|
Background:
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of sovereignty in
October 1991 was followed by a declaration of independence
from the former Yugoslavia on 3 March 1992 after a
referendum boycotted by ethnic Serbs. The Bosnian Serbs -
supported by neighboring Serbia and Montenegro - responded
with armed resistance aimed at partitioning the republic
along ethnic lines and joining Serb-held areas to form a
"Greater Serbia." In March 1994, Bosniaks and Croats reduced
the number of warring factions from three to two by signing
an agreement creating a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation of
Bosnia and Herzegovina. On 21 November 1995, in Dayton,
Ohio, the warring parties initialed a peace agreement that
brought to a halt three years of interethnic civil strife
(the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December
1995). The Dayton Peace Accords retained Bosnia and
Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a joint
multi-ethnic and democratic government charged with
conducting foreign, diplomatic, and fiscal policy. Also
recognized was a second tier of government comprised of two
entities roughly equal in size: the Bosniak/Croat Federation
of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika
Srpska (RS). The Federation and RS governments were charged
with overseeing most government functions. The Office of the
High Representative (OHR) was established to oversee the
implementation of the civilian aspects of the agreement. In
1995-96, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR)
of 60,000 troops served in Bosnia to implement and monitor
the military aspects of the agreement. IFOR was succeeded by
a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) whose mission
was to deter renewed hostilities. European Union
peacekeeping troops (EUFOR) replaced SFOR in December 2004;
their mission is to maintain peace and stability throughout
the country. EUFOR's mission changed from peacekeeping to
civil policing in October 2007, with its presence reduced
from nearly 7,000 to 2,500 troops. |
|
Location:
|
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia
|
|
Geographic coordinates:
|
44 00 N, 18 00 E
|
|
Map references:
|
Europe
|
|
Area:
|
total: 51,129 sq km
land: 51,129 sq km
water: 0 sq km
|
|
Area - comparative:
|
slightly smaller than West Virginia
|
|
Land boundaries:
|
total: 1,459 km
border countries: Croatia 932 km, Montenegro 225 km,
Serbia 302 km
|
|
Coastline:
|
20 km
|
|
Maritime claims:
|
no data available
|
|
Climate:
|
hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have
short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy
winters along coast |
|
Terrain:
|
mountains and valleys
|
|
Elevation extremes:
|
lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maglic 2,386 m
|
|
Natural resources:
|
coal, iron ore, bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, chromite,
cobalt, manganese, nickel, clay, gypsum, salt, sand,
forests, hydropower |
|
Land use:
|
arable land: 19.61%
permanent crops: 1.89%
other: 78.5% (2005)
|
|
Irrigated land:
|
30 sq km (2003)
|
|
Total renewable water resources:
|
37.5 cu km (2003)
|
|
Natural hazards:
|
destructive earthquakes
|
|
Environment - current issues:
|
air pollution from metallurgical plants; sites for disposing
of urban waste are limited; water shortages and destruction
of infrastructure because of the 1992-95 civil strife;
deforestation |
|
Environment - international agreements:
|
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate
Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation,
Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements
|
|
Geography - note:
|
within Bosnia and Herzegovina's recognized borders, the
country is divided into a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation
(about 51% of the territory) and the Bosnian Serb-led
Republika Srpska or RS (about 49% of the territory); the
region called Herzegovina is contiguous to Croatia and
Montenegro, and traditionally has been settled by an ethnic
Croat majority in the west and an ethnic Serb majority in
the east |
|
Population:
|
4,590,310 (July 2008 est.)
|
|
Age structure:
|
0-14 years: 14.7% (male 347,679/female 326,091)
15-64 years: 70.6% (male 1,634,053/female 1,606,341)
65 years and over: 14.7% (male 277,504/female
398,642) (2008 est.)
|
|
Median age:
|
total: 39.4 years
male: 38.2 years
female: 40.5 years (2008 est.)
|
|
Population growth rate:
|
0.666% (2008 est.)
