World Factbook
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Languages
Languages
Bosnian (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 činjenica, neophodan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Bosnian) Knjiga svetskih činjenica, neophodan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Serbian) Knjiga svjetskih činjenica, nužan izvor osnovnih informacija. (Croatian) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Muslim 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.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.07 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.01 male(s)/female
total population
0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.7 male(s)/female
Birth rate
6.88 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
12.29 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
43.1 years
total
45.7 years (2025 est.)
female
46.5 years
Population
male
1,778,548
total
3,653,499 (2025 est.)
female
1,874,951
Nationality
noun
Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s)
adjective
Bosnian, Herzegovinian
Tobacco use
male
39.2% (2025 est.)
total
34% (2025 est.)
female
29% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
50.3% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
0.61% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
13.1% (male 257,444/female 240,209)
15-64 years
68.3% (male 1,305,271/female 1,290,920)
65 years and over
18.6% (2024 est.) (male 289,449/female 415,378)
Ethnic groups
Bosniak 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
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
44.5 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
16.7 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
3.6 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
27.8 (2025 est.)
Physician density
2.58 physicians/1,000 population (2019)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
9.6% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
14.8% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-1.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
2.3 beds/1,000 population (2019 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.15 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 97.3% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 96.1% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 94.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 2.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 3.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 5.2% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
3.2% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
10.2% national budget (2021 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
5.1 deaths/1,000 live births
total
3.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
4.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
-0.67% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.56 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
the northern and central areas of the country are the most densely populated
Life expectancy at birth
male
75.5 years
female
81.6 years
total population
78.5 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
6 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: urban
urban: 99.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0.5% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
4.19 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.47 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
5.46 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.62 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0.17 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
346,000 SARAJEVO (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
17.9% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
27.7 years (2019 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
14 years (2023 est.)
total
14 years (2023 est.)
female
15 years (2023 est.)