Part 17
Electricity - exports: 1.55 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports: 15 million kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products: rice, corn, root crops, citrus, foodgrains; dairy products, eggs
Exports: $154 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: cardamom, gypsum, timber, handicrafts, cement, fruit, electricity (to India), precious stones, spices
Exports - partners: India 94%, Bangladesh
Imports: $269 million (c.i.f., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: fuel and lubricants, grain, machinery and parts, vehicles, fabrics, rice
Imports - partners: India 77%, Japan, UK, Germany, US
Debt - external: $120 million (1998)
Economic aid - recipient: $73.8 million (1995)
Currency: ngultrum (BTN); Indian rupee (INR)
Currency code: BTN; INR
Exchange rates: ngultrum per US dollar - 46.540 (January 2001), 44.942 (2000), 43.055 (1999), 41.259 (1998), 36.313 (1997), 35.433 (1996); note - the Bhutanese ngultrum is at par with the Indian rupee which is also legal tender
Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June
Bhutan Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 6,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: NA
Telephone system: general assessment: NA
domestic: domestic telephone service is very poor with few telephones in use
international: international telephone and telegraph service is by landline through India; a satellite earth station was planned (1990)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 0, FM 1, shortwave 1 (1998)
Radios: 37,000 (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 0 (1997)
Televisions: 11,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .bt
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): NA
Internet users: 500 (2000)
Bhutan Transportation
Railways: 0 km
Highways: total: 3,285 km
paved: 1,994 km
unpaved: 1,291 km (1996)
Waterways: none
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: 2 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2000 est.)
Bhutan Military
Military branches: Royal Bhutan Army, National Militia, Royal Bhutan Police, Royal Body Guards, Forest Guards (paramilitary)
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 504,342 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 269,251 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 21,167 (2001 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Bhutan Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: refugee issue over the presence in Nepal of approximately 98,700 Bhutanese refugees, 90% of whom are in seven United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) camps
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@Bolivia
Bolivia Introduction
Background: Bolivia, named after independence fighter Simon BOLIVAR, broke away from Spanish rule in 1825; much of its subsequent history has consisted of a series of nearly 200 coups and counter-coups. Comparatively democratic civilian rule was established in the 1980s, but leaders have faced difficult problems of deep-seated poverty, social unrest, and drug production. Current goals include attracting foreign investment, strengthening the educational system, continuing the privatization program, and waging an anti-corruption campaign.
Bolivia Geography
Location: Central South America, southwest of Brazil
Geographic coordinates: 17 00 S, 65 00 W
Map references: South America
Area: total: 1,098,580 sq km
land: 1,084,390 sq km
water: 14,190 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly less than three times the size of Montana
Land boundaries: total: 6,743 km
border countries: Argentina 832 km, Brazil 3,400 km, Chile 861 km, Paraguay 750 km, Peru 900 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: varies with altitude; humid and tropical to cold and semiarid
Terrain: rugged Andes Mountains with a highland plateau (Altiplano), hills, lowland plains of the Amazon Basin
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Rio Paraguay 90 m
highest point: Nevado Sajama 6,542 m
Natural resources: tin, natural gas, petroleum, zinc, tungsten, antimony, silver, iron, lead, gold, timber, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 2%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 24%
forests and woodland: 53%
other: 21% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 1,750 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: flooding in the northeast (March-April)
Environment - current issues: the clearing of land for agricultural purposes and the international demand for tropical timber are contributing to deforestation; soil erosion from overgrazing and poor cultivation methods (including slash-and-burn agriculture); desertification; loss of biodiversity; industrial pollution of water supplies used for drinking and irrigation
Environment - international agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection
Geography - note: landlocked; shares control of Lago Titicaca, world's highest navigable lake (elevation 3,805 m), with Peru
Bolivia People
Population: 8,300,463 (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 38.46% (male 1,626,698; female 1,565,748)
15-64 years: 57.07% (male 2,315,098; female 2,421,987)
65 years and over: 4.47% (male 166,986; female 203,946) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.76% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 27.27 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 8.2 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: -1.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.82 male(s)/female
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 58.98 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 64.06 years
male: 61.53 years
female: 66.72 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 3.51 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.1% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 4,200 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 380 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Bolivian(s)
adjective: Bolivian
Ethnic groups: Quechua 30%, Aymara 25%, mestizo (mixed white and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, white 15%
Religions: Roman Catholic 95%, Protestant (Evangelical Methodist)
Languages: Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara (official)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.1%
male: 90.5%
female: 76% (1995 est.)
