Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has expanded access to school education in recent years and international assessments reveal that student achievement is similar to other Western Balkan economies. However, international data also shows that a large share of students in BiH leave school without mastering basic competences and overall performance lags behind the average learning outcomes achieved in OECD and EU countries. The complex governance structure in BiH and limited collaboration across government partners, as well as a range of capacity constraints and the inefficient allocation of resources hinders collective efforts to improve teaching and learning in the country.

Education has a key role to play in supporting COVID-19 recovery efforts in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and helping the country to achieve more inclusive and sustainable growth. In recent years, BiH administrative units have taken steps to improve their various education systems by integrating the Common Core Curriculum Based on Learning Outcomes (CCC) and by participating in international assessments of student learning, like the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). However, BiH continues to face sizeable educational challenges. While the country achieves good levels of participation in schooling, data from PISA reveal that the average learning outcomes remain lower than in EU countries and large shares of students leave school without mastering basic competences. Moreover, the country’s decentralised governance structure and limited co-operation among government partners creates significant challenges for setting strategic objectives, policy coherence, and ensuring the effective delivery of public services.

Over the last two decades, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) has become a middle-income country and made some progress to improve the socio-economic development and quality of life of its population (European Commission, 2021[1]). However, gross domestic product (GDP) per capita remains one of the lowest in the region, indicating the country’s ongoing struggle to raise productivity and living standards. As of 2015, around 17% of the BiH population was living below the poverty line and there are large regional disparities in terms of access to services and well-being outcomes (World Bank, 2020[2]). Similar to other countries in Europe, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a contraction in the BiH economy, exacerbating challenges that were already present, such as raising revenue for public services and allocating resources efficiently. Recovery efforts and future growth will depend on the extent to which BiH governments can address structural challenges, including demographic shifts, high levels of unemployment, especially among youth, and the need for investment in infrastructure and human capital.