Location Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia

Geographic coordinates 44 00 N, 18 00 E

Map references Europe

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

Area - comparative slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries
total: 1,459 km
border countries: Croatia 932 km, Yugoslavia 527 km

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: 10%
permanent crops: 3%
other: 87% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 20 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards destructive earthquakes

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

Environment - international agreements
party to: Air Pollution, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
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 or RS (about 49% of the territory); the region called Herzegovina is contiguous to Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Montenegro), and traditionally has been settled by an ethnic Croat majority in the west and an ethnic Serb majority in the east

NOTE: The information regarding Bosnia and Herzegovina on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Bosnia and Herzegovina Geography 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Bosnia and Herzegovina Geography 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.