IV.

Economy

Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the poorest of the constituent republics of the former Yugoslavia; only the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is poorer. Following independence, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s economy remained largely based on agriculture, with tobacco and fruit as the major products. The war, however, has devastated much of the country’s fertile farmland and kept farmers from producing crops. Much of the republic’s industry is located in regions occupied by Serbs, and it was estimated that 80 per cent of the industrial plants were destroyed.

In 1993 the economy was at a near standstill, with most people subsisting on foreign relief aid; inflation and unemployment continued to spiral upwards. The economy’s deterioration was further compounded by economic blockades by both Serbia and Croatia. However, an agreement forged in March 1994 with Croatia ended the blockade on the western coast and helped bolster the Bosnian economy somewhat. The country’s gross national product (GNP), which totalled US$10,700 million in 1990, or US$2,454 per capita, is currently operating at as low as 10 to 20 per cent of pre-war levels. In August 1993 industrial production stood at just 4.8 per cent of the 1992 level. Industries still in operation at that time included textiles, food processing, and military arms. By 2004 the value of exports had risen to US$1,615 million, but imports totalled US$4,933 million.

The new dinar was the standard unit of exchange in Bosnia and Herzegovina when the republic was part of Yugoslavia. In the early years of Bosnian independence, various currencies circulated: the Croatian kuna was in use in Croat-held areas, the new dinar was the standard in Serb regions, and a variety of foreign currencies were used in Muslim-dominated areas. In 1998 the Bosnian government introduced its own currency, the convertible marka of 100 pfennigs (1.50 markas equalled US$1; early 2007).

Important newspapers in Bosnia and Herzegovina include the weekly paper Oslobodjenje and the Islamic-orientated weekly Ljiljan. Other papers include the Dnevni Avaz and Hrvataska Rijec. Broadcasting in the country is run by Independent Radio and Television “Studio 99” based in Sarajevo.