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Coordinates: 44°45′N 17°19′E / 44.750°N 17.317°E / 44.750; 17.317
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{{Short description|Political entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
{{Distinguish|Serbia}}
{{About|the present-day Republika Srpska|the entity which existed from 1992 to 1995| Republika Srpska (1992–1995)}}
{{Distinguish|Serbia{{!}}Republic of Serbia}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox dependency
| native_name = {{native name|sr-Cyrl|Република Српска}}
| settlement_type = [[Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
| image_flag = Flag of Republika Srpska.svg
| image_seal = Amblem republike srpske.svg
| seal_size = 80px
| seal_type = Emblem
| seal_link = Seal of Republika Srpska
| national_motto =
| anthem = Моја Република ([[Serbian language|Serbian]])<br/>''[[Moja Republika|Moja Republika]]''<br />"My Republic"<br/>[[File:Moja republika.ogg|center]]
| anthem_link =
| image_map = Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina.svg
| map_caption = Red indicates the location of Republika Srpska within Bosnia and Herzegovina. Pink is [[Brčko District]].
| capital = [[Sarajevo]]<ref name="ohr.int">{{cite web |url=http://www.ohr.int/ohr-dept/legal/oth-legist/doc/rs-constitution.doc |title=Constitution of the Republika Srpska – official website of the Office of the High Representative |access-date=13 September 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081001162720/http://www.ohr.int/ohr-dept/legal/oth-legist/doc/rs-constitution.doc |archive-date=1 October 2008 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref><br />[[Istočno Sarajevo]] (de jure)
[[Banja Luka]] (de facto)<ref name="Mihaylov 2020">{{cite book |author-last=Mihaylov |author-first=Valentin |year=2020 |chapter=Ethnoterritorial Divisions and Urban Geopolitics in Post-Yugoslav Mostar |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jTMPEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA95 |title=Spatial Conflicts and Divisions in Post-socialist Cities |location=[[Cham, Switzerland]] |publisher=[[Springer Verlag]] |series=The Urban Book Series |page=95 |doi=10.1007/978-3-030-61765-3_6 |isbn=978-3-030-61765-3 |s2cid=234970806 |issn=2365-7588 |quote=[[Bosniaks]] prevail in the capital city of [[Sarajevo]], while [[Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Serbs]] are dominant in their [[Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina|entity]] and its capital, '''Banja Luka'''. Although Sarajevo is the capital of the entire multinational federation, Serbs and [[Croats]] often perceive it as a city governed by Bosniaks. Like many other cities, villages, municipalities and regions across Bosnia and Herzegovina, [[Mostar]] underwent the period of national homogenization as a result of [[Ethnic cleansing in the Bosnian War|ethnic cleansing]] or forced migration in the face of extreme nationalism and violence. Unlike Sarajevo and Banja Luka, no ethnic group succeeded in achieving full supremacy in Mostar.}}</ref>
| largest_city = [[Banja Luka]]
| languages_type = [[Official language]]s<ref name=Constitution>{{cite web |url=http://www.ustavnisud.org/upload/4_8_2009_48_ustav_srpski.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120212023932/http://www.ustavnisud.org/upload/4_8_2009_48_ustav_srpski.pdf |url-status=dead |title=Constitution of Republika Srpska |archive-date=12 February 2012}}</ref>
| official_languages = {{hlist|[[Serbian language|Serbian]]|[[Bosnian language|Bosnian]]|[[Croatian language|Croatian]]}}
| ethnic_groups = {{vunblist|81.51% [[Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Serbs]]|13.99% [[Bosniaks]]|2.41% [[Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Croats]]|2.09% others}}
| ethnic_groups_year = 2013 census<ref name="census2013">{{cite report |title=Census 2013 - Final Results |url=http://www.statistika.ba/?lang=en |access-date=22 June 2024}}</ref>
| government_type = [[Federated state]]
| leader_title1 = [[President of Republika Srpska|President]]
| leader_name1 = [[Milorad Dodik]]
| leader_title2 = [[List of prime ministers of Republika Srpska|Prime Minister]]
| leader_name2 = [[Radovan Višković]]
| leader_title3 = [[List of speakers of the National Assembly of Republika Srpska|President of the National Assembly]]
| leader_name3 = [[Nenad Stevandić]]
| legislature = [[National Assembly (Republika Srpska)|National Assembly]]
| sovereignty_type = <!--[[History of Republika Srpska|Formation]]-->
| established_title = [[Republika Srpska (1992–1995)|Proclaimed]]
| established_date = 9 January 1992
| established_title2 = {{nowrap|Recognized as<br />[[Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina|part of Bosnia<br />and Herzegovina]]}}
| established_date2 = 14 December 1995
| area_km2 = 24,641
| area_sq_mi = 9,504.78
| population_census = {{decrease}} 1,228,423<ref name="census2013" />
| population_census_year = 2013
| population_density_km2 = 45.2
| population_density_sq_mi = 129.24
| population_density_rank =
| population_data2 = {{decrease}} 1,114,819<ref name="rzs.rs.ba">{{cite web |title=Database of Economic Indicators |url=https://www.rzs.rs.ba/ |website=rzs.rs.ba |publisher=Republic of Srpska Bureau of Statistics}}</ref>
| population_label2 = 2023 estimate
| GDP_PPP =
| GDP_PPP_rank =
| GDP_PPP_year =
| GDP_PPP_per_capita =
| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank =
| GDP_nominal = {{increase}} $8.892 billion<ref name="rzs.rs.ba" />
| GDP_nominal_rank =
| GDP_nominal_year = 2023
| GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{increase}} $7,976
| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank =
| Gini_year =
| Gini_change = <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| Gini = <!--number only-->
| Gini_ref =
| Gini_rank =
| HDI_year = 2022
| HDI_change = <!--increase/decrease/steady-->
| HDI = 0.776
| HDI_ref = <ref>{{cite web |url=https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/shdi/BIH/?levels=1%2B4&interpolation=0&extrapolation=0&nearest_real=0&years=2019&colour_scales=national|title=Sub-national HDI – Area Database – Global Data Lab |website=hdi.globaldatalab.org |language=en |access-date=3 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923120638/https://hdi.globaldatalab.org/areadata/shdi/ |archive-date=23 September 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
| HDI_rank =
| currency = [[Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark|Convertible mark]]<sup>e</sup>
| currency_code = BAM
| utc_offset = +01:00
| DST_note =
| utc_offset_DST = +02:00
| drives_on = right
| calling_code = [[+387]]
|iso_code = BA-SRP
| footnotes = <sup>a</sup> Although the north-eastern [[Brčko District]] is formally held in [[condominium (international law)|condominium]] by both entities, it is a ''de facto'' autonomous political entity, having the same powers as the other two entities and is under the direct sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina.<br /><sup>b</sup> The [[Constitution of Republika Srpska]] avoids naming "Serbian, Bosnian, and Croatian", instead listing them as "the language of the Serb people, the language of the Bosniak people and the language of the Croat people" due to the ongoing debate over the separation of these languages.{{small|<ref>{{cite web |title=Decision on Constitutional Amendments in Republika Srpska |url=http://www.ohr.int/print/?content_id=7474 |publisher=Office of the High Representative |access-date=3 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118131924/http://www.ohr.int/print/?content_id=7474 |archive-date=18 January 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>}}<br /><sup>c</sup> Including refugees abroad<br /><sup>d</sup> Excluding Republika Srpska's 48% of the [[Brčko District]]<br /><sup>e</sup> [[Serbian Cyrillic alphabet|Cyrillic version]]
|flag_size=130px}}


'''Republika Srpska''' ({{lang-sr-Cyrl|Република Српска}}, {{IPA|sh|repǔblika sr̩̂pskaː|pron|RepublikaSrpska.ogg}}, also known as the '''Republic of Srpska''') is one of the two [[Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina|entities]] of [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], the other being the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]. It is located in the northern and eastern parts of the country and had a population of 1,228,423 according to the 2013 census.<ref name="census2013" /> The largest city and administrative center is [[Banja Luka]], situated on the [[Vrbas (river)|Vrbas River]].
{{Infobox Country

|native_name = Република Српска<br>Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska was founded in 1992 at the outset of the [[Bosnian War]] with the declared aim of protecting the interests of the [[Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]. The war led to the [[Ethnic cleansing in the Bosnian War|expulsion]] of the vast majority of [[Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Croats]] and [[Bosniaks]] from areas under Republika Srpska’s control, while many Serbs were expelled from the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] to Republika Srpska. Following the 1995 [[Dayton Agreement]], Republika Srpska was officially recognized as one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today, it is home to the majority of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Serb population.
|conventional_long_name = <!--Conventional English long-form name-->

|common_name = Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska operates under a parliamentary system, with legislative authority vested in the [[National Assembly (Republika Srpska)|National Assembly]], which comprises 83 seats. The entity is relatively centralized, although it is divided into 64 municipalities, known as ''[[Municipalities of Republika Srpska|opštine]]'' (singular: ''opština'').<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17211415 |title=Bosnia-Herzegovina profile |work=BBC News |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130411171804/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17211415 |archive-date=11 April 2013 |url-status=live |access-date=14 April 2013 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The current legislative session is the tenth since the entity’s establishment.
|image_flag = Flag of Republika Srpska.svg

|image_coat = RS amblem.gif
==Name==
|symbol_type = Emblem<sup>1</sup>
[[File:Board of Republika Srpska.JPG|thumb|left|163x163px|Welcome sign on the [[Inter-Entity Boundary Line|administrative line]] with the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]]]
|national_motto = <!--"[motto]"-->
In the name ''{{lang|sr-Latn|Republika Srpska}}'', ''{{lang|sr-Latn|[[wiktionary:Srpska|Srpska]]}}'' is a [[noun]] [[Morphological derivation|derived]] from the [[ethnonym]] of the [[Serbs]] with a different [[suffix]] than ''{{lang|sr-Latn|Srbija}}'' ‘[[Serbia]]’. In [[Serbian language|Serbian]], many [[List of country-name etymologies|names of countries]] are formed with the ''{{lang|sr|[[wiktionary:Reconstruction:Proto-Slavic/-ьskъ|-sk-]]}}'' suffix (e.g. ''{{lang|sr|[[:sr:Бугарска|Bugarska]]}}'' ‘Bulgaria’, ''{{lang|sr|[[:sr:Данска|Danska]]}}'' ‘Denmark’, ''{{lang|sr|[[:sr:Финска|Finska]]}}'' ‘Finland’, ''{{lang|sr|[[:sr:Хрватска|Hrvatska]]}}'' ‘Croatia’, ''{{lang|sr|[[:sr:Република Ирска|Irska]]}}'' ‘Ireland’, ''{{lang|sr|[[:sr:Турска|Turska]]}}'' ‘Turkey’). An analogous English formation would be ''Serbland'' (which has been used sporadically).<ref>{{cite web |title=Srpski jezik u Londonu |url=https://www.rastko.rs/filologija/odbor/odluka028.html |website=rastko.rs |date=2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Brborić |first1=Branislav |editor1-last=Tošović |editor1-first=Branko |editor2-last=Wonisch |editor2-first=Arno |title=Srpski pogledi na odnose između srpskog, hrvatskog i bošnjačkoga jezika |url=https://www.academia.edu/34909103 |date=2012 |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=33–59 |chapter=Standardni jezik i jezički standard |isbn=978-3-950305357}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Andjelic |first1=Neven |title=Bosnia-Herzegovina: The End of a Legacy |date=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781135757144 |page=100 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=m-eQAgAAQBAJ&q=Serbland&pg=PA100}}</ref> The government uses the name “Republic of Srpska” in English.<ref>{{cite web|title=Government of Republic of Srpska|url=https://www.vladars.net/eng/Pages/default.aspx|website=www.vladars.net|access-date=2020-05-26}}</ref>
|other_symbol_type = [[Patron Saint]]

|other_symbol = [[Saint Stephen]]<sup>2</sup>
Although {{lang|sr-Latn|Republika Srpska}} is variously [[Gloss (annotation)#In linguistics|gloss]]ed in English as “'''Serb Republic'''”,<ref>{{cite web |author=Related Articles |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/535337/Serb-Republic|title=Serb Republic (region, Bosnia and Herzegovina) – Britannica Online Encyclopedia |publisher=Britannica.com |access-date=29 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081223130257/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/535337/Serb-Republic |archive-date=23 December 2008 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> “'''Bosnian Serb Republic'''”,<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/7021232.stm |work=BBC News |title=Bosnian Serb republic leader dies |date=30 September 2007 |access-date=22 May 2010}}</ref> or “'''Republic of Srpska'''”, the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and English-language news sources such as the [[BBC]],<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8121166.stm |work=BBC News |title=Bosnia echoes to alarming rhetoric |date=27 June 2009 |access-date=22 May 2010 |first=Paul |last=Moss |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027130433/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/8121166.stm |archive-date=27 October 2014|url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'',<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/opinion/24iht-edlyon.1.20395827.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |first=James |last=Lyon |date=4 December 2009 |access-date=22 May 2010 |title=Halting the downward spiral |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130520235208/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/opinion/24iht-edlyon.1.20395827.html |archive-date=20 May 2013 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> and ''[[The Guardian]]''<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/may/03/bosnia-war-nationalism-poor-economy |work=The Guardian |location=London, UK |title=Bosnia lurches into a new crisis |first=Peter |last=Beaumont |date=3 May 2009 |access-date=22 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130906135655/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2009/may/03/bosnia-war-nationalism-poor-economy |archive-date=6 September 2013 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> generally refer to the entity by its transliteration.
|image_map = BH municipality location.gif

|map_caption = The Republika Srpska (red) within [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]. The [[Brčko District]] (green) belongs to both [[Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina|entities]].<sup>3</sup>
According to ''[[Glas Srpske]]'', a Banja Luka daily, the modern entity's name was created by its first minister of culture, Ljubomir Zuković.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.glassrpske.com/drustvo/panorama/Kako-je-nastalo-ime-Republika-Srpska/lat/68634.html |title=Kako je nastalo ime Republika Srpska |website=Glas Srpske |date=7 January 2012 |access-date=2019-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408015731/https://www.glassrpske.com/drustvo/panorama/Kako-je-nastalo-ime-Republika-Srpska/lat/68634.html |archive-date=8 April 2019 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
|image_map2 = <!--Another map, if required-->

|map_caption2 = <!--Caption to place below second map-->
==History==
|capital = ([[de jure]])'' [[Sarajevo]],<br> ''([[de facto]])'' [[Banja Luka]]
{{main|History of Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
|latd= |latm= |latNS= |longd= |longm= |longEW= <!--capital's latitude and longitude-->

|largest_city = [[Banja Luka]]
=== Early history ===
|largest_settlement =
{{main|Early history of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Illyrians}}
|largest_settlement_type = <!--Type of settlement if largest settlement not a city-->
[[File:NHM - Bandin Fahrzeug mit Vögeln.jpg|thumb|left|Iron Age cult carriage from Banjani near Sokolac]]
|official_languages = [[Serbian language|Serbian]], [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]], and [[Croatian language|Croatian]]<sup>4</sup>
Archaeological evidence in Republika Srpska, as well as bordering areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina, attest to pronounced human activity in the [[Paleolithic]]. Specifically, in 1976, near the modern-day town of [[Stolac]] in the then relatively hospitable [[Neretva|Neretva basin]], archaeological artifacts in the form of cave engravings in [[Badanj Cave|Badanj]] and deer bones in the area were discovered to show hunter-gatherer activity from as far back as 14,000–10,000 BC.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://stolac.gov.ba/index.php/turizam-i-kultura/znamenitosti/badanj |title=Službene stranice Općine Stolac – Badanj – paleolitsko nalazište|website=stolac.gov.ba |access-date=2019-04-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180914042100/http://www.stolac.gov.ba/index.php/turizam-i-kultura/znamenitosti/badanj |archive-date=14 September 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Within the wider region of Herzegovina, similar discoveries tie the region's early activities to Montenegro and coastal Croatia.
|regional_languages = <!-- --Officially recognized-- regional languages-->

|languages_type = Official languages
With the Neolithic, however, came more permanent settlement. Naturally, this occurred along the rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina as farming spread from the southeast; most notably, the [[Butmir culture]] developed near today's East Sarajevo on the river [[Bosna (river)|Bosna]]. A variety of idols, mostly of female character, were found in the Butmir site, along with dugouts.
|languages =

|ethnic_groups = [[Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Serbs]]: 88%<br>[[Bosniaks]]: 11%<br>[[Croats]]: 1%
With the [[Indo-European migrations]] of the [[Bronze Age]] came the first use of metal tools in the region. Along with this came the construction of burial mounds&mdash;[[Tumulus|tumuli]], or [[kurgan]]s. Remains of these mounds can be found in northwestern Bosnia near [[Prijedor]], testament to not only denser settlement in the northern core of today's Republika Srpska but also Bronze Age relics.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |last=Babaic |first=Haris |date=Spring 2019 |title=Prethistorija na tlu BiH |url=https://forzes.files.wordpress.com/2011/09/prethistorija-na-tlu-bih.doc}}</ref>
|ethnic_groups_year = 2006 est

|demonym =
With the influx of the [[Iron Age]], the [[Glasinac culture]], developing near [[Sokolac]] in eastern Republika Srpska, was one of the most important of the country's long-standing Indo-European inhabitants, the [[Illyrians]]. Later, these Illyrians&mdash;the [[Autariatae]]&mdash;were influenced by the [[Celts]] after the [[Celtic settlement of Southeast Europe|Gallic invasion of the Balkans]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Illyrians |last=Wilkes |first=John |publisher=Blackwell Publishing |year=1996 |isbn=0-631-19807-5 |location=Oxford, United Kingdom}}</ref>
|government_type = Republic

|leader_title1 = [[President]]
=== Roman period ===
|leader_name1 = [[Igor Radojičić]] (acting)
[[File:Ancient balkans 4thcentury.png|thumb|right|Territory of Republika Srpska within the [[Roman Empire]], 4th century]]
|leader_title2 = [[Prime Minister]]
With the end of the [[Illyrian Wars]], most of Bosnia and Herzegovina came under [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] control within the province of [[Illyricum (Roman province)|Illyricum]]. In this period, the Romans consolidated the region through the construction of a dense road network and the Romanisation of the local population. Among these roads was the ''Via Argentaria'', or 'Silver Way', which transported silver from the eastern mines of Bosnia to Roman population centres. Modern placenames, such as the [[Una (Sava)|Una]] and [[Sana (river)|Sana]] rivers in the northwest, have Latin origins, meaning "the one" and "the healthy", respectively. This rule was not uninterrupted, however; with the suppression of the once-dominant Illyrian population came revolts such as the [[Bellum Batonianum]]. After 20 AD, however, the entirety of the country was conquered by the Romans and it was split between [[Pannonia]] and [[Dalmatia (Roman province)|Dalmatia]]. The most prominent Roman city in Bosnia was the relatively small [[Servitium]], near modern-day [[Gradiška, Bosnia and Herzegovina|Gradiška]] in the northern part of the entity.
|leader_name2 = [[Milorad Dodik]] (SNSD)

...
Christianity spread to the region relatively late at least partially due to the countryside's mountainous nature and its lack of large settlements. In the fourth century, however, the country began to be [[Christianised]] en masse.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.diercke.com/kartenansicht.xtp?artId=978-3-14-100790-9&seite=22&id=17448&kartennr=1 |title=The spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire |last=Lückemeier |first=K. |website=Diercke |access-date=8 April 2019}}</ref> With the split of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires in 395, modern-day Republika Srpska fell under the Western Roman Empire. Testament to its and Bosnia and Herzegovina's later religious polarisation, it was later conquered as a frontier of the Eastern Roman Empire, a harbinger for religious division to come.
|leader_title5 =

|leader_name5 =
=== Middle Ages ===
|sovereignty_type = [[Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
[[File:Тврђава Кастел 2.jpg|thumb|[[Kastel Fortress]] in Banja Luka, first appearing as an early Slavic [[hillfort]] or ''gradina'']]
|sovereignty_note =
With the loosening of Roman grip on the region came the [[Migration Period]] which, given Republika Srpska's position in southeastern Europe, involved a wide variety of peoples. Among the first was the invasion of Germanic peoples from the east and north, and the territory became a part of the [[Ostrogothic Kingdom]] in 476.
|established_event1 = Proclaimed

|established_date1 = [[28 February]] [[1992]]
By 535, the territory was taken once again by the Byzantine Empire. At this time, the Empire's grip was once again relatively loose and Slavs invaded the surrounding area. Modern-day Republika Srpska was therefore split between the mediaeval [[Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102)|Kingdom of Croatia]]<ref name="Larousse">{{cite encyclopedia |encyclopedia=Grand Larousse encyclopédique |trans-title=Larousse online encyclopedia |url=http://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/pays/Croatie/115207#395864 |article=Histoire de la Croatie |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327102048/https://www.larousse.fr/encyclopedie/pays/Croatie/115207#395864 |archive-date=27 March 2019 |quote=Liée désormais à la Hongrie par une union personnelle, la Croatie, pendant huit siècles, formera sous la couronne de saint Étienne un royaume particulier ayant son ban et sa diète. |lang=fr}}</ref> and, according to [[De Administrando Imperio]], [[Serbia in the Middle Ages|mediaeval Serbian]] ''[[župan]]ije'', including, [[Bosna (region)|Bosna]], [[Zachlumia]], [[Travunija]], and Serbia, then including land in eastern Bosnia.<ref>Moravcsik (1967)</ref> Parts of present-day Srpska were locations of settlement of the original [[White Serbs|White Serb]] people.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ćirković |first1=Sima M. |title=Srbi među europskim narodima |date=2008 |publisher=Golden Marketing-Tehnička Knjiga |isbn=978-9532123388 |pages=26–27 |url=http://www.mo-vrebac-pavlovac.hr/attachments/article/451/Sima%20%C4%86irkovi%C4%87%th20SRBI%20ME%C4%90U%20EVROPSKIM%20NARODIMA.pdf|access-date=26 October 2020}}</ref>
|established_event2 = Recognized in BiH constitution

|established_date2 = [[14 December]] [[1995]]
[[File:Stećak na Gvoznom polju.jpg|thumb|left|[[Stećak]], a [[List of World Heritage Sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina|UNESCO World Heritage Site]], on [[Treskavica]] mountain]]
...
By the end of the 11th century, the entirety of Bosnia became part of the [[Hungarian Crown Lands]]. Under Hungarian rule the area was known as the [[Banate of Bosnia]]. Later, however, with the rule of [[Ban Kulin]], who is regarded as the founder of Bosnia, the region became ''de facto'' independent. In 1377, the Banate of Bosnia became the medieval Kingdom of Bosnia, under [[Tvrtko I]] of [[House of Kotromanić]]. The capitals of the kingdom were all located in its centre, while the northern periphery remained under nominal Hungarian rule as the region of [[Usora (province)|Usora]]. Architectural legacies from this period include [[Kastel Fortress]] in Banja Luka, the fortress of [[Doboj]] as well as castles, churches, and monasteries across the country.
|established_event9 =

|established_date9 =
With the growth of the Ottoman Empire, [[Stefan Tomašević]], the last [[Kotromanić dynasty|Kotromanić]] ruler, surrendered Bosnia and Serbia to Ottoman tributary status. A Catholic, he was unpopular among the Orthodox population of Serbia, as well as the members of the [[Bosnian Church]].<ref>Ćirković (1964) p.276</ref> Refusing to pay tribute to [[Mehmed the Conqueror]], King Stefan was executed and much of Bosnia fell under direct [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] rule in 1463 as the [[Bosnia Eyalet|Eyalet of Bosnia]]. The entirety of the country fell in 1482, with the founding of the [[Sanjak of Herzegovina]].
|area_rank =

