Bosnia and Herzegovina has a transitional economy with limited market reforms. The economy relies heavily on the export of metals, energy, textiles, and furniture as well as on remittances and foreign aid. A highly decentralized government hampers economic policy coordination and reform, while excessive bureaucracy and a segmented market discourage foreign investment. The economy is among the least competitive in the region. Foreign banks, primarily from Austria and Italy, control much of the banking sector, though the largest bank is a private domestic one. The konvertibilna marka (convertible mark) - the national currency introduced in 1998 - is pegged to the euro through a currency board arrangement, which has maintained confidence in the currency and has facilitated reliable trade links with European partners. Bosnia and Herzegovina became a full member of the Central European Free Trade Agreement in September 2007. In 2016, Bosnia began a three-year IMF loan program, but it has struggled to meet the economic reform benchmarks required to receive all funding installments. ++ Bosnia and Herzegovina's private sector is growing slowly, but foreign investment dropped sharply after 2007 and remains low. High unemployment remains the most serious macroeconomic problem. Successful implementation of a value-added tax in 2006 provided a steady source of revenue for the government and helped rein in gray-market activity, though public perceptions of government corruption and misuse of taxpayer money has encouraged a large informal economy to persist. National-level statistics have improved over time, but a large share of economic activity remains unofficial and unrecorded. ++ Bosnia and Herzegovina's top economic priorities are: acceleration of integration into the EU; strengthening the fiscal system; public administration reform; World Trade Organization membership; and securing economic growth by fostering a dynamic, competitive private sector.

Moody's rating: B3 (2012)

Standard & Poors rating: B (2011)

wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock

steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite, aluminum, motor vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden furniture, ammunition, domestic appliances, oil refining

calendar year

Germany 14.7%, Croatia 11.8%, Italy 11.1%, Serbia 10%, Slovenia 9%, Austria 8.3% (2017)

metals, clothing, wood products

machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs

Germany 11.6%, Italy 11.3%, Serbia 11.1%, Croatia 10.1%, China 6.5%, Slovenia 5%, Russia 4.7%, Turkey 4.2% (2017)

konvertibilna markas (BAM) per US dollar -

general assessment: mobile services dominate fixed-line; integration with the EU has given stability to the present economy, as an EU candidate country, the regulatory framework and telecom market has been liberalized and the regulator has given LTE license to 3 MNOs; DSL and cable are the chief platforms for fixed-line connectivity, there is a small market presence of fiber broadband; new mobile roaming fees come into effect similar to other EU countries; rural areas still suffer from insufficient connectivity (2020)

domestic: fixed-line teledensity roughly 24 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular subscribership has been increasing rapidly and stands at roughly 112 telephones per 100 persons (2019)

international: country code - 387; no satellite earth stations

3 public TV broadcasters: Radio and TV of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Federation TV (operating 2 networks), and Republika Srpska Radio-TV; a local commercial network of 5 TV stations; 3 private, near-national TV stations and dozens of small independent TV broadcasting stations; 3 large public radio broadcasters and many private radio stations

.ba

T9 (2016)

147 km gas, 9 km oil (2013)

河港: Bosanska Gradiska, Bosanski Brod, Bosanski Samac, Brcko, Orasje (Sava River)