Europe · Sarajevo
Cost of living in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina is 62% cheaper than the US, ranking #129 of 203 countries we cover for cost of living.
World Bank data through 2024 · last reviewed 2026-06.
What drives the cost here
Price levels by category, where the world average = 100. Above 100 is pricier than the global norm; below it is cheaper.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, communication is the priciest category relative to the world (115), while housing & utilities is the most affordable (39).
Category price levels: World Bank ICP 2021 (world average = 100) · source
What your money is worth here
A $100,000 US lifestyle would cost roughly $38,000 in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Quality of life
89/100 · #63 of 198Beyond cost — health, safety, and connectivity. The score is a transparent, equal-weight composite of the verified metrics below (see methodology).
About Bosnia and Herzegovina
After four centuries of Ottoman rule over Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria-Hungary took control in 1878 and held the region until 1918, when it was incorporated into the newly created Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. After World War II, Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). Bosnia and Herzegovina declared sovereignty in October 1991 and independence from the SFRY on 3 March 1992 after a referendum boycotted by ethnic Serbs.
Read the full background
Bosnian Serb militias, with the support of Serbia and Croatia, then tried to take control of territories they claimed as their own. From 1992 to 1995, ethnic cleansing campaigns killed thousands and displaced more than two million people. On 21 November 1995, in Dayton, Ohio, the warring parties initialed a peace agreement, and the final agreement was signed in Paris on 14 December 1995. The Dayton Accords retained Bosnia and Herzegovina's international boundaries and created a multiethnic and democratic government composed of two entities roughly equal in size: the predominantly Bosniak-Bosnian Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the predominantly Bosnian Serb-led Republika Srpska (RS). The Dayton Accords also established the Office of the High Representative to oversee the agreement's implementation. In 1996, the NATO-led Stabilization Force (SFOR) took over responsibility for enforcing the peace. In 2004, European Union peacekeeping troops (EUFOR) replaced SFOR. As of 2022, EUFOR deploys around 1,600 troops in Bosnia in a peacekeeping capacity. Bosnia and Herzegovina became an official candidate for EU membership in 2022.
Background from the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived 2026-06-03.
Frequently asked
Is Bosnia and Herzegovina expensive to live in?
Bosnia and Herzegovina is 62% cheaper than the US, ranking #129 of the 203 countries we track. Its most expensive category relative to the world is communication; housing & utilities costs the least.
How much money do you need to live in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
A lifestyle that costs $100,000 in the United States would cost roughly $38,000 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, going by overall price levels. The salary translator turns your own figure into a local equivalent.
Is Bosnia and Herzegovina cheaper than the United States?
Yes. Its overall price level is 37.9, against 100 for the United States.
What is the quality of life in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Bosnia and Herzegovina scores 89 out of 100 on our quality-of-life index (#63 of 198), a composite of life expectancy, safety, health, and connectivity, with life expectancy around 78 years.
Every number, sourced.
We cite the exact source and year for each figure. Derived values are computed at build time, never hand-entered.
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