Bolivia Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Bolivia
conventional short form: Bolivia
local long form: Republica de Bolivia
local short form: Bolivia
Government type: republic
Capital: La Paz (seat of government); Sucre (legal capital and seat of judiciary)
Administrative divisions: 9 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento); Chuquisaca, Cochabamba, Beni, La Paz, Oruro, Pando, Potosi, Santa Cruz, Tarija
Independence: 6 August 1825 (from Spain)
National holiday: Independence Day, 6 August (1825)
Constitution: 2 February 1967; revised in August 1994
Legal system: based on Spanish law and Napoleonic Code; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age, universal and compulsory (married); 21 years of age, universal and compulsory (single)
Executive branch: chief of state: President Hugo BANZER Suarez (since 6 August 1997); Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez (since 6 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Hugo BANZER Suarez (since 6 August 1997); Vice President Jorge Fernando QUIROGA Ramirez (since 6 August 1997); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president
elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for five-year terms; election last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held May or June 2002)
election results: Hugo BANZER Suarez elected president; percent of vote - Hugo BANZER Suarez (ADN) 22%; Jaime PAZ Zamora (MIR) 17%, Juan Carlos DURAN (MNR) 18%, Ivo KULJIS (UCS) 16%, Remedios LOZA (CONDEPA) 17%; no candidate received a majority of the popular vote; Hugo BANZER Suarez won a congressional runoff election on 5 August 1997 after forming a "megacoalition" with MIR, UCS, CONDEPA, NFR, and PDC
Legislative branch: bicameral National Congress or Congreso Nacional consists of Chamber of Senators or Camara de Senadores (27 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) and Chamber of Deputies or Camara de Diputados (130 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms; note - some members are drawn from party lists, thus not directly elected)
elections: Chamber of Senators and Chamber of Deputies - last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA June 2002)
election results: Chamber of Senators - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ADN 11, MIR 7, MNR 4, CONDEPA 3, UCS 2; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - ADN 32, MNR 26, MIR 23, UCS 21, CONDEPA 19, MBL 5, IU 4
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (judges appointed for 10-year terms by National Congress); District Courts (one in each department); provincial and local courts (to try minor cases)
Political parties and leaders: Christian Democratic Party or PDC [leader NA]; Civic Solidarity Union or UCS [Johnny FERNANDEZ]; Conscience of the Fatherland or CONDEPA [Remedios LOZA Alvarado]; Free Bolivia Movement or MBL [Antonio ARANIBAR]; Movement of the Revolutionary Left or MIR [Jaime PAZ Zamora]; Nationalist Democratic Action or ADN [Hugo BANZER Suarez]; Nationalist Revolutionary Movement or MNR [Gonzalo SANCHEZ DE LOZADA]; New Republican Force or NFR [leader NA]; Pachacuti Indigenous Movement [Filipe QUISPE]; United Left or IU [Marcos DOMIC]
note: the ADN, MIR, and UCS comprise the ruling coalition
Political pressure groups and leaders: Cocalero Groups; indigenous organizations; labor unions
International organization participation: CAN, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-11, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, LAES, LAIA, Mercosur (associate), MONUC, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Marlene FERNANDEZ del Granado
chancery: 3014 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 483-4410
FAX: [1] (202) 328-3712
consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and San Francisco
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador V. Manuel ROCHA
embassy: Avenida Arce 2780, San Jorge, La Paz
mailing address: P. O. Box 425, La Paz; APO AA 34032
telephone: [591] (2) 432254
FAX: [591] (2) 433854
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), yellow, and green with the coat of arms centered on the yellow band; similar to the flag of Ghana, which has a large black five-pointed star centered in the yellow band
Bolivia Economy
Economy - overview: Bolivia, long one of the poorest and least developed Latin American countries, has made considerable progress toward the development of a market-oriented economy. Successes under President SANCHEZ DE LOZADA (1993-97) included the signing of a free trade agreement with Mexico and joining the Southern Cone Common Market (Mercosur), as well as the privatization of the state airline, telephone company, railroad, electric power company, and oil company. His successor, Hugo BANZER Suarez has tried to further improve the country's investment climate with an anticorruption campaign. Growth slowed in 1999, in part due to tight government budget policies, which limited needed appropriations for anti-poverty programs, and the fallout from the Asian financial crisis. In 2000, major civil disturbances in April, and again in September and October, held down overall growth to 2.5%.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $20.9 billion (2000 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 2.5% (2000 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2000 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 16%
industry: 31%
services: 53% (1999 est.)
