United Kingdom (2008) | Bosnia and Herzegovina (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | England: 34 two-tier counties, 32 London boroughs and 1 City of London or Greater London, 36 metropolitan counties, 46 unitary authorities
two-tier counties: Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cornwall and Isles of Scilly, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset, Durham, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, North Yorkshire, Northamptonshire, Northumberland, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, Somerset, Staffordshire, Suffolk, Surrey, Warwickshire, West Sussex, Wiltshire, Worcestershire London boroughs and City of London or Greater London: Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Bexley, Brent, Bromley, Camden, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Hackney, Hammersmith and Fulham, Haringey, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Kingston upon Thames, Lambeth, Lewisham, City of London, Merton, Newham, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Southwark, Sutton, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest, Wandsworth, Westminster metropolitan counties: Barnsley, Birmingham, Bolton, Bradford, Bury, Calderdale, Coventry, Doncaster, Dudley, Gateshead, Kirklees, Knowlsey, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, Oldham, Rochdale, Rotherham, Salford, Sandwell, Sefton, Sheffield, Solihull, South Tyneside, St. Helens, Stockport, Sunderland, Tameside, Trafford, Wakefield, Walsall, Wigan, Wirral, Wolverhampton unitary authorities: Bath and North East Somerset, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bournemouth, Bracknell Forest, Brighton and Hove, City of Bristol, Darlington, Derby, East Riding of Yorkshire, Halton, Hartlepool, County of Herefordshire, Ile of Wight, City of Kingston upon Hull, Leicester, Luton, Medway, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, North Somerset, Nottingham, Peterborough, Plymouth, Poole, Portsmouth, Reading, Redcar and Cleveland, Rutland, Slough, South Gloucestershire, Southampton, Southend-on-Sea, Stockton-on-Tees, Stoke-on-Trent, Swindon, Telford and Wrekin, Thurrock, Torbay, Warrington, West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham, York Northern Ireland: 26 district council areas district council areas: Antrim, Ards, Armagh, Ballymena, Ballymoney, Banbridge, Belfast, Carrickfergus, Castlereagh, Coleraine, Cookstown, Craigavon, Derry, Down, Dungannon, Fermanagh, Larne, Limavady, Lisburn, Magherafelt, Moyle, Newry and Mourne, Newtownabbey, North Down, Omagh, Strabane Scotland: 32 unitary authorities unitary authorities: Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries and Galloway, Dundee City, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, City of Edinburgh, Eilean Siar (Western Isles), Falkirk, Fife, Glasgow City, Highland, Inverclyde, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney Islands, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Shetland Islands, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, Stirling, The Scottish Borders, West Dunbartonshire, West Lothian Wales: 22 unitary authorities unitary authorities: Blaenau Gwent; Bridgend; Caerphilly; Cardiff; Carmarthenshire; Ceredigion; Conwy; Denbighshire; Flintshire; Gwynedd; Isle of Anglesey; Merthyr Tydfil; Monmouthshire; Neath Port Talbot; Newport; Pembrokeshire; Powys; Rhondda, Cynon, Taff; Swansea; The Vale of Glamorgan; Torfaen; Wrexham |
there are two first-order administrative divisions and one internationally supervised district* - Brcko district (Brcko Distrikt)*, the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska; note - Brcko district is in northeastern Bosnia and is an administrative unit under the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina; the district remains under international supervision |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 17.2% (male 5,349,053/female 5,095,837)
15-64 years: 67% (male 20,605,031/female 20,104,313) 65 years and over: 15.8% (male 4,123,464/female 5,498,540) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 19.4% (male 397,810; female 377,005)
15-64 years: 70.5% (male 1,439,383; female 1,372,891) 65 years and over: 10.1% (male 171,643; female 230,286) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cereals, oilseed, potatoes, vegetables; cattle, sheep, poultry; fish | wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock |
Airports | 449 (2007) | 32 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 310
over 3,047 m: 8 2,438 to 3,047 m: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 131 914 to 1,523 m: 79 under 914 m: 59 (2007) |
total: 14
2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1523 m: 1 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 139
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 113 (2007) |
total: 18
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2002) |
Area | total: 244,820 sq km
land: 241,590 sq km water: 3,230 sq km note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands |
total: 51,129 sq km
land: 51,129 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly smaller than West Virginia |
