Life in Srpska

Тhe Republic of Srpska is located in the heart of the Balkans, where the Eastern and Western civilisations meet geographically, politically and culturally, enriching the centuries old culture in this region.

Cultural, technological, economic and political prosperity which characterizes the Republic of Srpska for the past years, makes life here not so different from life in the countries of the European Union. When you visit this country, which is located on the intersection of important roads and where the other cultures have been clashing for centuries, you can stay in the hotels of all categories, enjoy the most beautiful Balkan delicacies, visit museums, galleries, theatres, cinemas…

Festivals, sports competitions, gastro, cultural, entertaining and numerous other events are one of the ways to meet the beauty and spirit of Srpska. In the last few years, the Republic of Srpska has hosted a number of international events, which have a traditional character and are attracting a growing number of domestic and foreign tourists to these areas.

In addition to a rich gastro offer, anyone who comes to the Republic of Srpska has the opportunity to feel the spirit of its inhabitants. There are numerous opportunities for great entertainment and all it takes to enjoy is to be in a good mood. In all the towns of the Republic of Srpska there are numerous dining options – restaurants where you can enjoy in ethno-ambience with the sounds of “tamburica” and clubs that work until the early morning hours.

In the Republic of Srpska, especially in Banja Luka, there are many hotels, motels, overnight stays and lodgings. The prices range from €30 to €130 per night.

The citizens and all visitors have at their disposal modern and well-equipped shopping centres, with a wide range of goods and services, pharmacies, banks, post offices and numerous other institutions and services necessary for the life of a modern man. Most banks and post offices are open from 8.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m. on weekdays and from 8.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. on Saturdays. Credit cards such as Visa, Master Card, Diners and others are accepted in most major shops, hotels and restaurants.

Postal services in the Republic of Srpska provide “Posts of Srpska “, as the public postal operator of the Republic of Srpska, and other postal operators. “Posts of Srpska “, as the public postal operator of the Republic of Srpska, is a full member of the World Postal Union and Post of Europe, with the international IMPC code for providing services in international traffic.

The pharmacies are open from 8.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. on weekdays and on Saturdays from 8.00 a.m. to 3.00 p.m. In all the towns, a duty pharmacy is provided, which is at a non-stop service. Grocery stores are mostly open from 6.00 a.m. to 9.00 p.m. on weekdays while on Saturdays and Sundays from 6.00 a.m. to 4.00.p.m. In larger towns, there are shops and stores that are open for 24 hours.

Telephone prefix + 387 is used for calls to the Republic of Srpska from abroad. Some most important telephone numbers are: police-122, firefighters-123, ambulance-124, road assistance-1285, 24 hours at your disposal.

There are several car rental companies in the Republic of Srpska, which allow all citizens and tourists to rent a vehicle or book transportation services to the airport or bus station at affordable prices. Prices of car rental are about €55 in a period of one to four days.

The Republic of Srpska travel infrastructure is currently comprised of 106 km of highways, over 4,200 km of freeways and regional roads and over 6,000 km of local roads.

By adopted strategic and planned documents of the Republic of Srpska, in addition to the constructed, the construction of new ones is planned, as well as the repair of existing roads, which would significantly contribute to the improvement of domestic and international transport.

In addition to the built-in highway Banja Luka-Gradiška and Banja Luka-Doboj, construction of highways is planned in the following routes:

Vukosavlje-Bijeljina-The border with the Republic of Serbia (Rača), length 68 km,
Doboj-Vukosavlje (Highway on Corridor Vc), 46.6 km length,
Banja Luka-Novi Grad, 71 km length and
Glamočani-Mrkonjić Grad-Mlinište-border with Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, length 93 km.

