Population Born Abroad

International migrant stock as a percentage of the total population, by age and sex, and by region, country, or area of destination.

Scale: The number of immigrants as a share of the total population.              

Direction of Change

THE SHARE OF FOREIGN-BORN RESIDENTS HAS SUBSTANTIALLY DECLINED

The data set shows a steady decline in the share of the foreign-born population in Bosnia and Herzegovina. From the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, we saw a significant increase, primarily due to the post-war return of refugees and the gradual normalisation of population movements after the conflict. But from 2000, we have had a rapid five-year decline in numbers. From 2005, the trend continued downward but at a slower, more incremental pace, stabilising into a long period of low variation. From around 2010 onwards, the values remain consistently low, with only marginal fluctuations and no sustained upward movement. This indicates a long-term structural shift: Bosnia and Herzegovina transitioned to a country with a comparatively small and steady immigrant share. 

Global Rank

Compared with all geographic entities listed in the Index

Note: Population-weighted averages for Europe and the world.

Regional Rank

Compared with six former Yugoslav countries and Albania

Note: In 1995, Montenegro, Serbia, and Kosovo were part of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

1995 (highest → lowest): Serbia, Croatia, Montenegro, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

2024 (highest → lowest): >Slovenia, Montenegro, Croatia, Serbia, North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Conclusion

Taken together, the data show a population that has steadily “normalised” demographically, with foreign-born shares falling sharply since 2000 and remaining consistently low ever since, a clear, durable pattern of demographic consolidation.

Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2024) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.