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Republika Srpska (Република Српска, ), also referred to as the Republic of Srpska or the Serb Republic, is one of the three political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the others being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Brčko District. Situated in the northern and eastern regions of the country, it recorded a population of 1,228,423 in the 2013 census. Its largest city and administrative hub is Banja Luka, located on the banks of the Vrbas River.
Republika Srpska was established in 1992 at the onset of the Bosnian War with the stated purpose of safeguarding the interests of the Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina. During the conflict, the expulsion of the majority of Croats and Bosniaks from territories controlled by Republika Srpska occurred, while the majority of Serbs were displaced or expelled from the present-day Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina to Republika Srpska. The 1995 Dayton Agreement created Republika Srpska as one of Bosnia and Herzegovina's two constituent entities. Today, it is inhabited by the Serb population of the country.
The entity operates under a parliamentary system, with legislative power vested in the National Assembly, which comprises 83 seats. While Republika Srpska is relatively centralized, it is administratively divided into 64 municipalities, known as opštine (singular: opština). The current legislative term marks the tenth session since its inception.
Although Republika Srpska is variously glossed in English as Serb Republic, Bosnian Serb Republic, or Republic of Srpska, the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina and English-language news sources such as the BBC, The New York Times, and The Guardian generally refer to the entity by its transliteration.
According to Glas Srpske, a Banja Luka daily, the modern entity's name was created by its first minister of culture, Ljubomir Zuković.
More permanent settlement arose with the Neolithic, which occurred along the rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina as farming spread from the southeast. The Butmir culture developed near present-day East Sarajevo on the river Bosna. A variety of idols, mostly of female characters, were found in the Butmir site, along with dugouts.
The Indo-European migrations of the Bronze Age contributed to the first use of metal tools in the region, along with the construction of burial mounds—Tumulus, or . Remains of these mounds can be found in northwestern Bosnia near Prijedor, testament to not only denser settlement but also Bronze Age relics.
With the influx of the Iron Age, the Glasinac culture, developing near Sokolac in eastern Republika Srpska, was one of the most important of the country's long-standing Indo-European inhabitants, the Illyrians. Later, these Illyrians—the Autariatae—were influenced by the Celts after the Gallic invasion of the Balkans.
Christianity spread to the region relatively late at least partially due to the countryside's mountainous nature and its lack of large settlements. In the fourth century, however, the country began to be Christianised en masse. With the split of the Western and Eastern Roman Empires in 395, modern-day Republika Srpska fell under the Western Roman Empire. Testament to its and Bosnia and Herzegovina's later religious polarisation, it was later conquered as a frontier of the Eastern Roman Empire, a harbinger for religious division to come.
By 535, the territory was taken once again by the Byzantine Empire. At this time, the Empire's grip was once again relatively loose and Slavs invaded the surrounding area. Modern-day Republika Srpska was therefore split between the mediaeval Kingdom of Croatia and, according to De Administrando Imperio, mediaeval Serbian županije, including, Bosna, Zachlumia, Travunija, and Serbia, then including land in eastern Bosnia.Moravcsik (1967) Parts of present-day Srpska were locations of settlement of the original White Serbs people.
By the end of the 11th century, the entirety of Bosnia became part of the Hungarian Crown Lands. Under Hungarian rule, the area was known as the Banate of Bosnia. Later, however, with the rule of Ban Kulin, who is regarded as the founder of Bosnia, the region became de facto independent. In 1377, the Banate of Bosnia became the medieval Kingdom of Bosnia, under Tvrtko I of House of Kotromanić. The capitals of the kingdom were all located in its centre, while the northern periphery remained under nominal Hungarian rule as the region of Usora. Architectural legacies from this period include Kastel Fortress in Banja Luka, the fortress of Doboj as well as castles, churches, and monasteries across the country.
