Sarajevo Canton

Sarajevo Canton

Kanton Sarajevo
Vrhbosanska županija
Сарајевски кантон
Sarajevo Canton Kanton Sarajevo; Vrhbosanska županija; Сарајевски кантон
Canton
	Flag Coat of arms of Sarajevo Canton Coat of arms
	Location of the Sarajevo Canton
Country	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Federation	Bosnia and Herzegovina
Main city	Sarajevo
Municipalities	Centar, Hadžići, Ilidža, Ilijaš, Novi Grad, Novo Sarajevo, Stari Grad, Trnovo, Vogošća
Established	1461 and 1463
Government
• Head of canton	Samir Silajdzic
Area
• Total	1,276.9 km2 (493.0 sq mi)
Population (2007 estimate)
• Total	419,030

The Sarajevo Canton is a canton of the Federation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The capital is Sarajevo.

The Canton is basically the metro area of the city it is named after that is inside the Federation. It contains 98% of Sarajevo's population, but a much smaller percentage of the official land area.

History

The history of Sarajevo Canton dates back to Neolithic times, when the Butmir culture made its mountains and hills their home. In ancient times, the Canton was occupied by the Illyrians. The local tribe, the Daesitates, controlled most of the area. They were a warlike bunch and the last Illyrian tribe to resist Roman rule, which finally came in AD 9. Under Roman rule, many roads were constructed in the region, as well as a city on top of modern day Ilidža. During the middle ages, the area of Sarajevo Canton was a key part of the Bosnian Kingdom. The city of Vrhbosna existed somewhere in the region and was one of the most important cities at the time.

True development of the region came after the Ottoman conquest when local Muslim noble Isa-Beg Isaković established the roots of the modern city of Sarajevo, between 1461 and 1463. The region grew along with the city, which quickly, after Istanbul, became the most important in the Balkans. Later rule by Austria-Hungary modernized and westernized the region. Under Yugoslavia, the Yugoslavian government further developed the area, which more than tripled in size. Much of this progress was offset however by the Yugoslav Wars in the early 1990s.

The canton was a result of this warfare, created by the Bosniak-Croat Washington Accords in 1994, and its boundaries defined by the Dayton Accords in 1995.

For a more detailed look at the history of Sarajevo Canton, see History of Sarajevo

Government

Like all Cantons of Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the head of Sarajevo Canton is called the Premier. The current premier is Samir Silajdžić. Like many other heads of executive branches of government in the world, the Premier has a cabinet which helps him go about his duties. The Sarajevo Canton also has Ministries, Services, and Agencies to help in the running of the region.

The Canton is split into 9 municipalities. They are all based on the major settlements in their region, except for Sarajevo, which is so large it consists of four separate municipalities and has its own separate city government. There are usually no real city governments in Bosnia as some would imagine, but major cities are in municipalities of the same name (i.e. Ilidža is part of Ilidža Municipality) whose governments are the de facto city government as their jurisdiction covers the city and all major suburbs.

Agencies of Sarajevo Canton
- Agency for the Development of the Canton
- Agency for Good Reserves
- Agency for Information and Statistics of the Canton
- Agency for the Planning of Canton Growth
- Professional Fire-extinguishing Brigade

Geography

The Sarajevo Canton has a typical Bosnian geography. It is located close to the geometric center of the country, and contains numerous mountains, including Bjelašnica, Igman, Jahorina, Trebević, and Treskavica. The cities of the Canton are built predominantly on the hills at the foot of these mountains, and the fields in between them. The most significant of these is the Sarajevo field, a small depression upon which the bulk of the city is built upon. The Miljacka river passes through the Canton. Vrelo Bosne, the source of the Bosna River, is found in Sarajevo Canton.

Economy

The economy of Sarajevo Canton is slowly growing better, although it has been severely weakened by the Siege of Sarajevo and is still drastically weaker than it used to be. The employment rate in Bosnia and Herzegovina is 45.5% officially; however, grey economy may reduce actual unemployment to between 25 and 30%, while in sarajevo the official unemployment rate is around 20% of the labour force.

Major industries in the region include tourism, food processing, and manufacturing. Several major Bosnian companies are based in the Canton, and the area holds the country footholds of numerous foreign corporations, such as Coca Cola.

Demographics

The Sarajevo Canton contains Sarajevo and its metro areas. Since the city is the largest in Bosnia and Herzegovina, it is also one of the most populated Cantons of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to government statistics from 2007, the overall population of Sarajevo Canton is estimated to be 419,030.^[1]

The population density of Sarajevo Canton is some 314 people per km² (816/sq mi).^{[citation needed]} 17.3% of the Canton's population are youth up to 14 years of age, 69.4% are between 15 and 64 years of age, and some 13.3% are over 65 years of age.^{[citation needed]}

Ethnically speaking, 79.6% of the Canton are Bosniaks, 11.2% are Serbs and another 6.7% are Croats.^{[citation needed]} The most ethnically dominant municipality is Stari Grad, whose residents are over 98% Bosniak.^{[citation needed]}

Of the nine municipalities, the biggest population belongs to Novi Grad, with some 296,588 residents.^{[citation needed]} The smallest population was in Trnovo, which has a mere 839 residents.^{[citation needed]}