|
|
Birth rate:
|
8.82 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
|
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Death rate:
|
8.54 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
|
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Net migration rate:
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6.38 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
|
|
Sex ratio:
|
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
|
|
Infant mortality rate:
|
total: 9.34 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.71 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 7.87 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
|
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population: 78.33 years
male: 74.74 years
female: 82.19 years (2008 est.)
|
|
Total fertility rate:
|
1.24 children born/woman (2008 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|
900 (2003 est.)
|
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|
100 (2001 est.)
|
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Nationality:
|
noun: Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s)
adjective: Bosnian, Herzegovinian
|
|
Ethnic groups:
|
Bosniak 48%, Serb 37.1%, Croat 14.3%, other 0.6% (2000)
note: Bosniak has replaced Muslim as an ethnic term
in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim -
an adherent of Islam
|
|
Religions:
|
Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, other 14%
|
|
Languages:
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Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian
|
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Literacy:
|
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.7%
male: 99%
female: 94.4% (2006 est.)
|
|
Country name:
|
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina
local long form: none
local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina
former: People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
|
Government type:
|
emerging federal democratic republic
|
|
Capital:
|
name: Sarajevo
geographic coordinates: 43 52 N, 18 25 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington,
DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in
March; ends last Sunday in October
|
|
Administrative divisions:
|
2 first-order administrative divisions and 1 internationally
supervised district* - Brcko district (Brcko Distrikt)*, the
Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija
Bosna i Hercegovina) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika
Srpska; note - Brcko district is in northeastern Bosnia and
is an administrative unit under the sovereignty of Bosnia
and Herzegovina; the district remains under international
supervision |
|
Independence:
|
1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia; referendum for independence
completed 1 March 1992; independence declared 3 March 1992)
|
|
National holiday:
|
National Day, 25 November (1943)
|
|
Constitution:
|
the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995 in Paris,
included a new constitution now in force; note - each of the
entities also has its own constitution |
|
Legal system:
|
based on civil law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ
jurisdiction
|
|
Suffrage:
|
18 years of age, universal
|
|
Executive branch:
|
chief of state: Chairman of the Presidency Haris
SILAJDZIC (chairman since 6 March 2008; presidency member
since 1 October 2006 - Bosniak); other members of the
three-member presidency rotating (every eight months):
Nebojsa RADMANOVIC (presidency member since 1 October 2006 -
Serb); and Zeljko KOMSIC (presidency member since 1 October
2006 - Croat)
head of government: Chairman of the Council of
Ministers Nikola SPIRIC (since 11 January 2007)
cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the
council chairman; approved by the National House of
Representatives
elections: the three members of the presidency (one
Bosniak, one Croat, one Serb) are elected by popular vote
for a four-year term (eligible for a second term, but then
ineligible for four years); the chairmanship rotates every
eight months and resumes where it left off following each
national election; election last held 1 October 2006 (next
to be held in 2010); the chairman of the Council of
Ministers is appointed by the presidency and confirmed by
the National House of Representatives
election results: percent of vote - Nebojsa
RADMANOVIC with 53.3% of the votes for the Serb seat; Zeljko
KOMSIC received 39.6% of the votes for the Croat seat; Haris
SILAJDZIC received 62.8% of the votes for the Bosniak seat
note: President of the Federation of Bosnia and
Herzegovina: Borjana KRISTO (since 21 February 2007); Vice
Presidents Spomenka MICIC (since NA 2007) and Mirsad KEBO
(since NA 2007); President of the Republika Srpska: Rajko
KUSMANOVIC (since 28 December 2007) |
|
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
elections: national House of Representatives -
elections last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held in
2010); House of Peoples - last constituted in January 2003
(next to be constituted in 2007)
election results: national House of Representatives -
percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by
party/coalition - SDA 9, SBH 8, SNSD 7, SDP 5, SDS 3, HDZ-BH
3, HDZ1990 2, other 5; House of Peoples - percent of vote by
party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - NA
note: the Bosniak/Croat Federation has a bicameral