With the growth of the Ottoman Empire, Stefan Tomašević, the last Kotromanić ruler, surrendered Bosnia and Serbia to Ottoman tributary status. A Catholic, he was unpopular among the Orthodox population of Serbia, as well as the members of the Bosnian Church.Ćirković (1964) p.276 Refusing to pay tribute to Mehmed the Conqueror, King Stefan was executed and much of Bosnia fell under direct Ottoman Empire rule in 1463 as the Bosnia Eyalet. The entirety of the country fell in 1482, with the founding of the Sanjak of Herzegovina.
With the Ottoman-Habsburg conflicts of the late 17th and 18th centuries, parts of northern Republika Srpska became a part of the Habsburg Empire for relatively short periods. The rule was more permanent following the Austro-Hungarian invasion in 1878. Characterised by economic and social development not seen in the by-then backwards Ottoman Empire, Austro-Hungarian rule was welcomed by many. However, many Muslims left Bosnia, leaving Serbs as the majority in the entirety of the Condominium.
Following the outbreak of World War II and the invasion of Yugoslavia in 1941, modern-day Republika Srpska fell under the rule of the Nazi puppet state, The Independent State of Croatia. Around 300,000 Serbs are estimated to have died under the Ustashe regime as a result of their genocide campaign; a slew of massacres, as well as the use of a variety of concentration and extermination camps, took place in Republika Srpska during the war. The Jasenovac concentration camp, located in modern-day Croatia, was the site of the deaths of some 100,000 people, about 47,000-52,000 of which were Serbs. Massacres also occurred at Garavice and Kruščica concentration camp in the eastern part of Bosnia. The regime systematically and brutally massacred Serbs in villages in the countryside, using a variety of tools. The scale of the violence meant that approximately every sixth Serb living in Bosnia-Herzegovina was the victim of a massacre and virtually every Serb had a family member that was killed in the war, mostly by the Ustaše. An estimated 209,000 Serbs or 16.9% of its Bosnia population were killed on the territory of Bosnia–Herzegovina during the war. Today, monuments honouring these victims can be found across Republika Srpska and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationalist movement Chetniks, a guerilla force that engaged in tactical or selective Collaborationism with the occupying forces for almost all of the war, pursued genocide against Croats and Muslims, which included thousands of Croat and Muslim civilians killed on the territory of modern-day Republika Srpska. The Chetniks killed an estimated 50,000 to 68,000 Muslims and Croats. A December 1941 directive, attributed to Chetnik leader Draža Mihailović, explicitly ordered the ethnic cleansing of Muslims and Croats from Sandžak and Bosnia and Herzegovina. About 300 villages and small towns were destroyed, along with a large number of mosques and Catholic churches. The Chetniks were almost exclusively made up of Serbs except for a large number of Montenegrins who identified as Serbs.
During the entire course of World War II in Yugoslavia, 64.1% of all Bosnian Partisans were Serbs.
After World War II came a period of relative peace and economic development. Ljubija mine and companies like Agrokomerc played a vital role in much of the economic development of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Literacy rates increased greatly, and the University of Banja Luka was founded in 1975.
On 24 October 1991, the Serb deputies formed the Assembly of the Serb People in Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Skupština srpskog naroda u Bosni i Hercegovini) to be the highest representative and legislative body of the Bosnian Serb population, ending the tripartite coalition.
The Union of Reform Forces soon ceased to exist, but its members remained in the assembly as the Independent Members of Parliament Caucus. The assembly undertook to address the achievement of equality between the Serbs and other peoples and the protection of the Serbs' interests, which they contended had been jeopardised by decisions of the Bosnian parliament. On 9 January 1992, the assembly proclaimed the Republic of the Serb People of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Republika srpskoga naroda Bosne i Hercegovine), declaring it part of Yugoslavia.
