Economy - overview Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked next to The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia as the poorest republic in the old Yugoslav federation. Although agriculture is almost all in private hands, farms are small and inefficient, and the republic traditionally is a net importer of food. Industry has been greatly overstaffed, one reflection of the socialist economic structure of Yugoslavia. TITO had pushed the development of military industries in the republic with the result that Bosnia hosted a large share of Yugoslavia's defense plants. The bitter interethnic warfare in Bosnia caused production to plummet by 80% from 1990 to 1995, unemployment to soar, and human misery to multiply. With an uneasy peace in place, output recovered in 1996-99 at high percentage rates from a low base; but output growth slowed in 2000 and 2001. GDP remains far below the 1990 level. Economic data are of limited use because, although both entities issue figures, national-level statistics are limited. Moreover, official data do not capture the large share of activity that occurs on the black market. The marka - the national currency introduced in 1998 - is now pegged to the euro, and the Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina has dramatically increased its reserve holdings. Implementation of privatization, however, has been slow, and local entities only reluctantly support national-level institutions. Banking reform accelerated in 2001 as all the communist-era payments bureaus were shut down. The country receives substantial amounts of reconstruction assistance and humanitarian aid from the international community but will have to prepare for an era of declining assistance.

GDP purchasing power parity - $7 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 6% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 16%
industry: 28%
services: 56% (1998 est.)

Population below poverty line NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 5% (2001 est.)

Labor force 1.026 million

Labor force - by occupation agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%

Unemployment rate 40% (2001 est.)

Budget
revenues: $1.9 billion
expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)

Industries steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances, oil refining

Industrial production growth rate 9% (2001 est.)

Electricity - production 2.615 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel: 37.67%
hydro: 62.33%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption 2.577 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports 205 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports 350 million kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock

Exports $1.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)

Exports - commodities miscellaneous manufactures, crude materials

Exports - partners Croatia, Switzerland, Italy, Germany

Imports $3.1 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)

Imports - commodities machinery and transport equipment, industrial products, foodstuffs

Imports - partners Croatia, Slovenia, Germany, Italy

Debt - external $2.8 billion (2001)

Economic aid - recipient $650 million (2001 est.)

Currency marka (BAM)

Currency code BAM

Exchange rates marka per US dollar - 2.161 (October 2001), 2.124 (2000), 1.837 (1999), 1.760 (1998), 1.734 (1997)

Fiscal year calendar year

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 Government 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Bosnia and Herzegovina Government 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.