Bosnia and Hercegovina

The nation of Bosnia i Hercegovinia came into existence officially in 1992. It lies in the western Balkan Peninsula in Europe. It is bordered on the north, west, and south by Croatia, on the east and southeast by the Yugoslav republics of Serbia and Montenegro, and on the southwest by the Adriatic Sea along a narrow extension of the country. The area had Paleolithic settlements. Slavic tribes arrived 7th century CE, including Croats and Serbs. Medieval principalities arose. The area separated from Serbia in 960, was ruled by Croatian kings, by Hungary from 1000, then by Turks from 1463. Its competing nationalists clashed in the 18th and19th centuries. It became part of Austria-Hungary in 1878, of Yugoslavia in 1946. In 1991 it declared independence but has been torn by internal strife since Spring 1992. The official language is Serbo-Croatian, or Serbian, Croatian, and Bosnian. The capital is Sarajevo. The 2003 estimated population was about 4,207,300.