Bosnia and Herzegovina is a small country located in the Balkan region of South Eastern Europe. It borders Croatia, Serbia and Montenegro and has a short stretch of coastline at the Adriatic Sea.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has been populated since prehistoric times and formed part of the Illyrian province in the Roman Empire. It was later a part of the Byzantine Empire, but in the late 12th Century the country was briefly independent until it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire. At the end of the 19th Century, Bosnia and Herzegovina became part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire which lasted until the end of World War I. In 1929, Bosnia and Herzegovina became part first of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and later of socialist Yugoslavia.

In 1992, Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence, but was until 1995 in open war with Serbia, which only finished after intervention by NATO on behalf of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina aspires to become member of NATO in the short term and the European Union in the long term.

Inhabitants: 3.900.000
Area: 51.000 km2
Capital: Sarajevo (700.000 inhabitants)
Languages: Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian
Religion: Muslims (40%), Orthodox (31%), Roman Catholics (15%), others (14%)
GDP (PPP) per capita: $9.200
Government: Parliamentary democracy
Climate: Hot summers and cold winters but in the mountain regions, summers are usually short and cold while winters are long and severe.