Background | As the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars and the Irish republic withdraw from the union. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999, but the latter was suspended until May 2007 due to wrangling over the peace process. | Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of sovereignty in October 1991, was followed by a declaration of independence from the former Yugoslavia on 3 March 1992 after a referendum boycotted by ethnic Serbs. The Bosnian Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia and Montenegro - responded with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to form a "greater Serbia." In March 1994, Bosniaks and Croats reduced the number of warring factions from three to two by signing an agreement creating a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties initialed a peace agreement that brought to a halt three years of interethnic civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). The Dayton Agreement retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a joint multi-ethnic and democratic government. This national government was charged with conducting foreign, economic, and fiscal policy. Also recognized was a second tier of government comprised of two entities roughly equal in size: the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska (RS). The Federation and RS governments were charged with overseeing internal functions. In 1995-96, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops served in Bosnia to implement and monitor the military aspects of the agreement. IFOR was succeeded by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) whose mission is to deter renewed hostilities. SFOR remains in place although troop levels were reduced to approximately 12,000 by the close of 2002. |
Birth rate | 10.67 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 12.65 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.155 trillion
expenditures: $1.237 trillion (2007 est.) |
revenues: $1.9 billion
expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | name: London
geographic coordinates: 51 30 N, 0 10 W time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Sarajevo |
Climate | temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast | hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along coast |
Coastline | 12,429 km | 20 km |
Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, included a new constitution now in force; note - each of the entities also has its own constitution |
Country name | conventional long form: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; note - Great Britain includes England, Scotland, and Wales
conventional short form: United Kingdom abbreviation: UK |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina local long form: none local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina |
Currency | - | marka (BAM) |
Death rate | 10.09 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.21 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $10.45 trillion (30 June 2007) | $2.8 billion (2001) |
Dependent areas | Anguilla, Bermuda, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Robert Holmes TUTTLE
embassy: 24 Grosvenor Square, London, W1A 1AE mailing address: PSC 801, Box 40, FPO AE 09498-4040 telephone: [44] (0) 20 7499-9000 FAX: [44] (0) 20 7629-9124 consulate(s) general: Belfast, Edinburgh |
chief of mission: Ambassador Clifford G. BOND
embassy: Alipasina 43, 71000 Sarajevo mailing address: use street address telephone: [387] (33) 445-700 FAX: [387] (33) 659-722 branch office(s): Banja Luka, Mostar |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Sir Nigel E. SHEINWALD
chancery: 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-6500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-7870 consulate(s) general: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco consulate(s): Denver, Orlando |
chief of mission: Ambassador Igor DAVIDOVIC
chancery: 2109 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 337-1500 FAX: [1] (202) 337-1502 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | in 2002, Gibraltar residents voted overwhelmingly by referendum to reject any "shared sovereignty" arrangement between the UK and Spain; the Government of Gibraltar insists on equal participation in talks between the two countries; Spain disapproves of UK plans to grant Gibraltar greater autonomy; Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago (British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants since their eviction in 1965; most Chagossians reside in Mauritius, and in 2001 were granted UK citizenship, where some have since resettled; in May 2006, the High Court of London reversed the UK Government's 2004 orders of council that banned habitation on the islands; UK rejects sovereignty talks requested by Argentina, which still claims the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; territorial claim in Antarctica (British Antarctic Territory) overlaps Argentine claim and partially overlaps Chilean claim; Iceland, the UK, and Ireland dispute Denmark's claim that the Faroe Islands' continental shelf extends beyond 200 nm | Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia and Montenegro have delimited about half of their boundary, but sections along the Drina River remain in dispute; discussions continue with Croatia on problem sections of the Una River and villages at the base of Mount Pljesevica |
Economic aid - donor | ODA, $10.7 billion (2005) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $650 million (2001 est.) |