legislature that consists of a House of Representatives (98
seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year
terms); elections last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held
in October 2010); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party/coalition - SDA 28, SBH 24, SDP 17, HDZ-BH 8, HDZ100
7, other 14; and a House of Peoples (58 seats - 17 Bosniak,
17 Croat, 17 Serb, 7 other); last constituted December 2002;
the Republika Srpska has a National Assembly (83 seats;
members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms);
elections last held 1 October 2006 (next to be held in the
fall of 2010); percent of vote by party - NA; seats by
party/coalition - SNSD 41, SDS 17, PDP 8, DNS 4, SBH 4, SPRS
3, SDA 3, other 3; as a result of the 2002 constitutional
reform process, a 28-member Republika Srpska Council of
Peoples (COP) was established in the Republika Srpska
National Assembly including eight Croats, eight Bosniaks,
eight Serbs, and four members of the smaller communities
|
|
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); a War
Crimes Chamber opened in March 2005
note: the entities each have a Supreme Court; each
entity also has a number of lower courts; there are 10
cantonal courts in the Federation, plus a number of
municipal courts; the Republika Srpska has five municipal
courts |
|
Political parties and leaders:
|
Alliance of Independent Social Democrats or SNSD [Milorad
DODIK]; Bosnian Party or BOSS [Mirnes AJANOVIC]; Civic
Democratic Party or GDS [Ibrahim SPAHIC]; Croat Christian
Democratic Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HKDU [Marin
TOPIC]; Croat Party of Rights or HSP [Zvonko JURISIC]; Croat
Peasants Party or HSS [Marko TADIC]; Croatian Democratic
Union of Bosnia and Herzegovina or HDZ-BH [Dragan COVIC];
Croatian Democratic Union 1990 or HDZ1990 [Bozo LJUBIC];
Croatian Democratic Union 100 or HDZ100; Croatian Peoples
Union [Milenko BRKIC]; Democratic National Union or DNZ [Rifet
DOLIC]; Democratic Peoples Alliance or DNS [Marko PAVIC];
Liberal Democratic Party or LDS [Rasim KADIC]; New Croat
Initiative or NHI [Kresimir ZUBAK]; Party for Bosnia and
Herzegovina or SBH [Haris SILAJDZIC]; Party for Democratic
Action or SDA [Sulejman TIHIC]; Party of Democratic Progress
or PDP [Mladen IVANIC]; Serb Democratic Party or SDS [Mladen
BOSIC]; Serb Radical Party of the Republika Srpska or SRS-RS
[Milanko MIHAJLICA]; Serb Radical Party-Dr. Vojislav Seselj
or SRS-VS [Radislav KANJERIC]; Social Democratic Party of
BIH or SDP [Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA]; Social Democratic Union or
SDU [Sejfudin TOKIC]; Socialist Party of Republika Srpska or
SPRS [Petar DJOKIC] |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders:
|
NA
|
|
International organization participation:
|
BIS, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt,
ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol,
IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM (observer),
OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SECI, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNWTO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTO (observer) |
|
Diplomatic representation in the US:
|
chief of mission: Ambassador Bisera TURKOVIC
chancery: 2109 E Street NW, Washington, DC 20037
telephone: [1] (202) 337-1500
FAX: [1] (202) 337-1502
consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York
|
|
Diplomatic representation from the US:
|
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles L. ENGLISH
embassy: Alipasina 43, 71000 Sarajevo
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [387] (33) 445-700
FAX: [387] (33) 659-722
branch office(s): Banja Luka, Mostar
|
|
Flag description:
|
a wide medium blue vertical band on the fly side with a
yellow isosceles triangle abutting the band and the top of
the flag; the remainder of the flag is medium blue with
seven full five-pointed white stars and two half stars top
and bottom along the hypotenuse of the triangle |
|
Economy - overview:
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina ranked next to 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. The private sector is growing and foreign
investment is slowly increasing, but government spending, at
nearly 40% of adjusted GDP, remains unreasonably high. The
interethnic warfare in Bosnia caused production to plummet
by 80% from 1992 to 1995 and unemployment to soar. With an
uneasy peace in place, output recovered in 1996-99 at high
percentage rates from a low base; but output growth slowed
in 2000-02. Part of the lag in output was made up in 2003-07
when GDP growth exceeded 5% per year. National-level
statistics are limited and do not capture the large share of
black market activity. The konvertibilna marka (convertible
mark or BAM)- the national currency introduced in 1998 - is
pegged to the euro, and confidence in the currency and the
banking sector has increased. Implementing privatization,
however, has been slow, particularly in the Federation,
although more successful in the Republika Srpska. Banking
reform accelerated in 2001 as all the Communist-era payments
bureaus were shut down; foreign banks, primarily from
Western Europe, now control most of the banking sector. A
sizeable current account deficit and high unemployment rate
remain the two most serious macroeconomic problems. On 1
January 2006 a new value-added tax (VAT) went into effect.