On 28 February 1992, the assembly adopted the Constitution of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the name adopted instead of the previous Republika srpskog naroda Bosne i Hercegovine), which would include districts, municipalities, and regions where Serbs were the majority and also those where they had allegedly become a minority because of persecution during World War II. The republic was part of Yugoslavia and could enter into union with political bodies representing other peoples of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The Bosnian parliament, without its Serb deputies, held a referendum on the independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 29 February and 1 March 1992, but most Serbs boycotted it since the assembly had previously (9–10 November 1991) held a plebiscite in the Serb regions, 96% having opted for membership of the Yugoslav federation formed by Serbia and Montenegro. The referendum had a 64% turnout and 92.7% or 99% (according to different sources) voted for independence. On 6 March the Bosnian parliament promulgated the results of the referendum, proclaiming the republic's independence from Yugoslavia. The republic's independence was recognised by the European Community on 6 April 1992 and by the United States on 7 April. On the same day the Serbs' assembly in session in Banja Luka declared a severance of governmental ties with Bosnia and Herzegovina. The name Republika Srpska was adopted on 12 August 1992.
The political controversy escalated into the Bosnian War, which would last until the autumn of 1995.
The war was ended by the Dayton Agreement, reached at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, on 21 November and formally signed in Paris on 14 December 1995. Annex 4 of the Agreement is the current Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, recognising Republika Srpska as one of its two main political-territorial divisions and defining the governmental functions and powers of the two entities. The boundary lines between the entities were delineated in Annex 2 of the Agreement.
Between 1992 and 2008, the Constitution of Republika Srpska was amended 121 times. Article 1 states that Republika Srpska is a territorially unified, indivisible, and inalienable constitutional and legal entity that shall perform its constitutional, legislative, executive, and judicial functions independently.
In Eastern Bosnia, Bosnian Serbs besieged the town of Srebrenica, among others. Srebrenica was declared a UN 'Safe Area' in 1993, and it served as an enclave for Muslim refugees for the final years of the Bosnian War. In the middle of July 1995, more than 8,000 Muslim Bosniaks, mainly men and boys, in and around the town of Srebrenica, were killed in what became known as the Srebrenica massacre, which was subsequently designated as an act of genocide by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Court of Justice.
Acts of ethnic cleansing against the non-Serb populations reduced the numbers of other groups. Serb police, soldiers, and irregulars attacked Muslims and Croats and burned and looted their homes. Some were killed on the spot; others were rounded up and killed elsewhere or forced to flee. The number of Croats was reduced by 114,593 (the majority of the Croatian pre-war population), and the number of Bosniaks by some 268,907. Some 136,000 of approximately 496,000 Bosniak refugees forced to flee the territory of what is now Republika Srpska have since returned home.
, 40% of Bosniaks and 8.5% of Croats had returned to Republika Srpska, while 14% of Serbs who left their homes in territories controlled by Bosniaks or Croats also returned to their pre-war communities.
In the early 2000s, discrimination against non-Serbs was alleged by NGOs and the Helsinki Commission. The International Crisis Group reported in 2002 that in some parts of Republika Srpska a non-Serb returnee is ten times more likely to be the victim of violent crime than a local Serb. The Helsinki Commission, in a 2001 statement on 'Tolerance and Non-Discrimination', pointed at violence against non-Serbs, stating that in the cities of Banja Luka and Trebinje, mobs attacked people who sought to lay foundations for new .
Non-Serbs have reported continuing difficulties in returning to their original homes, and the assembly has a poor record of cooperation in apprehending individuals indicted for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.
Organisations such as the Society for Threatened Peoples, reporting to the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2008, have made claims of discrimination against non-Serb refugees in Republika Srpska, particularly areas with high unemployment in the Drina Valley such as Srebrenica, Bratunac, Višegrad, and Foča.
According to the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees of Bosnia and Herzegovina, European Union Police Mission, UNHCR, and other international organisations, security in both Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2015 was satisfactory.
