Population and Demographics of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Population declining at 0.65% in 2024 · 22.23% aged 65 or older
Bosnia and Herzegovina's fertility estimate is 1.5 children per woman, while 64.73% of residents are in the broad working-age group. Over the 24 years from 2000 to 2024, Bosnia and Herzegovina moved -23.9% in population size. Under the UN medium scenario, the 2050 total is 2.46 million, a 22.4% decrease from 2024.
Population Over Time in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Since 2000, Bosnia and Herzegovina's population has fallen from 4.160M to 3.164M, a net shift of about 1.00 million. By 2050, the medium path reaches 2.455M, which would make the population substantially smaller than in 2024. The chart connects dated reference points only and should not be read as an annual interpolated series.
Age Structure and Sex Balance
Bosnia and Herzegovina has a older demographic profile in the 2024 broad age data. At 22.23%, the 65-and-older group is larger than the 13.04% share under 15, with 64.73% aged 15 to 64. Older adults outnumber children in these broad age bands.
Population by broad age group
In the World Bank 2024 series, females account for 52.4% of Bosnia and Herzegovina's population and males 47.6%. Females exceed males by 4.8 percentage points.
Female and male population share
Females made up 52.4% of the population in the World Bank's 2024 series, compared with 47.6% males.
What Is Shaping Population Change
Bosnia and Herzegovina's demographic indicators put annual change at -0.65% and fertility at 1.5, with age composition adding a 9.19-point gap between children and older adults.
Looking back to 2000, Bosnia and Herzegovina's 2024 population represents a -23.9% change, before a projected -22.4% shift to 2050 under the medium scenario; the page therefore distinguishes measured direction from unmeasured demographic drivers.
2024 estimate for Bosnia and Herzegovina. The world comparison value is 2.25 children per woman.
Bosnia and Herzegovina vs. World
Using one 2024 comparison table keeps the context consistent. Bosnia and Herzegovina's population change is lower than the global rate, fertility is below the global level, and its population is older than the world median-age profile.
| Indicator | Bosnia and Herzegovina | World | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual population change | -0.65% | +0.87% | 2024 |
| Total fertility rate | 1.5 | 2.25 | 2024 |
| Median age | 45 | 30.6 | 2024 |
For comparability, the growth, fertility and median-age rows are kept to the same 2024 harmonized dataset, which cites UN World Population Prospects 2024 as its demographic source.
Key Takeaways
The 2024 total is 3,164,253 people. Annual change in the same harmonized table is -0.65%.
Broad age shares show 22.23% aged 65+ compared with 13.04% under 15; the 15 to 64 group accounts for 64.73%.
Females make up 52.4% of the 2024 population in the World Bank indicator, with males at 47.6%.
By 2050, the medium projection is 2.455M, differing from 2024 by roughly 0.71 million people.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina?
The 2024 harmonized population estimate for Bosnia and Herzegovina is 3,164,253 people.
Is the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina growing or declining?
In the 2024 estimate, Bosnia and Herzegovina's population is declining, with annual change of -0.65%.
What percentage of the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina is aged 65 or older?
People aged 65 or older account for 22.23% of Bosnia and Herzegovina's 2024 population in the UN WPP-based broad age data.
What is the projected population of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2050?
The UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium projection puts Bosnia and Herzegovina's 2050 population at 2,455,167.
What is the fertility rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
The 2024 harmonized fertility estimate for Bosnia and Herzegovina is 1.5 children per woman.
Sources & methodology
This profile uses United Nations World Population Prospects 2024 as the primary framework for globally comparable population, age, fertility and projection data. The World Bank is the primary source for the female population share. Some country values were accessed through secondary retrieval interfaces that republish or organize UN data; those interfaces are identified below as secondary and are not treated as the original statistical publishers.
View sources used for this page
Primary global framework for the population estimates and projections.
Harmonized 2024 country table based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Harmonized broad age shares based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Harmonized reference for the 2000 population point.
Harmonized 2050 country projection based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Used for the 2024 female share; the male share is calculated as the remainder to 100%.