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.

HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS
For the first centuries of the Christian era, Bosnia was part of the Roman Empire. After the fall of Rome, Bosnia was contested by Byzantium and Rome's successors in the west. Slavs settled the region in the 7th century, and the kingdoms of Serbia and Croatia split control of Bosnia in the 9th century. The 11th and 12th centuries saw the rule of the region by the kingdom of Hungary. The medieval kingdom of Bosnia gained its independence around 1200 A.D. Bosnia remained independent until 1463, when Ottoman Turks conquered the region.

ECONOMY
Next to Macedonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina was the poorest republic in the old Yugoslav Federation. For the most part, agriculture has been in private hands, but farms have been small and inefficient, and food has traditionally been a net import for the republic. The centrally planned economy has resulted in some legacies in the economy. Industry is greatly overstaffed, reflecting the rigidity of the planned economy. Under Tito, military industries were pushed in the republic; Bosnia hosted a large share of Yugoslavia's defense plants. Three years of interethnic strife destroyed the economy and infrastructure in Bosnia, caused the death of about 200,000 people, and displaced half of the population.

Full country name: Republic of Bosnia & Hercegovina
Area: 51,200 sq km (19,970 sq mi)
Population: 3,483,000 (4 million pre-war). All data dealing with population is subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing.
Capital city: Sarajevo (pop 350,000)
People: Serb (40%), Muslim (38%), Croat (22%)
Languages: Serbo-Croatian (often called Bosnian)
Religion: Muslim (40%), Orthodox (31%), Catholic (15%), Protestant (4%), other (10%)
Government: Emerging democracy
Prime Minister: Zlatko Lagumdzija
President: Niko Lozancic
GDP: US$5.8 billion (1998 estimate)
GDP per head: US$1,720
Growth rate: 30%
Major industries: mining, vehicle assembly, textiles, tobacco, wooden furniture, tank and aircraft assembly, domestic appliances, oil refining (most heavily damaged or shut down)
Member of EU: no