Although the constitution names Sarajevo as the capital, the northwestern city of Banja Luka is the headquarters of most of the institutions of government, including the parliament, and is, therefore, the de facto capital. After the war, Republika Srpska retained its army, but in August 2005, the parliament consented to transfer control of Army of Republika Srpska to a state-level ministry and abolish the entity's defence ministry and army by 1 January 2006. These reforms were required by NATO as a precondition of Bosnia and Herzegovina's admission to the Partnership for Peace programme. Bosnia and Herzegovina joined the programme in December 2006.
In July 2023, legislation was passed to criminalise insult and defamation with up to 10 years in prison. This is likely to jeopardize freedom of speech and silence critics. Critics have said that this could make the Republika Srpska an authoritarian regime.
In February 2025, the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina sentenced Milorad Dodik to one year in prison and banned him from serving as President of Republika Srpska for six years, for non-compliance with the decisions of the High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina. Dodik rejected the ruling, claiming he was a target of political persecution. The sentence was confirmed on 6 August 2025. On 18 August, his appeal was rejected, terminating Dodik's mandate as President, with the termination date marked as 12 June 2025. The resignation of Prime Minister Radovan Višković followed on the same day.
Like the rest of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska is split into a Bosnian region in the north and a Herzegovina region in the far south. Within these two macroregions exist smaller geographical regions, from the forested hills of Bosanska Krajina in the northwest to the fertile plains of Semberija in the northeast.
Republika Srpska covers , excluding the Brčko District, which is held in condominium by both entities, but is de facto sovereign within Bosnia and Herzegovina. Republika Srpska, if it were a country, would be the 146th largest in the world. Elevation varies greatly, with Maglić, a peak in the Dinaric Alps near Montenegro, reaching , and parts nearer the Adriatic Sea going down to sea level. The largest and most popular ski resort in Bosnia and Herzegovina is situated on the slopes of the mountain Jahorina, in the eastern part of the entity. Other major mountains in Republika Srpska include Volujak, Zelengora, Lelija, Lebršnik, Crvanj, Orjen, Klekovača, Vitorog, Kozara, Romanija, Treskavica and Trebević.
Two densely wooded national parks—Sutjeska National Park and Kozara National Park—are located in the entity.
| Sutjeska National Park | 173 | 1965 | |
| Drina | 63 | 2017 | |
| Kozara National Park | 34 | 1967 |
The Republika Srpska Bureau of Statistics estimated a population of 1,114,819 in 2023.
The total fertility rate in Republika Srpska is, as of 2023, 1.45 children per mother. In 2023, the total number of live births, according to the Institute of Statistics of Republika Srpska (RZS), was 16,174. That same year, the number of deaths was 20,361, resulting in a natural population decrease of 4,187 inhabitants.
| Source: 2013 Census | |||
The oldest and largest public university in Republika Srpska is the University of Banja Luka, which was established in 1975. The second of two public universities in Republika Srpska is University of East Sarajevo. After the end of the Yugoslav wars several private institutions of higher education were established, including: American University in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slobomir University, and University Sinergija. The Academy of Sciences and Arts of Republika Srpska, founded in 1996, is the highest representative institution of science and art in Republika Srpska. National and University Library of Republika Srpska is a national library, located in Banja Luka. The Museum of Contemporary Art (MSURS) houses a collection of Yugoslav and international art and is located in Banja Luka.
| + Population of Republika Srpska according to ethnic group 1991–2013 ! rowspan="2" | Ethnic group ! colspan="2" | Census 1991 ! colspan="2" | Census 2013 | |
| Serbs | 869,854 | 55.4% | 970,857 | 83.0% |
| Muslims/Bosniaks | 440,746 | 28.1% | 148,477 | 12.7% |
| Croats | 144,238 | 9.2% | 26,509 | 2.3% |
| Others | 114,494 | 7.3% | 24,502 | 2.1% |
The public sector of Srpska includes 54 health centers, along with family medicine clinics, 11 hospitals, 4 specialised hospitals, 1 clinical centre and 7 institutes.
