US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. 2022.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a democratic republic with a bicameral parliament. Many governmental functions are the responsibility of two entities within the state, the Bosniak-Croat Federation (Federation) and the Republika Srpska, as well as the Brcko District, an autonomous administrative unit under Bosnia and Herzegovina sovereignty. The 1995 General Framework Agreement for Peace (the Dayton Peace Agreement), which ended the 1992-1995 war, provides the constitutional framework for governmental structures.

IMF Staff Country Reports 2023.

After a strong post-pandemic rebound in 2021, growth moderated to 3.9 percent in 2022 (from 7.4 percent in 2021), with Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) beset by negative food and fuel price shocks, the economic slowdown in Europe, and ongoing domestic political tensions. Inflation has been declining from an all-time high of 17.4 percent in October, but it remains high. Most structural reforms remain on hold, and EU candidacy status, granted in December 2022, has yet to create momentum.

World Bank, 2023.

This report, which is funded by the EU under the Support to Public Sector Management Reform Project in BiH, presents an assessment of e-services and key enablers that underpin an efficient and user-centric digital government in the RS, including recommendations for further development. The assessment was conducted at the request of and in close collaboration with the RS Ministry of Scientific and Technological Development, Higher Education and Information Society (MNRVOID). The report is meant to inform the RS Government's future reform plans in the area of digitization.

OECD Publishing, 2020.

Government at a Glance: Western Balkans presents information on public governance in the Western Balkan region – covering Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, and compares it to OECD and OECD-EU countries. This first regional edition features 40 indicators on public finance, public employment, centre of government, budgeting practices and procedures, human resources management, public procurement, digital government, core government results and serving citizens. Governance indicators provide important benchmarks on public administration systems, practices and performance. Indicators are presented in a user-friendly format using charts, with brief descriptive analyses of the major findings, and a methodological section on the definition of the indicator and any limitations in data comparability.

OECD Publishing, 2022.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has high levels of educational attainment and performs similar to other Western Balkan economies in international assessments of student learning, like the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). However, large shares of students in BiH continue to leave school without mastering basic competencies and there are signs of inequities in the learning outcomes.

OECD Publishing, Paris, 2022.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are essential drivers of sustainable economic growth in the Western Balkans and Turkey, where they make up 99% of all firms, generate 65% value added and account for 75% of employment. Nevertheless, SMEs across the region continue to face obstacles such as difficulties accessing financing, low levels of digital uptake, regulatory barriers and relatively low participation in international trade.

World Trade Organization, 2021.

Trade Profiles 2021 provides a series of key indicators on trade in goods and services for 197 economies. For merchandise trade, major exports and imports are listed for both agricultural and non-agricultural products as well as major origins and destinations for total merchandise trade. For trade in services, a detailed breakdown is provided for transport, travel and other commercial services. Statistics on intellectual property are also provided. The information is available for all WTO members and observers and for other selected economies. For each economy, the data is presented in a handy two-page format, providing a concise overview of global trade. The publication is an invaluable reference tool for anyone looking for essential trade statistics.

World Bank, 2023.

In the context of weakening global demand, growth in the Western Balkans decelerated over the course of 2022 and into 2023. Against the background of the lasting effects of shocks from Russia's invasion of Ukraine, sticky inflation, and tighter financial conditions, global demand has been weakening, and this has a divergent impact across the Western Balkans (WB6). On the one hand, the slowdown in global demand contributed to weaker-than expected performance of industrial production in the whole European Union (EU) region and in the WB6.