|area_magnitude =
=== 16th to 19th centuries ===
|area = 25,053
[[File:Mehmet pasa bridge and green Drina river.jpg|thumb|right|[[Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge]], a [[List of World Heritage Sites in Bosnia and Herzegovina|UNESCO World Heritage Site]], in [[Višegrad]], founded by Ottoman Grand vizier of Serb origin [[Sokollu Mehmed Pasha]]]]
|areami² = 9,677
Ottoman rule in modern-day Republika Srpska saw another addition to its religious fabric&mdash;Islam. Members of the Bosnian Church, as well as many Orthodox and Catholic Bosnians, gradually converted to Islam. Ottoman rule left a profound architectural legacy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. The most famous mosque from this period is the [[Ferhat Pasha Mosque (Banja Luka)|Ferhadija mosque]], located in [[Banja Luka]]. In addition, the subject of [[Ivo Andrić]]'s book ''[[The Bridge on the Drina]],'' [[Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge]] in [[Višegrad]], was constructed by [[Mimar Sinan]], the most famous Ottoman architect, in 1577, for [[Grand vizier|Grand Vizier]] [[Sokollu Mehmed Pasha]]. Years earlier, the same Grand Vizier was born into an [[Serbian Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] family in a small town in Bosnia and taken from his parents as a child for upbringing as a [[Janissaries|janissary]]. His bridge is a symbol of the religious and cultural spans&mdash;and eventually conflict&mdash;that characterise Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
|percent_water = N/A

|population_estimate = 1,500,000
With the [[Ottoman–Habsburg wars|Ottoman-Habsburg]] conflicts of the late 17th and 18th centuries, parts of northern Republika Srpska became a part of the Habsburg Empire for relatively short periods of time. Rule was more permanent following Austro-Hungarian invasion in 1878. Characterised by economic and social development not seen in the by-then backwards Ottoman Empire, [[Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Austro-Hungarian rule]] was welcomed by many. However, many Muslims left Bosnia, leaving Serbs as the majority in the entirety of the [[Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Condominium]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Religious Separation and Political Intolerance in Bosnia-Herzegovina |last=Velikonja |first=Mitja |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |year=2003 |isbn=1-58544-226-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/religiousseparat0000veli/page/130 130]–135 |url=https://archive.org/details/religiousseparat0000veli|url-access=registration}}</ref>
|population_estimate_rank =

|population_estimate_year = 2006
=== 20th century ===
|population_census =
[[File:Topola užasa Donja Gradina.jpg|thumb|left|200px|The ''Poplar of horror'' in the [[Jasenovac concentration camp|Jasenovac Memorial Site]], one of the key sites in the [[Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia|Genocide of Serbs]], in which tens of thousands of Bosnian Serb civilians were brutally killed]]
|population_census_year =
With the assassination of [[Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria]], carried out by Bosnian Serb [[Gavrilo Princip]], a member of the [[Yugoslavism|Yugoslavist]] [[Young Bosnia|Mlada Bosna]], World War I broke out in 1914. Following the war, the territory of modern-day Republika Srpska was incorporated into the [[Vrbas Banovina|Vrbas]], [[Drina Banovina|Drina]], and [[Zeta Banovina|Zeta]] [[Banovinas of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia|banovinas]] of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, renamed Yugoslavia in 1929.
|population_density = 60

|population_densitymi² = 155
Following the outbreak of [[World War II]] and the [[invasion of Yugoslavia]] in 1941, modern-day Republika Srpska fell under the rule of the Nazi [[puppet state]], The [[Independent State of Croatia]]. Around 300,000 Serbs are estimated to have died under the [[Ustashe]] regime as a result of their [[Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia|genocide campaign]];<ref>{{cite book |last1=Totten |first1=Samuel |last2=Parsons |first2=William S. |title=Century of Genocide: Critical Essays and Eyewitness Accounts |date=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-13594-558-9 |page=422 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HVSSAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA422}}</ref> a slew of [[List of massacres in the Independent State of Croatia|massacres]], as well as the use of a variety of concentration and extermination camps, took place in Republika Srpska during the war. The [[Jasenovac concentration camp]], located in modern-day Croatia, was the site of the deaths of some 100,000 people, about 47,000-52,000 of which were Serbs.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/jasenovac |title=Jasenovac |website=United States Holocaust Memorial Museum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403014704/https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/jasenovac|archive-date=3 April 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=12 April 2019 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Massacres also occurred at [[Garavice]] and [[Kruščica concentration camp]] in the eastern part of Bosnia. The regime systematically and brutally massacred Serbs in villages in the countryside, using a variety of tools.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Yeomans |first1=Rory |title=Visions of Annihilation: The Ustasha Regime and the Cultural Politics of Fascism, 1941–1945 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Yxv4-iqVe2wC&pg=PA17 |date=2012 |publisher=University of Pittsburgh Press |isbn=978-0822977933 |page=17}}</ref> The scale of the violence meant that approximately every sixth Serb living in Bosnia-Herzegovina was the victim of a massacre and virtually every Serb had a family member that was killed in the war, mostly by the Ustaše.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pavković |first1=Aleksandar |title=The Fragmentation of Yugoslavia: Nationalism in a Multinational State |date=1996 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-0-23037-567-3 |page=43 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YPaADAAAQBAJ&pg=PA43}}</ref> An estimated 209,000 Serbs or 16.9% of its Bosnia population were killed on the territory of Bosnia–Herzegovina during the war.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rogel |first1=Carole |title=The Breakup of Yugoslavia and the War in Bosnia |date=1998 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-3132-9918-6 |page=48 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GPQKYuWisi0C&pg=PA48}}</ref> Today, [[List of World War II monuments and memorials in Bosnia and Herzegovina|monuments honouring these victims]] can be found across Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
|population_density_rank =

|GDP_PPP =
The Yugoslav royalist and [[Serbian nationalist]] movement [[Chetniks]], a guerilla force that engaged in tactical or selective [[Collaborationism|collaboration]] with the occupying forces for almost all of the war,<ref>{{cite book|last=Milazzo|first=Matteo J.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NizQyAEACAAJ&q=The+Chetnik+Movement+|title=The Chetnik Movement and the Yugoslav Resistance|date=2019-12-01|publisher=Johns Hopkins University Press|isbn=978-1-4214-3339-4|pages=182|language=en}}</ref> pursued [[Chetnik war crimes in World War II|genocide against Croats and Bosniaks]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Redžić|first=Enver|author-link=Enver Redžić|title=Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Second World War|year=2005|publisher=Frank Cass|location=London; New York|isbn=978-0-7146-5625-0|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pVCx3jerQmYC|page=155}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hoare|first=Marko Attila|author-link=Marko Attila Hoare|title=The History of Bosnia: From the Middle Ages to the Present Day|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OWQtAQAAIAAJ|year=2007|publisher=Saqi|isbn=978-0-86356-953-1|page=279}}</ref> which included thousands of Croat and Bosniak civilians killed on the territory of modern-day Republika Srpska. The Chetniks killed an estimated 50,000 to 68,000 Muslims and Croats.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Vladimir Geiger|publisher=Croatian Institute of History|title=Human Losses of the Croats in World War II and the Immediate Post-War Period Caused by the Chetniks (Yugoslav Army in the Fatherand) and the Partisans (People's Liberation Army and the Partisan Detachments of Yugoslavia/Yugoslav Army) and the Communist Authorities: Numerical Indicators|url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/103223|pages=86–87|journal=Review of Croatian History|volume=VIII|issue=1|year=2012}}</ref> A December 1941 directive, attributed to Chetnik leader [[Draža Mihailović]], explicitly ordered the [[ethnic cleansing]] of Muslims and Croats from [[Sandžak]] and [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Tomasevich |first=Jozo |title=War and revolution in Yugoslavia. 1: The Chetniks |date=1975 |publisher=Stanford Univ. Press |isbn=978-0-8047-0857-9 |location=Stanford, Calif |pages=259}}</ref> About 300 villages and small towns were destroyed, along with a large number of mosques and Catholic churches.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ramet |first=Sabrina P. |year=2006 |title=The Three Yugoslavias: State-Building and Legitimation, 1918–2005 |publisher=Indiana University Press |location=Bloomington |isbn=978-0-253-34656-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FTw3lEqi2-oC |page=146}}</ref> The Chetniks were almost exclusively made up of [[Serbs]] except for a large number of [[Montenegrins]] who identified as Serbs.<ref name=":2" />
|GDP_PPP_rank =

|GDP_PPP_year =
During the entire course of WWII in Yugoslavia, 64.1% of all Bosnian Partisans were Serbs.<ref name="anubih.ba-Hoare">{{cite web |author1=Marko Attila Hoare |author1-link=Marko Attila Hoare |title=The Great Serbian threat, ZAVNOBiH and Muslim Bosniak entry into the People's Liberation Movement |url=https://publications.anubih.ba/bitstream/handle/123456789/52/Zbornik%20ZAVNOBiH%20sve%2015-04-2019-4-115-130.pdf?sequence=7&isAllowed=y |website=anubih.ba |publisher=Posebna izdanja ANUBiH |access-date=21 December 2020 |pages=123 |language=en |archive-date=1 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210201071114/https://publications.anubih.ba/bitstream/handle/123456789/52/Zbornik%20ZAVNOBiH%20sve%2015-04-2019-4-115-130.pdf?sequence=7&isAllowed=y |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|GDP_PPP_per_capita =

|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank =
After World War II came a period of relative peace and economic development. [[Ljubija mine]] and companies like [[Agrokomerc]] played a vital role in much of the economic development of the [[Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]. Literacy rates increased greatly, and the University of Banja Luka was founded in 1975.
|GDP_nominal =

|GDP_nominal_rank =
=== Bosnian War ===
|GDP_nominal_year =

|GDP_nominal_per_capita =
==== Bosnian War and the proclamation of the Republika Srpska====
|GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank =
{{main|Republika Srpska (1992–1995)}}
|Failed state index =
{{see also|Bosnian War|Bosnian genocide}}
|Gini =
[[File:Bsa controlled.png|thumb|200px|right|Territories which were controlled by [[Army of Republika Srpska]] during the war at its greatest extent (around 1993) compared with current borders.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}]]
|Gini_rank =
{{Multiple image
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|HDI =
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| footer = [[Biljana Plavšić]], former president of Republika Srpska, and [[Ratko Mladić]], former Commander of the [[Army of Republika Srpska]]. Mladić was found guilty of numerous [[atrocity crimes]] (including [[genocide]]) by the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia|ICTY]]. Plavšić pleaded guilty at the ICTY to one count of persecution as a [[crime against humanity]].
|HDI_year =
|HDI_category =
| image1 = Biljana Plavsic.JPG
|currency = [[Convertible Mark]]
| width1 = 123
|currency_code = BAM
| caption1 =
|time_zone = [[Central European Time|CET]]
| image2 = Evstafiev-ratko-mladic-1993-w.jpg
|utc_offset = +1
| width2 = 120
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|time_zone_DST = [[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]
|DST_note =
|utc_offset_DST = +2
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|calling_code =
|image_map3 =
|footnotes = <!--for any generic non-numbered footnotes-->
|footnote1 = Even though the Constitutional Court has ruled against and even in favor of individual national symbols on entity flags/coats of arms/anthem (RS and FBiH), the Constitutional Court has, in a spontaneous decision, decided that national symbols are to be banned from entity flags, coats of arms, and anthem (anthem applies to RS only, since FBiH does not have one) The decision was passed on [[January 29]], [[2007]].</small><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ustavnisud.ba/bos/press/index.php?pid=1365&sta=3&pkat=125 |author=Ustavni sud Bosnie i Hercegovina |work=Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina |title=Završena XXXVII plenarna sjednica (Completed 37th plenary session)|date=2007-01-27 |accessdate=2007-04-19}}</ref> This decision will only enter into force upon its publication in the Official Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.glassrpske.com/cyrl/?vijest=21146 |title=Simboli odlaze u sitoriju |work=Glas Srpske |date=2007-04-02 |accessdate=2007-04-19}}</ref>
|footnote2 = St. Stephen's day is celebrated as the [[Day of the Republika Srpska]] and falls on [[January 9]] according to the calendar of the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] (in the RS, the [[Serb Orthodox Church]]). It has been ruled unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.{{Fact|date=January 2007}}
|footnote3 = Although the [[Brčko District]] is formally held in [[Condominium (international law)|condominium]] by both [[Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina|entities]] simultaneously (the Republika Srpska and the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]), it is a ''de facto'' third entity, as it has all the same powers as the other two entities and is under the direct sovereignty of BiH.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohr.int/ohr-offices/brcko/gen-info/default.asp?content_id=5528 |title=Brčko as a "condominium" : sovereignty in the Special District is now shared |work=Office of the High Representative and EU Special Representative |accessdate=2007-04-19 |date=2001-08-28}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ohr.int/ohr-offices/brcko/default.asp?content_id=5358 |title=Brčko Final Award |date=1999-03-05 |accessdate=2007-04-19 |work=Office of the High Representative and EU Special Representative }}</ref>
|footnote4 = The [[Constitution of Republika Srpska]] avoids naming the languages, and lists the "languages of Serbs, Bosniaks, and Croats.
}}
}}
Representatives of main political parties and some other national organisations and institutions of [[Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Serb people in Bosnia and Herzegovina]] met on 13 October 1990 in [[Banja Luka]] and formed the 'Serbian National Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina' as a Serb political body.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7g4UAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Serbian+National+Council+of+Bosnia%22 |via=Google Books |title=Foreign Broadcast Information Service Daily Reports: Eastern Europe |year=1990 |pages=58–59 |publisher=Serbian National Council of Bosnia |access-date=7 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181209123751/https://books.google.rs/books?id=7g4UAQAAMAAJ&q=%22Serbian+National+Council+of+Bosnia%22 |archive-date=9 December 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> In a session on 14–15 October 1991, the [[People's Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina]], then part of the [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]], approved the 'Memorandum on Sovereignty', as had already been done by [[Slovenia]] and [[Croatia]], as a way to proclaim independence from the rest of Yugoslavia. The memorandum was adopted despite opposition from 83 Serb deputies belonging to the [[Serb Democratic Party (Bosnia and Herzegovina)|Serb Democratic Party]] (most of the Serb parliamentary representatives) as well as the [[Serbian Renewal Movement]] and the [[Union of Reform Forces]], who regarded the move as illegal.<ref name=WP>{{cite news |last=Silber |first=Laura |author-link=Laura Silber |date=16 October 1991 |title=Bosnia Declares Sovereignty |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |page=A29 |issn=0190-8286 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/stories/independence101691.htm |access-date=4 December 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170527092908/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/inatl/longterm/balkans/stories/independence101691.htm |archive-date=27 May 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |first=Nenad |last=Kecmanović |title=Dayton is not Lisbon |url=http://www.ex-yupress.com/nin/nin117.html |magazine=[[NIN (magazine)|NIN]] |publisher=ex-yupress.comex-yupress.comex-yupress.com |access-date=8 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605042355/http://www.ex-yupress.com/nin/nin117.html |archive-date=5 June 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>


On 24 October 1991, the Serb deputies formed the [[National Assembly of Republika Srpska|Assembly of the Serb People in Bosnia and Herzegovina]] (''Skupština srpskog naroda u Bosni i Hercegovini'') to be the highest representative and legislative body of the [[Bosnian Serb]] population,<ref name=OG1.1>{{cite press release |date=15 January 1992 |title=The Decision on Establishment of the Assembly of the Serb People in Bosnia and Herzegovina |publisher=Official Bulletin of the Serb People in Bosnia and Herzegovina |volume=1 |issue=1 |page=1 |language=sr}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_RSi4WL0RP8C&pg=PA12 |title=Women, violence, and war: Wartime ... |access-date=29 August 2010 |isbn=978-963-9116-60-3 |year=2000 |last1=Nikoli?-Ristanovi? |first1=Vesna|publisher=Central European University Press }}</ref> ending the tripartite coalition.
'''Republika Srpska''' ([[Serbian language|Serbian]]: Република Српска or ''Republika Srpska'' ({{Audio|RepublikaSrpska.ogg|listen}}), also Српска or ''Srpska''; [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]] and [[Croatian language|Croatian]]: ''Republika Srpska''; [[English language|English]]: ''Republic of Srpska'' or ''Republika Srpska'') is one of the two [[Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina|political entities]] that together compose the modern [[country]] of [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]; the other entity is the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]. Although the ''[[de jure]]'' capital of Republika Srpska is [[Sarajevo]], the ''[[de facto]]'' capital is [[Banja Luka]].<ref>{{cite web | work=Official website of RS government |url=http://www.vladars.net/en/srpska/ |title=About Republika Srpska - Geography |accessdate=2007-04-19}}</ref>. The entity is home to three ethnic "[[Constitutive nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina|constituent peoples]]": [[Serbs]], [[Bosniaks]] and [[Croats]].


The Union of Reform Forces soon ceased to exist but its members remained in the assembly as the [[Independent Members of Parliament Caucus]]. The assembly undertook to address the achievement of equality between the Serbs and other peoples and the protection of the Serbs' interests, which they contended had been jeopardised by decisions of the Bosnian parliament.<ref name=OG1.1 /> On 9 January 1992, the assembly proclaimed the Republic of the Serb People of Bosnia and Herzegovina ({{lang|sr-Latn|Republika srpskoga naroda Bosne i Hercegovine}}), declaring it part of Yugoslavia.<ref>{{cite press release |date=27 January 1992 |title=The Declaration of Proclamation of the Republic of the Serb People of Bosnia and Herzegovina |publisher=Official Bulletin of the Serb People in Bosnia and Herzegovina |volume=1 |issue=2 |pages=13–14 |language=sr}}</ref>
== Name ==


On 28 February 1992, the assembly adopted the [[Constitution of Republika Srpska|Constitution of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] (the name adopted instead of the previous ''Republika srpskog naroda Bosne i Hercegovine''), which would include districts, municipalities, and regions where Serbs were the majority and also those where they had allegedly become a minority because of [[World War II persecution of Serbs|persecution during World War II]]. The republic was part of Yugoslavia and could enter into union with political bodies representing other peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina.<ref name=OG1.3>{{cite press release |date=16 March 1992 |title=The Constitution of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina |publisher=Official Bulletin of the Serb People in Bosnia and Herzegovina |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=17–26 |language=sr}}</ref>
The word "Srpska" can be interpreted as an [[adjective]] ("Serb"), and, bearing in mind language rules for the creation of names of countries in [[Serbian language|Serbian]] and other [[Slavic languages]], also as a proper [[noun]]. The Serbian name for several countries is analogous: [[France]] - ''Republika Francuska'', which is also the official French name for France (Republique Française); [[Croatia]] - ''Republika Hrvatska''; [[Bulgaria]] - ''Republika Bugarska'', and so on. However, in these cases there has long existed an appropriate [[Latin]]ized translation of the name to English.


The Bosnian parliament, without its Serb deputies, held a [[referendum]] on the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 29 February and 1 March 1992, but most Serbs boycotted it since the assembly had previously (9–10 November 1991) held a [[plebiscite]] in the Serb regions, 96% having opted for membership of the Yugoslav federation formed by [[Serbia]] and [[Montenegro]].<ref name=Kreca>{{cite report |author=Kreća, Milenko |date=11 July 1996 |chapter=The Legality of the Proclamation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Independence in Light of the Internal Law of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia <!-- |alt-title=The Legality of the Proclamation of Independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Light of International Law --> |chapter-url=http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/91/7365.pdf?PHPSESSID=1f1615e6112c0279dde6f359b53b0659 |title=Dissenting Opinion of Judge Kreća |type=PDF |series=Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, Preliminary Objections, Judgment, I.C.J. Reports 1996 |place=[[The Hague]] |publisher=The Registry of the [[International Court of Justice]] |pages=711–747 |issn=0074-4441 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
The government of Republika Srpska uses the term "Republic of Srpska" in [[English language|English]] translations of official documents.
The referendum had a 64% turnout and 92.7% or 99% (according to different sources) voted for independence.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Bideleux, Robert |author2=Jeffries, Ian |title=The Balkans: A post-communist history |url=https://archive.org/details/balkanspostcommu00jeff |url-access=limited |year=2007 |place=New York |publisher=Routledge |page=[https://archive.org/details/balkanspostcommu00jeff/page/n363 343]}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AYQLyuN4_twC&pg=PA249 |title=Saving strangers: Humanitarian |access-date=29 August 2010 |isbn=978-0-19-829621-8 |year=2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140627193105/http://books.google.com/books?id=AYQLyuN4_twC&pg=PA249 |archive-date=27 June 2014 |url-status=live|df=dmy-all |last1=Wheeler |first1=Nicholas J.|publisher=OUP Oxford }}</ref> On 6 March the Bosnian parliament promulgated the results of the referendum, proclaiming the republic's independence from Yugoslavia. The republic's independence was recognised by the [[European Community]] on 6 April 1992 and by the United States on 7 April. On the same day the Serbs' assembly in session in Banja Luka declared a severance of governmental ties with Bosnia and Herzegovina.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Decision on Proclamation of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina |agency=[[Tanjug]] |newspaper=[[Večernje novosti]] |publisher=[[Novosti a.d.]] |location=[[Belgrade]] |issn=0350-4999 |date=8 April 1992 |language=sr}}</ref> The name ''Republika Srpska'' was adopted on 12 August 1992.<ref>{{cite press release |date=29 September 1992 |title=The Amendments VII and VIII to the Constitution of the Republika Srpska |publisher=Official Bulletin of the Republika Srpska |volume=1 |issue=15 |page=569 |language=sr}}</ref>


The political controversy escalated into the [[Bosnian War]], which would last until the autumn of 1995.<ref name=ICTYkaradzic2009>{{cite web |series=Prosecutor v. Radovan Karadžić |title=Second Amended Indictment |publisher=UN [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]] |date=26 February 2009 |url=http://www.icty.org/x/cases/karadzic/ind/en/090218.pdf |access-date=18 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606114240/http://www.icty.org/x/cases/karadzic/ind/en/090218.pdf |archive-date=6 June 2011 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
Republika Srpska is sometimes translated as "Serb Republic", although it should be mentioned that this is not universally accepted. Some believe that "Serb Republic" is the correct translation, others believe it to be a mistranslation. Those who oppose such translation argue that the Republika Srpska per its constitution is an entity of three ethnic groups so the possessive adjective in this translation tends to violate rights of other two constituent ethnicities in the entity by describing the entity as belonging to only one ethnic group. The similar name convention is given to the other [[BiH]] entity, [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]], also referred to as Muslim-Croat Federation which is implied to violate the rights of the Serbs in that entity. Both naming conventions largely stem from the nationalist animosities apparent in both entities following the 1990's [[Bosnian War]].


The war was ended by the [[Dayton Agreement|General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina]], reached at [[Wright-Patterson Air Force Base]] near [[Dayton, Ohio]], on 21 November and formally signed in Paris on 14 December 1995. Annex 4 of the Agreement is the current [[Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina]], recognising Republika Srpska as one of its two main [[Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina|political-territorial divisions]] and defining the governmental functions and powers of the two entities. The [[Inter-Entity Boundary Line|boundary lines]] between the entities were delineated in Annex 2 of the Agreement.<ref>{{cite web |title=The General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina |url=http://www.ohr.int/dpa/default.asp?content_id=380 |publisher=OHR.int |access-date=28 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150604163946/http://www.ohr.int/dpa/default.asp?content_id=380 |archive-date=4 June 2015 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
== Geography ==
=== Boundary ===
The [[Inter-Entity Boundary Line]] (IEBL) that distinguishes Bosnia and Herzegovina's two entities essentially runs along the military front lines as they existed at the end of the [[Bosnian War]], with adjustments (most importantly in the western part of the country and around Sarajevo) made at the Dayton peace conference. The total length of the IEBL is approximately {{formatnum:1080}}&nbsp;km and is not controlled by the military or police. The IEBL is an administrative demarcation; BiH citizens of whatever ethnicity are free to move across and back without hindrance.


