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Bosnia and Herzegovina Demographics Profile

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Population3,824,782 (July 2021 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s)

adjective: Bosnian, Herzegovinian
Ethnic groupsBosniak 50.1%, Serb 30.8%, Croat 15.4%, other 2.7%, not declared/no answer 1% (2013 est.)

note: Republika Srpska authorities dispute the methodology and refuse to recognize the results; Bosniak has replaced Muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam
LanguagesBosnian (official) 52.9%, Serbian (official) 30.8%, Croatian (official) 14.6%, other 1.6%, no answer 0.2% (2013 est.)

major-language sample(s):
Knjiga svjetskih cinjenica, neophodan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Bosnian/Montenegrin)

Knjiga svetskih cinjenica, neophodan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Serbian)

Knjiga svjetskih cinjenica, nužan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Croatian)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
ReligionsMuslim 50.7%, Orthodox 30.7%, Roman Catholic 15.2%, atheist 0.8%, agnostic 0.3%, other 1.2%, undeclared/no answer 1.1% (2013 est.)
Age structure0-14 years: 13.18% (male 261,430/female 244,242)

15-24 years: 10.83% (male 214,319/female 201,214)

25-54 years: 44.52% (male 859,509/female 848,071)

55-64 years: 15.24% (male 284,415/female 300,168)

65 years and over: 16.22% (male 249,624/female 372,594) (2020 est.)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 48

youth dependency ratio: 21.5

elderly dependency ratio: 26.5

potential support ratio: 3.8 (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 43.3 years

male: 41.6 years

female: 44.8 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate-0.21% (2021 est.)
Birth rate8.5 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate10.25 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate-0.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Population distributionthe northern and central areas of the country are the most densely populated
Urbanizationurban population: 49.4% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 0.61% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major cities - population344,000 SARAJEVO (capital) (2021)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.07 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.07 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female

total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth27.7 years (2019 est.)
Maternal mortality rate10 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 5.32 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 5.44 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 5.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 77.74 years

male: 74.76 years

female: 80.93 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate1.35 children born/woman (2021 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate45.8% (2011/12)
Drinking water sourceimproved: urban: 99.9% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 99.9% of population

unimproved: urban: 0.1% of population

rural: 0% of population

total: 0.1% of population (2017 est.)
Health expenditures8.9% (2018)
Physicians density2.16 physicians/1,000 population (2015)
Hospital bed density3.5 beds/1,000 population (2014)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: urban: 98.9% of population

rural: 92.1% of population

total: 95.4% of population

unimproved: urban: 1.1% of population

rural: 7.9% of population

total: 4.5% of population (2017 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate<.1% (2018)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS<500 (2018)
HIV/AIDS - deaths<100 (2018)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate17.9% (2016)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight1.6% (2012)
Education expendituresNA
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 98.5%

male: 99.5%

female: 97.5% (2015)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 14 years

male: 14 years

female: 15 years (2014)

Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021

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