Donor Co-Financing Assessment for New Country Strategy
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ATQs in detail (2)
Key Transition Challenges
Inclusive (5.3)
High unemployment rate, especially for
youth, skills mismatches, and lack of good
job opportunities contributing to significant
emigration and brain drain
Low labour force participation rate with a
prominent gap between male and female
participation; more than half of females are
economically inactive
One of the lowest female employment rates
in the Balkans, with less than one in three
women being employed (vs around one half
of men)
■▪ Undeclared work at around one third of
total
Informal employment affecting mostly
people in rural areas, less educated, older
individuals
Unemployment rate
(per cent)
Resilient (6.1)
■ Well-capitalised banking sector, with the NPL
ratio at 5.5 per cent in Q3 2021
■ Microfinance institutions present as well
■ Under-developed capital markets; two stock
exchanges but not an important funding
source for companies
Country so far unable to adopt and properly
implement the requirements of the Third
Energy Package at the state level for both
gas and electricity
■
Two parallel gas markets
■
Electricity generation in HPPS fluctuating
with hydrological conditions
Electricity sector reform implementation
(%)
European Bank
for Reconstruction and Development
Integrated (5.3)
Increasing trade openness, but still below
the regional average
■ One of the lowest FDI stocks in the region,
with one half of FDI going into financial
services, telecommunications and trade
Inadequate transport infrastructure;
ranks low on road connectivity and non-
road transport infrastructure
■ Performing marginally better than an
average WB-5 country on cost of trading
across borders
Electricity network: still high distribution
losses
■ ICT performance (internet users, 3G
coverage) broadly comparable to other
WB and EU-11 countries
Trade openness
(per cent of GDP)
100
60
50
40
ON WAGON
0
70
57.7
80
Youth
60
36.6
27.3
Total
30
40
60
40
15.9
20
20
20
10
20
2010
2011
Source: National authorities
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
93
78
70
150
125
42
100
50
0
Unbundling Access to
the system
Retail
market
Wholesale Regional
market integration
Source: Energy Community of November 2021)
75
2002
Source: WB WDI
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
10
2019
2020
BIH
EU-11View entire presentation