Between 1992 and 2008, the Constitution of Republika Srpska was amended 121 times. Article 1 states that Republika Srpska is a territorially unified, indivisible, and inalienable constitutional and legal entity that shall perform its constitutional, legislative, executive, and judicial functions independently.<ref>{{cite web |title=Constitution of Republika Srpska |url=http://www.ustavnisud.org/html/pravno%20utemeljenje/ustav%20e.html |publisher=The Constitutional Court of Republika Srpska |access-date=28 October 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090406123518/http://www.ustavnisud.org/html/pravno%20utemeljenje/ustav%20e.html |archive-date=6 April 2009 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
=== Municipalities ===
{{main|Municipalities of Republika Srpska}}
Under the Law on Territorial Organization and Local Self-Government adopted in 1994, Republika Srpska was divided into 80 municipalities. After the conclusion of the Dayton Peace Agreement, the law was amended in 1996 to reflect the changes to the country's borders and now provides for the division of Republika Srpska into 63 municipalities.


=== Cities ===
===Impact of war===
The [[Bosnian War|war in Bosnia and Herzegovina]] resulted in major changes in the country, some of which were quantified in a 1998 [[UNESCO]] report. Some two million people, about half the country's population, were displaced. In 1996 there were some 435,346 ethnic Serb refugees from the Federation in Republika Srpska, while another 197,925 had gone to Serbia. In 1991, 27% of the non-agricultural labour force was unemployed in Bosnia and this number increased due to the war.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/erd/english/com/docs/eur/bih2/srp_cont.html |author=UNESCO |title=Review of the education system in the Republika Srpska |year=1998 |access-date=10 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207000927/http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/erd/english/com/docs/eur/bih2/srp_cont.html |archive-date=7 December 2014 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> By 2009, the unemployment rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina was estimated at 29%, according to the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]'s ''[[The World Factbook]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bosnia-and-herzegovina/ |title=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |place=Dulles, VA |website=cia.gov |access-date=8 April 2015}}</ref> Republika Srpska's population of Serbs had increased by 547,741 due to the influx of ethnic Serb refugees from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the former unrecognised state of the [[Republic of Serbian Krajina]] in the new [[Republic of Croatia]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://pressrs.ba/sr/vesti/vesti_dana/story/9058/Od+pola+miliona,+u+FBiH+ostalo+50.000+Srba.html |newspaper=Press Online Republika Srpska (pressrs.ba) |title=Od pola miliona, u FBiH ostalo 50.000 Srba |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202101903/http://pressrs.ba/sr/vesti/vesti_dana/story/9058/Od+pola+miliona%2C+u+FBiH+ostalo+50.000+Srba.html |archive-date=2 February 2012 |access-date=8 April 2015}}</ref>
The largest towns in Republika Srpska are:{{Fact|date=July 2007}}
[[File:Memorijalni centar Srebrenica-Potočari.JPG|thumb|right|[[Srebrenica Genocide Memorial]]]]
* [[Banja Luka]] - {{formatnum:250000}}
* [[Prijedor]] - {{formatnum:112470}}
* [[East Sarajevo]] - {{formatnum:100000}}
* [[Bijeljina]] - {{formatnum:80000}}
* [[Doboj]] - {{formatnum:80000}}
* [[Gradiška]] - {{formatnum:50000}}
* [[Mrkonjić Grad]] - {{formatnum:40000}}
* [[Prnjavor]] - {{formatnum:40000}}
* [[Trebinje]] - {{formatnum:40000}}
* [[Foča]] - {{formatnum:35000}}
* [[Brčko (city)|Brčko]] - {{formatnum:30000}}
* [[Bileća]] - {{formatnum:20000}}


In Eastern Bosnia, Bosnian Serbs besieged the town of Srebrenica, among others. Srebrenica was declared a UN 'Safe Area' in 1993 and it served as an enclave for Bosniak refugees for the final years of the Bosnian War. In the middle of July 1995, more than 8,000 Muslim [[Bosniaks]], mainly men and boys, in and around the town of [[Srebrenica]], were killed in what became known as the [[Srebrenica massacre]], which was subsequently designated as an act of [[genocide]] by the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia]] and the [[International Court of Justice]].
'''Note''': the town of Brčko is part of the [[Brčko District]], which is part of both entities (the Republika Srpska and the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]).


Acts of [[ethnic cleansing]] against the non-Serb populations reduced the numbers of other groups. Serb police, soldiers, and irregulars attacked Muslims and Croats, and burned and looted their homes. Some were killed on the spot; others were rounded up and killed elsewhere, or forced to flee.<ref>{{cite book|last=Judah|title=The Serbs|year=2009|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-15826-7|pages=225–41}}</ref> The number of Croats was reduced by 135,386 (the majority of the pre-war population), and the number of Bosniaks by some 434,144. Some 136,000 of approximately 496,000 Bosniak refugees forced to flee the territory of what is now Republika Srpska have since returned home.<ref>{{cite web |date=26 February 2004 |title=Written statement submitted by the Society for Threatened Peoples |department=Commission of Human Rights |id=Sixtieth session Item 11 (d) of the provisional agenda |page=2 |publisher=United Nations |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/0/116959be7b8cf279c1256e5a003b5e6b?Opendocument |access-date=13 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170830205526/http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/0/116959be7b8cf279c1256e5a003b5e6b?Opendocument |archive-date=30 August 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
== History ==
[[File:Bratunac-Serbian-Cemetery-Bosnia-War.jpg|thumb|left|A Serbian cemetery for the victims of the war in [[Bratunac]]]]


{{As of|2008}}, 40% of Bosniaks and 8.5% of Croats had returned to Republika Srpska, while 14% of Serbs who left their homes in territories controlled by Bosniaks or Croats, also returned to their pre-war communities.<ref name=revstrat>{{cite web |url=http://www.mhrr.gov.ba/PDF/Izbjeglice/Revidirana%20Strategija%20BiH%20za%20provedbu%20Aneksa%20VII%20DMS.pdf |title=Revidirana strategija Bosne i Hercegovine za provedbu Aneksa VII Dejtonskog mirovnog sporazuma |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100215173959/http://www.mhrr.gov.ba/PDF/Izbjeglice/Revidirana%20Strategija%20BiH%20za%20provedbu%20Aneksa%20VII%20DMS.pdf |archive-date=15 February 2010 |department=Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees |publisher=Bosnia and Herzegovina |website=mhrr.gov.ba |date=October 2008 |access-date=13 July 2015}}</ref>
{{main|History of Republika Srpska}}


In the early 2000s, discrimination against non-Serbs was alleged by NGOs and the [[Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe|Helsinki Commission]]. The [[International Crisis Group]] reported in 2002 that in some parts of Republika Srpska a non-Serb returnee is ten times more likely to be the victim of violent crime than a local Serb.<ref>{{cite report |date=13 December 2002 |title=The Continuing Challenge of Refugee Return in Bosnia & Herzegovina |publisher=Crisis Group |url=http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=1473&l=1 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090419161757/http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?l=1&id=1473 |archive-date=19 April 2009 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The Helsinki Commission, in a 2001 statement on 'Tolerance and Non-Discrimination', pointed at violence against non-Serbs, stating that in the cities of [[Banja Luka]]<ref>{{cite news |date=8 May 2001 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1318283.stm |title=UN Condemns Serb 'Sickness' |work=BBC News |access-date=4 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071023232223/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1318283.stm |archive-date=23 October 2007 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> and [[Trebinje]],<ref>{{cite news |date=6 May 2001 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1315262.stm |title=Serbs block Bosnia mosque ceremony |work=BBC News |access-date=4 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101108081952/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1315262.stm |archive-date=8 November 2010 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> mobs attacked people who sought to lay foundations for new [[mosque]]s.
===Creation of the Republika Srpska===
During the political crisis that followed the secession of Slovenia and Croatia from the former [[Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] on [[June 25]] [[1991]], a separate [[National Assembly of Republika Srpska|Bosnian Serb Assembly]] was founded on [[October 24]] [[1991]], as the representative body of Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Most [[Bosnian Serbs]] opposed any suggestion that Bosnia should also leave Yugoslavia. At this point, Serbs constituted about 31.4% of the population of Bosnia, with Croats (17.3%), Bosniaks (43.7%) and Yugoslavs (5.5%) making up the rest of the population.


Non-Serbs have reported continuing difficulties in returning to their original homes and the assembly has a poor record of cooperation in apprehending individuals indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.<ref>{{cite press release |date=20 September 2001 |url=http://www.csce.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=UserGroups.Home&ContentRecord_id=188&ContentType=P&ContentRecordType=P&UserGroup_id=62&Subaction=ByDate&IsTextOnly=True&CFID=18849146&CFTOKEN=53 |title=Helsinki Commission Releases U.S. Statement on Tolerance and Non-Discrimination at OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting |publisher=Helsinki Commission |access-date=8 April 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150511104546/http://www.csce.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=UserGroups.Home&ContentRecord_id=188&ContentType=P&ContentRecordType=P&UserGroup_id=62&Subaction=ByDate&IsTextOnly=True&CFID=18849146&CFTOKEN=53 |archive-date=11 May 2015 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
The leading Serb political party in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the [[Serb Democratic Party]], led by [[Radovan Karadžić]], organized the creation of "Serb autonomous provinces" (SAOs) within Bosnia and the establishment of an assembly to represent them. In November 1991, the Bosnian Serbs held a referendum which resulted in an overwhelming vote in favour of staying in a common state with [[Serbia]] and [[Montenegro]]. On [[January 9]], [[1992]], the Bosnian Serb Assembly proclaimed the Republic of the Serb people of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Република српског народа Босне и Херцеговина / ''Republika srpskog naroda Bosne i Hercegovine''). On [[February 28]] [[1992]], the constitution of the Serb Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was adopted and declared that the state's territory included Serb autonomous regions, municipalities, and other Serbian ethnic entities in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], and it was declared to be a part of the federal Yugoslav state.


Organisations such as the [[Society for Threatened Peoples]], reporting to the [[United Nations Human Rights Council]] in 2008, have made claims of discrimination against non-Serb refugees in Republika Srpska, particularly areas with high unemployment in the Drina Valley such as [[Srebrenica]], [[Bratunac]], [[Višegrad]], and [[Foča]].<ref>{{cite press release |date=21 February 2008 |title=7th Session of the UN Human Rights Council |publisher=Society for Threatened Peoples |page=2 |url=http://forum-menschenrechte.de/cms/upload/PDF/ab_05-2008/aides_memoires/Bosnia_Herzegowina-GfbV.pdf |access-date=12 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110719021433/http://forum-menschenrechte.de/cms/upload/PDF/ab_05-2008/aides_memoires/Bosnia_Herzegowina-GfbV.pdf |archive-date=19 July 2011 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
The referendum and creation of SARs were proclaimed [[unconstitutional]] by the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and declared illegal and invalid. However, from [[February 29]] to [[March 2]] [[1992]] the government held a referendum on Bosnian independence from Yugoslavia. That referendum was in turn declared contrary to the BiH and Federal constitution by the Yugoslav Federal Constitutional court and rebel Bosnian Serb authorities; it was largely boycotted by the Bosnian Serbs. The turnout was somewhere between 64-67% and 98% of the voters voted for independence. It was unclear what the two-thirds majority requirement actually meant and whether it was satisfied.{{Fact|date=January 2007}} Almost all Bosnian Serbs boycotted the vote on the grounds that it was unconstitutional because the referendum bypassed the veto power of the representatives of the Serb people in the Bosnian parliament. An independent Bosnia was proclaimed in March, by which time the country had already plunged into ethnic conflict, caused by the secession. The resistance to the secession of Bosnia-Herzegovina was assisted by the Yugoslav National Army (JNA) and paramilitary forces from Serbia.<ref>{{cite web |author=CCPR Human Rights Committee |title=Bosnia and Herzegovina Report |work=[[United Nations]]|date=[[30 October]] [[1992]] |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/333378630589b6d680256674005bc280?Opendocument |accessdate=2007-04-19}}</ref> <ref>{{cite web |author=Gutman, Roy|title=Rape Camps: Evidence Serb leaders in Bosnia OKd attacks |work-Newsday |date=1993-04-19 |url=http://www.haverford.edu/relg/sells/rape2.html}}</ref> On [[April 6]] [[1992]], the [[European Community]] formally recognised the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Serb Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared its independence on [[April 7]] [[1992]]. On [[August 12]] [[1992]], the reference to [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] was dropped from the name, and it became simply ''Republika Srpska''.


According to the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, [[European Union Police Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina|European Union Police Mission]], [[UNHCR]], and other international organisations, security in both Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2015 was satisfactory.<ref name=revstrat />
===Republika Srpska and the Bosnian War===
[[Image:Bih 1991.jpg|thumb|rightt|Ethnic map based on the [[1991 population census in Bosnia and Herzegovina|1991 census]]. The different colors show absolute majority in every settlement:
{{legend|blue|[[Serbs]]}}
{{legend|green|[[Muslims by nationality|Bosniaks]]}}
{{legend|red|[[Croats]]}}
{{legend|yellow|no majority}}]]
[[Image:Bih94.JPG|thumb|right|Front lines in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1994.
{{legend|red|[[Army of Republika Srpska|VRS]]-held territory (Serb)}}
{{legend|blue|[[Croatian Defence Council|HVO]]-held territory (Croat)}}
{{legend|green|[[Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina|ARBiH]]-held territory (predominantly Bosniak)}}
{{legend|#00FF00|[[Western Bosnia|Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia]] forces (Bosniak)}}]]
During the next three years, Republika Srpska was one of the three warring sides in the [[Bosnian War]], the others being the pre-dominantly Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) internationally-recognised Government of BiH and the Bosnian Croat statelet of [[Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia|Herzeg-Bosna]]. At the start of the war, the RS was in a much stronger military position compared to the other two sides. Its army, the VRS ([[Army of Republika Srpska]]), was created from Bosnian Serb members of the [[Yugoslav People's Army]] (JNA) and was heavily armed and equipped from JNA stockpiles in Bosnia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.<ref>{{Cite web| title=The Plan to Create a New Serbian State |url=http://www.un.org/icty/oric/trialc/judgement/ori-jud060630e.pdf |date=1006-06-30 |author=[[ICTY]] |work=United Nations |accessdate=2007-04-19}}</ref> In addition, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia provided extensive humanitarian, logistical and financial support for the Republika Srpska and its military with the ultimate goal of annexing the territory controlled by the VRS and making it a part of Serbia. <ref>{{cite web |author=ICTY |title=Outbreak of Armed Conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina (page 33) |url=http://www.un.org/icty/oric/trialc/judgement/ori-jud060630e.pdf |work=United Nations |accessdate=2007-04-19 |date=1006-06-30}}</ref>


==Politics==
By 1994, the [[United Nations]] estimated that more than half a million non-Serbs had been driven out from the territory controlled by Republika Srpska{{Fact|date=January 2007}} and by the spring of 1996, a [[United Nations]] census indicated that Serbs constituted 96.8% of the population of the republic. However, the republic's actions produced worldwide condemnation, the establishment of the [[International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia]] in 1993 and the eventual indictment of the Republika Srpska military and civilian leadership for [[war crimes]] (see: the [[Srebrenica massacre]], [[ethnic cleansing]] of the non-Serb population,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hrw.org/reports/1994/bosnia2/ |author=[[Human Rights Watch]] |accessdate=2007-04-19 |date=June 1994 |title=War Crimes in Bosnia-Hercegovina: U.N. Cease-Fire Won't Help Banja Luka (Introduction)}}</ref> killing, torturing and raping at detention camps,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.un.org/icty/indictment/english/tad-2ai951214e.htm |author=ICTY |work=United Nations |title=Case No. IT-94-1-I (First Amendment to the Indictment)}}</ref> and the [[Siege of Sarajevo|siege]] of [[Sarajevo]]).
{{Main|Politics of Republika Srpska|Constitution of Republika Srpska}}
[[File:Стари Дом војске, Краља Алфонса ХIII 3.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The [[National Assembly (Republika Srpska)|National Assembly of Republika Srpska]] in [[Banja Luka]]]]
According to [[Constitution of Republika Srpska|its constitution]], Republika Srpska has its own president, legislature (the 83-member unicameral [[National Assembly (Republika Srpska)|National Assembly of Republika Srpska]]), executive government, [[Police of Republika Srpska|police force]], court system, customs service (under the state-level customs service), and postal service. It also has official symbols, including a coat of arms, a flag (a variant of the [[Flag of Serbia|Serbian flag]] without the coat of arms displayed) and its entity anthem. The Constitutional Law on the Coat of Arms and Anthem of Republika Srpska was ruled not in concordance with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina as it states that those symbols 'represent the statehood of Republika Srpska' and are used 'in accordance with moral norms of the Serb people'. According to the Constitutional Court's decision, the Law was to be corrected by September 2006. Republika Srpska later changed its emblem.


Although the constitution names [[Sarajevo]] as the capital of Republika Srpska, the northwestern city of [[Banja Luka]] is the headquarters of most of the institutions of government, including the parliament, and is, therefore, the ''de facto'' capital. After the war, Republika Srpska retained its army, but in August 2005, the parliament consented to transfer control of [[Army of Republika Srpska]] to a state-level ministry and abolish the entity's defence ministry and army by 1 January 2006. These reforms were required by [[NATO]] as a precondition of Bosnia and Herzegovina's admission to the [[Partnership for Peace]] programme. Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the programme in December 2006.<ref>{{cite web |title=Signatures of Partnership for Peace Framework Document |url=http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_82584.htm |publisher=[[NATO]] |access-date=5 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120311063625/http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/topics_82584.htm |archive-date=11 March 2012 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
In 1995, Republika Srpska came close to collapse in the face of military offensives by the Croat/Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim) forces and a concerted two-week campaign of [[NATO]] air strikes. Bosnian territory under RS control was reduced by one third and it later acceded to the [[Dayton Peace Agreement]], accepted on its behalf by President Milošević (Bosnian Serb leaders were not able to attend the talks as arrest warrants against them had been issued by the ICTY). Under this accord, RS was recognized as one of two entities that would constitute a newly configured state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The total area of Republika Srpska is 49% of Bosnia's territory, with the Bosniak/Croat Federation constituting the other 51%.


In July 2023, legislation was passed to criminalise insult and defamation with up to 10 years in prison. This is likely to jeopardize freedom of speech and silence critics. Critics have said that this could make the Republika Srpska an authoritarian regime.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bosnian Serb Autonomous Region Reinstates Insult and Defamation in Criminal Code |url=https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/17857-bosnian-serb-autonomous-region-reinstates-insult-and-defamation-in-criminal-code |date=21 July 2023}}</ref>
The legal existence of Republika Srpska was postulated by the Agreed Basic Principles issued on [[September 8]] [[1995]], and the Further Agreed Basic Principles issued on [[September 26]] 1995, and was confirmed by the [[Dayton Peace Agreement]]. According to this peace agreement, the Republika Srpska was recognized as one of the two entities that compose the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina.


==Geography==
=== The post-war Republika Srpska ===
[[File:Orlovačko jezero na Zelengori, nacionalni park Sutjeska.jpg|thumb|right|230px|[[Orlovačko Lake]] located in [[Sutjeska National Park]]]]
Since the war, Republika Srpska has undergone many changes. Several of its wartime leaders were arrested or went into hiding following [[war crime]]s indictments, although in practice [[Radovan Karadžić]] continued to exert a degree of influence for years after the war's end. Some of the non-Serbs expelled during the war have returned to their former homes in Republika Srpska; the non-Serb population has increased to about 10% of the total. However, as in many other former communist countries, both of Bosnia's entities have experienced severe economic problems during the transition to a market economy. In addition, widespread [[Political corruption|corruption]] has seriously hampered Bosnia's recovery from the conflict. Some have alleged that corruption is hidden behind nationalism. <ref>{{cite web| title=Bosnia and Herzegovina: Challenges and opportunities |url=http://www.bridge-mag.com/magazine/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=84&Itemid=31 |work=The Bridge |author=Bechev, Dimitar |accessdate=2007-04-19}}</ref>
Situated in [[Southeast Europe]], Republika Srpska is located on the [[Balkan Peninsula]], with its northern extents reaching into the [[Pannonian Basin]]. Republika Srpska lies between latitudes [[41st parallel north|42°]] and [[47th parallel north|46° N]] and longitudes [[13th meridian east|16°]] and [[20° E]]. The entity is split into two main parts by the Brčko District; a hilly western part and a more varied eastern part, with high mountains in the south and flat, fertile farmland in the north. Republika Srpska, unlike its counterpart entity, is landlocked.


Like the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska is split into a [[Bosnia (region)|Bosnian]] region in the north and a [[Herzegovina|Herzegovinian]] region in the far south. Within these two macroregions exist smaller geographical regions, from the forested hills of [[Bosanska Krajina]] in the northwest to the fertile plains of [[Semberija]] in the northeast.
The [[United Nations|UN]]-appointed [[High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina]] has greatly influenced the post-war development of Republika Srpska. Several of its wartime aspects of [[independence]], such as a separate [[Republika Srpska dinar|currency]], have been abolished. A number of senior Republika Srpska officials have been removed from their posts by the High Representative after being accused of corruption and blocking the process of reform and reconstruction. It is likely that the powers of the republic will be further reduced in future, along with those of its Muslim/Croat counterpart, as a more centralized Bosnian-Herzegovinian state is further re-established by the international community.{{Fact|date=January 2007}} However, since the position of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina is scheduled to be abolished in 2007 with his authority transferred to local politicians, the reform of the country would depend of the will of the politicians from both entities. Also, following Montenegro's decision to split from [[Serbia]] following a referendum in [[Montenegro]] and increasing dissatisfaction displayed by many Serbs in Republika Srpska, many of the citizens would like a referendum through which an independent Republika Srpska would be created, although the international community deems that entities do not have a right to hold a referendum.


Republika Srpska covers {{convert|24816.2|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=off}}, excluding the Brčko District, which is held in [[Condominium (international law)|condominium]] by both entities, but is ''[[de facto]]'' sovereign within Bosnia and Herzegovina. Republika Srpska, if it were a country, would be 146th largest in the world. Elevation varies greatly, with [[Maglić (mountain)|Maglić]], a peak in the Dinaric Alps near Montenegro, reaching {{Convert|2386|m}}, and parts nearer the [[Adriatic Sea|Adriatic]] going down to sea level. The largest and most popular ski resort in Bosnia and Herzegovina is situated on the slopes of the mountain [[Jahorina]], in the eastern part of the entity.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/jahorina/ |title=Jahorina ski resort |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190411125959/https://www.skiresort.info/ski-resort/jahorina/ |archive-date=11 April 2019 |url-status=live |access-date=9 April 2019 |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Other major mountains in Republika Srpska include [[Volujak (mountain)|Volujak]], [[Zelengora]], [[Lelija]], [[Lebršnik]], [[Crvanj]], [[Orjen]], [[Klekovača]], [[Vitorog]], [[Kozara]], [[Romanija]], [[Treskavica]] and [[Trebević]].
== Demographics ==
{{see also|Demographics of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Ethnic Groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
[[Image:DemoBIH2006.PNG|thumb|right|Map of largest ethnic group for Bosnia and Herzegovina, 2006 municipality data (estimates).
{{legend|blue|Bosnian Serbs}}
{{legend|red|Bosnian Croats}}
{{legend|green|Bosniaks}}]]
Republika Srpska comprises 49% of the land area of [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] and is home to about 34% of the population. All data dealing with population, including ethnic distributions, are subject to considerable error because:
#the lack of official post-war census figures.
#the forced removal and murder of members of minority ethnic groups ([[Croats]] and [[Muslims by nationality|Bosnian Muslims]]/[[Bosniaks]]) by the RS authorities during the war.
#the huge refugee inflows of [[Serbs]] from the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Federation of BiH]] and, to a lesser extent, the territory of the [[Republika Srpska Krajina]].