Economy - overview | The UK, a leading trading power and financial center, is one of the quintet of trillion dollar economies of Western Europe. Over the past two decades, the government has greatly reduced public ownership and contained the growth of social welfare programs. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanized, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with less than 2% of the labor force. The UK has large coal, natural gas, and oil reserves; primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Services, particularly banking, insurance, and business services, account by far for the largest proportion of GDP while industry continues to decline in importance. Since emerging from recession in 1992, Britain's economy has enjoyed the longest period of expansion on record; growth has remained in the 2-3% range since 2004, outpacing most of Europe. The economy's strength has complicated the Labor government's efforts to make a case for Britain to join the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Critics point out that the economy is doing well outside of EMU, and public opinion polls show a majority of Britons are opposed to the euro. The BROWN government has been speeding up the improvement of education, health services, and affordable housing at a cost in higher taxes and a widening public deficit. | 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 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 2000-02. 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 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 348.7 billion kWh (2005) | 8.116 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 2.839 billion kWh (2005) | 2.569 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 11.16 billion kWh (2005) | 1.405 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 372.6 billion kWh (2005) | 9.979 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 53.5%
hydro: 46.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: The Fens -4 m
highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m |
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maglic 2,386 m |
Environment - current issues | continues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (has met Kyoto Protocol target of a 12.5% reduction from 1990 levels and intends to meet the legally binding target and move toward a domestic goal of a 20% cut in emissions by 2010); by 2005 the government reduced the amount of industrial and commercial waste disposed of in landfill sites to 85% of 1998 levels and recycled or composted at least 25% of household waste, increasing to 33% by 2015 | 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, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 |
Ethnic groups | white (of which English 83.6%, Scottish 8.6%, Welsh 4.9%, Northern Irish 2.9%) 92.1%, black 2%, Indian 1.8%, Pakistani 1.3%, mixed 1.2%, other 1.6% (2001 census) | Serb 37.1%, Bosniak 48%, Croat 14.3%, other 0.6% (2000)
note: Bosniak has replaced Muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam |
Exchange rates | British pounds per US dollar - 0.4993 (2007), 0.5418 (2006), 0.5493 (2005), 0.5462 (2004), 0.6125 (2003) | marka per US dollar - NA (2002), 2.19 (2001), 2.12 (2000), 1.84 (1999), 1.76 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the queen, born 14 November 1948)
head of government: Prime Minister Gordon BROWN (since 27 June 2007) cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: none; the monarchy is hereditary; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually the prime minister |
chief of state: Chairman of the Presidency Dragan COVIC (chairman since 27 June 2003; presidency member since 5 October 2002 - Croat) other members of the three-member rotating (every eight months) presidency: Sulejman TIHIC (since 5 October 2002 - Bosniak) and Borislav PARAVAC (since 10 April 2003 - Serb); note - Mirko SAROVIC resigned 2 April 2003
head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Adnan TERZIC (since 20 December 2002), cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairman; approved by the National House of Representatives elections: the three members of the presidency (one Bosniak, one Croat, one Serb) are elected by popular vote for a four-year term; the member with the most votes becomes the chairman unless he or she was the incumbent chairman at the time of the election, but the chairmanship rotates every eight months; election last held 5 October 2002 (next to be held NA 2006); the chairman of the Council of Ministers is appointed by the presidency and confirmed by the National House of Representatives election results: percent of vote - Mirko SAROVIC with 35.5% of the Serb vote was elected chairman of the collective presidency for the first eight months; Dragan COVIC received 61.5% of the Croat vote; Sulejman TIHIC received 37% of the Bosniak vote note: President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Niko LOZANCIC (since 27 January 2003); Vice Presidents Sahbaz DZIHANOVIC (since NA 2003) and Desnica RADIVOJEVIC (since NA 2003); President of the Republika Srpska: Dragan COVIC (since 28 November 2002) |
Exports | 1.956 million bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | manufactured goods, fuels, chemicals; food, beverages, tobacco | metals, clothing, wood products |
Exports - partners | US 13.9%, Germany 10.9%, France 10.4%, Ireland 7.1%, Netherlands 6.3%, Belgium 5.2%, Spain 4.5% (2006) | Italy 31.6%, Croatia 18%, Germany 12.9%, Austria 10.1%, Slovenia 6.9%, Greece 4.3% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 6 April - 5 April | calendar year |
Flag description | blue field with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); properly known as the Union Flag, but commonly called the Union Jack; the design and colors (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of other flags including other Commonwealth countries and their constituent states or provinces, and British overseas territories | a wide medium blue vertical band on the fly side with a yellow isosceles triangle abutting the band and the top of the flag; the remainder of the flag is medium blue with seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars top and bottom along the hypotenuse of the triangle |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $7.3 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 0.9%
industry: 23.6% services: 75.5% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 13%
industry: 40.9% services: 46.1% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.9% (2007 est.) | 2.3% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 54 00 N, 2 00 W | 44 00 N, 18 00 E |
