Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing a serious demographic decline. In just three years, the country naturally lost almost 30,000 inhabitants, which corresponds to the number of inhabitants of a city like Trebinje. At the same time, schools remain without students, the number of first-year students is decreasing, and the cost of living makes it increasingly difficult for young people to decide on marriage and parenthood.
The consequences are already visible in the education system. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, there are almost 7,800 fewer students, while 45 schools are closed. In some areas, schools work with a very small number of students, and classes are organized in combined classes.
According to the data of the BiH Agency for Statistics, during the year 2025, 24,105 children were born, while 35,801 people died. Only in February of this year, in all ten cantons in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a negative natural increase was recorded, 1168 babies were born, and 1633 people died.
The cost of living is one of the reasons why young people delay parenthood. Young father Neven talks about the high prices of apartments and the costs of raising a child, which is why the decision to have another child is no longer just a matter of desire but also of the possibility for the family to maintain an acceptable quality of life. At the same time, he says, children are the meaning of life and he would like to have more children, but economic reality raises the question of how much this is possible.
Sociologist Smiljana Vovna warns that young people want security, respect and appreciation of their knowledge, while such an environment, in her opinion, is lacking in BiH. The problem is further deepened by the fact that the country still does not have a clear population policy. Competencies are divided between the entities and cantons, while experts warn that demographic policy cannot be reduced to one-time financial assistance.
Stopping the departure of young people and creating conditions for employment, a safer life and starting a family are therefore key challenges. As the BHRT report shows, BiH has already lost almost 30,000 inhabitants naturally in just three years, BHRT writes.