The VAT has been successful in capturing much of the gray
market economy and has developed into a significant and
predictable source of revenues for all layers of government.
Bosnia and Herzegovina became a full member of the Central
European Free Trade Agreement in September 2007. The country
receives substantial reconstruction assistance and
humanitarian aid from the international community but will
have to prepare for an era of declining assistance. |
|
GDP (purchasing power parity):
|
$27.73 billion
note: Bosnia has a large informal sector that could
also be as much as 50% of official GDP (2007 est.)
|
|
GDP (official exchange rate):
|
$14.78 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
GDP - real growth rate:
|
5.8% (2007 est.)
|
|
GDP - per capita (PPP):
|
$7,000 (2007 est.)
|
|
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 10.2%
industry: 23.9%
services: 66% (2006 est.)
|
|
Labor force:
|
1.026 million (2001)
|
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
|
|
Unemployment rate:
|
45.5% official rate; grey economy may reduce actual
unemployment to 25-30% (31 December 2004 est.)
|
|
Population below poverty line:
|
25% (2004 est.)
|
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest 10%: 3.9%
highest 10%: 21.4% (2001)
|
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
26.2 (2001)
|
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
1.3% (2007 est.)
|
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $7.166 billion
expenditures: $7.094 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
Public debt:
|
34% of GDP (2007 est.)
|
|
Agriculture - products:
|
wheat, corn, fruits, vegetables; livestock
|
|
Industries:
|
steel, coal, iron ore, lead, zinc, manganese, bauxite,
vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco products, wooden
furniture, tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances,
oil refining |
|
Industrial production growth rate:
|
6.7% (2007 est.)
|
|
Electricity - production:
|
12.22 billion kWh (2005)
|
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
8.574 billion kWh (2005)
|
|
Electricity - exports:
|
3.58 billion kWh (2005)
|
|
Electricity - imports:
|
2.174 billion kWh (2005)
|
|
Oil - production:
|
0 bbl/day (2005)
|
|
Oil - consumption:
|
26,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
|
|
Oil - exports:
|
0 bbl/day (2004)
|
|
Oil - imports:
|
24,940 bbl/day (2004)
|
|
Oil - proved reserves:
|
0 bbl (1 January 2006 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - production:
|
0 cu m (2005 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - consumption:
|
383.6 million cu m (2005 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - exports:
|
0 cu m (2005 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - imports:
|
383.6 million cu m (2005)
|
|
Natural gas - proved reserves:
|
0 cu m (1 January 2006)
|
|
Current account balance:
|
-$1.92 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
Exports:
|
$4.243 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
|
|
Exports - commodities:
|
metals, clothing, wood products
|
|
Exports - partners:
|
Croatia 19.6%, Slovenia 16.8%, Italy 15.3%, Germany 12.3%,
Austria 8.7%, Hungary 5.3% (2006)
|
|
Imports:
|
$9.947 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
|
|
Imports - commodities:
|
machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs
|
|
Imports - partners:
|
Croatia 24%, Germany 14.5%, Slovenia 13.2%, Italy 10%,
Austria 5.9%, Hungary 5.2% (2006)
|
|
Economic aid - recipient:
|
$546.1 million (2005 est.)
