FIC



EBRD supports local retailer Bingo
in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 6.5 million loan to expand local retail chain -

The EBRD is providing a 6.5 million loan to Bingo, one of the leading retailers operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to support the expansion of its regional network into new cities.
For more info, please click here
Country Profile

  • Area:

    51,209 km2

  • Population:

    3.8 million

  • Age structure:

    0-14 years: 15% (male 353,163/female 331,133)
    15-64 years: 70.4% (male 1,615,011/female 1,587,956)
    65 years and over: 14.6% (male 273,240/female 391,695) (2007 est.)

  • Population growth rate:

    1.003% (2007 est.)

  • Capital city:

    Sarajevo

  • Other major cities:

    Banja Luka, Biha, Mostar, Tuzla, Zenica


  • Religions:

    Muslim (44%), Orthodox Christian (32%), Roman Catholic (17%), Others (7%)


  • Administrative organization:

    Two entities (Federation of BiH and Republika Srpska) and Brko District of BiH


  • Government Structure:

    BiH is a parliamentary democracy with a bicameral parliament (House of Representatives and House of Peoples), a three-member rotating presidency, a Council of Ministers, and Constitutional Court.


  • Executive branch:

    Chief of state:
    Chairman of the Presidency Zeljko Komsic (chairman since 6 July 2007; and presidency member since 1 October 2006 - Croat);
    other members of the three-member presidency rotating (every eight months):
    Nebojsa Radmanovic (presidency member since 1 October 2006 - Serb);
    and Haris Silajdzic (presidency member since 1 October 2006 - Bosniak)

  • Legal system:

    based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction


  • Legislative branch:

    bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the national House of Representatives or Predstavnicki Dom (42 seats, 28 seats allocated for the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and 14 seats for the Republika Srpska; members elected by popular vote on the basis of proportional representation, to serve four-year terms); and the House of Peoples or Dom Naroda (15 seats, 5 Bosniak, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members elected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve four-year terms); note - Bosnia's election law specifies four-year terms for the state and first-order administrative division entity legislatures

  • Judicial branch:

    BH Constitutional Court (consists of nine members: four members are selected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives, two members by the Republika Srpska's National Assembly, and three non-Bosnian members by the president of the European Court of Human Rights); BH State Court (consists of nine judges and three divisions - Administrative, Appellate and Criminal - having jurisdiction over cases related to state-level law and appellate jurisdiction over cases initiated in the entities)


  • Currency:

    Konvertibilna Marka (BAM-official; KM-common use)


  • Exchange rate:

    1 EUR = KM 1.95 (fixed exchange rate)



Facts & Figures:
Country Profile
Macroeconomic Overview
Attractive Sectors
White Book

The 2009 White Book is the third publication of the FIC. Its purpose is to provide BiH authorities with a prioritized agenda for reforms to address key obstacles to investment that can be accomplished in the upcoming period.
 (download .pdf)
FIC Recommends

KN FOCUS ON ENERGY 2010 KN Focus on Energy Book which covers Serbia (Kosovo), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro markets and business opportunities. In recent years, demand for energy has surgedand South East Europe suffered a much documented and traumatic transition from a planned economy to series of free market economies. Energy consumption in the region is much higher than EU member states. Energy production on the other hand is quite low, with most power plants still utilizing technology that dates from the middle of the last century, which ultimately has an impact on the surrounding environment. Transmission systems are seriously underdeveloped and the energy trade market is yet to be liberalized. The potential for the development and use of renewable energy resources is huge. All of these countries have capacity to harness and exploit water, wind, sun, biomass and geothermal energy for the production of energy and heat. With the regional best practice and an overview of present options under the energy law, KN Focus on Energyis a comprehensive guide for practitioners and stakeholders in this area.
 (To download the document,
click here)

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