Population below poverty line: 70% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.3%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1990)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 4.4% (2000 est.)
Labor force: 2.5 million
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%
Unemployment rate: 11.4% (1997)
note: widespread underemployment
Budget: revenues: $2.7 billion
expenditures: $2.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998)
Industries: mining, smelting, petroleum, food and beverages, tobacco, handicrafts, clothing
Industrial production growth rate: 4% (1995 est.)
Electricity - production: 3.625 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 56.61%
hydro: 41.6%
nuclear: 0%
other: 1.79% (1999)
Electricity - consumption: 3.377 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity - exports: 4 million kWh (1999)
Electricity - imports: 10 million kWh (1999)
Agriculture - products: soybeans, coffee, coca, cotton, corn, sugarcane, rice, potatoes; timber
Exports: $1.26 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Exports - commodities: soybeans, natural gas, zinc, gold, wood
Exports - partners: UK 16%, US 12%, Peru 11%, Argentina 10%, Colombia 7% (1998)
Imports: $1.86 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
Imports - commodities: capital goods, raw materials and semi-manufactures, chemicals, petroleum, food
Imports - partners: US 32%, Japan 24%, Brazil 12%, Argentina 12%, Chile 7%, Peru 4%, Germany 3%, other 6% (1998)
Debt - external: $6.6 billion (2000)
Economic aid - recipient: $588 million (1997)
Currency: boliviano (BOB)
Currency code: BOB
Exchange rates: bolivianos per US dollar - 6.4071 (January 2001), 6.1835 (2000), 5.8124 (1999), 5.5101 (1998), 5.2543 (1997), 5.0746 (1996)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Bolivia Communications
Telephones - main lines in use: 327,600 (1996)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 116,000 (1997)
Telephone system: general assessment: new subscribers face bureaucratic difficulties; most telephones are concentrated in La Paz and other cities; mobile cellular telephone use expanding rapidly
domestic: primary trunk system, which is being expanded, employs digital microwave radio relay; some areas are served by fiber-optic cable; mobile cellular systems are being expanded
international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 171, FM 73, shortwave 77 (1999)
Radios: 5.25 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 48 (1997)
Televisions: 900,000 (1997)
Internet country code: .bo
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 9 (2000)
Internet users: 35,000 (2000)
Bolivia Transportation
Railways: total: 3,691 km (single track)
narrow gauge: 3,652 km 1.000-m gauge; 39 km 0.760-m gauge (13 km electrified) (1995)
Highways: total: 49,400 km
paved: 2,500 km (including 30 km of expressways)
unpaved: 46,900 km (1996)
Waterways: 10,000 km (commercially navigable)
Pipelines: crude oil 1,800 km; petroleum products 580 km; natural gas 1,495 km
Ports and harbors: none; however, Bolivia has free port privileges in maritime ports in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Paraguay
Merchant marine: total: 42 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 141,017 GRT/211,058 DWT
ships by type: bulk 5, cargo 20, chemical tanker 3, container 1, petroleum tanker 10, roll on/roll off 3 (2000 est.)
