Bosnia and Herzegovina: crime and justice

How many people are convicted of crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

7,590 adults were convicted of criminal offences in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2025, 5% more than in 2024, according to the BHAS adult perpetrators of criminal offences release. Prosecutors resolved 14,537 reports of offences by adults, 9% fewer than a year earlier, and issued 8,136 indictments. Men accounted for 92% of convictions.

These are justice statistics: they count people reported, indicted and convicted, not crimes recorded by the police. 92% of reports concerned known perpetrators.

Official sources: BHAS: Adult perpetrators of criminal offences in BiH, 2025 (PDF)

How many young people commit crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Prosecutors in Bosnia and Herzegovina handled 280 reports of criminal offences by juveniles in 2025, 43 fewer than in 2024, according to the BHAS juvenile perpetrators release. 73 indictments were issued and 55 juveniles were convicted, 2% fewer than a year earlier.

Juveniles are young people aged 14 to 17 at the time of the offence. In 49% of reports no preparatory proceedings were started or they were discontinued, and in 19% a criminal sanction was proposed. The figures cover prosecutors' offices in the Federation, Republika Srpska and Brčko District.

Official sources: juvenile perpetrators release

What is the murder rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Bosnia and Herzegovina's intentional homicide rate was 1.22 per 100,000 people in 2023, up from 1.09 in 2022, according to UNODC data on World Bank Open Data. That is about 39 homicides a year in a population of about 3.2 million.

Policing in Bosnia and Herzegovina is divided between the entities, the cantons and Brčko District, so there is no single national police crime statistic. BHAS publishes justice statistics on people reported, indicted and convicted instead.

Official sources: World Bank Open Data (API)

What is the homicide rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

1.2 per 100,000: that is the intentional homicide rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2023, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. Since 2007 it has ranged from 1.0 per 100,000 (2021) to 1.8 per 100,000 (2009). Across Europe & Central Asia the middle value was 1.0 per 100,000, and Bosnia and Herzegovina placed 13th highest of 35. Worldwide: 48th of 79.

What is the female homicide rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime puts the homicide rate for women in Bosnia and Herzegovina at 0.8 per 100,000 in 2023. Since 2009 it has ranged from 0.3 per 100,000 (2020) to 1.2 per 100,000 (2012). It is 15th highest of 36 in Europe & Central Asia, where the median is 0.7 per 100,000. Worldwide: 48th of 78.

What is the male homicide rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

According to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, the homicide rate for men in Bosnia and Herzegovina was 1.7 per 100,000 in 2023. The peak was 3.0 per 100,000 in 2009 and the low 1.4 per 100,000 in 2022. It is 15th highest of 36 in Europe & Central Asia, where the median is 1.3 per 100,000. World rank, highest first: 49th of 78.