Overview

Bosnia-Herzegovina is an independent state which is partially under international oversight under the terms of the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords which ended the 1992-95 Bosnian war and the break-up of Yugoslavia.

More than 100,000 people were killed and around two million displaced in the war, which also left the infrastructure and economy in tatters.

Its three main communities are Bosniak Muslims, Croats and Serbs.

The European Commission recommended opening EU accession talks with Bosnia and Herzegovina, eight years after the Western Balkan country applied to be a member of the bloc.

While economic growth has been stable over the past several years around 3%, it is simply too low to underpin a path to shared prosperity. Should BiH continue to grow at the same rate, it would take over 100 years for the country to reach the living standards observed in the EU.

To achieve higher, more sustainable, and equitable growth, interventions will be needed along four pillars: (i) rebalancing of growth, (ii) investments in physical capital, (iii) stronger human capital, and (iv) natural resources management.