===1991===
===Boundary===
Republika Srpska shares international borders with [[Croatia]] to the north, [[Serbia]] to the east, and [[Montenegro]] to the southeast. Within Bosnia and Herzegovina, the [[Inter-Entity Boundary Line|Inter-Entity Boundary Line (IEBL)]] marks Republika Srpska's administrative division with the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and essentially follows the front lines at the end of the [[Bosnian War]] with some adjustments (most importantly in the western part of the country and around Sarajevo) as defined by the [[Dayton Agreement]]. The total length of the IEBL is approximately {{formatnum:1080}} km. The IEBL is an administrative demarcation uncontrolled by military or police and there is free movement across it.<ref>{{cite book |title=Building Democracy from the Outside: the Dayton Agreement in Bosnia and Herzegovina |last=Cox |first=Marcus |publisher=Zed Books |year=2003 |isbn=1-84277-150-7 |location=London |pages=253–276}}</ref>
According to the [[1991 population census in Bosnia and Herzegovina|1991 census]] of BiH, the population of present-day territory of Republika Srpska numbered 1,619,165 inhabitants, including: <ref name="popinfo">{{Cite web|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:RepublicSerbskaPopInfo.jpg |title=Republika Srpska Population Information |work=Wikipedia}}</ref>
* [[Serbs]] = {{formatnum:880171}} (54.4%)
* [[Muslims by nationality|Ethnic Muslims]] = {{formatnum:466458}} (28.8%)
* [[Croats]] = {{formatnum:150414}} (9.3%)
* others = {{formatnum:122122}} (7.5%)


=== Forests ===
Note that most who used to declare as Muslims now consider themselves [[Bosniaks]].
Republika Srpska is one of the most forested areas in Europe, with over 50% of its area consisting of forest cover. [[Perućica]] is one of the last [[old-growth forest]]s in Europe.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.npsutjeska.net/stranica.php?id=8&naziv=perucica&jez=en |title=Perućica official website |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723022258/http://www.npsutjeska.net/stranica.php?id=8&naziv=perucica&jez=en |archive-date=23 July 2015 |website=npsutjeska.net |access-date=24 November 2015}}</ref>


Two densely-wooded national parks—[[Sutjeska National Park]] and [[Kozara National Park]]—are located in the entity.
===1996===
In 1996, the population of Republika Srpska numbered 1,475,288 inhabitants, including: <ref name="popinfo">{{Cite web|url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:RepublicSerbskaPopInfo.jpg |title=Republika Srpska Population Information |work=Wikipedia}}</ref>
* [[Serbs]] = {{formatnum:1427912}} (96.8%)
* [[Bosniaks]] = {{formatnum:32344}} (2.2%)
* [[Croats]] = {{formatnum:15028}} (1.0%)
* others = {{formatnum:4}} (0.0%)


===2005===
===Waters===
[[File:Требиње, Стари град 1.jpg|right|thumb|[[Trebinje]] on the banks of the [[Trebišnjica]]]]
In 2005, the population of Republika Srpska was estimated to stand at about {{formatnum:1411000}} people, including:
[[File:SPR001 STROGI PRIRODNI REZERVAT PRAŠUMA JANJ, ŠIPOVO 2.jpg|right|thumb|[[Protected area Pliva, Janj with Janjske Otoke reserve|The protected area of Pliva, Janj and Janjske Otoke Reserve]]]]
* [[Serbs]] = {{formatnum:1247900}} (88.4%)
[[File:Посебни резерват природе Кањон Цврцке 2.jpg|right|thumb|[[Cvrcka|Cvrcka Canyon]]]]
* [[Bosniaks]] = {{formatnum:150390}} (10.7%)
Most rivers belong to the [[Black Sea]] drainage basin. The principal rivers are the [[Sava]], a tributary of the [[Danube]] that forms the northern boundary with [[Croatia]]; the [[Bosna (river)|Bosna]], [[Vrbas (river)|Vrbas]], [[Sana (river)|Sana]] and [[Una (Sava)|Una]], which all flow north and empty into the Sava; the [[Drina]], which flows north and forms a significant part of the eastern boundary with [[Serbia]], and is also a tributary of the Sava. The [[Trebišnjica]] is one of the longest [[sinking river]]s in the world. It belongs to the [[Adriatic Sea]] drainage basin. [[Skakavac Waterfall, Perućica|Skakavac Waterfall]] on the [[Perućica]] is one of the highest waterfalls in the country, at about {{convert|75|m|ft|abbr=off}} in height. The most important lakes are [[Bileća Lake]], [[Lake Bardača]] (which includes a protected wetland area) and [[Balkana Lake]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Krejic |first=Ljiljana |date=2017-09-26 |title=Endangered wetlands of Bardača Nature Park |url=https://www.itinari.com/endangered-wetlands-of-bardaca-nature-park-p3lb |access-date=2022-12-13 |website=itinari |language=en}}</ref>
* [[Croats]] = {{formatnum:12710}} (0.9%)


== Economy ==
===National Parks===
{{main|List of protected areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
{{seealso|Banja Luka Stock Exchange}}
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto;"
{{Cleanup-section|date=May 2007}}
! Name !! Image !! Area (km<sup>2</sup>) !! Established
Republika Srpska uses the [[Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark|convertible mark]] currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since a so-called "regulatory guillotine" it takes a few days to register a business in RS, in contrast to the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]], where it takes several months.<ref name="WSJ">{{cite web |work=The Wall Street Journal |url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117918783695002652.html?mod=googlenews_wsj |title= Bosnian Territory Opens Doors for Business |accessdate=2007-06-17}}</ref>
|-
| align="left"| [[Sutjeska National Park]]
| [[File:NP001 nacionalni park sutjeska perucica.jpg|150px]]
| align="center"|173
| align="center"|1965<ref>{{cite web |url=http://npsutjeska.info/en/history-of-the-park/ |title=History of the Park |publisher=Sutjeska National Park |access-date=1 November 2020 |archive-date=11 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411093054/http://npsutjeska.info/en/history-of-the-park/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|-
| align="left"|[[Drina|Drina National Park]]
| [[File:Drina Canyon.JPG|150px]]
| align="center"|63
| align="center"|2017<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mojaplaneta.net/nacionalni-park-drina-novo-zasticeno-podrucje-u-republici-srpskoj-bih/ |title= Nacionalni park "Drina" – novo zaštićeno područje u Republici Srpskoj, BIH |publisher=Moja planeta |date=20 September 2017}}</ref>
|-
| align="left"|[[Kozara National Park]]
| [[File:NP002 - 14.jpg|150px]]
| align="center"|34
| align="center"|1967<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.npkozara.com/v1/index.php/en/np-kozara/history-park-kozara |title=The History of the Park |publisher=Kozara National Park |access-date=1 November 2020 |archive-date=3 February 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203225755/http://www.npkozara.com/v1/index.php/en/np-kozara/history-park-kozara |url-status=dead }}</ref>
|}


==Demographics==
=== Foreign investment ===
{{main|Demographics of Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
An agreement on strategic partnership was concluded between the Iron Ore Mine Ljubija Prijedor and the [[United Kingdom|British]] company [[LNM]], a leading world steel producer. The [[Russia]]n company [[Yuzhuralzoloto]] also signed a strategic partnership with the [[Lead]] and [[Zinc]] Mine Sase Srebrenica. Recent foreign investments include privatisation of [[Telekom Srpske]], sold to the [[Serbia]]n [[Telekom Srbija]] for ([[Euro|€]]646mln, and the sale of the petroleum and oil industry, based in [[Brod]], [[Modriča]] and [[Banja Luka]], to [[Zarubezhneft]] of Russia, whose investment is expected to total [[United States dollar|US$]]970mln in the coming years.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nezavisne.com/vijesti.php?vijest=4941&meni=2 |date=2007-01-25 |work=Nezavisine novine |title=Investicija za preporod privrede BiH |accessdate=2007-04-19}}</ref> On [[May 16]] [[2007]] the [[Czech Republic|Czech]] [[Electrical power industry|power utility]] [[CEZ Group|ČEZ]] signed a [[Euro|€]]1.4 bln contract with the [[Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske]], to renovate the [[Gacko]] I power plant and build a second, Gacko II.<ref>{{cite web |work=Prague Daily Monitor |url=http://launch.praguemonitor.com/en/86/czech_business/6620/ |title=CEZ signs contract on energy project in Bosnia |accessdate=2007-06-17 |date=2007-05-17}}</ref>
{{As of|2013||alt=As of the 2013 census}}, Republika Srpska has a total population of 1,228,423 and a population density of 49.9 inhabitants per square kilometre; both of these figures are much lower than in Republika Srpska's counterpart entity, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Republika Srpska comprises 48% of the land area of [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], and is home to 34.79% of the country's total population. The overall life expectancy in Republika Srpska at birth was 77.15 years in 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rzs.rs.ba/front/article/4339/?left_mi=None&add=None |title=Abbreviated (approximate) life tables, 2019|publisher=Republika Srpska |department=Institute of Statistics (RZS)}}</ref>


The Republika Srpska Bureau of Statistics estimated a population of 1,114,819 in 2023.<ref name="rzs.rs.ba" />
=== External trade ===
In recent years exports (not including trade with the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Federation of BiH]]) have grown significantly, and the level of import coverage has improved - from {{formatnum:1130518}}mln&nbsp;KM (€565mln) and 38.3% in 2005, to {{formatnum:1539229}}mln&nbsp;KM (€770mln) and 55.8% in [[2006]]. In the first two months of 2007 exports grew 19% year on year, and imports by 39%.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rzs.rs.ba/Saopstenja/TrgovinaSPOLJNA/decembar05.pdf |author=Republika Srpska Institute of Statistics |title=External Trade Statistics Release |date=December 2005 |accessdate=2007-04-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rzs.rs.ba/Saopstenja/TrgovinaSPOLJNA/SpoljnaTrgovinaDecembar06.pdf |author=Republika Srpska Institute of Statistics |title=External Trade Statistics Release |date=December 2006 |accessdate=2007-04-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rzs.rs.ba/Saopstenja/TrgovinaSPOLJNA/SpoljnaTrgovinaFebruar07.pdf |author=Republika Srpska Institute of Statistics |title=External Trade Statistics Release |date=February 2007 |accessdate=2007-04-19}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rzs.rs.ba/Saopstenja/TrgovinaSPOLJNA/februar06.pdf |author=Republika Srpska Institute of Statistics |title=External Trade Statistics Release |date=February 2006 |accessdate=2007-04-19}}</ref>


The [[total fertility rate]] in Republika Srpska is, as of 2019, 1.34 children per mother—[[List of sovereign states and dependencies by total fertility rate|one of the world's lowest]]. In 2019, the total number of live births, according to the Institute of Statistics of Republika Srpska (RZS), was 9,274. That same year, the number of deaths was 15,081, resulting in a natural population decrease for 5,807 inhabitants. Along with this natural population decrease, the entity faces considerable emigration. A large number of people have left the entity in recent years for the nearby [[European Union]] and beyond.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}
=== Taxation ===
Since 2001, Republika Srpska initiated significant reforms in the sector of the tax system, which lowered the tax burden to 28.6%, one of the lowest in the region. The 10% rate of capital gains tax and income tax are the lowest in Europe and highly stimulating for foreign investment, and there are no limits on the amount of earnings. Increasing the number of taxpayers and budgeted incomes, and creating a stable fiscal system, were necessary for further reforms in the fields of taxation and duties; this area is a priority goal of the RS authorities. [[Value added tax|VAT]] has been introduced in 2006. Income tax is 46% in the RS, compared to nearly 70% in the Federation, and the [[corporate tax]] rate is 10%, compared to 30% in the Federation. These tax advantages have led to some companies moving their business to RS from the other entity.<ref name="WSJ" />


{| style="text-align: center; font-size: 90%; width: 100%; border: 1px solid #a2a9b1; border-spacing: 3px; background-color: #f8f9fa; color: black; margin: 0.5em 0 0.5em 1em; padding: 0.2em; float: right; clear: right; line-height: 1.5em;"
=== Salaries ===
!style="text-align:center;" colspan=11|Most populous municipalities of Republika Srpska
The average gross salary in August 2004 was 660KM (around 340 EUR). From 1998-2003, the average monthly salary in Republika Srpska increased from 280 to 660KM, according to the Agency for Statistics of Bosnia and Hercegovina.{{Fact|date=April 2007}} In January 2007, the average wage was 804[[Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark|KM]] ([[Euro|€]]400; [[Gross (economics)|gross]]) or 531[[Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark|KM]] ([[Euro|€]]265; [[Net pay|net]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rzs.rs.ba/Publikacije/MesecniStatPregled/MesecniPregledJanuar07.zip | |author=Republika Srpska Institute of Statistics |title=Monthly Statistical Review |date=January 2007 |accessdate=2007-04-19}}</ref>
|-
!rowspan=23 width:150|<br />
[[File:Црква Свете Тројице Бања Лука.jpg|200px|Banja Luka]]<br />[[Banja Luka]]<br />
[[File:Bijeljina1.jpg|200px|Bijeljina]]<br />[[Bijeljina]]


!style="text-align:center;background:#f5f5f5;"|Rank
==Government and politics==
{{main|Politics of Republika Srpska}}
!style="text-align:center;background:#f5f5f5;"|[[Municipalities of Republika Srpska|Municipality]]
!style="text-align:center;background:#f5f5f5;"|[[Regions in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Historical region]]
[[Image:Milorad Dodik.jpg|thumb|left|[[Milorad Dodik]], Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska.]]
!style="text-align:center;background:#f5f5f5;"|Population
Under its constitution, Republika Srpska has a president, parliament (the 83-member [[National Assembly of Republika Srpska]]), executive (with a prime minister and several ministries), supreme court and lower courts, customs service (under the state-level customs service), and postal service. It also has its own coat of arms, flag (the Slavic tricolour), and national anthem. The Constitutional Law on Coat of Arms and Anthem of the Republika Srpska was ruled not in conformance with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina as it states that those symbols "represent statehood of the Republika Srpska" and are used "in accordance with moral norms of Serb people". According to the Constitutional Court's decision, the Law was to be corrected by September 2006. The national assembly of Republika Srpska formed a board which is going to make a proposal for the anthem and coat of arms of Republika Srpska. Its flagship airline, [[Air Srpska]], ceased operations in 2003.
!style="text-align:center;background:#f5f5f5;"|City-governed territory
!rowspan=23 width:150|
[[File:Парк природе Сана - доњи ток, (21).jpg|200px|Prijedor]]<br />[[Prijedor]]<br />
[[File:Tvrdjava Gradina Doboj 1.jpg|200px|Doboj]]<br />[[Doboj]]


|-
Although the constitution names [[Sarajevo]] as the capital of Republika Srpska, the northwestern city of [[Banja Luka]] is the headquarters of most of the institutions of government &mdash; including the parliament &mdash; and is therefore the ''de facto'' capital.
|style="text-align:center;background:#f0f0f0;" | 1 || style="text-align:left;" | '''[[Banja Luka]]''' || style="text-align:left;" |[[Bosanska Krajina]]||185,042||{{convert|1239|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:#f0f0f0;" | 2 || style="text-align:left;" | '''[[Bijeljina]]''' || style="text-align:left;" |[[Semberija]]||107,715||{{convert|734|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:#f0f0f0;" | 3 || style="text-align:left;" | '''[[Prijedor]]''' || style="text-align:left;" |[[Bosanska Krajina]]||89,397||{{convert|834|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:#f0f0f0;" | 4 || style="text-align:left;" | '''[[Doboj]]''' || style="text-align:left;" |[[Usora (region)|Usora]]||71,441||{{convert|772|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:#f0f0f0;" | 5 || style="text-align:left;" | '''[[Istočno Sarajevo]]''' || style="text-align:left;" |[[Vrhbosna]]||61,516||{{convert|1450|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:#f0f0f0;" | 6 || style="text-align:left;" | '''[[Zvornik]]''' || style="text-align:left;" |[[Podrinje]]||58,856||{{convert|376|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:#f0f0f0;" | 7 || style="text-align:left;" | '''[[Gradiška, Bosnia and Herzegovina|Gradiška]]''' || style="text-align:left;" |[[Bosanska Posavina]]||51,727||{{convert|762|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:#f0f0f0;" | 8 || style="text-align:left;" | '''[[Teslić]]''' || style="text-align:left;" |[[Usora (region)|Usora]]||38,536||{{convert|838|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:#f0f0f0;" | 9 || style="text-align:left;" | '''[[Prnjavor, Bosnia and Herzegovina|Prnjavor]]''' || style="text-align:left;" |[[Usora (region)|Usora]]||38,399||{{convert|762|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}
|-
|style="text-align:center;background:#f0f0f0;" | 10 || style="text-align:left;" | '''[[Laktaši]]''' || style="text-align:left;" |[[Bosanska Krajina]]||34,966||{{convert|388|km2|sqmi|0|abbr=on}}


|-
After the war, Republika Srpska retained its army, but in August 2005, under considerable foreign pressure (acting primarily through the [[Office of the High Representative]]), the parliament consented to transfer control of [[Army of Republika Srpska]] to a state-level ministry and abolish the Republic's defense ministry and army by [[January 1]], [[2006]]. These reforms were required by [[NATO]] as a precondition of Bosnia and Herzegovina's admission to the [[Partnership for Peace]]. As of [[December 14]] [[2006]], Bosnia and Herzegovina is a part of the [[Partnership for Peace]]-project.
|colspan="5" style="text-align:center;background:#f5f5f5;"|Source: 2013 Census
|}
{{clear}}


=== Education ===
Republika Srpska has its own [[RS Police|police force]], but in October 2005, again under pressure, the parliament consented to the creation over a five-year period of a single integrated police service at the state level, with local police areas that may cross the Inter-Entity Boundary Line if required based on technical considerations. These reforms were insisted upon by the [[European Union]] as a precondition for the negotiation of a [[Stabilization and Association Agreement]] with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The leading Bosnian Serb party, the Alliance of Independent Social Democrats (SNSD), called on other political parties in Republika Srpska to organize a referendum on police reform in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The SNSD said the referendum should give a clear picture on whether the Bosnian Serb police should be dismissed or not in the process reforms under which a single police force is to be created on the state level.
[[File:Univerzitetska_zgrada,_Pale_05.jpg|thumb|right|[[University of East Sarajevo]], in [[Pale, Bosnia and Herzegovina|Pale]]]]
Literacy in Republika Srpska stands at 96.8 percent as of 2013. Free primary education is provided as a right to all people in Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are 187 primary schools in addition to 11 music schools and 4 centres of education for students with learning disabilities. Secondary education exists in three main channels: three-year [[vocational school]]s, four-year technical schools, and four-year [[grammar school]]s (''gimnazije''). Ten independent grammar schools exist, while an additional 30 are integrated into other schools. Music schools offer another option for students to continue their education following primary school.


The oldest and largest [[public university]] in Republika Srpska is the [[University of Banja Luka]], which was established in 1975.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unibl.org/en/university/about-the-university |title=About the University |publisher=University of Belgrade (UNIBL) |department=Computing Centre, School of Electrical Engineering |website=www.unibl.org |language=en |access-date=2018-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629155253/http://www.unibl.org/en/university/about-the-university |archive-date=29 June 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> The second of two public universities in Republika Srpska is [[University of East Sarajevo]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://kultor.org/organization/university-of-east-sarajevo/ |publisher=University of East Sarajevo |title=Rethinking the Culture of Tolerance |year=2016 |website=kultor.org |language=en-US |access-date=2018-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180508185825/http://kultor.org/organization/university-of-east-sarajevo/ |archive-date=8 May 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> After the end of the [[Yugoslav wars]] several private institutions of higher education were established, including: [[American University in Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Slobomir University]], {{ill|Pan-European University “APEIRON”|sr|Паневропски универзитет Апеирон}} and [[University Sinergija]]. The [[Academy of Sciences and Arts of the Republika Srpska|Academy of Sciences and Arts of Republika Srpska]], founded in 1996, is the highest representative institution of science and art in Republika Srpska.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.anurs.org/en/foundation-establisment-and-status-of-the-academy/c429 |title=Foundation, establishment, and status of the academy |publisher=[[Academy of Sciences and Arts of the Republika Srpska]] (ANURS) |website=www.anurs.org |access-date=2018-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629211232/http://www.anurs.org/en/foundation-establisment-and-status-of-the-academy/c429 |archive-date=29 June 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> [[National and University Library of the Republika Srpska|National and University Library of Republika Srpska]] is a [[national library]], located in [[Banja Luka]]. The Museum of Contemporary Art (MSURS) houses a collection of Yugoslav and international art and is located in Banja Luka.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://museu.ms/museum/277/Museum-of-Contemporary-Art-of-Republic-of-Srpska |title=Museum of Contemporary Art of Republika Srpska |website=museu.ms |language=en |access-date=2018-06-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180629155458/http://museu.ms/museum/277/Museum-of-Contemporary-Art-of-Republic-of-Srpska |archive-date=29 June 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
"I do expect that the answer of most of citizens of Republika Srpska would be no," Rajko Vasić, member of the SNSD leadership said. He also said the party, which won exactly half the seats in the [[National Assembly of Republika Srpska]] on [[October 1]] [[2006]], would suggest the referendum on police reform as an issue to be discussed at the first next session of the entity's parliament. Earlier this year the leader of the SNSD and the current RS Prime Minister Milorad Dodik said he would be ready to sacrifice negotiations with the [[European Union]] on the eventual integration of BiH into the Union, if the RS police is to be abolished as part of the police reform on Bosnia's state-level.


===Ethnic groups===
As the response to the latest initiatives from [[Banja Luka]], the Chairman of Bosnia's central government, the Council of Ministers, [[Adnan Terzić]], blamed the international community and its passive stand towards the RS stance on police reform.
{{main|Ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
{{multiple image
| footer = Ethnic structure of Republika Srpska: 1991 (left) and 2013 (right)
| width1 = 190
| image1 = Republika-Srpska-1991-Ethnic.png
| width2 = 190
| image2 = Republika-Srpska-2013-Ethnic.png
}}


{| class="wikitable"
"Considering the reactions of the international community's officials to the obstructions from the Republika Srpska, they (Bosnian Serbs) can do whatever they want," Terzić told [[Sarajevo]] daily [[Avaz|Dnevni avaz]].
|+
Population of Republika Srpska according to ethnic group 1991–2013<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statistika.ba/?show=12&id=29800|title=Popis 2013 u BiH – Republika Srpska}}</ref>
! rowspan="2"| Ethnic<br />group
! colspan="2"| Census 1991
! colspan="2"| Census 2013
|-
! Number
! %
! Number
! %
|-
| [[Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Serbs]]
| align="right" |869,854
| align="right" |55.4%
| align="right" |1,001,289
| align="right" |81.5%
|-
| [[Bosniaks]]
| align="right" |440,746
| align="right" |28.1%
| align="right" |171,839
| align="right" |14.0%
|-
| [[Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Croats]]
| align="right" |144,238
| align="right" |9.2%
| align="right" |29,645
| align="right" |2.4%
|-
| [[Yugoslavs]]
| align="right" |75,013
| align="right" |4.8%
| align="right" |
| align="right" |
|-
| Others
| align="right" |39,481
| align="right" |2.5%
| align="right" |24,499
| align="right" |2.1%
|- class="sortbottom"
! Total
! colspan="2" align="right" |1,569,332
! colspan="2" |1,228,423
|-
|}


===Healthcare===
The police reform was aimed at joining police troops of the two ethnic entities into a single state-level police. The police reform fulfills three EU requests - establishment of a statewide police service, elimination of political interference and creation of patrol regions based on professional criteria. It is not clear why this requires the abolishment of the [[RS police]].
The health care system of Republic of Srpska is intended to provide organized and planned health care to the population on its territory, both in public and private health care institutions. Health care activities are performed by health care workers and associates under the conditions and in the manner primarily prescribed by law and regulations, adopted on the basis, and in accordance with, the Law on Health Care of the Republic of Srpska.<ref name=":10">''Zakon o zdravstvenoj zaštiti Republike Srpske, Službeni glasnik Repulbike Srpske'' no. 106/09 and 44/15.</ref>


The public sector of Srpska includes 54 health centers, along with family medicine clinics,<ref name=":1">{{cite web |title=Здравствене установе |url=http://www.investsrpska.net/index.aspx?PageID=323&langid=2 |publisher=Влада Републике Српске |access-date=27 January 2021 }}{{Dead link|date=March 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> 11 hospitals,<ref name=":1" /> 4 specialised hospitals,<ref name=":1" /> 1 clinical centre<ref name=":1" /> and 7 institutes.<ref name=":1" />
"We do not want suspension of the talks on Stabilization and Association Agreement. However, we won't make concession on what we consider as a minimum requirement, that is retaining of the [[Republika Srpska Police]] as an organizational unit with clear competencies and jurisdiction within the reconstructed Police of BiH", Dodik said.


