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. 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 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.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $24.39 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
3.8% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $6,100 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 13%
industry: 40.9%
services: 46.1% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line:
NA% (2003 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
3.5% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
1.026 million (2001)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate:
40% (2002 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 (2001)
Industrial production growth rate:
5.5% (2003 est.)
Electricity - production:
9.979 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 53.5%
hydro: 46.5%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
8.116 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
2.569 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
1.405 billion kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
20,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA
Oil - imports:
NA
Natural gas - production:
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
300 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
300 million cu m (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products:
wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock
Exports:
$1.28 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities:
metals, clothing, wood products
Exports - partners:
Italy 31.4%, Croatia 17.8%, Germany 13%, Austria 10%, Slovenia 7.1%, Greece 4.2% (2002)
Imports:
$4.7 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs
Imports - partners:
Croatia 22.8%, Slovenia 15.3%, Germany 13.7%, Italy 12.6%, Hungary 7.6%, Austria 7.4% (2002)
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 - 1.73 (2003), 1.73 (2002), 2.19 (2001), 2.12 (2000), 1.84 (1999)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
