Demographics & population — Bosnia and Herzegovina
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Demographics & population at a glance
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators. Key figure for Bosnia and Herzegovina: 3,835,586
Immigration rules and fees change frequently — confirm current requirements on official government or embassy websites.
Population overview
- Population
3,835,586
- Population Growth Rate
-0.1%
- Urban Population
- Population in Major Urban Areas
SARAJEVO (capital) 389,000
Age & family
- Age Structure
- Median Age
- Birth Rate - births/1,000 population
9
- Death Rate - deaths/1,000 population
9.53
- Total Fertility Rate - children born/woman
1.25
- Contraceptive Prevalance Rate - female 12-49
45.8%
- Contraceptive Prevalence Rate - female 12-49
45.8%
- Mean Age for Mother's First Birth (age 25-49)
25.9
- Mother's mean age at first birth
25.9
- Sex Ratio at Birth - male/female
Migration
- Net Migration Rate - migrant(s)/1,000 population
-0.37
Ethnicity & language
- Ethnic Groups
Serb 37.1%, Bosniak 48%, Croat 14.3%, other 0.6% (2000)
- Language Note
The official language is Bosnian, a Slavic language that used to be known as Serbo-Croatian. According to ethnic and political affiliation, Bosnians may speak Serbian, Croatian or Bosnian. At school, both Cyrillic and Latin scripts are taught, which are used in the Federation and Serb Republic.
- Nationality Noun
Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s)
Education
- Literacy - total population
96.7%
- Literacy - male
98.4%
- Literacy - female
91.1%
- Literacy Definition
NA
- Total School Life Expectancy - (primary to tertiary)
Health & living conditions
- Life Expectancy at Birth
- Infant Mortality Rate
- Infant Mortality Rate - total deaths/1,000 live births
- Maternal Mortality Rate - deaths/100,000 live births
8
- Physicians Density - physicians/1,000 population
1.69
- Hospital Bed Density - beds/1,000 population
3.5
- Health Expenditures - percent of GDP
10.2%
- Obesity - adult prevalence rate
26.5%
- Drinking Water Source - percent of urban population improved
- Sanitation Facility Access - percent of urban population improved
- Underweight - percent of children under five years
1.5%