Stationary treatment is provided in hospitals located in Derventa and Prnjavor.<ref name=":askva">{{cite web|url=https://www.askva.org/sr/askva/bolnicki-sektor.html|title=Болнички сектор – Агенција за сертификацију, акредитацију и унапређење квалитета здравствене заштите Републике Српске|website=www.askva.org|access-date=18 October 2020}}</ref> Hospitals specialised for physical medicine and rehabilitation are "Mlječanica" in Kozarska Dubica and Institute "Dr Miroslav Zotović" in Banja Luka.<ref name=":0" /> Patients with mental illnesses are treated in [[Institute for Forensic Psychiatry Sokolac]], which is the first and only institution of this type in BiH,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pjp-eu.coe.int/en/web/bih-prison-reform-programme/news/-/asset_publisher/8Ky6XGvAglke/content/opening-ceremony-of-the-special-hospital-for-forensic-psychiatry-sokolac|title=Opening ceremony of the Institute for Forensic Psychiatry Sokolac|date=2014|website=Council of Europe}}</ref> and [[Hospital for Chronic Psychiatric Patients Modriča]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bolnicamodrica.net/|title=JZU Bolnica Bolnica za hroničnu psihijatriju Modriča|website=www.bolnicamodrica.net|language=sr|access-date=2021-01-27}}</ref>
He announced that the RS side will step out of the police reforms process, if their wishes are not respected.


University hospitals are located in [[Foča]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.bolnicafoca.com/|title=The University hospital Foca|language=en-US|access-date=2021-01-25}}</ref> and Banja Luka. [[The University Clinical Center of Republika Srpska]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kc-bl.com/En/|title=UKC Republic of Srpska|language=en-US|access-date=2021-01-25}}</ref> (UCC RS) is the largest and most important public health institution in Republika Srpska. The main activity of the University Clinical Center is hospital treatment (admission, diagnosis and care) of patients at the secondary and tertiary level of health care. It consists of 21 clinics, 6 institutes and 10 services.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kc-bl.com/Cir/?page_id=9017|title=УКЦ Република Српска – Мисија, визија и вриједност|access-date=18 October 2020}}</ref>
On the [[November 14]] [[2006]], [[Uroš Pena]], the RS chief of police, was quoted as saying that the agreement was being broken by the international community, not RS. In the agreement, it is written that the "Directorate for Police Reform shall be made up of professionals and experts from all levels of government (BiH, entities, cantons)...", which was ignored when a EU Police Mission representative was included.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nezavisne.com/vijesti.php?vijest=2305&meni=2 |work=Nezavisne novine |date=2006-11-14 |accessdate=2007-04-19 |title=Uroš Pena: RS nije prekršila sporazum}}</ref>


===External relations===
===Religion===
Republika Srpska has no official religion. [[Freedom of religion]] is a right defined by the Constitution of Republika Srpska, which provides for legal equality of all people, irrespective of religious belief.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://advokat-prnjavorac.com/legislation/Constitution-of-Republika-Srpska.pdf|title=Constitution of Republika Srpska}}</ref>
On [[September 26]] [[2006]] Republika Srpska officials signed a 'special ties agreement' with [[Serbia]] aimed at promoting economic and institutional cooperation between Serbia and the Republika Srpska (RS). The accord was signed by Serbia's President [[Boris Tadić]] and Prime Minister [[Vojislav Koštunica]], former RS President [[Dragan Čavić]], and Prime Minister [[Milorad Dodik]].


According to the 2013 census, around 85% of the residents of Republika Srpska identify as Christian. Members of the [[Serbian Orthodox Church]] form the largest religious group, accounting for a little less than 83% of the population, followed by followers of [[Islam]] and [[Roman Catholicism]]. 0.59% of people describe themselves as atheist or [[Agnosticism|agnostic]].{{bar box
Tadić and Koštunica, accompanied by several ministers and some 300 businessmen, arrived in [[Banja Luka]], the ''de facto'' capital of the Republika Srpska, on two special planes from [[Belgrade]], in what was seen as the biggest-ever boost to strengthening ties in all spheres of life between the Republika Srpska and [[Serbia]]. The Serbian bank, the Komercijalna banka, and the "Dunav osiguranje" insurance company opened branches in Banja Luka and the Serbian news agency [[Tanjug]] also inaugurated its international press center in Banja Luka, in a day packed with business engagements.
|title=Religion in Republika Srpska<ref name="census2013-religion">{{cite report |chapter-url=http://www2.rzs.rs.ba/enwiki/static/uploads/bilteni/popis/rezultati_popisa/Results_of_the_Census_2013.pdf |chapter=Section 4. Population by ethnicity and religion |year=2013 |title=Census of Population, Households, and Dwellings |publisher=Republika Srpska |department=Institute of Statistics |access-date=5 May 2019}}</ref>
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=religion
|right1=percent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|[[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]]|darkblue|82.8}}
{{bar percent|[[Islam]]|Green|12.8}}
{{bar percent|[[Catholicism]]|yellow|2.2}}
{{bar percent|[[Atheism]] or Agnosticism|black|0.6}}
{{bar percent|Other|grey|1.6}}
}}Religion plays an important role in ethnic identification in Republika Srpska.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.pewforum.org/2017/05/10/religious-belief-and-national-belonging-in-central-and-eastern-europe/|title=Religious Belief and National Belonging in Central and Eastern |date=10 May 2017 |publisher=Pew Research |access-date=6 May 2019}}</ref> [[Serbs]] generally identify as followers of Eastern Orthodoxy, [[Croats]] as followers of the Catholic Church, and [[Bosniaks]] as followers of Islam. Religious architecture takes on a similarly diverse character in the entity, with its mix of mosques and churches.


<gallery mode="packed" heights="160" style="font-size:88%;line-height:120%">
The document sets out steps taken by Serbia and Republika Srpska officials to increase economic and political ties. It is similar to a previous one signed in 2001 between the [[Federal Republic of Yugoslavia]] and the Republika Srpska, which had envisaged close cooperation in economy, defense, education and [[dual citizenship]] for the residents, said a Serbian government statement. The agreement gives Republika Srpska, the same status with Serbia as the state of Bosnia-Herzegovina as a whole.
File:Igumanija manastira Tavna.jpg|[[Tavna Monastery]], near Bijeljina
File:NKD138 Ferhadija2.jpg|[[Ferhat Pasha Mosque (Banja Luka)|Ferhat Pasha Mosque]], after it was reconstructed in 2016
File:Samostan Marija zvijezda trapisti (2).JPG|The [[Mariastern Abbey, Banja Luka|Mariastern abbey]], a Trappist abbey famous for its [[Trappista cheese|own variety of cheese]]
</gallery>


==Economy==
"This agreement will stabilize the relations between countries in the region and it will promote economic, political and cultural relations between Serbia and Republika Srpska," Čavić told reporters after the signing ceremony. Koštunica added "We have long waited for this day," and insisting that the agreement would not be "a dead letter on paper," but would "live and be useful to the citizens of Serbia and Republika Srpska."
{{main|Economy of Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
Republika Srpska uses the [[Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark|Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark (KM)]]. The currency is pegged to the [[euro]] at a unit rate of 1.95583 convertible marks. Along with the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska is classified as an upper-middle income economy by the [[United Nations]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519#Upper_middle_income |title=World Bank Country and Lending Groups |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180111190936/https://datahelpdesk.worldbank.org/knowledgebase/articles/906519#Upper_middle_income |archive-date=11 January 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> According to the IRBRS, the entity's development bank, Republika Srpska's nominal GDP per capita is 8,739&nbsp;km (€4,457) as of 2017.


Republika Srpska's [[corporate tax]] rate is lower than that of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is among the lowest in the region.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://thesrpskatimes.com/company-registration-in-rs-do-you-know-how/ |series=Company registration in RS |title=Do you know how? |date=31 July 2017 |website=Srpska Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171104203314/http://thesrpskatimes.com/company-registration-in-rs-do-you-know-how/ |archive-date=4 November 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
The signing of "a special ties agreement” was greeted with suspicion and scorn by the [[Bosniaks]] and [[Bosnian Croats]]. [[Sulejman Tihić]], former Bosniak member of Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, said the agreement was bad "for internal relations in Bosnia as well as interstate relations in the region." Tihić has openly demanded the abolition of RS, saying it was "created from [[Bosnian Genocide|genocide]]" during Bosnian 1992-1995 war and accused Belgrade of meddling in Bosnia’s internal affairs.
"The government of Serbia has shown all its political [[hypocrisy]] towards Bosnia-Herzegovina, openly ignoring the fact that other constituent peoples don’t support this agreement," said Tihić.
Croatian President [[Stipe Mesić]] criticized the agreement, saying it could have "long-term negative consequences" not only on Bosnia and Herzegovina, but the whole region. Bosnian entities "are not states and is unacceptable that they behave as states," Mesić said in a statement released in [[Zagreb]], adding the agreement moves Bosnia and the whole region further away from reaching a lasting peace.


In November 2020 governments of Serbia and Srpska announced construction of three hydropower plants on the [[Drina]] estimated at EUR 520 million.<ref>{{cite web|date=2020-11-18|title=Serbia, Republic of Srpska sign joint statement on Gornja Drina hydropower project|url=https://balkangreenenergynews.com/serbia-republic-of-srpska-sign-joint-statement-on-gornja-drina-hydropower-project/|access-date=2020-12-04|website=Balkan Green Energy News|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Serbian, RS PMs sign document to build hydropower plants|url=http://rs.n1info.com/English/NEWS/a671763/Serbian-RS-PMs-sign-document-to-build-hydropower-plants.html|access-date=2020-12-04|website=N1 Srbija|language=sr-Latn|archive-date=25 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201125192628/http://rs.n1info.com/English/NEWS/a671763/Serbian-RS-PMs-sign-document-to-build-hydropower-plants.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Čavić denied these claims that the accord was an attempt to create cross-border Serbian [[hegemony]], saying it was "the best way to create good and stable relations in the region." The agreement clearly emphasises that cooperation between Belgrade and the RS is a legitimate right enshrined in the [[Dayton Accord]], and also contains a reference to the "respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of Bosnia-Herzegovina.".
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
|colspan=20| '''[[Gross domestic product|GDP]] of Republika Srpska 2000–2019 (mil. [[Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark|KM]])'''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irbrs.net/statistika.aspx?tab=2&god=2006&lang=lat |title=Baza podataka o ekonomskim indikatorima Republike Srpske – IRBRS<!-- Bot generated title --> |website=Irbrs.net |access-date=4 January 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120426082627/http://www.irbrs.net/statistika.aspx?tab=2&god=2006&lang=lat |archive-date=26 April 2012 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
|
|
|
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! 2000 !! 2001 !! 2002 !! 2003 !! 2004 !! 2005 !! 2006 !! 2007 !! 2008 !! 2009!! 2010 !! 2011 !! 2012 !! 2013 !! 2014 !! 2015 !! 2016 !! 2017 !! 2018 !! 2019
!2020
!2021
!2022 (assumption)
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! 3,373 !! 3,666 !! 4,208 !! 4,560 !! 5,116 !! 5,763 !! 6,546 !! 7,352 !! 8,490 !! 8,236 !! 8,318 !! 8,682 !! 8,584 !! 8,760 !! 8,831 !! 8,899 !! 8,931 !! 9,087 !! 9,200 !! 9,299
!8,953
!9.312
!9,932
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
|colspan=20| Participation in total BiH economy
|
|
|
|-
! 30.62% !! 31.8% !! 31.63% !! 27.23% !! 27.17% !! 25.98% !! 26.47% !! 27.79% !! 28.94% !! 28.08% !! 27.54% !! 27.28% !! 25.9% !! 25.34% !! 24.79% !! 25.84% !! 26.40% !! 24.16% !! 25.08% !! 24.02%
!24.11%
!22.61%
!22.73%
|}
[[File:Real GDP growth rates RS & FBH.png|thumb|220px|Real GDP growth rates in Republika Srpska and Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2006–2014]]


===External trade===
Under the Dayton peace accord, which ended the [[Bosnian war]] in 1995, the country was divided into two entities - [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]], and the Republika Srpska. Each entity was accorded most of the powers of a state and the accord left room for special ties between the RS and Serbia, as well as between Croatia and the Bosnian Croats.{{Fact|date=January 2007}}
{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
| colspan="21" | '''[[International trade|External trade]] of Republika Srpska (mil. [[euro]]s)'''<br />(not including trade with the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina]] and the [[Brčko District]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rzs.rs.ba/enwiki/static/uploads/bilteni/godisnjak/2016/20str_2016.pdf |title=Statistical Yearbook of Republika Srpska |year=2016 |website=Rzs.rs.ba |access-date=4 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909102337/http://www.rzs.rs.ba/enwiki/static/uploads/bilteni/godisnjak/2016/20str_2016.pdf |archive-date=9 September 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www2.rzs.rs.ba/enwiki/static/uploads/saopstenja/spoljna_trgovina/godisnja_saopstenja/2017/Spoljna_dec_2016_EUR.pdf |title=RS external trade statistics, annual release 2016 |website=2.rzs.rs.ba |access-date=4 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170909105035/http://www2.rzs.rs.ba/enwiki/static/uploads/saopstenja/spoljna_trgovina/godisnja_saopstenja/2017/Spoljna_dec_2016_EUR.pdf |archive-date=9 September 2017 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! Year !! 2001 !! 2002 !! 2003 !! 2004 !! 2005 !! 2006 !! 2007 !! 2008 !! 2009 !! 2010 !! 2011 !! 2012 !! 2013 !! 2014 !! 2015 !! 2016
!2017
!2018
!2019
!2020
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! Exports !! 306 !! 289 !! 312 !! 431 !! 578 !! 788 !! 855 !! 983 !! 855 !! 1,114 !! 1,309 !! 1,214 !! 1,331 !! 1,376 !! 1,337 !! 1,467
!1,777
!1,913
!1,846
!1,735
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! Imports !! 868 !! 1,107 !! 1,165 !! 1,382 !! 1,510 !! 1,411 !! 1,712 !! 2,12 0!! 1,824 !! 2,072 !! 2,340 !! 2,294 !! 2,330 !! 2,529 !! 2,334 !! 2,263
!2,505
!2,670
!2,445
!2,287
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! Total trade !! 1,174 !! 1,396 !! 1,477 !! 1,813 !! 2,088 !! 2,199 !! 2,566 !! 3,103 !! 2,680 !! 3,186 !! 3,650 !! 3,509 !! 3,662 !! 3,905 !! 3,570 !! 3,730
!4,282
!4,583
!4,291
!4,022
|- style="background:#ccc; text-align:center;"
! Coverage (%) !! 35 !! 26 !! 27 !! 31 !! 38 !! 56 !! 50 !! 46 !! 47 !! 54 !! 56 !! 53 !! 57 !! 54 !! 60 !! 65
!71
!71
!75
!75
|}


===Taxation and salaries===
===The status of Republika Srpska===
[[File:Average net monthly wages in the Republika Srpska.png|thumb|220px|Average net wages (in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark|KM]]) in Republika Srpska 1996–2015]]
The political platform of some Bosniak political parties in the other entity (the [[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Federation of BiH]]), most notably that of the [[SBiH]] party, includes the abolition of the Republika Srpska. The party's leader, [[Haris Silajdžić]], has repeatedly stated that he wishes to see the RS dismantled.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/3890537.stm |date=2004-07-13 |accessdate=2007-04-19 |title=Bosnian Sackings |work=[[BBC]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/hardtalk/6049454.stm |title=Bosnian Elections |date=2006-10-13 |accessdate=2007-04-19 |work=BBC News}}</ref>
Since 2001, Republika Srpska initiated significant reforms in the sector of the tax system, which lowered the tax burden to 28.6%, one of the lowest in the region. The 10% rate of [[capital gains tax]] and [[income tax]] are among the lowest in Europe.{{citation needed|date=November 2021}} [[Value added tax|VAT]] has been introduced in 2006. These tax advantages have led to some companies moving their business to Republika Srpska from the other entity.<ref name="WSJ">{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB117918783695002652?mod=googlenews_wsj |title=Bosnian Territory Opens Doors for Business |last=Kampschror |first=Beth |date=15 May 2007 |newspaper=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |access-date=17 June 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180105011544/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB117918783695002652?mod=googlenews_wsj |archive-date=5 January 2018 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref>


As of 2018, there are 266,309 employed people within legal entities in Republika Srpska.<ref name="stats2018">{{cite web |title=Cities and Municipalities of Republika Srpska |url=http://www2.rzs.rs.ba/enwiki/static/uploads/bilteni/gradovi_i_opstine_republike_srpske/2019/Gradovi_I_Opstine_Republike_Srpske_2019_WEB.pdf |website=rzs.rs.ba |publisher=Institute of Statistics of Republika Srpska |access-date=1 January 2020 |language=sr, en |date=25 December 2019}}</ref> The average net wage, according to the Institute of Statistics of Republika Srpska (RZS), is 896&nbsp;km (€458) per month as of February 2019, a nominal growth of 1.0% compared to the previous month.<ref>{{cite web |title=February 2019 Labor Statistics |date=1 February 2019 |url=https://www.rzs.rs.ba/enwiki/static/uploads/saopstenja/rad/mesecna_saopstenja/2019/Rad_Februar_2019.pdf |website=Republika Srpska Institute of Statistics}}</ref>
In response to such statements, the Prime Minister of Republika Srpska [[Milorad Dodik]] brought the idea of an independence referendum for RS into public debate when [[Montenegro]] seceded from the [[State Union of Serbia and Montenegro|union]] with [[Serbia]] in an [[Montenegrin independence referendum, 2006|independence referendum]]. In an interview published in the Serbian media, Dodik said a referendum on independence for RS was a fair solution and that 99&nbsp;percent of Bosnian Serbs support secession from Bosnia-Herzegovina.{{Fact|date=January 2007}} Dodik stated that this referendum is "inevitable" since [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]] has no viable future.{{Fact|date=January 2007}}


=== Transport ===
[[Sulejman Tihić]], the Bosniak member of BiH's tripartite presidency, responded by saying that those who want to secede from Bosnia can pack up and leave, "but can’t take away an inch of Bosnian territory". [[Borislav Paravac]], the Serb member of the state presidency, responded that Tihić's statement was an "irresponsible and scandalous act". "Bosnia isn’t his private property," said Paravac, adding that RS covers 49% of Bosnia’s territory and that Serbs are one of three constituent ([[autochthonous]] or native) peoples, with equal rights.
[[File:Mahovljanska.jpg|thumb|200px|Interchange on the Gradiška-Banja Luka highway]]


Transport and telecommunications infrastructure in Republika Srpska is regulated by Ministry of Transport and Communications. Traffic infrastructure includes roads, railways, railway stations, airports, waterways, ports on the whole territory of Republika Srpska, while telecommunication infrastructure includes telephony, telegraphy, optical cables, terrestrial communication stations, traffic telematics and others.<ref name="Саобраћајна инфраструктура у Републици Српској">[http://www.vladars.net/sr-SP-Cyrl/Vlada/Ministarstva/msv/Documents/саобраћајна%20инфраструктура%20у%20републици%20српској.ppt Министарство саобраћаја и веза Републике Српске: Саобраћајна инфраструктура у Републици Српској]</ref>
Prime Minister Dodik also stated that Tihić’s statement represented a drastic example of “hate and chauvinism” which would only further inflame ethnic passions in Bosnia. "In Tihić’s statement one can easily recognize an Islamic concept which sees Bosnia as its exclusive right," said Dodik. "Serbs are a constituent people in Bosnia and claim the same right to the country and to live in it," said Dodik.


State-owned companies like [[Republika Srpska Railways]], [[Pošte Srpske]], Republika Srpska Roads are in charge of maintaining traffic on the territory.
The [[High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina|high representative of the international community]] in Bosnia has appealed to the leaders of all three nationalities to stop with their “inflammatory rhetoric”. However, Haris Silajdžić continued his calls for the RS to be abolished, and Dodik continued to propose that the Bosnian Serbs may seek a referendum on independence, despite a warning that he may be punished for such statements. The international community's high representative to Bosnia, German diplomat [[Christian Schwarz-Schilling]], warned in Vienna, that "if he [Dodik] continues to talk about the referendum, I will have to remove him from office.”.


The basic road traffic network in Srpska includes 4,192 kilometers of public roads, of which 1,781&nbsp;km of trunk roads and 2,183&nbsp;km of regional roads.<ref name="Саобраћајна инфраструктура у Републици Српској" /> There are currently two [[highway]]s in Republika Srpska: Gradiška – Banja Luka highway, and the "9th January highway" (Banja Luka – Doboj). Arterial highways in Srpska which are a part of the [[International E-road network]] are:
Dodik responded: "Let him be my guest and sack me. I stand by everything I said about the referendum". Dodik went further and explained that his statements were a response to repeated threats from Sarajevo that Republika Srpska should be dissolved.{{Fact|date=January 2007}}


* European road E761 (M5): (Federation of BiH) — [[Istočno Sarajevo]] — [[Podromanija]] — [[Rogatica]] — [[Ustiprača]] — [[Višegrad]] — [[Donje Vardište|Vardište]]/[[Kotroman (Užice)|Kotroman]] ([[Serbia]])
More recently, the President of Republika Srpska, [[Milan Jelić]], a member of Dodik's party, said that: "If the abolition of the RS is raised again we will continue the rhetoric of a referendum. However, that's not our aim, but to reform RS according to European standards, to make it the better part of BiH, which will drag the rest of BiH into Euro-Atlantic integration."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rtrs.tv/vijesti/vijest.php?id=28777 |title=Јелић: Уколико Космет буде независан, РС ће адекватно одговорити |work=Radio-Televizija Republike Srpske (PTPS) |accessdate=2007-04-19}}</ref>
* [[File:Tabliczka E761.svg|25px]] [[European route E761]] (M5): (Federation BiH) — [[Velečevo]] — [[Čađavica, Bijeljina|Čađavica]] — [[Rogolji]] — [[Mrkonjić Grad]] — [[Jezero (Republika Srpska)|Jezero]] — (Federation of BiH)
* [[File:Tabliczka E73.svg|25px]] [[European route E73]] (M17): ([[Croatia]]) [[Slavonski Šamac]] — [[Modriča]] — [[Rudanka]] — [[Doboj]] — [[Karuše]] — ([[Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina|Federation of BiH]])
* [[File:Tabliczka E661.svg|25px]] [[European route E661]] (M16): ([[Croatia]]) [[Stara Gradiška]] — [[Laktaši]] — [[Banja Luka]] — Karanovac — [[Ugar (river)|Ugar]] — (Federation of BiH)
* [[File:Tabliczka E762.svg|25px]] [[European route E762]] (M18): (Federation of BiH) — [[Istočno Sarajevo]] — [[Trnovo, Republika Srpska|Trnovo]] — [[Foča]] — [[Hum (Foča)|Hum]]/[[Šćepan Polje]] ([[Montenegro]])

The total length of the regular gauge railway in Srpska is 425&nbsp;km.<ref name="Саобраћајна инфраструктура у Републици Српској" /> Republika Srpska Railways transports around 1 million passengers and 5<ref>{{cite web|url=https://businessrpska.com/zasto-srpska/infrastruktura/|title=Infrastruktura|website=Business Srpska|language=bs-BA|access-date=2021-01-27}}</ref> million tons of goods each year. The international code of the Republika Srpska Railways is 0044.<ref name="ЖРС">{{Cite web|url=http://www.zrs-rs.com/|title=Željeznice Republike Srpske|website=www.zrs-rs.com}}</ref>

=== Tourism ===
[[File:Jahorina mountain 2018.jpg|thumb|right|[[Jahorina ski resort]] is the biggest in Bosnia and one of the biggest in the [[Balkans]]]]
[[File:Вишеградска ћуприја са Андрићградом 1.jpg|thumb|right|[[Andrićgrad]]]]
Some types of tourism in the Republic of Srpska are: mountain, spa, religious, ethno-tourism and [[ecotourism]].