Geography - note | lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and linked by tunnel under the English Channel; because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters | 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 Serbia and Montenegro (Montenegro), and traditionally has been settled by an ethnic Croat majority in the west and an ethnic Serb majority in the east |
Government - note | - | The Dayton Agreement, signed in Paris on 14 December 1995, retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's exterior border and created a joint multi-ethnic and democratic government. This national government - based on proportional representation similar to that which existed in the former socialist regime - is charged with conducting foreign, economic, and fiscal policy. The Dayton Agreement also recognized a second tier of government, comprised of two entities - a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb Republika Srpska (RS) - each presiding over roughly one-half the territory. The Federation and RS governments are charged with overseeing internal functions. The Bosniak/Croat Federation is further divided into 10 cantons. The Dayton Agreement established the Office of the High Representative (OHR) to oversee the implementation of the civilian aspects of the agreement. |
Heliports | 11 (2007) | 5 (2002) |
Highways | - | total: 21,846 km
paved: 11,424 km unpaved: 10,422 km (1999 est) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 28.5% (1999) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | producer of limited amounts of synthetic drugs and synthetic precursor chemicals; major consumer of Southwest Asian heroin, Latin American cocaine, and synthetic drugs; money-laundering center | minor transit point for marijuana and opiate trafficking routes to Western Europe; organized crime launders money, but the lack of a well-developed financial infrastructure limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center |
Imports | 1.654 million bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, machinery, fuels; foodstuffs | machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Germany 12.8%, US 8.9%, France 6.9%, Netherlands 6.6%, China 5.3%, Norway 4.9%, Belgium 4.5% (2006) | Croatia 23.7%, Slovenia 14.8%, Germany 14%, Italy 13.1%, Hungary 8%, Austria 7.7% (2002) |
Independence | England has existed as a unified entity since the 10th century; the union between England and Wales, begun in 1284 with the Statute of Rhuddlan, was not formalized until 1536 with an Act of Union; in another Act of Union in 1707, England and Scotland agreed to permanently join as Great Britain; the legislative union of Great Britain and Ireland was implemented in 1801, with the adoption of the name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland; the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 formalized a partition of Ireland; six northern Irish counties remained part of the United Kingdom as Northern Ireland and the current name of the country, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, was adopted in 1927 | 1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia; referendum for independence was completed 1 March 1992; independence was declared 3 March 1992) |
Industrial production growth rate | 0.7% (2007 est.) | 7% (2002 est.) |
Industries | machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, other consumer goods | steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances, oil refining (2001) |
Infant mortality rate | total: 5.01 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 22.7 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.4% (2007 est.) | 3.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ADB (nonregional members), AfDB, Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, C, CBSS (observer), CDB, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-8, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PIF (partner), SECI (observer), UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | BIS, CE, CEI, EBRD, ECE, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,700 sq km (2003) | 20 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | House of Lords (highest court of appeal; several Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are appointed by the monarch for life); Supreme Courts of England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (comprising the Courts of Appeal, the High Courts of Justice, and the Crown Courts); Scotland's Court of Session and Court of the Justiciary | BiH Constitutional Court (consists of nine members: four members are selected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives, two members by the Republika Srpska's National Assembly, and three non-Bosnian members by the president of the European Court of Human Rights); BiH State Court (consists of nine judges and three divisions - Administrative, Appellate and Criminal - having jurisdiction over cases related to state-level law and appellate jurisdiction over cases initiated in the entities; note - a War Crimes Chamber may be added at a future date)
note: the entities each have a Supreme Court; each entity also has a number of lower courts; there are 10 cantonal courts in the Federation, plus a number of municipal courts; the Republika Srpska has five municipal courts |
Labor force | 30.71 million (2007 est.) | 1.026 million |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 1.4%
industry: 18.2% services: 80.4% (2006 est.) |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 360 km
border countries: Ireland 360 km |
total: 1,459 km
border countries: Croatia 932 km, Serbia and Montenegro 527 km |
Land use | arable land: 23.23%