In addition to the network of highways, it is planned to build fast roads, as well as the freeways and regional roads in the Republic of Srpska on the following routes:

Lukavica-Pale-Sokolac-Rogatica-Ustiprača-Višegrad-border with the Republic of Serbia (SEETO, Route 3),
Bijeljina-Zvornik-Sokolac,
Trebinje-Gacko-Foča-Ustiprača-Višegrad,
Prijedor-Kozarska Dubica-Donja Gradina,
Banja Luka-Čelinac-Kotor Varoš- Obodnik,
Construction of the freeway M 111 Brod na Drini (Foča)-Hum (Šćepan Polje) (Route 2b),
Construction of the freeway MI 109 M-20 Brod na Drini (Foča)-Tjentište (new route),
Construction of the regional road RI 6102 Nevesinje-Berkovići,
Construction of the freeway MI 502 Bronzani Majdan – entity border,
Construction of the freeway RI 1104 Gornji Podgradci-Mrakovica.

“The Republic of Srpska railways ” joint-stock company Doboj, is the only railway company on the territory of the Republic of Srpska, whose main activity is transportation of goods and passengers. The Republic of Srpska has about 425 km of the railway network, about 385 km is currently used, and 90% of the railway is electrified for the voltage of 25kV. “The railways of the Republic of Srpska ” provides transport for 170,000 passengers annually and for about 5 million tons of goods. “The railways of the Republic of Srpska “, in cooperation with the Government of the Republic of Srpska and the World Bank, are to implement the restructuring of this company in order for it to achieve financial stability and to take its place in the network of European railways. Restructuring implies ownership, organizational and financial restructuring as well as the investment plan for the next 10 years.

Banja Luka Airport is the only airport in the Republic of Srpska that is open to international traffic. From 2013 the regular line was introduced by “Air Serbia ” Belgrade-Banja Luka-Belgrade, and starting with the winter timetable in 2018, the flights by “Ryanair ” to Brussels, Memmingen and Stockholm were introduced. . The flights take place twice a week for all three destinations.

Since April 2019 the company “Ryanair ” has introduced the line Banja Luka-Berlin-Banja Luka, twice a week. The expectations of this airline are that the flights to these four destinations will provide transportation for more than 135,000 passengers via Banja Luka airport.

During the summer of 2018 the charter flights to Antalya and in 2019 to Greece and Antalya were introduced. Furthermore, negotiations regarding the direct flight Banja Luka-Moscow, as well as Banja Luka-Vienna are in progress.

Banja Luka airport has an excellent geographic position in Bosnia and Herzegovina, excellent weather conditions for flying in summer and in winter, and it is the only airport in Bosnia and Herzegovina with the possibility of landing from both directions. The construction of a modern cargo structure of 1,360 m² is underway, which will enable fast and safe loading of all types of goods that can be transported by planes.

The services provided by the airport are: acceptance and discharge of planes, passengers and luggage; Acquisition and discharge of goods and storage of goods; jet fuel sale-JET A1; VIP lounge services; catering services; trade services; parking space for 100 vehicles. The airport can receive and serve medium category planes.

The distance of Banja Luka Airport from the city of Banja Luka is 23 km, from the Belgrade-Zagreb highway 35 km, distance from the river Sava is 18 km, distance from the railway line 18 km, from the Banja Luka-Gradiška highway, one kilometre, and from the freeway around one kilometer. The long-term development plan for the airport is to become the cargo leader in the region.

When it comes to water traffic, there are 204 km of river waterways in Srpska, and the largest port is the river port Šamac, and the dock for liquid cargo in the refinery Brod. The rivers capable of water traffic in Srpska are Sava, which is capable of international transport traffic, as well as Una, Drina and Bosna, which are partially capable of water traffic, five km from the mouth of the river Sava. The ferry crossings are located in Srbac and Crnjelovo, near Bijeljina.

Population in Srpska is provided with the Internet access through numerous providers, including the operator “m:tel”, which has the biggest number of users.

The education system of the Republic of Srpska

Education in the Republic of Srpska is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Srpska, and it includes a number of institutions and employees in them. They provide the possibility of education and development according to the latest world standards. Nowadays it is divided on preschool, primary and secondary education.

