна Босне и Херцеговине
The National Anthem of Bosnia and Herzegovina
CapitalSarajevo
Largest citycapital
Official languagesBosnian, Serbian, Croatian
Ethnic groups48.0% Bosniaks,
37.1% Serbs,
14.3% Croats,
0.6% others (2000)
DemonymBosnians, Herzegovinians
Government
GovernmentFederal democratic republic
High RepresentativeValentin Inzko1
Presidency membersBakir Izetbegović2
Nebojša Radmanović3
Željko Komšić4
Chairman of the Council of MinistersNikola Špirić
IndependenceIndependence
First mentioned De Administrando Imperio950
Banate1154
Kingdom1377
Independence lost
 to Ottoman Empire conquest
1463
Bosnian uprising1831
Jurisdiction transferred
 to Austro-Hungarian Empire
1878
Annexation of Bosnia by Austro-Hungarian Empire1908
National DayNovember 25, 1943 (ZAVNOBIH)
Independence Day (from SFR Yugoslavia)March 1, 1992
Geography
Total Area19741 sq mi (51129.2 km2) (127th)
Demography
Population Est.3,843,126 (129th5)
Population census4377033 (1991)
Density (pop.)74.9/km2 (129th5) (194/sq mi)
Economy
GDP PPP$31.366 billion (2011)
GDP (PPP) per capita$8,063
GDP (nominal)$18.294 billion (2011)
GDP (nominal) per capita$4,702
Other information
Gini34.1 (2007)
HDI(+) 0.710 (2010) (high) (68th)
CurrencyConvertible Mark (BAM)
Time zoneCET (UTC+1)
- Summer (DST)CEST (UTC+2)
Drives on theright
Internet TLD.ba
Calling code387

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(Bosnian, Serbian, & Croatian: Босна и Херцеговина or Bosna i Hercegovina ), sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the 26 km (16.2 mi) of coastline on the Adriatic Sea surrounding the town of Neum. In the central and southern interior of the country the geography is mountainous, in the northwest it is moderately hilly, and the northeast is predominantly flatland. The inland is a geographically larger region and has a moderate continental climate, bookended by hot summers and cold and snowy winters. The southern tip of the country has a Mediterranean climate and plain topography.

The country is home to three ethnic groups, or so-called constituent peoples, a term unique for Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bosniaks are the largest group of the three, with Serbs second and Croats third. Regardless of ethnicity, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina is often identified in English as a Bosnian. The terms Herzegovinian and Bosnian are maintained as a regional rather than ethnic distinction, and Herzegovina has no precisely defined borders of its own. Moreover, the country was called just "Bosnia" (without Herzegovina) until Austro-Hungarian occupation at the end of the nineteenth century.

Formerly one of the six federal units constituting the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina gained its independence during the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a parliamentary republic, which has a bicameral legislature and a three-member Presidency composed of a member of each major ethnic group. However, the central government's power is highly limited, as the country is largely decentralized and comprises two autonomous entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, with a third region, the Brčko District, governed under local government. The country is a potential candidate for membership to the European Union and has been a candidate for NATO membership since April 2010, when it received a Membership Action Plan at the summit in Tallinn. Additionally, the country has been a member of the Council of Europe since 24 April 2002 and a founding member of the Mediterranean Union upon its establishment on 13 July 2008. On 1 January 2010, the country started a 2-year term as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council.


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