permanent crops: 0.2% other: 76.57% (2005) |
arable land: 9.8%
permanent crops: 2.94% other: 87.26% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland) | Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian |
Legal system | based on common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; has nonbinding judicial review of Acts of Parliament under the Human Rights Act of 1998; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of House of Lords (618 seats; consisting of approximately 500 life peers, 92 hereditary peers, and 26 clergy) and House of Commons (646 seats since 2005 elections; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless the House is dissolved earlier)
elections: House of Lords - no elections (note - in 1999, as provided by the House of Lords Act, elections were held in the House of Lords to determine the 92 hereditary peers who would remain there; elections are held only as vacancies in the hereditary peerage arise); House of Commons - last held 5 May 2005 (next to be held by May 2010) election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Labor 35.2%, Conservative 32.3%, Liberal Democrats 22%, other 10.5%; seats by party - Labor 355, Conservative 198, Liberal Democrat 62, other 31; seats by party in the House of Commons as of 23 November 2007 - Labor 353, Conservative 194, Liberal Democrat 63, Scottish National Party/Plaid Cymru 9, Democratic Unionist 9, Sinn Fein 5, other 14 note: in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Assembly (because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer of power from London to Northern Ireland came only at the end of 1999 and has been suspended four times, the latest occurring in October 2002 and lasting until 8 May 2007); in 1999, the UK held the first elections for a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly, the most recent of which were held in May 2007 |
bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the National House of Representatives or Predstavnicki Dom (42 seats - elected by proportional representation, 28 seats allocated from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 14 seats from the Republika Srpska; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) and the House of Peoples or Dom Naroda (15 seats - 5 Bosniak, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members elected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve four-year terms); note - Bosnia's election law specifies four-year terms for the state and first-order administrative division entity legislatures
elections: National House of Representatives - elections last held 5 October 2002 (next to be held in NA 2006); House of Peoples - last constituted NA January 2003 (next to be constituted in 2007) election results: National House of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - SDA 21.9%, SDS 14.0%, SBiH 10.5%, SDP 10.4%, SNSD 9.8%, HDZ 9.5%, PDP 4.6%, others 19.3%; seats by party/coalition - SDA 10, SDS 5, SBiH 6, SDP 4, SNSD 3, HDZ 5, PDP 2, others 7; House of Peoples - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA%; seats by party/coalition - NA note: the Bosniak/Croat Federation has a bicameral legislature that consists of a House of Representatives (98 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections last held 5 October 2002 (next to be held NA October 2006); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party/coalition - SDA 32, HDZ-BiH 16, SDP 15, SBiH 15, other 20; and a House of Peoples (60 seats - 30 Bosniak, 30 Croat); last constituted December 2002; the Republika Srpska has a National Assembly (83 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms); elections last held 5 October 2002 (next to be held in the fall of 2006); percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party/coalition - SDS 26, SNSD 19, PDP 9, SDA 6, SRS 4, SPRS 3, DNZ 3, SBiH 4, SDP 3, others 6; as a result of the 2002 constitutional reform process, a 28-member Republika Srpska Council of Peoples (COP) was established in the Republika Srpska National Assembly; each constituent nation and "others" will have eight delegates |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.7 years
male: 76.23 years female: 81.3 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 72.29 years
male: 69.56 years female: 75.22 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling
total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Western Europe, islands including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, northwest of France | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm continental shelf: as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries |
NA |
Merchant marine | total: 474 ships (1000 GRT or over) 11,723,618 GRT/12,315,588 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 26, cargo 60, carrier 4, chemical tanker 56, container 156, liquefied gas 18, passenger 10, passenger/cargo 62, petroleum tanker 27, refrigerated cargo 17, roll on/roll off 24, vehicle carrier 14 foreign-owned: 242 (Australia 1, Cyprus 1, Denmark 61, Finland 1, France 9, Germany 71, Greece 6, Hong Kong 2, Ireland 1, Italy 4, Japan 1, Netherlands 2, NZ 1, Norway 33, South Africa 4, Sweden 19, Switzerland 1, Taiwan 11, Turkey 2, US 11) registered in other countries: 412 (Algeria 12, Antigua and Barbuda 4, Argentina 4, Australia 2, Bahamas 68, Barbados 3, Bermuda 20, Brunei 8, Cape Verde 1, Cayman Islands 9, Cyprus 21, Faroe Islands 1, Gibraltar 3, Greece 15, Hong Kong 32, India 1, Indonesia 3, Italy 7, South Korea 1, Liberia 74, Luxembourg 7, Malta 12, Marshall Islands 17, Netherlands 7, Norway 9, Panama 35, Papua New Guinea 6, Singapore 13, Slovakia 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 9, Sweden 2, Thailand 3, Tonga 1, US 1, unknown 1) (2007) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Royal Navy (includes Royal Marines), Royal Air Force | VF Army (the air and air defense forces are subordinate commands within the Army), VRS Army (the air and air defense forces are subordinate commands within the Army) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $234.3 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.4% (2005 est.) | 4.5% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 1,132,476 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 897,856 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 29,861 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | the UK does not celebrate one particular national holiday | National Day, 25 November (1943) |