Republika Srpska has rich but fragmented natural resources. Popular mountains include: [[Zelengora]], [[Treskavica]], [[Jahorina]], [[Romanija]], as well as [[Grmeč]], [[Kozara]], [[Ozren (Bosnia and Herzegovina)|Ozren]] and many others, with rich flora and hunting grounds.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://turizamrs.org/kategorija/destinacije/planinski-turizam/ | title = Планински туризам | publisher = Туристичка организација Републике Српске | access-date=29 January 2015}}</ref>

[[Jahorina ski resort]] is a [[mountain resort]] and the largest and most popular winter tourism resort in the country. The ski resort is situated on the slopes of [[Jahorina]] mountain in [[Dinaric Alps]]. It is located {{convert|15|km|abbr=on}} from the municipality of [[Pale, Bosnia and Herzegovina|Pale]] and {{convert|30|km|abbr=on}} from the [[Sarajevo International Airport]]. The Jahorina ski resort hosted alpine skiing competitions during the [[1984 Winter Olympics]].

Royal village Kontromanićevo near Doboj and [[Stanišići]] are popular destinations for ethno-tourism.<ref>{{cite web|title=Етно-село Котроманићево| url = http://turizamrs.org/etno-selo-kotromanicevo/?lng=lat| publisher = Туристичка организација Републике Српске| access-date=19 July 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://semberija.info/lat/news/novosti/ljudi-i-zivot/5388.etno---selo-stanisici-ponos-semberije-i-srpske.html|title=Etno – Selo Stanišići: Ponos Semberije I Srpske|website=semberija.info|language=en|access-date=2020-10-31}}</ref>
[[Andrićgrad]] is a tourist complex inspired by the works of Nobel Prize winner [[Ivo Andrić]], located on Drina near Višegrad.<ref name="Андрићград отворен за посјетиоце">{{cite web|url=http://rtrs.tv/vijesti/vijest.php?id=64755 | title = Андрићград отворен за посјетиоце |date=5 July 2012 | publisher = Братунац (репортажа) | language = sr-cyrl | access-date=6 July 2012}}</ref> It is made of stone with around fifty object, including a local theatre, cinema, art gallery, church, Andrić's institute, hotels and various shops.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.politika.rs/scc/clanak/262200/Andricev-institut-um-i-dusa-Andricgrada|title=Андрићев институт ум и душа Андрићграда|website=Politika Online}}</ref>

Several rivers with clear water and potential for fishing are located in Srpska, such as [[Una (Sava)|Una]], [[Sana (river)|Sana]], [[Tara (Drina)|Tara]], [[Drina]] and [[Ukrina]].

The best known [[spa]]s in Srpska are Banja Vrućica,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://banja-vrucica.com/en/home/|title=Banja Vrućica » Health Tourism Center, Teslić, Bosnia and Herzegovina|website=Banja Vrućica}}</ref> Dvorovi, Guber, Laktaši, Lješljani, Mlječanica and Višegrad spa.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://banjesrpske.com/banje-srpske/|title=BANJE SRPSKE – Banje Srpske|language=sr-cyrl|access-date=2020-10-31}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://banjeusrbiji.com/banje-u-republici-srpskoj/|title=Banje u Republici Srpskoj :: Banje u Srbiji :: Spa, Wellness & Smeštaj, Lečenje, Odmor, Rehabilitacija :: Balkan|language=sr-cyrl|access-date=2020-10-31}}</ref>

An important annual event of Serbs from the region of [[Bosanska Krajina]] is Corrida of [[Grmeč]]. So far 248 bullfighting events have been held at Grmeč.<ref name="Чија је Грмечка корида">{{cite web |url=http://rtrs.tv/av/pusti.php?id=14491 |title=Печат (47,46 мин) |date=25 August 2011 |publisher=Радио телевизија Републике Српске |language=sr-cyrl |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110063315/http://rtrs.tv/av/pusti.php?id=14491 |archive-date=10 November 2017 |access-date=29 August 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sveosrpskoj.com/vijesti/pobjednik-grmecke-koride-na-popovica-brdu-proslogodisnji-bik-medonja/|title=Pobjednik Grmečke koride na Popovića brdu prošlogodišnji – bik Medonja|date=2020-08-08|website=Sve o Srpskoj|language=sr-cyrl|access-date=2020-10-31}}</ref>

===External relations===
In September 2006, Republika Srpska officials signed a '[[special ties agreement]]' with [[Serbia]] aimed at promoting economic and institutional cooperation between Serbia and Republika Srpska. The accord was signed by Serbia's President [[Boris Tadić]] and Prime Minister [[Vojislav Koštunica]], former Republika Srpska President [[Dragan Čavić]], and Republika Srpska Prime Minister [[Milorad Dodik]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Savić|first=Matej|date=2014|title=Sporazum o specijalnim paralelnim odnosima – Dejtonski temelj odnosa Republike Srpske i Republike Srbije|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324844991}}</ref>

===Representative offices===
[[File:Представништва Републике Српске у свијету.PNG|thumb|right|Representative offices of Republika Srpska worldwide]]
In February 2009, Republika Srpska opened a representative office in [[Brussels]]. While [[European Union]] representatives were not present at the ceremony, top Republika Srpska officials attended the event, saying it would advance their economic, political and cultural relations with the EU. This notion has been strongly condemned by Bosniak leaders, saying that this is further proof of Republika Srpska distancing itself from [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]. The president of Republika Srpska, [[Rajko Kuzmanović]], told reporters that this move did not jeopardise Republika Srpska's place within [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]. He added that Republika Srpska merely used its constitutional right 'to open up a representation office in the centre of developments of European relevance'. Republika Srpska maintains official offices in [[Belgrade]], [[Moscow]], [[Stuttgart]], [[Jerusalem]], [[Thessaloniki]], [[Washington D.C.]], [[Brussels]], and [[Vienna]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vladars.net/sr-SP-Cyrl/Vlada/Predstavnistva/Pages/default.aspx |script-title=sr:Представништва Републике Српске у иностранству |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424083407/http://www.vladars.net/sr-SP-Cyrl/Vlada/Predstavnistva/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=24 April 2012 |website=vladars.net |access-date=31 October 2015 |language=sr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.biznis.ba/politika/15405-u-becu-otvoreno-predstavnistvo-republike-srpske.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723101017/http://www.biznis.ba/politika/15405-u-becu-otvoreno-predstavnistvo-republike-srpske.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 July 2012 |title=U Beču otvoreno Predstavništvo Republike Srpske |website=biznis.ba |access-date=3 August 2015 |language=sr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.smedia.rs/vesti/vest/89244/Milorad-Dodik-Otvoreno-predstavnistvo-Republike-Srpske-u-Becu-Dodik-otvorio-predstavnistvo-Republike-Srpske-u-Becu.html |title=Dodik otvorio predstavništvo Republike Srpske u Beču |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521171634/http://www.smedia.rs/vesti/vest/89244/Milorad-Dodik-Otvoreno-predstavnistvo-Republike-Srpske-u-Becu-Dodik-otvorio-predstavnistvo-Republike-Srpske-u-Becu.html |archive-date=21 May 2013 |website=smedia.rs |access-date=3 August 2015 |language=sr}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+Tourist arrivals in Republika Srpska<ref>{{cite web|last=Statisticki Godisnjak|first=Statisticki Godisnjak|date=2019|title=Statisticki Godisnjak Republike Srpske 2019|url=https://www.rzs.rs.ba/enwiki/static/uploads/bilteni/godisnjak/2019/StatistickiGodisnjak_2019_WEB.pdf|url-status=dead|access-date=2021-04-25|website=www.rzs.rs.ba|archive-date=11 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200711153437/https://www.rzs.rs.ba/enwiki/static/uploads/bilteni/godisnjak/2019/StatistickiGodisnjak_2019_WEB.pdf}}</ref>
!Year
!Total number
!Increase
!Participation in BiH tourism
!Overnight stays
!Increase
!Participation in BiH tourism
|-
|1997
|108.009
|
|44%
|362.243
|
|50%
|-
|1998
|148.175
|37.1%
|49%
|437.736
|20.8%
|52%
|-
|1999
|168.375
|13.6%
|43%
|473.705
|8.2%
|51%
|-
|2000
|169.720
|0.8%
|41%
|440.760
| −7%
|47%
|-
|2001
|146.133
| −13.9%
|35%
|359.890
| −18.3%
|40%
|-
|2002
|151.838
|3.9%
|34%
|384.187
|6.8%
|33%
|-
|2003
|152.441
|0.4%
|33%
|391.995
|2%
|28%
|-
|2004
|151.280
| −0.8%
|31%
|407.749
|4%
|26%
|-
|2005
|150.526
|0.5%
|30%
|397.976
| −2.4%
|23%
|-
|2006
|191.934
|27.5%
|33%
|489.441
|23%
|24%
|-
|2007
|222.739
|16%
|34%
|561.995
|14.8%
|24%
|-
|2008
|241.145
|8.2%
|32%
|625.842
|11.4%
|23%
|-
|2009
|226.957
| −5.8%
|29%
|564.091
| −9.9%
|22%
|-
|2010
|236.286
|4.1%
|30%
|577.802
|2.4%
|21%
|-
|2011
|237.794
|0.6%
|29%
|614.637
|6.3%
|22%
|-
|2012
|241.214
|1.4%
|29%
|629.648
|2.4%
|21%
|-
|2013
|253.653
|5.1%
|26%
|629.663
|0%
|20%
|-
|2014
|260.160
|2.6%
|30%
|598.668
|5%
|20%
|-
|2015
|294.781
|13.3%
|28%
|686.944
|14.8%
|21%
|-
|2016
|323.908
|9.9%
|27%
|740.601
|7.8%
|20%
|-
|2017
|344.659
|6.4%
|24%
|794.543
|7.2%
|19%
|-
|2018
|381.802
|10.7%
|21%
|926.939
|16.7%
|18%
|}


== Culture ==
== Culture ==
The [[Academy of Sciences and Arts of the Republika Srpska|Academy of Sciences and Arts of Republika Srpska]] is the most important scientific, cultural, working and representative institution of Republika Srpska. The task of this academic institution is to develop, promote and encourage [[Science|scientific]] and artistic activity. The academy is an institution of special national interest for the Republika Srpska.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.anurs.org/sajt/doc/File/statutanurs_sr.pdf|title=Статут Академије наука и умјетности Републике Српске (Statute of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of the Republic of Srpska)}}</ref>
{{expand-section|date=April 2007}}
[[File:Stara zeljeznicka stanica - muzej savremene umjetnosti.JPG|thumb|Museum of Contemporary Art, Republika Srpska]]
=== People ===
An important carrier of the development of dramatic art in [[Banja Luka]] and in the whole region is the National Theater of the Republic of Srpska, which has eighty full-time employees and, within the ensemble of actors themselves, twenty-six dramatic artists. One of the most important and certainly the most visited cultural events in the city is the Theater Fest, which is held every year in this theater, with the participation of numerous ensembles of domestic and foreign actors.
Musician [[Filip Višnjić]] and poet [[Petar Kočić]] were from the territory of today's Republika Srpska.


The National and University Library of Republika Srpska is the central library of the [[University of Banja Luka]], the main library of all public universities in Republika Srpska and the umbrella and central national library of Republika Srpska.
=== Museums ===
The [[Museum of the Republika Srpska]] is located in [[Banja Luka]], as well as the [[Museum of Contemporary Art (Republika Srpska)|Museum of Contemporary Art]].


The Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage is the official administrative institution of the Republika Srpska and an organization within the [[Ministry of Education]] and Culture of the Republika Srpska. The [[Institute]] registers, protects and maintains a central register of cultural, historical and natural monuments throughout the territory of the Republika Srpska.
=== Sport ===
{{main|Sport in Republika Srpska}}
Notable football clubs in the RS include [[Borac Banja Luka]], [[Slavija Istočno Sarajevo]], [[FK Radnik Bijeljina]], [[FK Modriča]], and [[FK Leotar Trebinje]], which all play in the [[Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina]].


In 1993, the Association of Serbian [[Writer]]s was founded in Jahorina, under the chairmanship of professor and politician Nikola Koljevic. Since 2003, the president of the association has been Zoran Kostic, who moved its headquarters from Serbian Sarajevo to Banja Luka. The president of the Sarajevo-Romanija-Drina branch is Nedeljko Zelenović.
=== Education ===
There are two public [[university|universities]] in the Republika Srpska: the [[University of Banja Luka]], and the [[University of East Sarajevo]] (formerly the ''University of Serb Sarajevo'') and several recently founded private universities, such ''Slobomir P University''. The University of Banja Luka was founded on [[November 7]], [[1975]] and currently consist of about 17 faculties. Among them are Faculty of Electrical engineering [http://www.etfbl.net], Faculty of Architecture, Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Economics [http://www.efbl.org], Faculty of Law, Academy of Arts ... The University of East Sarajevo traces its roots to 1946. Slobomir P University was founded by Mira and Slobodan Pavlovic, known as the foremost Serbian benefactors, who became legends of its nation in this hardship of the twentieth century, while still alive.


The founding assembly of the Association of [[Historians]] of the Republic of Srpska "[[Milorad Ekmečić]]" was held in Banja Luka in December 2015. The objectives of the Association are the improvement of scientific research activities in the field of historical science in the Republic of Srpska and dissemination of these results, improvement of history teaching and professional development of teaching staff.<ref>{{cite web|title=Osnovano prvo društvo istoričara Srpske|url=https://banjaluka.net/osnovano-prvo-drustvo-istoricara-srpske/|access-date=2021-05-24|language=bs-BA}}</ref>
=== Media ===
The main media organisations of the Republika Srpska, such as [[RTRS]] and [[Alternativna Televizija|ATV]], are based in [[Banja Luka]]. A notable exception is the [[BN TV|BN TV station]], based in [[Bijeljina]], in the [[Semberija]] region.


==Currency==
===Sport===
[[File:Triple block (Serbia vs China, Grand Prix 2017).jpg|thumb|[[Tijana Bošković]] playing for the [[Serbia women's national volleyball team]]]]
{{imagestack|
[[Image:Tavnamarka.jpg|thumb|right|1994 Postage Stamp.]]
<!-- Commented out because image was deleted: [[Image:Brankomarka.jpg|thumb|2004 [[Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark|Convertible Mark]] (Republika Srpska version) showing [[Branko Ćopić]].]] -->
[[Image:RSDinar.jpg|thumb|1993 5000 [[Republika Srpska dinar|dinar]] banknote showing [[Petar Kočić]].]]|right}}
The present currency is the [[Bosnia and Herzegovina konvertibilna marka|Convertible Mark]], the national currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina.


Sport in Republika Srpska is managed by the entity's Ministry of Youth, Family, and Sport. The most popular sports in the entity include [[basketball]], [[association football|football]], and [[volleyball]].
In 1992, the new government of Republika Srpska had issued postage stamps and currency &mdash; now prized worldwide by collectors. From 1992 to 1994, Republika Srpska had its own currency, the [[Republika Srpska dinar]].
The most popular football club, and generally the largest sports organization, is [[FK Borac Banja Luka]]. FK Borac has, especially with regard to the former Yugoslavia, experienced considerable success: it won the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2011, the Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup in 2010, the Yugoslav Cup in 1988, and the Central European Cup in 1992, its last year. Other popular football clubs include [[FK Rudar Prijedor]], [[FK Radnik Bijeljina]], and [[FK Leotar]], though these clubs face a considerable loss of talent to larger clubs of Serbia, Croatia, and the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo.


The oldest basketball club in Bosnia and Herzegovina, [[SKK Borac 1947|KK Borac]], was founded in Banja Luka in 1947. The most successful sportspeoples born on the territory of present-day Republika Srpska are football players [[Tomislav Knez]], [[Velimir Sombolac]] ([[Football at the 1960 Summer Olympics|1960 Olympics Champions]]) and [[Mehmed Baždarević]] ([[Football at the 1984 Summer Olympics|1976 Olympics Bronze medalist]]); handball players [[Đorđe Lavrnić]], [[Milorad Karalić]], [[Nebojša Popović (handballer)|Nebojša Popović]] ([[Handball at the 1972 Summer Olympics|1972 Olympics Champions]]) and [[Zlatan Arnautović]] ([[Handball at the 1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Olympics Champion]]); basketball players [[Ratko Radovanović]] ([[Basketball at the 1980 Summer Olympics|1980 Olympics Champion]]) and [[Slađana Golić]] ([[Basketball at the 1988 Summer Olympics|1988 Olympics Silver medalist]]); boxers [[Anton Josipović]] ([[Boxing at the 1984 Summer Olympics|1984 Olympics Champion]]), [[Slobodan Kačar]] ([[Boxing at the 1980 Summer Olympics|1980 Olympics Champion]]) and [[Tadija Kačar]] ([[Boxing at the 1976 Summer Olympics|1976 Olympics Silver medalist]]), table tennis player [[Jasna Fazlić]] ([[Table tennis at the 1988 Summer Olympics – Women's doubles|1988 Olympics Bronze medalist]]).
==Internet domains==

Republika Srpska does not have its own Internet [[domain name]] and its institutions do not prefer the Bosnia-Herzegovina [[top level domain|TLD]] (''.ba'') or indeed any other single [[Top level domain]]. Third parties offer the subdomain ''.rs'' under either one of the TLDs ''.ba'' (Bosnia & Herzegovina) (e.g. http://www.rs.ba/) or ''.sr'' (e.g. http://www.rs.sr/, which is actually the code for [[Suriname]], but it resembles [[Serbia]] , which used to use ''.yu'', but is now bringing in the ''.rs'' [[top level domain]])
After the [[breakup of Yugoslavia]], an especially large amount of successful athletes from Republika Srpska have chosen to represent [[Serbia]] (or former [[Serbia and Montenegro]], FR Yugoslavia), such as basketball players [[Vladimir Radmanović]] ([[2002 FIBA World Championship|2002 World Champion]]), [[Saša Čađo]] ([[EuroBasket Women 2015|2015 European Champion]] and [[Basketball at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament|2016 Olympic bronze medalist]]) and [[Ognjen Kuzmić]] ([[2015 NBA Finals|2015 NBA Champion]], [[2017–18 EuroLeague|2018 EuroLeague champion]] and [[EuroBasket 2017|2017 EuroBasket silver medalist]]); volleyball players [[Tijana Bošković]] ([[2018 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship|2018 World Champion]] and [[Volleyball at the 2016 Summer Olympics – Women's tournament|2016 Olympic silver medalist]]) and [[Saša Starović]] ([[2011 Men's European Volleyball Championship|2011 European Champion]]); football players [[Savo Milošević]] ([[UEFA Euro 2000|2000 European Championship]] top scorer), [[Neven Subotić]] (two-time [[Bundesliga]] Champion), [[Mijat Gaćinović]], [[Miladin Stevanović]] and [[Srđan Babić]] ([[2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup|2015 U-20 World Champions]]), [[Ognjen Ožegović]] ([[2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship|2013 U-19 European Champions]]) and [[Luka Jović]]. Other notable athletes are swimmer [[Velimir Stjepanović]] ([[2014 European Aquatics Championships|2014 European Champions]]), taekwondo practitioner [[Zoran Prerad]] (1998 European Champion), judoka [[Nemanja Majdov]] ([[2017 World Judo Championships|2017 World Champion]]) and alpine skier [[Jelena Lolović]] ([[2005 Winter Universiade|2005 Universiade Champion]]).

===Holidays===
[[File:Саборна_црква_Христа_спаситеља_004.jpg|thumb|right|[[Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Banja Luka)|Cathedral of Christ the Saviour]] in [[Banja Luka]]]]According to the Law on Holidays of Republika Srpska, public holidays are divided into three categories: entity holidays, religious holidays, and holidays which are marked but do not include time off of work. The entity holidays include New Year's Day (1 January), Entity Day (9 January), [[International Workers' Day]] (1 May), [[Victory Day (May 9)|Victory over Fascism Day (9 May)]], and Day of the [[Dayton Agreement|General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (21 November)]].<ref name=Zakoni />

Religious holidays include Christmas and Easter according to both the [[Julian calendar|Julian]] and the [[Gregorian calendar]]s for, respectively, [[Serbian Orthodox Church|Serbian Orthodox Christians]] and Roman Catholics, as well as [[Eid al-Adha|Kurban Bajram]] (Eid Al Adha) and [[Eid ul-Fitr|Bajram]] (Eid Al Fitr) for Muslims. Holidays that are marked but do not include time off work include School Day (the Feast of [[Saint Sava]], 27 January), Day of the [[Army of Republika Srpska]] (12 May), Interior Ministry Day (4 April), and Day of the [[First Serbian Uprising]] (14 February).<ref name=Zakoni>{{cite web |title=Zakon o praznicima Republike Srpske |series=Zakoni |publisher=[[People's Assembly of Republika Srpska]] |language=sr |date=27 July 2005 |url=http://www.narodnaskupstinars.net/lat/zakoni/zakon.php?id_zakona=110 |access-date=10 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090611050556/http://www.narodnaskupstinars.net/lat/zakoni/zakon.php?id_zakona=110 |archive-date=11 June 2009 |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

The most important of the entity holidays is the [[Day of Republika Srpska]], which commemorates the establishment of Republika Srpska on 9 January 1992. Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared the holiday unconstitutional on 26 November 2015 stating that the main issue for it being coinciding with a religious holiday. It coincides with [[Saint Stephen's Day]] according to the Julian calendar. The Orthodox Serbs also refer to the holiday as the ''[[slava (patron saint day)|slava]]'' of Republika Srpska, regarding [[Saint Stephen]] as the [[patron saint]] of the entity although it is designated as a secular holiday.<ref>{{cite web |script-title=sr:Прослављена слава Републике Српске – Свети архиђакон Стефан |publisher=The [[Serbian Orthodox Church]] |language=sr |date=9 January 2008 |url=http://www.spc.rs/sr/proslavljena_slava_republike_srpske_sveti_arhidjakon_stefan |access-date=10 April 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721130313/http://www.spc.rs/sr/proslavljena_slava_republike_srpske_sveti_arhidjakon_stefan |archive-date=21 July 2011 |url-status=live |df=dmy-all}}</ref> Republika Srpska does not recognise the Independence Day of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1 March).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2015&mm=03&dd=01&nav_category=167&nav_id=963442 |title=RS ne priznaje Dan nezavisnosti BiH |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150303112324/http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2015&mm=03&dd=01&nav_category=167&nav_id=963442 |archive-date=3 March 2015 |website=b92.net |date=3 January 2015 |access-date=3 August 2015 |language=sr}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of wars involving Republika Srpska]]
*[[Bosnian War]]
*[[Republika Srpska (1992–1995)]]


