Demographic trends in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and neighboring countries are poor. The first thing the authorities decide to do to improve it is demographic measures while ignoring the fact that many complex factors influence someone’s decision to (not) start a family.
BiH had a negative natural increase of 8.298 last year. There are no precise data on how many people immigrated to the country and how many emigrated from it. According to some data, more than half a million people have moved out in the last six years.
A recent United Nations (UN) study found that between 22.300 and 23.700 people aged 18 to 29 are likely to move out next year.
In the Federation of BiH (FBiH), maternity benefits vary from canton to canton. Posavina Canton does not provide maternity benefits. In most cantons, except in Canton Sarajevo (CS), there are benefits for employed and unemployed mothers that are paid for 12 months.
In the CS, it was recently decided that every mother receives 1.000 BAM per month for one year, regardless of whether she is employed or unemployed.
As for most other cantons, compensation for employed mothers depends on the average salary in the canton. The highest is in Tuzla Canton (TC), where the compensation is 90 percent of the average salary, and the lowest is in Una-Sana Canton, where it is 50 percent of the average salary.
When it comes to Republika Srpska (RS), it is as much as the average salary in the last three months before the start of maternity leave and is in accordance with the growth of average salaries in this entity. The benefit is received during maternity leave.
In the Brcko District, it is calculated from the base of the average salary of a mother in the last three months before the beginning of maternity leave. In this part of BiH, benefits arealso paid during maternity leave.
Alma Pobric, a demographic professor at the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Sarajevo (UNSA), emphasized that demographic problems in BiH are primarily the result of negative political trends. She welcomesdemographic measures but reiterates that they are not enough. She stressed that unfavorable demographic trends are a reflection of dissatisfaction with the overall social situation.
E.Dz.
Source: Klix.ba
