Bosnia and Herzegovina Economy Profile 2003

Economy - overview

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.

GDP (purchasing power parity)

purchasing power parity - $7.3 billion (2002 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

2.3% (2002 est.)

GDP - per capita (PPP)

purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2002 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 13%
industry: 40.9%
services: 46.1% (2001 est.)

Population below poverty line

NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

3.5% (2002 est.)

Labor force

1.026 million

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%

Unemployment rate

40% (2002 est.)

Budget

revenues: $1.9 billion
expenditures: $2.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)

Industries

steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances, oil refining (2001)

Industrial production growth rate

7% (2002 est.)

Electricity - production

9.979 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source

fossil fuel: 53.5%
hydro: 46.5%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity - consumption

8.116 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports

2.569 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports

1.405 billion kWh (2001)

Oil - production

0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption

20,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - imports

NA (2001)

Oil - exports

NA (2001)

Agriculture - products

wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock

Exports

$1.15 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports - commodities

metals, clothing, wood products

Exports - partners

Italy 16.0%, Germany 16.8%, Switzerland 12.6%, Croatia 11.3% (2001)

Imports

$2.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports - commodities

machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs

Imports - partners

Croatia 17.1%, Italy 16.0%, Slovenia 13.0%, Germany 12.5% (2001)

Debt - external

$2.8 billion (2001)

Economic aid - recipient

$650 million (2001 est.)

Currency

marka (BAM)

Currency (code)

BAM

Exchange rates

marka per US dollar - NA (2002), 2.1872 (2001), 2.1244 (2000), 1.8371 (1999), 1.7597 (1998)

Fiscal year

calendar year