Higher education is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry for Scientific and Technological Development, higher education and information society of the Republic of Srpska and makes an integral part of the educational system of the Republic of Srpska

Preschool education

Preschool education is achieved in pre-school institutions through preschool educational program for children from six months to primary school. Preschool institution can be organized as a children’s kindergarten or a children’s club.

Preschool education can be organized for every child in the year prior to the school for at least three months. This program is achieved in preschool institutions and some elementary schools in areas where there are no pre-school institutions, based on the proposal established by the Government, as well as on the provided funds in the budget of the Republic of Srpska and other sources of financing.

The price of stay in preschool institution in the public sector that is paid by parents is from 70 KM in Berkovići to 200 KM in Istočno Novo Sarajevo, and in private sector they range from 120 KM in Rogatica, to 580 KM in Banja Luka.

In the Republic of Srpska, 114 preschool institutions have been registered, of which 42 institutions in the public sector which were founded by units of local self-government, whereas 72 are the private sector institutions, whose founders are community, legal entity or a person. In the last few years, in some units of local self-governments, new pre-school institutions have been established or already existing ones have been expanded. In that way, seven preschool institutions in the private sector were founded in 2018 and 2019, which got a license to work. Currently, 23.7% of preschool-age children take part in the organized preschool education.

Elementary education

Elementary education is mandatory and free for all children from the age of six to fifteen. There are 187 central elementary schools in the Republic of Srpska, 482 district departments, 11 music schools and four elementary schools for children with developmental disabilities.

In the first grade of elementary school in the school year 2019/2020 in the Republic of Srpska, 9,466 students were enrolled. Depending on the needs and possibilities, schools organise an expanded program (extended stay and morning childcare), which is more convenient for parents.

Ministry of Education and Culture provided free textbooks for all pupils of the first and second grades of primary schools in the Republic of Srpska, in the school year 2019/2020. Additionally, for the first time it provided the textbooks for students who won the republic competition in the school year 2018/2019. Through the project “Dositej “, the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Srpska has equipped all elementary schools with computers for students and teachers. 847 classrooms were equipped with computers which facilitated and modernized the teaching process in all schools. A new version of E-diary was implemented as part of the project in 84 elementary and secondary schools.

Secondary education

The activities of secondary education include different types and forms of education, where after finishing elementary school, students acquire the knowledge and skills needed to work in the profession and for further education. Depending on the curriculum, the school can be established and registered as: grammar school, art school, secondary technical school in four-year duration, secondary vocational school in three-year duration, secondary vocational school in two-year duration, religious school for a five-year duration and school for pupils with special needs.

Three-year secondary education corresponds to the third degree of professional training, and four-year education corresponds to the fourth degree of expertise. Secondary school can be established as a public or private school, and both are established under equal terms in accordance with the Law on Secondary education. In the Republic of Srpska, there are 94 high schools-89 are public and five are private.

High education

High school institutions in the Republic of Srpska enroll students depending on their success in secondary schools and the results of the entrance exams for a certain university. There are two types of high school institutions.

Higher School for three years, and similar to the craft universities present in the rest of the world.
Faculties last four years, five to master, and eight to the Phd. The exceptions are the medical faculties, which last six years to the title of a medical doctor, which later continues for three-year residency and a two-year specialization or a three- year of double doctoral studies. In the Republic of Srpska, there are public and private universities. There are two public universities in the Republic of Srpska, University in Banja Luka and University in Istočno Sarajevo.

Health institutions in Srpska

In the Republic of Srpska, healthcare is provided in public and private health institutions under equal terms, in accordance with the Law on health care. The health system in the Republic of Srpska is a complex and centralised system and in its public sector it has 11 hospitals, one special hospital, one clinical centre and six institutes. A special form of health protection of population is achieved through organization of public health and includes the scientific field of preventive medical science, including hygiene, epidemiology, microbiology, social medicine, health ecology, health statistics and disease prevention. There is a public health institute in the Republic of Srpska.

The Health Insurance Fund of the Republic of Srpska implements mandatory health care and finances medical help of insured persons in the Republic of Srpska, in accordance with the law and the acts of the Fund.