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Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country located on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Croatia to the north, west, and south; Serbia to the east; Montenegro to the southeast; and the Adriatic Sea to the south.
Its countryside is home to medieval villages, rivers and lakes and the craggy Dinaric Alps.
Sarajevo is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its center has museums commemorating local history, including Sarajevo 1878–1918, which covers the 1914 assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, an event that sparked World War I. Landmarks of the old quarter, Baščaršija, include the Ottoman-era Gazi Husrev-bey Mosque.
Culturally, politically and socially, the country has a rich history. Bosnia and Herzegovina traces permanent human settlement back to the Neolithic age, during and after which it was populated by several Illyrian and Celtic civilisations.
Today, the country maintains high literacy, life expectancy and education levels. It is one of the most frequently visited countries in the region, projected to have the third highest tourism growth rate in the world between 1995 and 2020. In 2006 Sarajevo was named one of the top 50 Best Cities in the world by Lonely Planet.
The country has three main ethnic groups; Bosniaks are the largest group of the three, with Serbs second and Croats third.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s economy relies heavily on the export of metals, energy, textiles and furniture as well as on remittances and foreign aid. Its top exports are seats, leather footwear, raw aluminum, vehicle parts and sawn wood.
In early 2015, the incoming government adopted a reform agenda with plans for economic and social reforms, strengthening the rule of law, tackling corruption, and improving public institutions.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s top economic priorities are: Acceleration of integration into the European Union; strengthening the fiscal system; Public administration reform; World Trade Organisation membership; and securing economic growth by fostering a dynamic, competitive private sector.