Airports: 1,093 (2000 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 13
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2000 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 1,080
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 65
914 to 1,523 m: 212
under 914 m: 800 (2000 est.)
Bolivia Military
Military branches: Army (Ejercito Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval Boliviana, includes Marines), Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Boliviana), National Police Force (Policia Nacional de Bolivia)
Military manpower - military age: 19 years of age
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,005,660 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 1,306,452 (2001 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 90,120 (2001 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $147 million (FY99)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1.8% (FY99)
Bolivia Transnational Issues
Disputes - international: has wanted a sovereign corridor to the South Pacific Ocean since the Atacama area was lost to Chile in 1884; dispute with Chile over Rio Lauca water rights
Illicit drugs: world's third-largest cultivator of coca (after Colombia and Peru, a distant second) with an estimated 14,600 hectares under cultivation in 2000, a 33% decrease in overall cultivation of coca from 1999 levels; intermediate coca products and cocaine exported to or through Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile to the US and other international drug markets; eradication and alternative crop programs have slashed illicit coca cultivation during the BANZER administration beginning in 1997
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@Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina Introduction
Background: Bosnia and Herzegovina's declaration of sovereignty in October 1991, was followed by a referendum for independence from the former Yugoslavia in February 1992. The Bosnian Serbs - supported by neighboring Serbia - 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. On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties signed a peace agreement that brought to a halt the three years of interethnic civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995). The Dayton Agreement retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a joint multi-ethnic and democratic government. This national government is charged with conducting foreign, economic, and fiscal policy. Also recognized was a second tier of government comprised of two entities roughly equal in size: the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska (RS). The Federation and RS governments are charged with overseeing internal functions. In 1995-96, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops served in Bosnia to implement and monitor the military aspects of the agreement. IFOR was succeeded by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) whose mission is to deter renewed hostilities. SFOR remains in place at a level of approximately 21,000 troops.
Bosnia and Herzegovina Geography
Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia
Geographic coordinates: 44 00 N, 18 00 E
Map references: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Europe
Area: total: 51,129 sq km
land: 51,129 sq km
water: 0 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than West Virginia
Land boundaries: total: 1,459 km
border countries: Croatia 932 km, Yugoslavia 527 km
Coastline: 20 km
Maritime claims: NA
Climate: hot summers and cold winters; areas of high elevation have short, cool summers and long, severe winters; mild, rainy winters along coast
Terrain: mountains and valleys
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m
highest point: Maglic 2,386 m
Natural resources: coal, iron, bauxite, manganese, forests, copper, chromium, lead, zinc, hydropower
Land use: arable land: 14%
permanent crops: 5%
permanent pastures: 20%
forests and woodland: 39%
other: 22% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 20 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: destructive earthquakes
Environment - current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants; sites for disposing of urban waste are limited; water shortages and destruction of infrastructure because of the 1992-95 civil strife
Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Climate Change, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Geography - note: within Bosnia and Herzegovina's recognized borders, the country is divided into a joint Bosniak/Croat Federation (about 51% of the territory) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska or RS (about 49% of the territory); the region called Herzegovina is contiguous to Croatia and traditionally has been settled by an ethnic Croat majority
Bosnia and Herzegovina People
Population: 3,922,205
note: all data dealing with population are subject to considerable error because of the dislocations caused by military action and ethnic cleansing (July 2001 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 20.13% (male 405,713; female 383,850)
15-64 years: 70.78% (male 1,422,796; female 1,353,410)
65 years and over: 9.09% (male 150,802; female 205,634) (2001 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.38% (2001 est.)
