Demographics
In 1910 Bosnia and Herzegovina had a population of 1,898,044 where 825,918 (43.49%) were Orthodox, 612,137 were Muslims (32.25%), 434,061 were Catholics (22.87%) and 26,428 (1.39%) others.
According to the 1931 census, there were 2,323,555 persons in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Orthodox 1,028,139 (44.25%); Muslims 718,079 (30.90%); Catholics 547,949 (23.58%); other: 29,388 (1.27%) of the total population.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina in the course of World War II the Serbian population had greatest losses in men and material. The Serbs, Jews and Gypsies were the victims of the genocide executed in the Independent State of Croatia (which included the whole of present day Bosnia and Herzegovina) between 1941 and 1945.
The list of victims of the 1941-1945 war, made in 1964, is kept in the Documentation of the Federal Bureau of Statistics in Belgrade. It contains the names of 179,173 persons killed in the war born in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This list is not complete. The ethnic structure in this fragmental list of the war victims confirms the well-known fact that the Serbian population had greatest losses in this region. The war victims in Bosnia and Herzegovina, according to the above mentioned excerpt from the census, were 72.1% Serbs (129,114), 16.5% Muslims (29,539), 4.4% Croats (7850) and 7.0% of other nationalities. Large population migrations during the Yugoslav wars in the 1990s have caused a large demographic shift in the country. No census has been taken since 1991, and none is planned for the near future due to political disagreements. Since censuses are the only statistical, inclusive, and objective way to analyze demographics, almost all of the post-war data is simply an estimate. Most sources, however, estimate the population at roughly 4 million (representing a decrease of 350,000 since 1991).
According to the 1991 census, Bosnia and Herzegovina had a population of 4,377,053. Ethnically, 41.47% were Muslims by nationality, 33.21% Serbs, and 17.38% Croats, with 5.54% declaring themselves Yugoslavs. According to 2000 data from the CIA World Factbook, Bosnia and Herzegovina is ethnically 46% Bosniak, 38.1% Serb, 15.3% Croat, 0.6% Other.
There is a strong correlation between ethnic identity and religion in Bosnia and Herzegovina. as is shown by the fact that 99% of Bosniaks are Muslims, 98% of Croats are Catholics whilst 99% of Serbs are Orthodox Christians. Tensions between the three constitutional peoples remain high in BiH and often provoke political disagreements.
The majority of the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina are Christians at an estimated 52% which is composed of Serb Orthodox Christians, account for 37%; while Roman Catholics account for a another 15%. There is also a large minority of Muslim, with Sunni Muslims constituting the largest single religious group at 41%.
