Situated in the Balkans, Bosnia and Herzegovina (known informally as Bosnia) is a former Yogoslav republic that went through a devastating three-year war in the early 1990s to break away and establish itself as an independent country. The conflict resulted from the Serb ethnic group wanting to remain as a part of Yugoslavia with the Croats and Bosniaks wanting independence. The war resulted in a massacre of Bosnian muslims and Croats, eventually ending in peace via the Dayton accords of 1995.
Bosnia’s main ethnic groups are Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs, with most official business being conducted in Bosnian, Croatian, English and Serbian. The majority of the population practice Islam with a significant minority identifying as Christians. Its capital is Sarajevo.
Bosnia is developing to be a significant tourist destination offering both historical and cultural sites to visit, as well as winter sports options. It also has a strong literary tradition, counting Nobel prize winner Ivo Andrić amongst its greats.