World Country Guide

General Information

Area
51,129 sq km (19,741 sq miles).

Population
4,126,000 (UN estimate 2002).

Population Density
80.7 per sq km.

Capital
Sarajevo. Population: 416,497 (1991).

Geography
Roughly triangular in shape, and the geopolitical centre of the former Yugoslav Federation, Bosnia & Herzegovina shares borders with Serbia & Montenegro in the east and southeast, and Croatia to the north and west, with a short Adriatic coastline of 20km (12 miles) in the southeast, but no ports.

Government
Parliamentary Democracy. Under the terms of the 1995 Dayton Peace agreement, Bosnia & Herzegovina consists of two entities: Federacija Bosne i Hercegovine (the Federation of Bosnia & Herzegovina) and Republika Srpska (the Serbian Republic). Each has its own president, although there is also a three-member rotating presidency, elected every four years. The presidency then appoints a Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Heads of State: The presidency of Bosnia & Herzegovina consists of two Members and one Chairperson: one Bosniak, one Serb and one Croat. Current Members and Chairman are: Dragan Covic (since 2002), Sulejman Tihic (since 2002) and Borislav Paravac (since 2003). The chair rotates every eight months. Head of Government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Adnan Terzic (since 2003).

Language
The official languages are Bosnian, Serbian and Croatian. The Croats and Bosniaks use the Latin alphabet, whereas the Serbs use the Cyrillic.

Religion
40 per cent Muslim, 31 per cent Orthodox, 15 per cent Roman Catholic, 4 per cent Protestant and 10 per cent other denominations and religions.

Time
GMT + 1 (GMT + 2 from last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October).

Electricity
220 volts AC, 50Hz. Two-pin plugs are in use.

Communications

Telephone
Country code: 387. Outgoing international code: 99. The national network of telecommunications is operated by bh telecom (website: www.telecom.ba).

Mobile telephone
GSM 900 network. Coverage is reasonable. Network operators include GSMBIH, Mobilna Srpske and Eronet (website: www.eronet.ba).

Internet
Local ISPs include bih.net (website: www.bih.net.ba) and Inecco (website: www.inecco.net). There are few Internet cafes, however, hotels might provide facilities.

Post
International and internal postal services are now fully restored. BH Post (tel: (33) 252 613; website: www.bhp.ba) is the government-run postal service and the only internationally recognised service in the country. HPT Mostar is the local Croatian postal service, while Srpske Poste is maintained by the Serbian government in Banja Luka. Post office hours: Generally Monday to Friday 1000-1700. Normal post takes approximately one week to reach its destination, while heavier packages could take up to 10 days. Coins, bank notes, precious metals and stones, narcotics, alcohol, firearms and ammunition are not permitted to be sent by mail.

Press
The main newspaper for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dnevni Avaz, is published in Sarajevo. Serbian newspapers include Glas Srpski and Nezavisne Novine, both published in Banja Luka. Dnevni List and the weekly Hratska Rijec are Croatian-language papers, published in Banja Luka and Sarajevo respectively.

Radio
BBC World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov) can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online.