Bosnia and Herzegovina Geography Profile 2003

Location

Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia

Geographic coordinates

44 00 N, 18 00 E

Map references

Europe

Area

total: 51,129 sq km
land: 51,129 sq km
water: 0 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries

total: 1,459 km
border countries: Croatia 932 km, Serbia and Montenegro 527 km

Coastline

20 km

Maritime claims

NA

Climate

hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along coast

Terrain

mountains and valleys

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maglic 2,386 m

Natural resources

coal, iron, bauxite, manganese, forests, copper, chromium, lead, zinc, hydropower

Land use

arable land: 9.8%
permanent crops: 2.94%
other: 87.26% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land

20 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards

destructive earthquakes

Environment - current issues

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, 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

Geography - note

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