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 number of Yugoslavia's defense plants. The interethnic warfare in Bosnia caused production to plummet by 80% from 1992 to 1995 and unemployment to soar. With an uneasy peace in place, output recovered in 1996-99 at high percentage rates from a low base; but output growth slowed in 2000-02. Part of the lag in output was made up in 2003-04. National-level statistics are limited. Moreover, official data do not capture the large share of black market activity. The konvertibilna marka (convertible mark or BAM)- 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.
Agriculture Products
wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock
Industries
steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances, oil refining (2001)
Industrial Production Growth Rate
5.5% (2003 est.)
Labor Force
1.026 million (2001)
Electricity production
9.979 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity Consumption
8.116 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity Exports
2.569 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity Imports
1.405 billion kWh (2001)
Unemployment Rate
40% (2002 est.)
Population Below Poverty Line
NA (2004 est.)
Household Income or Consumption by Percentage Share
Lowest 10%: NA
Highest 10%: NA
Budget
Revenues: $3.271 billion
Expenditures: $3.242 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
Commercial Bank Prime Lending Rate
Market Value of Publicly Traded Shares
Reserves of Foreign Exchange and Gold
Debt External
$3.5 billion (2003)
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment at Home
Stock of Direct Foreign Investment Abroad
Exchange Rates
marka per US dollar - 1.7329 (2003), 1.7329 (2002), 2.1857 (2001), 2.1244 (2000), 1.8371 (1999)
