Emigration from Bosnia-Herzegovina
In general the nation's Bosniak representatives want for the state to be centralized, eliminating the two entities. Republika Srpska representatives want to retain the two entities.
Representatives of the Bosnian Croats largely view the current situation as discriminatory, and are looking for either the abolition of entities and foundation of a decentralized governmental structure, or a third entity (such as the war-time Croatian Republic of Herceg-Bosna).
Conflict about territory
Development and Consequences of Forced Migration
Once an area of voluntary emigration mainly to western European countries, in particular Germany, today´s Bosnia has been characterized by forced migration since the early 1990s, due to ethnic conflicts between the Serbian, Muslim and Croatian population.
The war is sometimes qualified as an “ethnically cleansing”, separating this former Yugoslavian republic into two entities: The Federation BiH and Republic Srpska. During the war, a huge proportion of the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina was displaced due to physical destruction and devastation of their property in which they lived before the war, movement into safer areas, economic needs for the sustainability of families at the time of war and of course due to life threats.
The conflict was fostered by ethnic nationalism. So, minorities generally fled towards regions where their ethnicities was a majority. A million people out of 4.4 million ran away to other countries (mostly to other countries of former Yugoslavia) and at least a further million were internally displaced.
Serbia, Croatia and Montenegro, ex-former republics of Yugoslavia, hosted almost 40% of the total number of Bosnian refugees.
Meanwhile, Austria and Germany hosted the majority of refugees of the region and an outstanding number were hosted by USA, Canada and Australia.
A huge number of the population continued to emigrate even after the Dayton Peace Agreement signed in December 1995. Indeed, refugees returning to their place of origin, suffered from violation of human rights, freedom of movement, etc.
Voluntary migrations of Bosnia-Herzegovina citizens who continued to emigrate from Bosnia and Herzegovina even after the establishment of peace, also increased as a consequence of the war conflict.
Nowadays, more than 20 years after the Dayton Peace Agreement (1995), almost half of the refugees and displaced Bosnian-Herzegovina citizens live outside their pre-war homes.
Consequences of Forced Migration
What is clear is that migration is a very important issue in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Bosnia and Herzegovina was and still is a country of emigration.
BIH population migration trends are caused by different historical, political, social and economic factors. After World War II, population from the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina has mostly emigrated for economic reasons, or for the purpose of employment in the receiving countries.
During the 1991-1995 war, a large proportion of the population was forced to migrate around the world. In the recent years emigration is related to the economic situation.
So, Bosnia-Herzegovina faces important demographic changes since 1992.
Its population is estimated about 4 million of inhabitants.
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to know how the Bosnian-Herzegovina population is composed
BOSNIAN POPULATION INCLUDES:
48% of Bosniaks (Muslim Bosnian)
37% of Serbs
14.3% Croats
0.7% of other.
