The 2003 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency

100 (2001 est.)

      Nationality:

       noun: Bosnian(s)

       adjective: Bosnian

      Ethnic groups:

       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

      Religions:

       Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other

       10%

      Languages:

       Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian

      Literacy:

       definition: NA

       total population: NA%

       male: NA%

       female: NA%

      Government Bosnia and Herzegovina

      Country name:

       conventional long form: none

       conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina

       local long form: none

       local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina

      Government type:

       emerging federal democratic republic

      Capital:

       Sarajevo

      Administrative divisions:

       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

      Independence:

       1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia; referendum for independence was

       completed 1 March 1992; independence was declared 3 March 1992)

      National holiday:

       National Day, 25 November (1943)

      Constitution:

       the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, included a new

       constitution now in force; note - each of the entities also has its

       own constitution

      Legal system:

       based on civil law system

      Suffrage:

       16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal

      Executive branch:

       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

       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

       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

       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)

      Legislative branch:

       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

       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

       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)

       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,