Stationary treatment is provided in hospitals located in Derventa and Prnjavor. Hospitals specialised for physical medicine and rehabilitation are "Mlječanica" in Kozarska Dubica and Institute "Dr Miroslav Zotović" in Banja Luka. Patients with mental illnesses are treated in Institute for Forensic Psychiatry Sokolac, which is the first and only institution of this type in BiH, and Hospital for Chronic Psychiatric Patients Modriča.
University hospitals operate in Foča, and Banja Luka. The University Clinical Center of Republika Srpska (UCC RS) is the leading tertiary healthcare institution in the entity, comprising 21 clinics, 6 institutes, and 10 service units.
According to the 2013 census, around 85% of the residents of Republika Srpska identify as Christian. Members of the Serbian Orthodox Church form the largest religious group, accounting for a little less than 83% of the population, followed by followers of Islam and Roman Catholicism. 0.59% of people describe themselves as atheist or Agnosticism.Religion plays an important role in ethnic identification in Republika Srpska. Serbs generally identify as followers of Eastern Orthodoxy, Croats as followers of the Catholic Church, and Bosniaks as followers of Islam. Religious architecture takes on a similarly diverse character in the entity, with its mix of mosques and churches.
Republika Srpska's corporate tax rate is lower than that of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is among the lowest in the region.
In November 2020 governments of Serbia and Srpska announced the construction of three hydropower plants on the Drina estimated at EUR 520 million.
| Economic indicators of Republika Srpska | |||||
| External trade of Republika Srpska (mil. ) (not including trade with the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Brčko District) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
As of 2018, there are 266,309 employed people within legal entities in Republika Srpska. The average net wage, according to the Institute of Statistics of Republika Srpska (RZS), is 896 km (€458) per month as of February 2019, a nominal growth of 1.0% compared to the previous month.
State-owned companies like Republika Srpska Railways, Pošte Srpske, and Republika Srpska Roads are in charge of maintaining traffic on the territory.
The basic road traffic network in Srpska includes 4,192 kilometers of public roads, of which 1,781 km of trunk roads and 2,183 km of regional roads. There are currently two in Republika Srpska: Gradiška – Banja Luka highway and the "9th January highway" (Banja Luka – Doboj). Arterial highways in Srpska, which are a part of the International E-road network are:
The total length of the regular gauge railway in Srpska is 425 km. Republika Srpska Railways transports around 1 million passengers and 5 million tons of goods each year. The international code of the Republika Srpska Railways is 0044.
Republika Srpska has rich but fragmented natural resources. Popular mountains include: Zelengora, Treskavica, Jahorina, Romanija, as well as Grmeč, Kozara, Ozren and many others, with rich flora and hunting grounds.
Jahorina ski resort is a mountain resort and the largest and most popular winter tourism resort in the country. The ski resort is situated on the slopes of Jahorina mountain in Dinaric Alps. It is located from the municipality of Pale and from the Sarajevo International Airport. The Jahorina ski resort hosted alpine skiing competitions during the 1984 Winter Olympics.
Royal village Kontromanićevo near Doboj and Stanišići are popular destinations for ethno-tourism. Andrićgrad is a tourist complex inspired by the works of Nobel Prize winner Ivo Andrić, located on Drina near Višegrad. It is made of stone with around fifty object, including a local theatre, cinema, art gallery, church, Andrić's institute, hotels and various shops.
Several rivers with clear water and potential for fishing are located in Srpska, such as Una, Sana, Tara, Drina and Ukrina.
The best known in Srpska are Banja Vrućica, Dvorovi, Guber, Laktaši, Lješljani, Mlječanica and Višegrad spa.
An important annual event of Serbs from the region of Bosanska Krajina is the Corrida of Grmeč. So far 248 bullfighting events have been held at Grmeč.
The National and University Library of Republika Srpska is the central library of the University of Banja Luka, the main library of all public universities in Republika Srpska and the umbrella and central national library of Republika Srpska.
The Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural, Historical and Natural Heritage is the official administrative institution of the Republika Srpska and an organization within the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republika Srpska. The Institute registers, protects and maintains a central register of cultural, historical and natural monuments throughout the territory of the Republika Srpska.
In 1993, the Association of Serbian was founded in Jahorina, under the chairmanship of professor and politician Nikola Koljevic. Since 2003, the president of the association has been Zoran Kostic, who moved its headquarters from Serbian Sarajevo to Banja Luka. The president of the Sarajevo-Romanija-Drina branch is Nedeljko Zelenović.
The founding assembly of the Association of Historians of the Republic of Srpska "Milorad Ekmečić" was held in Banja Luka in December 2015. The objectives of the Association are the improvement of scientific research activities in the field of historical science in the Republic of Srpska and dissemination of these results, improvement of history teaching and professional development of teaching staff.
The oldest basketball club in Bosnia and Herzegovina, KK Borac, was founded in Banja Luka in 1947. The most successful sportspeoples born on the territory of present-day Republika Srpska are football players Tomislav Knez, Velimir Sombolac (1960 Olympics Champions) and Mehmed Baždarević (1976 Olympics Bronze medalist); handball players Đorđe Lavrnić, Milorad Karalić, Nebojša Popović (1972 Olympics Champions) and Zlatan Arnautović (1984 Olympics Champion); basketball players Ratko Radovanović (1980 Olympics Champion) and Slađana Golić (1988 Olympics Silver medalist); boxers Anton Josipović (1984 Olympics Champion), Slobodan Kačar (1980 Olympics Champion) and Tadija Kačar (1976 Olympics Silver medalist), table tennis player Jasna Fazlić (1988 Olympics Bronze medalist).
After the breakup of Yugoslavia, an especially large amount of successful athletes from Republika Srpska have chosen to represent Serbia (or former Serbia and Montenegro, FR Yugoslavia), such as basketball players Vladimir Radmanović (2002 World Champion), Saša Čađo (2015 European Champion and 2016 Olympic bronze medalist) and Ognjen Kuzmić (2015 NBA Champion, 2018 EuroLeague champion and 2017 EuroBasket silver medalist); volleyball players Tijana Bošković (2018 World Champion and 2016 Olympic silver medalist) and Saša Starović (2011 European Champion); football players Savo Milošević (2000 European Championship top scorer), Neven Subotić (two-time Bundesliga Champion), Mijat Gaćinović, Miladin Stevanović and Srđan Babić (2015 U-20 World Champions), Ognjen Ožegović (2013 U-19 European Champions) and Luka Jović. Other notable athletes are swimmer Velimir Stjepanović (2014 European Champions), taekwondo practitioner Zoran Prerad (1998 European Champion), judoka Nemanja Majdov (2017 World Champion) and alpine skier Jelena Lolović (2005 Universiade Champion).
Religious holidays include Christmas and Easter according to both the Julian calendar and the Gregorian calendars for, respectively, Serbian Orthodox Christians and Roman Catholics, as well as Eid al-Adha (Eid Al Adha) and Eid ul-Fitr (Eid Al Fitr) for Muslims. Holidays that are marked but do not include time off work include School Day (the Feast of Saint Sava, 27 January), Day of the Army of Republika Srpska (12 May), Interior Ministry Day (4 April), and Day of the First Serbian Uprising (14 February).
The most important of the entity holidays is the Day of Republika Srpska, which commemorates the establishment of Republika Srpska on 9 January 1992. Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina declared the holiday unconstitutional on 26 November 2015, stating that the main issue for it being coinciding with a religious holiday. It coincides with Saint Stephen's Day according to the Julian calendar. The Orthodox Serbs also refer to the holiday as the slava of Republika Srpska, regarding Saint Stephen as the patron saint of the entity, although it is designated as a secular holiday. Republika Srpska does not recognise the Independence Day of Bosnia and Herzegovina (1 March).
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