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist|25em}}


==Bibliography==
{{Refimprove|date=July 2007}}
*{{cite book |last=Bataković |first=Dušan T. |title=The Serbs of Bosnia & Herzegovina: History and Politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=k3xpAAAAMAAJ |date=1996 |publisher=Dialogue Association |isbn=9782911527104}}
<!--[galleries to subarticles, please]== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Image:Doboj 001.JPG|view of Doboj from the castle, [[Doboj]]
Image:Raca 0003.JPG|Sign welcoming visitors to ''Republika Srpska'' at the [[inter-entity boundary line]]
Image:Uprava.jpg|[[Banski dvor]], [[Banja Luka]]
Image:Trebinjetriptrebinje.jpg|Serbian Orthodox Monastery, Hercegovačka Gračanica in [[Trebinje]]
Image:Višegrad 001.JPG|Drina Bridge built by [[Mehmed Paša Sokolović]] in 1571 in [[Višegrad]]
Image:Blairport.jpg|[[Banja Luka International Airport]]
Image:Doboj stari grad.gif|[[Doboj]] at the beginning of the 20th Century
Image:Mehmed_Pasa_Sokolovic_Bridge_Visegrad_1900.JPG|The bridge in [[Višegrad]] built by [[Mehmed Paša Sokolović]] in 1571
Image:City area.jpg|[[Gradiška]]
Image:TijentisteSutjeska.jpg|[[Sutjeska]]
Image:KozarackiKamen.jpg|[[Kozara]]
Image:Bosanska dubica-center.jpg|[[Kozarska Dubica]]
Image:TRG KRALJA PETRA 0009.PNG|[[Bijeljina]]
Image:Bosanska Dubica Mosque.png|Mosque in [[Kozarska Dubica]]
Image:Kastel.jpg|Kastel fortress in [[Banja Luka]]
Image:Bilecko Jezero.jpg|[[Bileća]] lake
Image:Crkva-srbac.jpg|Serb Orthodox Church in [[Srbac]]
Image:Bosanski Novi.jpg|[[Novi Grad]]
Image:Panoramicviewofugljevik.JPG|[[Ugljevik]]
Image:Kula.JPG|Castle in [[Bosanska Kostajnica]]
Image:Trebinje.jpg|The [[Herzegovina|Herzegovinian]] town of [[Trebinje]], in the deep south of Republika Srpska
</gallery>-->


{{Wikiquote}}
== See also ==
{{Portal|Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
{{commonscat|Republika Srpska}}
* [[Republika Srpska Police]]
* [[Army of Republika Srpska]]
* [[Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
* [[Brčko District]]
* [[Regions of Republika Srpska]]
* [[Republika Srpska dinar]]
* [[History of Republika Srpska]]
* [[History of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
* [[Air Srpska]]
* [[Republic of Serbian Krajina]]


==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.vladars.net/ Government]
*{{cite web |url=http://www.vladars.net/ |title=Government |publisher=Republika Srpska |language=sr}}
*[http://www.predsjednikrs.net/ President]
*{{cite web |url=http://www.predsjednikrs.net/ |title=President |publisher=Republika Srpska |language=sr}}
*[http://www.narodnaskupstinars.net/ National Assembly]
*{{cite web |url=http://www.narodnaskupstinars.net/ |title=National Assembly |publisher=Republika Srpska |language=sr}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.rzs.rs.ba/ |title=Institute of Statistics |publisher=Republika Srpska |language=sr}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.advokat-prnjavorac.com/legislation/Constitution-of-Republika-Srpska.pdf |title=Constitution |publisher=Republika Srpska |series=official document |language=sr}}
*{{cite web |url=http://www.investsrpska.net/index.aspx |title=Official investment agency |publisher=Republika Srpska |access-date=15 April 2019 |archive-date=15 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190415030337/http://www.investsrpska.net/index.aspx |url-status=dead }}


{{Coord|44|45|N|17|19|E|display=title}}
<br/>{{Political Divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
{{Political Divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
{{Republika Srpska}}
{{Bosnian War}}
{{Demographics of Europe}}
{{Authority control}}


<!--Categories-->
[[Category:Republika Srpska| ]]
[[Category:Republika Srpska| ]]
[[Category:Subdivisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina| ]]
[[Category:Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
[[Category:First-level administrative country subdivisions]]
[[Category:States and territories established in 1992]]
[[Category:Enclaves and exclaves]]

[[Category:1992 establishments in Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
<!--Other languages-->
[[Category:Separatism in Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
[[ast:República Serbia]]
[[Category:Countries and territories where Serbian is an official language]]
[[bs:Republika Srpska]]
[[Category:Regions of Europe with multiple official languages]]
[[bg:Република Сръбска]]
[[Category:Countries and territories where Bosnian is an official language]]
[[ca:República Sèrbia]]
[[cs:Republika srbská]]
[[da:Republika Srpska]]
[[de:Republika Srpska]]
[[et:Serblaste Vabariik]]
[[el:Σερβική Δημοκρατία]]
[[es:República Serbia]]
[[eo:Serba Respubliko]]
[[fr:République serbe de Bosnie]]
[[gl:República Serbia]]
[[ko:스르프스카 공화국]]
[[hr:Republika Srpska]]
[[id:Republika Srpska]]
[[ia:Republika Srpska]]
[[it:Repubblica Serba]]
[[he:רפובליקה סרפסקה]]
[[lt:Serbų Respublika]]
[[hu:Boszniai Szerb Köztársaság]]
[[nl:Servische Republiek]]
[[ja:スルプスカ共和国]]
[[no:Republika Srpska]]
[[pms:Repùblica Srpska]]
[[pl:Republika Serbska]]
[[pt:República Sérvia]]
[[ru:Республика Сербская (Босния и Герцеговина)]]
[[simple:Republika Srpska]]
[[sl:Republika Srbska]]
[[sr:Република Српска]]
[[sh:Republika Srpska]]
[[fi:Bosnian serbitasavalta]]
[[sv:Republika Srpska]]
[[zh:塞族共和國]]

Latest revision as of 16:11, 6 December 2024

Republika Srpska
Република Српска (Serbian)
Anthem: Моја Република (Serbian)
Moja Republika
"My Republic"
Red indicates the location of Republika Srpska within Bosnia and Herzegovina. Pink is Brčko District.
Red indicates the location of Republika Srpska within Bosnia and Herzegovina. Pink is Brčko District.
CountryBosnia and Herzegovina
Proclaimed9 January 1992
Recognized as
part of Bosnia
and Herzegovina
14 December 1995
CapitalSarajevo[1]
Istočno Sarajevo (de jure) Banja Luka (de facto)[2]
Largest cityBanja Luka
Official languages
Ethnic groups
(2013 census[3])
GovernmentFederated state
• President
Milorad Dodik
Radovan Višković
Nenad Stevandić
LegislatureNational Assembly
Area
• Total
24,641 km2 (9,514 sq mi)
Population
• 2023 estimate
Decrease 1,114,819[4]
• 2013 census
Decrease 1,228,423[3]
• Density
45.2/km2 (117.1/sq mi)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $8.892 billion[4]
• Per capita
Increase $7,976
HDI (2022)0.776[5]
high
CurrencyConvertible marke (BAM)
Time zoneUTC+01:00
 • Summer (DST)
UTC+02:00
Driving sideright
Calling code+387
ISO 3166 codeBA-SRP
a Although the north-eastern Brčko District is formally held in condominium by both entities, it is a de facto autonomous political entity, having the same powers as the other two entities and is under the direct sovereignty of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
b The Constitution of Republika Srpska avoids naming "Serbian, Bosnian, and Croatian", instead listing them as "the language of the Serb people, the language of the Bosniak people and the language of the Croat people" due to the ongoing debate over the separation of these languages.[6]
c Including refugees abroad
d Excluding Republika Srpska's 48% of the Brčko District
e Cyrillic version

Republika Srpska (Serbian Cyrillic: Република Српска, pronounced [repǔblika sr̩̂pskaː] , also known as the Republic of Srpska) is one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the northern and eastern parts of the country and had a population of 1,228,423 according to the 2013 census.[3] The largest city and administrative center is Banja Luka, situated on the Vrbas River.

Republika Srpska was founded in 1992 at the outset of the Bosnian War with the declared aim of protecting the interests of the Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The war led to the expulsion of the vast majority of Croats and Bosniaks from areas under Republika Srpska’s control, while many Serbs were expelled from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Republika Srpska. Following the 1995 Dayton Agreement, Republika Srpska was officially recognized as one of the two entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Today, it is home to the majority of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Serb population.

Republika Srpska operates under a parliamentary system, with legislative authority vested in the National Assembly, which comprises 83 seats. The entity is relatively centralized, although it is divided into 64 municipalities, known as opštine (singular: opština).[8] The current legislative session is the tenth since the entity’s establishment.

Name

[edit]
Welcome sign on the administrative line with the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina

In the name Republika Srpska, Srpska is a noun derived from the ethnonym of the Serbs with a different suffix than SrbijaSerbia’. In Serbian, many names of countries are formed with the -sk- suffix (e.g. Bugarska ‘Bulgaria’, Danska ‘Denmark’, Finska ‘Finland’, Hrvatska ‘Croatia’, Irska ‘Ireland’, Turska ‘Turkey’). An analogous English formation would be Serbland (which has been used sporadically).[9][10][11] The government uses the name “Republic of Srpska” in English.[12]

Although Republika Srpska is variously glossed in English as “Serb Republic”,[13]Bosnian Serb Republic”,[14] or “Republic of Srpska”, the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and English-language news sources such as the BBC,[15] The New York Times,[16] and The Guardian[17] generally refer to the entity by its transliteration.

According to Glas Srpske, a Banja Luka daily, the modern entity's name was created by its first minister of culture, Ljubomir Zuković.[18]

History

[edit]

Early history

[edit]
Iron Age cult carriage from Banjani near Sokolac

Archaeological evidence in Republika Srpska, as well as bordering areas of Bosnia and Herzegovina, attest to pronounced human activity in the Paleolithic. Specifically, in 1976, near the modern-day town of Stolac in the then relatively hospitable Neretva basin, archaeological artifacts in the form of cave engravings in Badanj and deer bones in the area were discovered to show hunter-gatherer activity from as far back as 14,000–10,000 BC.[19] Within the wider region of Herzegovina, similar discoveries tie the region's early activities to Montenegro and coastal Croatia.

With the Neolithic, however, came more permanent settlement. Naturally, this occurred along the rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina as farming spread from the southeast; most notably, the Butmir culture developed near today's East Sarajevo on the river Bosna. A variety of idols, mostly of female character, were found in the Butmir site, along with dugouts.

With the Indo-European migrations of the Bronze Age came the first use of metal tools in the region. Along with this came the construction of burial mounds—tumuli, or kurgans. Remains of these mounds can be found in northwestern Bosnia near Prijedor, testament to not only denser settlement in the northern core of today's Republika Srpska but also Bronze Age relics.[20]

With the influx of the Iron Age, the Glasinac culture, developing near Sokolac in eastern Republika Srpska, was one of the most important of the country's long-standing Indo-European inhabitants, the Illyrians. Later, these Illyrians—the Autariatae—were influenced by the Celts after the Gallic invasion of the Balkans.[21]

Roman period

[edit]
Territory of Republika Srpska within the Roman Empire, 4th century

With the end of the Illyrian Wars, most of Bosnia and Herzegovina came under Roman control within the province of Illyricum. In this period, the Romans consolidated the region through the construction of a dense road network and the Romanisation of the local population. Among these roads was the Via Argentaria, or 'Silver Way', which transported silver from the eastern mines of Bosnia to Roman population centres. Modern placenames, such as the Una and Sana rivers in the northwest, have Latin origins, meaning "the one" and "the healthy", respectively. This rule was not uninterrupted, however; with the suppression of the once-dominant Illyrian population came revolts such as the Bellum Batonianum. After 20 AD, however, the entirety of the country was conquered by the Romans and it was split between Pannonia and Dalmatia. The most prominent Roman city in Bosnia was the relatively small Servitium, near modern-day Gradiška in the northern part of the entity.

Christianity spread to the region relatively late at least partially due to the countryside's mountainous nature and its lack of large settlements. In the fourth century, however, the country began to be Christianised en masse.[22] With the split of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires in 395, modern-day Republika Srpska fell under the Western Roman Empire. Testament to its and Bosnia and Herzegovina's later religious polarisation, it was later conquered as a frontier of the Eastern Roman Empire, a harbinger for religious division to come.

Middle Ages

[edit]
Kastel Fortress in Banja Luka, first appearing as an early Slavic hillfort or gradina

With the loosening of Roman grip on the region came the Migration Period which, given Republika Srpska's position in southeastern Europe, involved a wide variety of peoples. Among the first was the invasion of Germanic peoples from the east and north, and the territory became a part of the Ostrogothic Kingdom in 476.

By 535, the territory was taken once again by the Byzantine Empire. At this time, the Empire's grip was once again relatively loose and Slavs invaded the surrounding area. Modern-day Republika Srpska was therefore split between the mediaeval Kingdom of Croatia[23] and, according to De Administrando Imperio, mediaeval Serbian županije, including, Bosna, Zachlumia, Travunija, and Serbia, then including land in eastern Bosnia.[24] Parts of present-day Srpska were locations of settlement of the original White Serb people.[25]

Stećak, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, on Treskavica mountain

By the end of the 11th century, the entirety of Bosnia became part of the Hungarian Crown Lands. Under Hungarian rule the area was known as the Banate of Bosnia. Later, however, with the rule of Ban Kulin, who is regarded as the founder of Bosnia, the region became de facto independent. In 1377, the Banate of Bosnia became the medieval Kingdom of Bosnia, under Tvrtko I of House of Kotromanić. The capitals of the kingdom were all located in its centre, while the northern periphery remained under nominal Hungarian rule as the region of Usora. Architectural legacies from this period include Kastel Fortress in Banja Luka, the fortress of Doboj as well as castles, churches, and monasteries across the country.

With the growth of the Ottoman Empire, Stefan Tomašević, the last Kotromanić ruler, surrendered Bosnia and Serbia to Ottoman tributary status. A Catholic, he was unpopular among the Orthodox population of Serbia, as well as the members of the Bosnian Church.[26] Refusing to pay tribute to Mehmed the Conqueror, King Stefan was executed and much of Bosnia fell under direct Ottoman rule in 1463 as the Eyalet of Bosnia. The entirety of the country fell in 1482, with the founding of the Sanjak of Herzegovina.

16th to 19th centuries

[edit]
Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, in Višegrad, founded by Ottoman Grand vizier of Serb origin Sokollu Mehmed Pasha

Ottoman rule in modern-day Republika Srpska saw another addition to its religious fabric—Islam. Members of the Bosnian Church, as well as many Orthodox and Catholic Bosnians, gradually converted to Islam. Ottoman rule left a profound architectural legacy in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska. The most famous mosque from this period is the Ferhadija mosque, located in Banja Luka. In addition, the subject of Ivo Andrić's book The Bridge on the Drina, Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge in Višegrad, was constructed by Mimar Sinan, the most famous Ottoman architect, in 1577, for Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmed Pasha. Years earlier, the same Grand Vizier was born into an Orthodox family in a small town in Bosnia and taken from his parents as a child for upbringing as a janissary. His bridge is a symbol of the religious and cultural spans—and eventually conflict—that characterise Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

With the Ottoman-Habsburg conflicts of the late 17th and 18th centuries, parts of northern Republika Srpska became a part of the Habsburg Empire for relatively short periods of time. Rule was more permanent following Austro-Hungarian invasion in 1878. Characterised by economic and social development not seen in the by-then backwards Ottoman Empire, Austro-Hungarian rule was welcomed by many. However, many Muslims left Bosnia, leaving Serbs as the majority in the entirety of the Condominium.[27]

20th century

[edit]
The Poplar of horror in the Jasenovac Memorial Site, one of the key sites in the Genocide of Serbs, in which tens of thousands of Bosnian Serb civilians were brutally killed

With the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, carried out by Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip, a member of the Yugoslavist Mlada Bosna, World War I broke out in 1914. Following the war, the territory of modern-day Republika Srpska was incorporated into the Vrbas, Drina, and Zeta banovinas of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, renamed Yugoslavia in 1929.

Following the outbreak of World War II and the invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941, modern-day Republika Srpska fell under the rule of the Nazi puppet state, The Independent State of Croatia. Around 300,000 Serbs are estimated to have died under the Ustashe regime as a result of their genocide campaign;[28] a slew of massacres, as well as the use of a variety of concentration and extermination camps, took place in Republika Srpska during the war. The Jasenovac concentration camp, located in modern-day Croatia, was the site of the deaths of some 100,000 people, about 47,000-52,000 of which were Serbs.[29] Massacres also occurred at Garavice and Kruščica concentration camp in the eastern part of Bosnia. The regime systematically and brutally massacred Serbs in villages in the countryside, using a variety of tools.[30] The scale of the violence meant that approximately every sixth Serb living in Bosnia-Herzegovina was the victim of a massacre and virtually every Serb had a family member that was killed in the war, mostly by the Ustaše.[31] An estimated 209,000 Serbs or 16.9% of its Bosnia population were killed on the territory of Bosnia–Herzegovina during the war.[32] Today, monuments honouring these victims can be found across Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist movement Chetniks, a guerilla force that engaged in tactical or selective collaboration with the occupying forces for almost all of the war,[33] pursued genocide against Croats and Bosniaks,[34][35] which included thousands of Croat and Bosniak civilians killed on the territory of modern-day Republika Srpska. The Chetniks killed an estimated 50,000 to 68,000 Muslims and Croats.[36] A December 1941 directive, attributed to Chetnik leader Draža Mihailović, explicitly ordered the ethnic cleansing of Muslims and Croats from Sandžak and Bosnia and Herzegovina.[37] About 300 villages and small towns were destroyed, along with a large number of mosques and Catholic churches.[38] The Chetniks were almost exclusively made up of Serbs except for a large number of Montenegrins who identified as Serbs.[37]

During the entire course of WWII in Yugoslavia, 64.1% of all Bosnian Partisans were Serbs.[39]

After World War II came a period of relative peace and economic development. Ljubija mine and companies like Agrokomerc played a vital role in much of the economic development of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Literacy rates increased greatly, and the University of Banja Luka was founded in 1975.

Bosnian War

[edit]

Bosnian War and the proclamation of the Republika Srpska

[edit]
Territories which were controlled by Army of Republika Srpska during the war at its greatest extent (around 1993) compared with current borders.[citation needed]
Biljana Plavšić, former president of Republika Srpska, and Ratko Mladić, former Commander of the Army of Republika Srpska. Mladić was found guilty of numerous atrocity crimes (including genocide) by the ICTY. Plavšić pleaded guilty at the ICTY to one count of persecution as a crime against humanity.

Representatives of main political parties and some other national organisations and institutions of Serb people in Bosnia and Herzegovina met on 13 October 1990 in Banja Luka and formed the 'Serbian National Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina' as a Serb political body.[40] In a session on 14–15 October 1991, the People's Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina, then part of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, approved the 'Memorandum on Sovereignty', as had already been done by Slovenia and Croatia, as a way to proclaim independence from the rest of Yugoslavia. The memorandum was adopted despite opposition from 83 Serb deputies belonging to the Serb Democratic Party (most of the Serb parliamentary representatives) as well as the Serbian Renewal Movement and the Union of Reform Forces, who regarded the move as illegal.[41][42]

On 24 October 1991, the Serb deputies formed the Assembly of the Serb People in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Skupština srpskog naroda u Bosni i Hercegovini) to be the highest representative and legislative body of the Bosnian Serb population,[43][44] ending the tripartite coalition.

The Union of Reform Forces soon ceased to exist but its members remained in the assembly as the Independent Members of Parliament Caucus. The assembly undertook to address the achievement of equality between the Serbs and other peoples and the protection of the Serbs' interests, which they contended had been jeopardised by decisions of the Bosnian parliament.[43] On 9 January 1992, the assembly proclaimed the Republic of the Serb People of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Republika srpskoga naroda Bosne i Hercegovine), declaring it part of Yugoslavia.[45]

On 28 February 1992, the assembly adopted the Constitution of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the name adopted instead of the previous Republika srpskog naroda Bosne i Hercegovine), which would include districts, municipalities, and regions where Serbs were the majority and also those where they had allegedly become a minority because of persecution during World War II. The republic was part of Yugoslavia and could enter into union with political bodies representing other peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina.[46]

The Bosnian parliament, without its Serb deputies, held a referendum on the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 29 February and 1 March 1992, but most Serbs boycotted it since the assembly had previously (9–10 November 1991) held a plebiscite in the Serb regions, 96% having opted for membership of the Yugoslav federation formed by Serbia and Montenegro.[47] The referendum had a 64% turnout and 92.7% or 99% (according to different sources) voted for independence.[48][49] On 6 March the Bosnian parliament promulgated the results of the referendum, proclaiming the republic's independence from Yugoslavia. The republic's independence was recognised by the European Community on 6 April 1992 and by the United States on 7 April. On the same day the Serbs' assembly in session in Banja Luka declared a severance of governmental ties with Bosnia and Herzegovina.[50] The name Republika Srpska was adopted on 12 August 1992.[51]

The political controversy escalated into the Bosnian War, which would last until the autumn of 1995.[52]

The war was ended by the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, on 21 November and formally signed in Paris on 14 December 1995. Annex 4 of the Agreement is the current Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, recognising Republika Srpska as one of its two main political-territorial divisions and defining the governmental functions and powers of the two entities. The boundary lines between the entities were delineated in Annex 2 of the Agreement.[53]

Between 1992 and 2008, the Constitution of Republika Srpska was amended 121 times. Article 1 states that Republika Srpska is a territorially unified, indivisible, and inalienable constitutional and legal entity that shall perform its constitutional, legislative, executive, and judicial functions independently.[54]

Impact of war

[edit]

The war in Bosnia and Herzegovina resulted in major changes in the country, some of which were quantified in a 1998 UNESCO report. Some two million people, about half the country's population, were displaced. In 1996 there were some 435,346 ethnic Serb refugees from the Federation in Republika Srpska, while another 197,925 had gone to Serbia. In 1991, 27% of the non-agricultural labour force was unemployed in Bosnia and this number increased due to the war.[55] By 2009, the unemployment rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina was estimated at 29%, according to the CIA's The World Factbook.[56] Republika Srpska's population of Serbs had increased by 547,741 due to the influx of ethnic Serb refugees from the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the former unrecognised state of the Republic of Serbian Krajina in the new Republic of Croatia.[57]

Srebrenica Genocide Memorial

In Eastern Bosnia, Bosnian Serbs besieged the town of Srebrenica, among others. Srebrenica was declared a UN 'Safe Area' in 1993 and it served as an enclave for Bosniak refugees for the final years of the Bosnian War. In the middle of July 1995, more than 8,000 Muslim Bosniaks, mainly men and boys, in and around the town of Srebrenica, were killed in what became known as the Srebrenica massacre, which was subsequently designated as an act of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice.

Acts of ethnic cleansing against the non-Serb populations reduced the numbers of other groups. Serb police, soldiers, and irregulars attacked Muslims and Croats, and burned and looted their homes. Some were killed on the spot; others were rounded up and killed elsewhere, or forced to flee.[58] The number of Croats was reduced by 135,386 (the majority of the pre-war population), and the number of Bosniaks by some 434,144. Some 136,000 of approximately 496,000 Bosniak refugees forced to flee the territory of what is now Republika Srpska have since returned home.[59]

A Serbian cemetery for the victims of the war in Bratunac

As of 2008, 40% of Bosniaks and 8.5% of Croats had returned to Republika Srpska, while 14% of Serbs who left their homes in territories controlled by Bosniaks or Croats, also returned to their pre-war communities.[60]

In the early 2000s, discrimination against non-Serbs was alleged by NGOs and the Helsinki Commission. The International Crisis Group reported in 2002 that in some parts of Republika Srpska a non-Serb returnee is ten times more likely to be the victim of violent crime than a local Serb.[61] The Helsinki Commission, in a 2001 statement on 'Tolerance and Non-Discrimination', pointed at violence against non-Serbs, stating that in the cities of Banja Luka[62] and Trebinje,[63] mobs attacked people who sought to lay foundations for new mosques.

Non-Serbs have reported continuing difficulties in returning to their original homes and the assembly has a poor record of cooperation in apprehending individuals indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.[64]

Organisations such as the Society for Threatened Peoples, reporting to the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2008, have made claims of discrimination against non-Serb refugees in Republika Srpska, particularly areas with high unemployment in the Drina Valley such as Srebrenica, Bratunac, Višegrad, and Foča.[65]

According to the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, European Union Police Mission, UNHCR, and other international organisations, security in both Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2015 was satisfactory.[60]

Politics

[edit]
The National Assembly of Republika Srpska in Banja Luka

According to its constitution, Republika Srpska has its own president, legislature (the 83-member unicameral National Assembly of Republika Srpska), executive government, police force, court system, customs service (under the state-level customs service), and postal service. It also has official symbols, including a coat of arms, a flag (a variant of the Serbian flag without the coat of arms displayed) and its entity anthem. The Constitutional Law on the Coat of Arms and Anthem of Republika Srpska was ruled not in concordance with the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina as it states that those symbols 'represent the statehood of Republika Srpska' and are used 'in accordance with moral norms of the Serb people'. According to the Constitutional Court's decision, the Law was to be corrected by September 2006. Republika Srpska later changed its emblem.

