The purchasing power of citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH)is at a historically low level. Inflation, political uncertainty, and economic stagnation have created a vicious cycle in which citizens are finding it harder each day to meet their basic living needs.
Food and hygiene products, which make up the basis of the consumer basket, are seeing a continuous rise in prices. The market is recording significant price increases in basic goods such as bread, oil, meat, and milk, while at the same time, real wages are not increasing accordingly. In many households, food is no longer a matter of choice, but of survival – priorities are shifting, and luxury is becoming what used to be everyday life.
Salaries in both the public and private sectors, with rare exceptions, have not kept up with the pace of inflation. Families with children, pensioners, and the unemployed, who are most sensitive to price changes, are taking the hardest hit. The gap between nominal wages and actual purchasing power has never been more pronounced.
In addition to economic challenges, the political crisis further destabilizes an already disrupted everyday life. Instead of an effective response and systemic support measures, institutions are increasingly facing blockades, ethnic tensions, and a lack of political will to put citizens’ problems first. Key laws and reforms that could mitigate the effects of inflation remain stuck in procedures.
The lack of coordinated economic measures and social policies only deepens the gap between citizens and the authorities. The aid that is occasionally announced rarely reaches the most vulnerable segments of society, and transparency in the distribution of funds is almost nonexistent.
While the consumer basket becomes more expensive, the responses of the system remain silent. Citizens are increasingly resorting to saving on basic needs, postponing medical treatment, withdrawing from the labor market, and considering leaving the country. BiH is facing not only an economic, but also a deeply social and demographic problem, which could have long-term consequences.
Without concrete and bold political moves, recovery will not be possible. In the meantime, the daily life of citizens boils down to survival, while institutions, instead of solutions, produce new questions, Forbes writes.
