Bosnia and Herzegovina:
Economy

Other pages in this profile of Bosnia and Herzegovina:
Geography, People, Government, Communications & Transportation, Military & Transnational Issues.


Economy - overview	Definition Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked next to 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. The private sector is growing and foreign investment is slowly increasing, but government spending, at nearly 40% of adjusted GDP, remains unreasonably high. 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 2003-07 when GDP growth exceeded 5% per year. National-level statistics are limited and do not capture the large share of black market activity. The konvertibilna marka (convertible mark or BAM)- the national currency introduced in 1998 - is pegged to the euro, and confidence in the currency and the banking sector has increased. Implementing privatization, however, has been slow, particularly in the Federation, although more successful in the Republika Srpska. Banking reform accelerated in 2001 as all the Communist-era payments bureaus were shut down; foreign banks, primarily from Western Europe, now control most of the banking sector. A sizeable current account deficit and high unemployment rate remain the two most serious macroeconomic problems. On 1 January 2006 a new value-added tax (VAT) went into effect. The VAT has been successful in capturing much of the gray market economy and has developed into a significant and predictable source of revenues for all layers of government. Bosnia and Herzegovina became a full member of the Central European Free Trade Agreement in September 2007. The country receives substantial reconstruction assistance and humanitarian aid from the international community but will have to prepare for an era of declining assistance.
GDP (purchasing power parity)	Definition - World rank and map $27.73 billion note: Bosnia has a large informal sector that could also be as much as 50% of official GDP (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)	Definition $14.78 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	Definition - World rank and map 5.8% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita	Definition - World rank and map $7,000 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	Definition agriculture: 10.2% industry: 23.9% services: 66% (2006 est.)
Labor force	Definition 1.026 million (2001)
Labor force - by occupation	Definition agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%
Unemployment rate	Definition - World rank and map 45.5% official rate; grey economy may reduce actual unemployment to 25-30% (31 December 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	Definition 25% (2004 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	Definition lowest 10%: 3.9% highest 10%: 21.4% (2001)
Distribution of family income - Gini index	Definition - World rank and map 26.2 (2001)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	Definition - World rank and map 1.3% (2007 est.)
Budget	Definition revenues: $7.166 billion expenditures: $7.094 billion (2007 est.)
Public debt	Definition - World rank and map 34% of GDP (2007 est.)
Agriculture - products	Definition wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock
Industries	Definition 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	Definition - World rank and map 6.7% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production	Definition - World rank and map 12.22 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 8.574 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - consumption per capita	Definition - World rank and map 1,867.9 kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports	Definition 3.58 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports	Definition 2.174 billion kWh (2005)
Oil - production	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 26,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption per 1,000 people	Definition - World rank and map 5.7 bbl/day (2005 est.)
Oil - exports	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - imports	Definition - World rank and map 24,940 bbl/day (2004)
Oil - proved reserves	Definition - World rank and map 0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
Natural gas - production	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption	Definition - World rank and map 383.6 million cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - consumption per capita	Definition - World rank and map 84 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - exports	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (2005 est.)
Natural gas - imports	Definition - World rank and map 383.6 million cu m (2005)
Natural gas - proved reserves	Definition - World rank and map 0 cu m (1 January 2006)
Current account balance	Definition - World rank and map -$1.92 billion (2007 est.)
Exports	Definition - World rank and map $4.243 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities	Definition metals, clothing, wood products
Exports - partners	Definition Croatia 21%, Slovenia 16.5%, Italy 16.1%, Germany 13.4%, Austria 9.6%, Hungary 5.7% (2006)
Imports	Definition - World rank and map $9.947 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities	Definition machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs
Imports - partners	Definition Croatia 24.7%, Slovenia 13.3%, Germany 13.1%, Italy 10.4%, Austria 7%, Turkey 6.5%, Hungary 5.4% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold	Definition - World rank and map $4.525 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external	Definition - World rank and map $6.7 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares	Definition $NA
Economic aid - recipient	Definition $546.1 million (2005 est.)
Currency (code)	Definition konvertibilna marka (convertible mark) (BAM)
Exchange rates	Definition konvertibilna maraka per US dollar - 1.4419 (2007), 1.5576 (2006), 1.5727 (2005), 1.5752 (2004), 1.7329 (2003) note: the convertible mark is pegged to the euro
Fiscal year	Definition calendar year

Bosnia and Herzegovina: Economy

Bosnia and Herzegovina:
Economy