The Ipsos agency, based on a questionnaire designed by the International Republican Institute (IRI), conducted a survey in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) on various economic indicators. Only one percent of Federation of BiH (FBiH) citizens gave the best grade to the FBiH Government (very good performance), and the percentage of such opinions has significantly decreased compared to last year, when seven percent of respondents believed that the FBiH Government was very good. The same grade (1%) was given by both Croats and Bosniaks.
This year, 50 percent of respondents said that the FBiH Government is very unsuccessful, which represents an increase compared to 2024, when such a view was held by 33 percent of those surveyed. Bosniaks, compared to Croats, showed greater distrust in the FBiH Government, so 53 percent of Bosniaks said that the FBiH Government is very unsuccessful, and 38 percent of Croats.
Citizens of Republika Srpska (RS) have a better opinion of their entity government than citizens in FBiH, so 9 percent of them rated the RS Government as very good, which is an increase of two percent compared to last year. A total of 38 respondents from RS rated the RS Government with the lowest grade, as very poor, and the percentage of such views also increased compared to last year, when 29 percent of them said that the RS Government was very poor.
Looking by ethnic groups, 9 percent of Bosniaks said that the RS Government is very good, which is the best grade in the survey, and as many as 85 percent of them said that it is very poor, which is the worst grade. A total of 11 percent of Serbs in RS said that their government is very good, and 32 percent that it is very poor.
In BiH, 14 percent of citizens believe that the country is going in the right direction, while 83 percent think it is going in the wrong direction. A year earlier, 21 percent of BiH citizens believed that the country was going in the right direction, while 75 percent thought it was going in the wrong direction. In 2022, 11 percent believed that the country was going in the right direction, while 85 percent thought it was going in the wrong direction.
This year, 35 percent of respondents in BiH, when asked “What does our country need the most at this moment?” answered that it needs “stability and continuity,” while 65 percent of citizens said that it needs change. Exactly 60 percent believe that change means a change of political leaders and ruling parties, 28 percent believe that the economic situation needs to be improved, 5 percent believe that cultural standards and practices, including media and educational standards, need to be changed, while 7 percent understand change as a reduction of corruption.
To the question of which country they consider the most important ally of BiH, 16 percent of respondents said Turkey, 15 percent Serbia, 15 percent the European Union (EU), 11 percent Russia, 10 percent Germany, 10 percent Croatia, and 4 percent the United States (U.S.). Looking at ethnic groups, 31 percent of Bosniak respondents consider Turkey the greatest ally, 1 percent of Serbs, and 3 percent of Croats. In the context of Serbia, 1 percent of Bosniaks see it as the greatest ally, 46 percent of Serbs, and 2 percent of Croats. The European Union (EU) is seen as the greatest ally by 19 percent of Croats, 17 percent of Bosniaks, and 7 percent of Serbs. One percent of Bosniaks see Russia as the greatest ally, 32 percent of Serbs, and none of the Croat respondents. Germany is seen as the greatest ally by 17 percent of Bosniaks, 1 percent of Serbs, and 8 percent of Croats. Croatia is seen in that sense by 2 percent of Bosniaks, 1 percent of Serbs, and 52 percent of Croats. The same percentage of Bosniak and Croat respondents, 6 percent, see the U.S. as the greatest ally, while less than 1 percent of Serbs do.
As the greatest threat to BiH, 28 percent of respondents see Serbia, 18 percent the U.S., 16 percent Russia, 4 percent the EU, 3 percent the United Kingdom (UK), 3 percent Germany, and 2 percent Croatia.
Data collection for this survey was carried out by the Ipsos agency based on a questionnaire designed by the IRI. The data was collected between May 10th and July 7th, 2025, through face-to-face interviews in the homes of respondents. The sample included 1.219 people in BiH. The sample was weighted by region, urbanity, age, gender, and ethnicity according to the 2013 census. The sample was weighted for educational level using Ipsos estimates based on data from the 2013 census.
