The citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) aspire to a future in the European Union with rising living standards, good-paying jobs, better infrastructure and public services, and a healthy, sustainable environment.

However, the country faces critical challenges in achieving those aspirations, including the rapid loss of its population through emigration.

The country cannot afford to continue losing valuable human capital this way. Creating the incentives for people to stay will require meeting their aspirations for a better quality of life for them and their families. This is achievable but will require decisive action by all stakeholders.

BiH’s current development path will not create the opportunities that its population needs. BiH has made significant progress in maintaining macroeconomic stability, posting fiscal surpluses and declining debt levels.

But this is not enough. While economic growth has been stable over the past several years around 3%, it is simply too low to underpin a path to shared prosperity. Should BiH continue to grow at the same rate, it would take over 100 years for the country to reach the living standards observed in the EU.

To achieve higher, more sustainable, and equitable growth, interventions will be needed along four pillars: (i) rebalancing of growth, (ii) investments in physical capital, (iii) stronger human capital, and (iv) natural resources management.