Although the constitution names Sarajevo as the capital of Republika Srpska, the northwestern city of Banja Luka is the headquarters of most of the institutions of government, including the parliament, and is, therefore, the de facto capital. After the war, Republika Srpska retained its army, but in August 2005, the parliament consented to transfer control of Army of Republika Srpska to a state-level ministry and abolish the entity's defence ministry and army by 1 January 2006. These reforms were required by NATO as a precondition of Bosnia and Herzegovina's admission to the Partnership for Peace programme. Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the programme in December 2006.[66]

In July 2023, legislation was passed to criminalise insult and defamation with up to 10 years in prison. This is likely to jeopardize freedom of speech and silence critics. Critics have said that this could make the Republika Srpska an authoritarian regime.[67]

Geography

[edit]
Orlovačko Lake located in Sutjeska National Park

Situated in Southeast Europe, Republika Srpska is located on the Balkan Peninsula, with its northern extents reaching into the Pannonian Basin. Republika Srpska lies between latitudes 42° and 46° N and longitudes 16° and 20° E. The entity is split into two main parts by the Brčko District; a hilly western part and a more varied eastern part, with high mountains in the south and flat, fertile farmland in the north. Republika Srpska, unlike its counterpart entity, is landlocked.

Like the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska is split into a Bosnian region in the north and a Herzegovinian region in the far south. Within these two macroregions exist smaller geographical regions, from the forested hills of Bosanska Krajina in the northwest to the fertile plains of Semberija in the northeast.

Republika Srpska covers 24,816.2 square kilometres (9,582 square miles), excluding the Brčko District, which is held in condominium by both entities, but is de facto sovereign within Bosnia and Herzegovina. Republika Srpska, if it were a country, would be 146th largest in the world. Elevation varies greatly, with Maglić, a peak in the Dinaric Alps near Montenegro, reaching 2,386 metres (7,828 ft), and parts nearer the Adriatic going down to sea level. The largest and most popular ski resort in Bosnia and Herzegovina is situated on the slopes of the mountain Jahorina, in the eastern part of the entity.[68] Other major mountains in Republika Srpska include Volujak, Zelengora, Lelija, Lebršnik, Crvanj, Orjen, Klekovača, Vitorog, Kozara, Romanija, Treskavica and Trebević.

Boundary

[edit]

Republika Srpska shares international borders with Croatia to the north, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast. Within Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Inter-Entity Boundary Line (IEBL) marks Republika Srpska's administrative division with the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and essentially follows the front lines at the end of the Bosnian War with some adjustments (most importantly in the western part of the country and around Sarajevo) as defined by the Dayton Agreement. The total length of the IEBL is approximately 1,080 km. The IEBL is an administrative demarcation uncontrolled by military or police and there is free movement across it.[69]

Forests

[edit]

Republika Srpska is one of the most forested areas in Europe, with over 50% of its area consisting of forest cover. Perućica is one of the last old-growth forests in Europe.[70]

Two densely-wooded national parks—Sutjeska National Park and Kozara National Park—are located in the entity.

Waters

[edit]
Trebinje on the banks of the Trebišnjica
The protected area of Pliva, Janj and Janjske Otoke Reserve
Cvrcka Canyon

Most rivers belong to the Black Sea drainage basin. The principal rivers are the Sava, a tributary of the Danube that forms the northern boundary with Croatia; the Bosna, Vrbas, Sana and Una, which all flow north and empty into the Sava; the Drina, which flows north and forms a significant part of the eastern boundary with Serbia, and is also a tributary of the Sava. The Trebišnjica is one of the longest sinking rivers in the world. It belongs to the Adriatic Sea drainage basin. Skakavac Waterfall on the Perućica is one of the highest waterfalls in the country, at about 75 metres (246 feet) in height. The most important lakes are Bileća Lake, Lake Bardača (which includes a protected wetland area) and Balkana Lake.[71]

National Parks

[edit]
Name Image Area (km2) Established
Sutjeska National Park 173 1965[72]
Drina National Park 63 2017[73]
Kozara National Park 34 1967[74]

Demographics

[edit]

As of the 2013 census, Republika Srpska has a total population of 1,228,423 and a population density of 49.9 inhabitants per square kilometre; both of these figures are much lower than in Republika Srpska's counterpart entity, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Republika Srpska comprises 48% of the land area of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is home to 34.79% of the country's total population. The overall life expectancy in Republika Srpska at birth was 77.15 years in 2019.[75]

The Republika Srpska Bureau of Statistics estimated a population of 1,114,819 in 2023.[4]

The total fertility rate in Republika Srpska is, as of 2019, 1.34 children per mother—one of the world's lowest. In 2019, the total number of live births, according to the Institute of Statistics of Republika Srpska (RZS), was 9,274. That same year, the number of deaths was 15,081, resulting in a natural population decrease for 5,807 inhabitants. Along with this natural population decrease, the entity faces considerable emigration. A large number of people have left the entity in recent years for the nearby European Union and beyond.[citation needed]

Most populous municipalities of Republika Srpska

Banja Luka
Banja Luka
Bijeljina
Bijeljina

Rank Municipality Historical region Population City-governed territory

Prijedor
Prijedor
Doboj
Doboj

1 Banja Luka Bosanska Krajina 185,042 1,239 km2 (478 sq mi)
2 Bijeljina Semberija 107,715 734 km2 (283 sq mi)
3 Prijedor Bosanska Krajina 89,397 834 km2 (322 sq mi)
4 Doboj Usora 71,441 772 km2 (298 sq mi)
5 Istočno Sarajevo Vrhbosna 61,516 1,450 km2 (560 sq mi)
6 Zvornik Podrinje 58,856 376 km2 (145 sq mi)
7 Gradiška Bosanska Posavina 51,727 762 km2 (294 sq mi)
8 Teslić Usora 38,536 838 km2 (324 sq mi)
9 Prnjavor Usora 38,399 762 km2 (294 sq mi)
10 Laktaši Bosanska Krajina 34,966 388 km2 (150 sq mi)
Source: 2013 Census

Education

[edit]
University of East Sarajevo, in Pale

Literacy in Republika Srpska stands at 96.8 percent as of 2013. Free primary education is provided as a right to all people in Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are 187 primary schools in addition to 11 music schools and 4 centres of education for students with learning disabilities. Secondary education exists in three main channels: three-year vocational schools, four-year technical schools, and four-year grammar schools (gimnazije). Ten independent grammar schools exist, while an additional 30 are integrated into other schools. Music schools offer another option for students to continue their education following primary school.

The oldest and largest public university in Republika Srpska is the University of Banja Luka, which was established in 1975.[76] The second of two public universities in Republika Srpska is University of East Sarajevo.[77] After the end of the Yugoslav wars several private institutions of higher education were established, including: American University in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slobomir University, Pan-European University “APEIRON” [sr] and University Sinergija. The Academy of Sciences and Arts of Republika Srpska, founded in 1996, is the highest representative institution of science and art in Republika Srpska.[78] National and University Library of Republika Srpska is a national library, located in Banja Luka. The Museum of Contemporary Art (MSURS) houses a collection of Yugoslav and international art and is located in Banja Luka.[79]

Ethnic groups

[edit]
Ethnic structure of Republika Srpska: 1991 (left) and 2013 (right)
Population of Republika Srpska according to ethnic group 1991–2013[80]
Ethnic
group
Census 1991 Census 2013
Number % Number %
Serbs 869,854 55.4% 1,001,289 81.5%
Bosniaks 440,746 28.1% 171,839 14.0%
Croats 144,238 9.2% 29,645 2.4%
Yugoslavs 75,013 4.8%
Others 39,481 2.5% 24,499 2.1%
Total 1,569,332 1,228,423

Healthcare

[edit]

The health care system of Republic of Srpska is intended to provide organized and planned health care to the population on its territory, both in public and private health care institutions. Health care activities are performed by health care workers and associates under the conditions and in the manner primarily prescribed by law and regulations, adopted on the basis, and in accordance with, the Law on Health Care of the Republic of Srpska.[81]

The public sector of Srpska includes 54 health centers, along with family medicine clinics,[82] 11 hospitals,[82] 4 specialised hospitals,[82] 1 clinical centre[82] and 7 institutes.[82]

Stationary treatment is provided in hospitals located in Derventa and Prnjavor.[83] Hospitals specialised for physical medicine and rehabilitation are "Mlječanica" in Kozarska Dubica and Institute "Dr Miroslav Zotović" in Banja Luka.[20] Patients with mental illnesses are treated in Institute for Forensic Psychiatry Sokolac, which is the first and only institution of this type in BiH,[84] and Hospital for Chronic Psychiatric Patients Modriča.[85]

University hospitals are located in Foča[86] and Banja Luka. The University Clinical Center of Republika Srpska[87] (UCC RS) is the largest and most important public health institution in Republika Srpska. The main activity of the University Clinical Center is hospital treatment (admission, diagnosis and care) of patients at the secondary and tertiary level of health care. It consists of 21 clinics, 6 institutes and 10 services.[88]

Religion

[edit]

Republika Srpska has no official religion. Freedom of religion is a right defined by the Constitution of Republika Srpska, which provides for legal equality of all people, irrespective of religious belief.[89]

According to the 2013 census, around 85% of the residents of Republika Srpska identify as Christian. Members of the Serbian Orthodox Church form the largest religious group, accounting for a little less than 83% of the population, followed by followers of Islam and Roman Catholicism. 0.59% of people describe themselves as atheist or agnostic.

Religion in Republika Srpska[90]
religion percent
Eastern Orthodoxy
82.8%
Islam
12.8%
Catholicism
2.2%
Atheism or Agnosticism
0.6%
Other
1.6%

Religion plays an important role in ethnic identification in Republika Srpska.[91] Serbs generally identify as followers of Eastern Orthodoxy, Croats as followers of the Catholic Church, and Bosniaks as followers of Islam. Religious architecture takes on a similarly diverse character in the entity, with its mix of mosques and churches.

Economy

[edit]

Republika Srpska uses the Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark (KM). The currency is pegged to the euro at a unit rate of 1.95583 convertible marks. Along with the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska is classified as an upper-middle income economy by the United Nations.[92] According to the IRBRS, the entity's development bank, Republika Srpska's nominal GDP per capita is 8,739 km (€4,457) as of 2017.

Republika Srpska's corporate tax rate is lower than that of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is among the lowest in the region.[93]

In November 2020 governments of Serbia and Srpska announced construction of three hydropower plants on the Drina estimated at EUR 520 million.[94][95]

GDP of Republika Srpska 2000–2019 (mil. KM)[96]
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 (assumption)
3,373 3,666 4,208 4,560 5,116 5,763 6,546 7,352 8,490 8,236 8,318 8,682 8,584 8,760 8,831 8,899 8,931 9,087 9,200 9,299 8,953 9.312 9,932
Participation in total BiH economy
30.62% 31.8% 31.63% 27.23% 27.17% 25.98% 26.47% 27.79% 28.94% 28.08% 27.54% 27.28% 25.9% 25.34% 24.79% 25.84% 26.40% 24.16% 25.08% 24.02% 24.11% 22.61% 22.73%
Real GDP growth rates in Republika Srpska and Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina 2006–2014

External trade

[edit]
External trade of Republika Srpska (mil. euros)
(not including trade with the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Brčko District)[97][98]
Year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Exports 306 289 312 431 578 788 855 983 855 1,114 1,309 1,214 1,331 1,376 1,337 1,467 1,777 1,913 1,846 1,735
Imports 868 1,107 1,165 1,382 1,510 1,411 1,712 2,12 0 1,824 2,072 2,340 2,294 2,330 2,529 2,334 2,263 2,505 2,670 2,445 2,287
Total trade 1,174 1,396 1,477 1,813 2,088 2,199 2,566 3,103 2,680 3,186 3,650 3,509 3,662 3,905 3,570 3,730 4,282 4,583 4,291 4,022
Coverage (%) 35 26 27 31 38 56 50 46 47 54 56 53 57 54 60 65 71 71 75 75

Taxation and salaries

[edit]
Average net wages (in KM) in Republika Srpska 1996–2015

Since 2001, Republika Srpska initiated significant reforms in the sector of the tax system, which lowered the tax burden to 28.6%, one of the lowest in the region. The 10% rate of capital gains tax and income tax are among the lowest in Europe.[citation needed] VAT has been introduced in 2006. These tax advantages have led to some companies moving their business to Republika Srpska from the other entity.[99]

As of 2018, there are 266,309 employed people within legal entities in Republika Srpska.[100] The average net wage, according to the Institute of Statistics of Republika Srpska (RZS), is 896 km (€458) per month as of February 2019, a nominal growth of 1.0% compared to the previous month.[101]

Transport

[edit]
Interchange on the Gradiška-Banja Luka highway

Transport and telecommunications infrastructure in Republika Srpska is regulated by Ministry of Transport and Communications. Traffic infrastructure includes roads, railways, railway stations, airports, waterways, ports on the whole territory of Republika Srpska, while telecommunication infrastructure includes telephony, telegraphy, optical cables, terrestrial communication stations, traffic telematics and others.[102]

State-owned companies like Republika Srpska Railways, Pošte Srpske, Republika Srpska Roads are in charge of maintaining traffic on the territory.

The basic road traffic network in Srpska includes 4,192 kilometers of public roads, of which 1,781 km of trunk roads and 2,183 km of regional roads.[102] There are currently two highways in Republika Srpska: Gradiška – Banja Luka highway, and the "9th January highway" (Banja Luka – Doboj). Arterial highways in Srpska which are a part of the International E-road network are:

The total length of the regular gauge railway in Srpska is 425 km.[102] Republika Srpska Railways transports around 1 million passengers and 5[103] million tons of goods each year. The international code of the Republika Srpska Railways is 0044.[104]

Tourism

[edit]
Jahorina ski resort is the biggest in Bosnia and one of the biggest in the Balkans
Andrićgrad

Some types of tourism in the Republic of Srpska are: mountain, spa, religious, ethno-tourism and ecotourism.

Republika Srpska has rich but fragmented natural resources. Popular mountains include: Zelengora, Treskavica, Jahorina, Romanija, as well as Grmeč, Kozara, Ozren and many others, with rich flora and hunting grounds.[105]

Jahorina ski resort is a mountain resort and the largest and most popular winter tourism resort in the country. The ski resort is situated on the slopes of Jahorina mountain in Dinaric Alps. It is located 15 km (9.3 mi) from the municipality of Pale and 30 km (19 mi) from the Sarajevo International Airport. The Jahorina ski resort hosted alpine skiing competitions during the 1984 Winter Olympics.

Royal village Kontromanićevo near Doboj and Stanišići are popular destinations for ethno-tourism.[106][107] Andrićgrad is a tourist complex inspired by the works of Nobel Prize winner Ivo Andrić, located on Drina near Višegrad.[108] It is made of stone with around fifty object, including a local theatre, cinema, art gallery, church, Andrić's institute, hotels and various shops.[109]

Several rivers with clear water and potential for fishing are located in Srpska, such as Una, Sana, Tara, Drina and Ukrina.

The best known spas in Srpska are Banja Vrućica,[110] Dvorovi, Guber, Laktaši, Lješljani, Mlječanica and Višegrad spa.[111][112]

An important annual event of Serbs from the region of Bosanska Krajina is Corrida of Grmeč. So far 248 bullfighting events have been held at Grmeč.[113][114]

External relations

[edit]

In September 2006, Republika Srpska officials signed a 'special ties agreement' with Serbia aimed at promoting economic and institutional cooperation between Serbia and Republika Srpska. The accord was signed by Serbia's President Boris Tadić and Prime Minister Vojislav Koštunica, former Republika Srpska President Dragan Čavić, and Republika Srpska Prime Minister Milorad Dodik.[115]

Representative offices

[edit]
Representative offices of Republika Srpska worldwide

In February 2009, Republika Srpska opened a representative office in Brussels. While European Union representatives were not present at the ceremony, top Republika Srpska officials attended the event, saying it would advance their economic, political and cultural relations with the EU. This notion has been strongly condemned by Bosniak leaders, saying that this is further proof of Republika Srpska distancing itself from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The president of Republika Srpska, Rajko Kuzmanović, told reporters that this move did not jeopardise Republika Srpska's place within Bosnia and Herzegovina. He added that Republika Srpska merely used its constitutional right 'to open up a representation office in the centre of developments of European relevance'. Republika Srpska maintains official offices in Belgrade, Moscow, Stuttgart, Jerusalem, Thessaloniki, Washington D.C., Brussels, and Vienna.[116][117][118]

Tourist arrivals in Republika Srpska[119]
Year Total number Increase Participation in BiH tourism Overnight stays Increase Participation in BiH tourism
1997 108.009 44% 362.243 50%
1998 148.175 37.1% 49% 437.736 20.8% 52%
1999 168.375 13.6% 43% 473.705 8.2% 51%
2000 169.720 0.8% 41% 440.760 −7% 47%
2001 146.133 −13.9% 35% 359.890 −18.3% 40%
2002 151.838 3.9% 34% 384.187 6.8% 33%
2003 152.441 0.4% 33% 391.995 2% 28%
2004 151.280 −0.8% 31% 407.749 4% 26%
2005 150.526 0.5% 30% 397.976 −2.4% 23%
2006 191.934 27.5% 33% 489.441 23% 24%
2007 222.739 16% 34% 561.995 14.8% 24%
2008 241.145 8.2% 32% 625.842 11.4% 23%
2009 226.957 −5.8% 29% 564.091 −9.9% 22%
2010 236.286 4.1% 30% 577.802 2.4% 21%
2011 237.794 0.6% 29% 614.637 6.3% 22%
2012 241.214 1.4% 29% 629.648 2.4% 21%
2013 253.653 5.1% 26% 629.663 0% 20%
2014 260.160 2.6% 30% 598.668 5% 20%
2015 294.781 13.3% 28% 686.944 14.8% 21%
2016 323.908 9.9% 27% 740.601 7.8% 20%
2017 344.659 6.4% 24% 794.543 7.2% 19%
2018 381.802 10.7% 21% 926.939 16.7% 18%

Culture

[edit]

The Academy of Sciences and Arts of Republika Srpska is the most important scientific, cultural, working and representative institution of Republika Srpska. The task of this academic institution is to develop, promote and encourage scientific and artistic activity. The academy is an institution of special national interest for the Republika Srpska.[120]

Museum of Contemporary Art, Republika Srpska

An important carrier of the development of dramatic art in Banja Luka and in the whole region is the National Theater of the Republic of Srpska, which has eighty full-time employees and, within the ensemble of actors themselves, twenty-six dramatic artists. One of the most important and certainly the most visited cultural events in the city is the Theater Fest, which is held every year in this theater, with the participation of numerous ensembles of domestic and foreign actors.

The National and University Library of Republika Srpska is the central library of the University of Banja Luka, the main library of all public universities in Republika Srpska and the umbrella and central national library of Republika Srpska.

The Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage is the official administrative institution of the Republika Srpska and an organization within the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republika Srpska. The Institute registers, protects and maintains a central register of cultural, historical and natural monuments throughout the territory of the Republika Srpska.

In 1993, the Association of Serbian Writers was founded in Jahorina, under the chairmanship of professor and politician Nikola Koljevic. Since 2003, the president of the association has been Zoran Kostic, who moved its headquarters from Serbian Sarajevo to Banja Luka. The president of the Sarajevo-Romanija-Drina branch is Nedeljko Zelenović.

The founding assembly of the Association of Historians of the Republic of Srpska "Milorad Ekmečić" was held in Banja Luka in December 2015. The objectives of the Association are the improvement of scientific research activities in the field of historical science in the Republic of Srpska and dissemination of these results, improvement of history teaching and professional development of teaching staff.[121]

Sport

[edit]
Tijana Bošković playing for the Serbia women's national volleyball team

Sport in Republika Srpska is managed by the entity's Ministry of Youth, Family, and Sport. The most popular sports in the entity include basketball, football, and volleyball. The most popular football club, and generally the largest sports organization, is FK Borac Banja Luka. FK Borac has, especially with regard to the former Yugoslavia, experienced considerable success: it won the Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2011, the Bosnia and Herzegovina Cup in 2010, the Yugoslav Cup in 1988, and the Central European Cup in 1992, its last year. Other popular football clubs include FK Rudar Prijedor, FK Radnik Bijeljina, and FK Leotar, though these clubs face a considerable loss of talent to larger clubs of Serbia, Croatia, and the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo.

The oldest basketball club in Bosnia and Herzegovina, KK Borac, was founded in Banja Luka in 1947. The most successful sportspeoples born on the territory of present-day Republika Srpska are football players Tomislav Knez, Velimir Sombolac (1960 Olympics Champions) and Mehmed Baždarević (1976 Olympics Bronze medalist); handball players Đorđe Lavrnić, Milorad Karalić, Nebojša Popović (1972 Olympics Champions) and Zlatan Arnautović (1984 Olympics Champion); basketball players Ratko Radovanović (1980 Olympics Champion) and Slađana Golić (1988 Olympics Silver medalist); boxers Anton Josipović (1984 Olympics Champion), Slobodan Kačar (1980 Olympics Champion) and Tadija Kačar (1976 Olympics Silver medalist), table tennis player Jasna Fazlić (1988 Olympics Bronze medalist).

After the breakup of Yugoslavia, an especially large amount of successful athletes from Republika Srpska have chosen to represent Serbia (or former Serbia and Montenegro, FR Yugoslavia), such as basketball players Vladimir Radmanović (2002 World Champion), Saša Čađo (2015 European Champion and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist) and Ognjen Kuzmić (2015 NBA Champion, 2018 EuroLeague champion and 2017 EuroBasket silver medalist); volleyball players Tijana Bošković (2018 World Champion and 2016 Olympic silver medalist) and Saša Starović (2011 European Champion); football players Savo Milošević (2000 European Championship top scorer), Neven Subotić (two-time Bundesliga Champion), Mijat Gaćinović, Miladin Stevanović and Srđan Babić (2015 U-20 World Champions), Ognjen Ožegović (2013 U-19 European Champions) and Luka Jović. Other notable athletes are swimmer Velimir Stjepanović (2014 European Champions), taekwondo practitioner Zoran Prerad (1998 European Champion), judoka Nemanja Majdov (2017 World Champion) and alpine skier Jelena Lolović (2005 Universiade Champion).

Holidays

[edit]
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Banja Luka

According to the Law on Holidays of Republika Srpska, public holidays are divided into three categories: entity holidays, religious holidays, and holidays which are marked but do not include time off of work. The entity holidays include New Year's Day (1 January), Entity Day (9 January), International Workers' Day (1 May), Victory over Fascism Day (9 May), and Day of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (21 November).[122]

Religious holidays include Christmas and Easter according to both the Julian and the Gregorian calendars for, respectively, Serbian Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics, as well as Kurban Bajram (Eid Al Adha) and Bajram (Eid Al Fitr) for Muslims. Holidays that are marked but do not include time off work include School Day (the Feast of Saint Sava, 27 January), Day of the Army of Republika Srpska (12 May), Interior Ministry Day (4 April), and Day of the First Serbian Uprising (14 February).[122]

The most important of the entity holidays is the Day of Republika Srpska, which commemorates the establishment of Republika Srpska on 9 January 1992. Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared the holiday unconstitutional on 26 November 2015 stating that the main issue for it being coinciding with a religious holiday. It coincides with Saint Stephen's Day according to the Julian calendar. The Orthodox Serbs also refer to the holiday as the slava of Republika Srpska, regarding Saint Stephen as the patron saint of the entity although it is designated as a secular holiday.[123] Republika Srpska does not recognise the Independence Day of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1 March).[124]

See also

[edit]

References

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Bibliography

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44°45′N 17°19′E / 44.750°N 17.317°E / 44.750; 17.317