AREA and LOCATION
Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Latin: Bosna i Hercegovina; Serbian Cyrillic: Босна и Херцеговина) is located in South-Eastern Europe on the Balkan Peninsula. It is almost landlocked except for 26 km of Adriatic Sea coastline in the vicinity of the town Neum. The landscape is mountainous in the centre and south, hilly in the northwest and flat in northeast. Its territory extends over 51,129 square kilometres.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is divided into two entities: The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (subdivided into ten cantons) and Republika Srpska (subdivided into 62 municipalities).
BORDERING COUNTRIES
Croatia (932 km), Serbia (357 km) and Montenegro (249 km)
THE CAPITAL CITY and MAJOR CITIES
Sarajevo is the country’s capital as well as the largest city with approximately 275,524 inhabitants (in 2013). Other large cities include Banja Luka (221,106 inhabitants), Zenica (164,423), Tuzla (142,486 inhabitants), Mostar (104,518 inhabitants) and Bihać (75,641 inhabitants).
CLIMATE
Bosnia’s inland has a moderate continental climate with hot summers and cold, snowy winters, while its southern tip has a Mediterranean climate. The period between May – October tend to be the warmest and driest. Winters are very cold with snow and wind. Average temperature varies – in Sarajevo from – .5 C in January to 19.6 C in July.
AREA CODE
+387
CURRENCY
Convertible Mark (BAM)
DISTANCES
Sarajevo is situated 139 km from Dubrovnik, Croatia; 178 from Podgorica, Montenegro; 193 from Belgrade, Serbia; 292 km from Zagreb, Croatia and 401 km from Budapest, Hungary.
IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS
General emergency line 112, 911, 08
Police 122
Ambulance 124
Fire Service 123
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS
Banja Luka International Airport
http://www.banjaluka-airport.com/
Tuzla International Airport
Sarajevo International Airport
http://www.sarajevo-airport.ba/
Mostar International Airport
LANGUAGE
There are three official languages in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian, which are mutually intelligible. Bosnian standard uses Latin alphabet (Cyrillic alphabet is also accepted).
MOBILE OPERATORS
BH Mobil http://www.bhmobile.ba/
MTEL BH http://www.mtel.ba/
HT ERONET http://www.eronet.ba
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS (2010)
1 Jan New Year’s Day, 6 Jan – 7 Jan Orthodox Christmas, 15 Jan Orthodox New Year, 27 Jan St Sava’s Day, 1 Mar Independence Day, 2 Apr – 5 Apr Easter, 1 May Labour Day, 15 Aug Velika gospa (Western Christian Assumption), 1 Nov All Saints’ Day, 25 Nov National Statehood Day, 25 Dec Christmas.
POLITICAL SYSTEM
Republic
POPULATION
3,531,159
POWER NETWORK
220 V/50 Hz, Europlug (2-pin), Schuko
PRESIDENT
Marinko Cavara
RAIL TRANSPORT
Bosnian Railways
http://www.zfbh.ba/
ROAD TRANSPORT
BUS:
Centrotrans
http://www.centrotrans.com/loc/
RENT A CAR:
Thrifty
SMOKING
Smoking is banned in public buildings since 1 September 2007 within the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
TAXIS
Taxi fares to/from airport tend to be relatively expensive.
Sarajevo Taxi 1515, 660 970, 660 666
Zuti Taxi (Yellow cab) 663 555
Crveni Taxi (Red cab) 1515, 660 970, 660 666
TIME
Central European Time (CET), UTC/GMT + 1 hours, Summer (DST) – CEST (UTC + 2)