Language in Bosnia and Herzegovina is closely tied to history, identity, and politics. While the country is linguistically unified in everyday communication, its legal and constitutional framework reflects the complexity of its multicultural society.

Official Language Status

Bosnia and Herzegovina’s constitution does not explicitly name an official language. However, the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the war in the 1990s, was drafted in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, and English. Linguistic scholars widely interpret this as a practical recognition of three official languages at the state level.

In 2000, the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed that Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian must have equal status throughout the country. This ruling required both political entities—the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska—to amend their constitutions. Previously, each entity had favored only certain languages, but following the court decision, all three became official in both entities.

Mutual Intelligibility and Identity

Bosnian, Croatian, and Serbian are fully mutually intelligible. Linguistically, they are standardized varieties of what is commonly known as Serbo-Croatian, although this term is not officially used within the country today.

Despite their similarities, language choice has become a powerful marker of ethnic identity. Scholars note that the formal distinction between the three languages serves more as a symbolic expression of national belonging than a reflection of linguistic necessity. In everyday life, speakers understand one another with little difficulty.

Minority Languages and Legal Protection

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a signatory to the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, under which it recognizes a wide range of minority languages. These include:

• Albanian
• Montenegrin
• Czech
• Italian
• Hungarian
• Macedonian
• German
• Polish
• Romani
• Romanian
• Rusyn
• Slovak
• Slovene
• Turkish
• Ukrainian
• Jewish languages (Yiddish and Ladino)

This recognition highlights the country’s long-standing multicultural character and its commitment to protecting linguistic diversity.

The German Linguistic Legacy

The German-speaking population in Bosnia and Herzegovina is largely descended from Danube Swabians, who settled in the region during the Habsburg period. Following the two World Wars, expulsions and forced assimilation drastically reduced the number of ethnic Germans, leaving only a small linguistic and cultural presence today.

Mother Tongue Statistics

According to the 2013 census, citizens identified their first language as follows:

• Bosnian – 52.86%
• Serbian – 30.76%
• Croatian – 14.6%
• Other languages – 1.57%
• No response – 0.21%

These figures closely mirror the country’s ethnic composition and underline the close connection between language and identity.

Although Bosnia and Herzegovina functions with three officially recognized languages, everyday communication remains seamless due to their shared linguistic foundation. The country’s language policies reflect not division, but the historical and symbolic importance of identity in a diverse society. Understanding language in Bosnia and Herzegovina means understanding both its unity and its complexity.