Birth rate: 12.86 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Death rate: 7.99 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Net migration rate: 8.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.73 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 24.35 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 71.75 years
male: 69.04 years
female: 74.65 years (2001 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.71 children born/woman (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.04% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: NA
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 100 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Bosnian(s), Herzegovinian(s)
adjective: Bosnian, Herzegovinian
Ethnic groups: Serb 31%, Bosniak 44%, Croat 17%, Yugoslav 5.5%, other 2.5% (1991)
note: Bosniak has replaced muslim as an ethnic term in part to avoid confusion with the religious term Muslim - an adherent of Islam
Religions: Muslim 40%, Orthodox 31%, Roman Catholic 15%, Protestant 4%, other 10%
Languages: Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian
Literacy: definition: NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%
Bosnia and Herzegovina Government
Country name: conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Bosnia and Herzegovina
local long form: none
local short form: Bosna i Hercegovina
Government type: emerging democracy
Capital: Sarajevo
Administrative divisions: there are two first-order administrative divisions - the Bosniak/Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Federacija Bosna i Hercegovina) and the Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska; note - Brcko in northeastern Bosnia is a self-governing administrative unit under the sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina; it is not part of either the Federation or Republika Srpska
Independence: 1 March 1992 (from Yugoslavia)
National holiday: National Day, 25 November (1943)
Constitution: the Dayton Agreement, signed 14 December 1995, included a new constitution now in force
Legal system: based on civil law system
Suffrage: 16 years of age, if employed; 18 years of age, universal
Executive branch: chief of state: Chairman of the Presidency Jozo KRIZANOVI (chairman since 14 June 2001, presidency member since NA March 2001 - Croat); other members of the three-member rotating (every 8 months) presidency: Zivko RADISIC (since 13 October 1998 - Serb) and Beriz BELKIC (since NA March 2001 - Bosniak); note - Ante JELAVIC was dismissed from his post by the UN High Representative in March 2001
head of government: Chairman of the Council of Ministers Zlatko LAGUMDZIJA (since 18 July 2001)
cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the council chairman; approved by the National House of Representatives
elections: the three members of the presidency (one Bosniak, one Croat, one Serb) are elected by popular vote for a four-year term; the member with the most votes becomes the chairman unless he or she was the incumbent chairman at the time of the election; election last held 12-13 September 1998 (next to be held NA September 2002); the chairman of the Council of Ministers is appointed by the presidency and confirmed by the National House of Representatives
election results: percent of vote - Zivko RADISIC with 52% of the Serb vote was elected chairman of the collective presidency for the first 8 months; Ante JELAVIC with 52% of the Croat vote followed RADISIC in the rotation; Alija IZETBEGOVIC with 87% of the Bosniak vote won the highest number of votes in the election but was ineligible to serve a second term until RADISIC and JELAVIC had each served a first term as Chairman of the Presidency; IZETBEGOVIC retired from the presidency 14 October 2000 and was temporarily replaced by Halid GENJAC; Ante JELAVIC was replaced by Jozo KRIZANOVIC in March 2001
note: President of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Karlo FILIPOVIC (since 27 February 2001); Vice President Safet HALILOVIC (since 27 February 2001); note - president and vice president rotate every year; President of the Republika Srpska: Mirko SAROVIC (since 11 November 2000)
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliamentary Assembly or Skupstina consists of the National House of Representatives or Predstavnicki Dom (42 seats - 14 Serb, 14 Croat, and 14 Bosniak; members elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms) and the House of Peoples or Dom Naroda (15 seats - 5 Bosniak, 5 Croat, 5 Serb; members elected by the Bosniak/Croat Federation's House of Representatives and the Republika Srpska's National Assembly to serve two-year terms); note - as of 1 January 2001, Bosnia and Herzegovina does not have a permanent election law; a draft law specifies four-year terms for the state and first-order administrative division entity legislatures; officials elected in 2000 were elected to two-year terms on the presumption that a permanent law would be in place before 2002
elections: National House of Representatives - elections last held 11 November 2000 (next to be held in the fall of 2002); House of Peoples - last constituted after the 11 November 2000 elections (next to be constituted in the fall of 2002)