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( Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Bosnia and Herzegovina /'b?zn??&_160;?nd&_160;?h??rts?go?'vi?n?/ (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Latin Bosna i Hercegovina; Serbian Cyrilic ????? ? ???????????) is a country on the Balkan peninsula of South Eastern Europe with an area of 51,129&_160;square kilometres (19,741&_160;sq mi). Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the south, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for 26&_160;kilometres of the Adriatic Sea coastline, centered around the town of Neum.[2][3] The interior of the country is mountainous in the center and south, hilly in the northwest, and flat in the northeast. It is the largest geographic region of the modern state with moderate continental climate, marked by hot summers and cold, snowy winters. Smaller Herzegovina is the southern tip of the country, with Mediterranean climate and topography. Bosnia and Herzegovina's natural resources are highly abundant. The country is home to three ethnic "constituent peoples" Bosniaks, the most numerous population group of Bosnia, with Serbs in second and Croats in third. Regardless of ethnicity, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina is often identified in English as a Bosnian. In Bosnia, the distinction between a Bosnian and a Herzegovinian is maintained as a regional, rather than an ethnic distinction. The country is politically decentralized and comprises two governing entities, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, with District Brcko as a de facto third entity. Formerly one of the six federal units constituting the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina gained its independence during the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. Bosnia and Herzegovina can be described as a federal democratic republic that is transforming its economy into a market-oriented system, and it is a potential candidate for membership in the European Union and NATO. Additionally, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a founding member of the Mediterranean Union upon its establishment on July 13, 2008. Bosnia has been inhabited at least since the Neolithic age. In the early Bronze Age, the Neolithic population was replaced by more warlike Indo-European tribes known as the Illyres or Illyrians. Celtic migrations in the fourth century&_160;BC and third century&_160;BC displaced many Illyrian tribes from their former lands, but some Celtic and Illyrian tribes mixed. Concrete historical evidence for this period is scarce, but overall it appears that the region was populated by a number of different peoples speaking distinct languages. Conflict between the Illyrians and Romans started in 229&_160;BC, but Rome would not complete its annexation of the region until AD&_160;9. In the Roman period, Latin-speaking settlers from all over the Roman empire settled among the Illyrians and Roman soldiers were encouraged to retire in the region.[4]
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