|
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|
$4.525 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
|
|
Debt - external:
|
$6.7 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
|
|
Market value of publicly traded shares:
|
$NA
|
|
Currency (code):
|
konvertibilna marka (convertible mark) (BAM)
|
|
Exchange rates:
|
konvertibilna maraka per US dollar - 1.4419 (2007), 1.5576
(2006), 1.5727 (2005), 1.5752 (2004), 1.7329 (2003)
note: the convertible mark is pegged to the euro
|
|
Fiscal year:
|
calendar year
|
|
Telephones - main lines in use:
|
989,000 (2006)
|
|
Telephones - mobile cellular:
|
1.888 million (2006)
|
|
Telephone system:
|
general assessment: telephone and telegraph network
needs modernization and expansion; many urban areas are
below average as contrasted with services in other former
Yugoslav republics
domestic: fixed-line teledensity is roughly 20 per
100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density is about 22
per 100 persons
international: country code - 387; no satellite earth
stations (2006)
|
|
Radio broadcast stations:
|
AM 8, FM 16, shortwave 1 (1998)
|
|
Television broadcast stations:
|
33 (plus 277 repeaters) (September 1995)
|
|
Internet country code:
|
.ba
|
|
Internet hosts:
|
39,627 (2007)
|
|
Internet users:
|
950,000 (2006)
|
|
Airports:
|
28 (2007)
|
|
Airports - with paved runways:
|
total: 8
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
under 914 m: 3 (2007)
|
|
Airports - with unpaved runways:
|
total: 20
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 7
under 914 m: 12 (2007)
|
|
Heliports:
|
5 (2007)
|
|
Railways:
|
total: 608 km
standard gauge: 608 km 1.435-m gauge (2006)
|
|
Roadways:
|
total: 21,846 km
paved: 11,425 km (4,714 km of interurban roads)
unpaved: 10,421 km (2006)
|
|
Waterways:
|
Sava River (northern border) open to shipping but use
limited (2006)
|
|
Ports and terminals:
|
Bosanska Gradiska, Bosanski Brod, Bosanski Samac, and Brcko
(all inland waterway ports on the Sava), Orasje
|
|
Military branches:
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina Armed Forces (OSBiH): Army of Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Air and Air Defense Forces of Bosnia and
Herzegovina (Zrakoplovstvo i Protuzracna Obrana, ZPO) (2007)
|
|
Military service age and obligation:
|
17 years of age for voluntary military service in the
Federation and in the Republika Srpska; conscription
abolished January 2006; 4-month service obligation (2006)
|
|
Manpower available for military service:
|
males age 16-49: 1,212,007
females age 16-49: 1,170,645 (2008 est.)
|
|
Manpower fit for military service:
|
males age 16-49: 996,225
females age 16-49: 962,927 (2008 est.)
|
|
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
|
males age 16-49: 30,246
females age 16-49: 28,189 (2008 est.)
|
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
|
4.5% (2005 est.)
|
|
Disputes - international:
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia have delimited most of
their boundary, but sections along the Drina River remain in
dispute; discussions continue with Croatia on several small
disputed sections of the boundary related to maritime access
that hinder final ratification of the 1999 border agreement
|
|
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
|
refugees (country of origin): 7,269 (Croatia)
IDPs: 131,600 (Bosnian Croats, Serbs, and Muslims
displaced in 1992-95 war) (2007)
|
|
Illicit drugs:
|
increasingly a transit point for heroin being trafficked to
Western Europe; minor transit point for marijuana; remains
highly vulnerable to money-laundering activity given a
primarily cash-based and unregulated economy, weak law
enforcement, and instances of corruption |
This page was last updated on 19 June
2008
|
