1 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties initialed
a peace agreement that brought to a halt three years of interethnic
civil strife (the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December
1995). The Dayton Peace Accords retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's
international boundaries and created a joint multi-ethnic and
democratic government charged with conducting foreign, diplomatic,
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 were
charged with overseeing most government functions. The Office of the
High Representative (OHR) was established to oversee the
implementation of the civilian aspects of the agreement. 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 was to deter renewed
hostilities. European Union peacekeeping troops (EUFOR) replaced
SFOR in December 2004; their mission is to maintain peace and
stability throughout the country. EUFOR's mission changed from
peacekeeping to civil policing in October 2007, with its presence
reduced from nearly 7,000 to 2,500 troops.

Geography
Bosnia and Herzegovina

Location:

Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea and Croatia

Geographic coordinates:

44 00 N, 18 00 E

Map references:

Europe

Area:

total: 51,209.2 sq km
land: 51,197 sq km
water: 12.2 sq km

Area - comparative:

slightly smaller than West Virginia

Land boundaries:

total: 1,538 km
border countries: Croatia 932 km, Montenegro 249 km, Serbia 357 km

Coastline:

20 km

Maritime claims:

no data available

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 ore, bauxite, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, cobalt,
manganese, nickel, clay, gypsum, salt, sand, forests, hydropower

Land use:

arable land: 19.61%
permanent crops: 1.89%
other: 78.5% (2005)

Irrigated land:

30 sq km (2003)