Abstract
According to the total number of inhabitants, Bosnia and Herzegovina belongs to the category of small countries. Accordingly, it is the 132nd country globally and the 28th in Europe, right after Croatia and ahead of Albania and Lithuania. The population of Bosnia and Herzegovina is in a post-transition stage of population development in which the rates of natural change are negative. The total fertility rate is among the lowest in the world in the last several years. It is a kind of paradox that Bosnia and Herzegovina is not a geographical area of such a level of development that the post-transition (stationary) population would be a normal expression of socioeconomic conditions. The modern demographic picture has been strongly influenced by external factors from past periods, such as strong emigration and losses in the last war (1992–1995). They shook and significantly accelerated the “normal” demographic dynamics. This is a significant obstacle to the optimal socioeconomic development of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to estimates, 3.6% of the total population has emigrated permanently since 2013. The population of Bosnia and Herzegovina is characterized by the advanced process of demographic aging, i.e., a decline in the number and share of young people and an increase in the share of older people in the total population. The main factors of demographic aging are unfavorable processes in demo-reproduction (decline in birth rates), emigration, war losses, and the lack of quality stimulating population policy. Estimates of future demographic changes in Bosnia and Herzegovina are extremely negative.
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Gekić, H., Bidžan-Gekić, A., Drešković, N., Mirić, R., Reményi, P. (2022). Population Geography of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In: The Geography of Bosnia and Herzegovina. World Regional Geography Book Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98523-3_11
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