Nationality | noun: Briton(s), British (collective plural)
adjective: British |
noun: Bosnian(s)
adjective: Bosnian |
Natural hazards | winter windstorms; floods | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | coal, petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, lead, zinc, gold, tin, limestone, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, potash, silica sand, slate, arable land | coal, iron, bauxite, manganese, forests, copper, chromium, lead, zinc, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 2.17 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0.32 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | condensate 567 km; condensate/gas 22 km; gas 18,980 km; liquid petroleum gas 59 km; oil 4,930 km; oil/gas/water 165 km; refined products 4,444 km (2007) | gas 170 km; oil 9 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Conservative [David CAMERON]; Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Rev. Ian PAISLEY]; Labor Party [Gordon BROWN]; Liberal Democrats [Nick CLEGG]; Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru) [Ieuan Wyn JONES]; Scottish National Party or SNP [Alex SALMOND]; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) [Gerry ADAMS]; Social Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland) [Mark DURKAN]; Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Sir Reg EMPEY] | Alliance of Independent Social Democrats or SNSD [Milorad DODIK]; Bosnian Party or BOSS [Mirnes AJANOVIC]; Civic Democratic Party or GDS [Ilija SIMIC]; Croatian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HDZ [Barisa COLAK (acting)]; Croat Christian Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HKDU [Mijo IVANIC-LONIC]; Croat Party of Rights or HSP [Zdravko HRISTIC]; Croat Peasants Party or HSS [Ilija SIMIC]; Democratic National Union or DNZ [Fikret ABDIC]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDS [Rasim KADIC]; New Croat Initiative or NHI [Kresimir ZUBAK]; Party for Bosnia and Herzegovina or SBiH [Safet HALILOVIC]; Party of Democratic Action or SDA [Sulejman TIHIC]; Party of Democratic Progress or PDP [Mladen IVANIC]; Pro-European People's Party or PROENS [Jadranko PRLIC]; Serb Democratic Party or SDS [Dragan KALINIC]; Serb Radical Party of the Republika Srpska or SRS-RS [Radislav KANJERIC]; Social Democratic Party of BIH or SDP [Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA]; Socialist Party of Republika Srpska or SPRS [Petar DJOKIC] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; Confederation of British Industry; National Farmers' Union; Trades Union Congress | NA |
Population | 60,776,238 (July 2007 est.) | 3,989,018 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 14% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.275% (2007 est.) | 0.48% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Bosanska Gradiska, Bosanski Brod, Bosanski Samac, and Brcko (all inland waterway ports on the Sava), Orasje |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 219, FM 431, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 8, FM 16, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | total: 16,567 km
broad gauge: 303 km 1.600-m gauge (in Northern Ireland) standard gauge: 16,264 km 1.435-m gauge (5,361 km electrified) (2006) |
total: 1,021 km (795 km electrified)
standard gauge: 1,021 km 1.435-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Christian (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 71.6%, Muslim 2.7%, Hindu 1%, other 1.6%, unspecified or none 23.1% (2001 census) | Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other 10% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.025 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: technologically advanced domestic and international system
domestic: equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optic systems international: country code - 44; numerous submarine cables provide links throughout Europe, Asia, Australia, the Middle East, and US; satellite earth stations - 10 Intelsat (7 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Eutelsat; at least 8 large international switching centers |
general assessment: telephone and telegraph network needs modernization and expansion; many urban areas are below average as contrasted with services in other former Yugoslav republics
domestic: NA international: no satellite earth stations |
Telephones - main lines in use | 33.602 million (2006) | 303,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 69.657 million (2006) | 9,000 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 228 (plus 3,523 repeaters) (1995) | 33 (plus 277 repeaters) (September 1995) |
Terrain | mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast | mountains and valleys |
Total fertility rate | 1.66 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.71 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.4% (2007 est.) | 40% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 3,200 km (620 km used for commerce) (2003) | NA km; large sections of the Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris |