Mother Earth Travel > Country Index > Bosnia and Herzegovina > Map Economy History |
| 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 large share 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 1996-98 at high percentage
rates from a low base; but output growth slowed appreciably in 1999 and
2000, and GDP remains far below the 1990 level. Economic data are of
limited use because, although both entities issue figures, national-level
statistics are not available. Moreover, official data do not capture the
large share of activity that occurs on the black market. The marka - the
national currency introduced in 1998 - has gained wide acceptance, and the
Central Bank of Bosnia and Herzegovina has dramatically increased its
reserve holdings. Implementation of privatization, however, has been
slower than anticipated. Banking reform accelerated in early 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 - $6.5 billion (2000 est.) SOURCE: The World Factbook |
Mother Earth Travel > Country Index > Bosnia and Herzegovina > Map Economy History