Distillers Bosnia and Herzegovina
A one-page guide to Bosnia and Herzegovina for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Sarajevo
- Currency
- Convertible mark (BAM)
- Time zone
- UTC+1 (UTC+2 summer)
- Area
- 51,210 km²
People
- Population
- 3.1 million (2025)
- Population growth
- -0.8% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 52.7%
- Aged under 15
- 12.8%
- Aged 65 and over
- 22.9%
- Life expectancy
- 78.0 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$32.6 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$10,382 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 2.12861913138053% (2025)
- Inflation
- 3.97821271880433% (2025)
Climate
Most of the country has a moderate continental climate with hot summers and cold, snowy winters; Herzegovina in the south is Mediterranean. Seasonal temperature and rainfall figures were not found.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Legal
- Legal drinking age
- 18 (purchase age; selling to under-18s is an offence, no minimum age to consume)
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 6.5 litres of pure alcohol (2022)
- What people drink
- Beer 79%, wine 10%, spirits 11% (2022)
- Traditional drinks
- Rakija (grape/lozovaca, plum/sljivovica, pomace/komovica, apricot, mulberry, sour cherry)
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); Wikipedia: Bosnia and Herzegovina (basics, climate, ports); Wikipedia: Legal drinking age; World Bank Open Data (population, GDP, growth, inflation, area); WHO Global Health Observatory: total alcohol per capita; UN Comtrade (HS 2208 trade); ITA BiH: excise rates; ITA BiH: subject of taxation; Wikipedia: Rakia. Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.