The constant struggle for political power and financial resources leaves deep marks on society, while the population of Bosnia and Herzegovina is steadily declining.

Young people are increasingly leaving abroad in search of opportunities for work and a dignified life, yet this problem is not discussed enough in the public sphere. According to a report by Radiotelevision of Bosnia and Herzegovina, strategies for retaining young people remain on the margins of political interests, so the question is rightly raised as to who will even go out to vote in the future.

Reasons for leaving and the voice of citizens

The main reason why promising and educated citizens are leaving Bosnia and Herzegovina lies in the inability to secure basic existential conditions. People directly express their dissatisfaction with the state of the country, and citizens surveyed on the streets of Sarajevo identify the problem very clearly. One of the younger interviewees stated: 'Young, educated, and promising people cannot find even the most basic thing here, and that is the opportunity to work and to live honestly from their work.'

On the other hand, older generations sometimes have a somewhat different, more cautious view of the whole situation. One of the older passersby in the survey warns young people with the following words: 'Believe me, the situation in other countries is not much better than it is here either.' Nevertheless, despite such warnings, the lines in front of foreign embassies in Bosnia and Herzegovina are not diminishing.

Demographic picture and loss of reproductive potential

Experts emphasize that long-term projections show that Bosnia and Herzegovina could be left without the necessary workforce in the coming decades. Demographer Aleksandar Čavić professionally explained the seriousness of the situation.

'We have an ever smaller number of births, and the future share of young people will be significantly lower compared to the older population. Demographic aging is taking place. Not only young people are emigrating, but also the middle-aged population, which greatly limits our reproductive potential for the future,' Čavić pointed out.

Demographic aging refers to the process in which a society has more and more elderly people and fewer and fewer children. The term reproductive potential refers to the biological ability of a people to naturally renew itself through childbirth. When people in their prime years for starting families leave Bosnia and Herzegovina, the possibility of creating new generations that would maintain the economic and healthcare system stable in the future is lost.

Political system and intellectual freedom

Sociologists believe that the current mass departure does not actually worry the political elite in Bosnia and Herzegovina too much. Sociologist Vladimir Vasić explains this phenomenon by pointing out that educated individuals represent a threat to the established system.

'It suits them as individuals in power very well that the young intellectual mass is leaving because such people will not fit into their system. They do not want to wear party jerseys nor speak the way their party bosses order them to. I think young people are simply fed up with such an understanding of politics,' Vasić was clear.

This explanation indicates that young people in Bosnia and Herzegovina are often expected to show complete political obedience and join the ruling parties in order to get a job. Since educated citizens want to think for themselves, they would rather choose to leave than submit to such rules.

Neglecting the problem of emigration represents the most serious threat to the long-term stability of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While young people seek their happiness beyond the borders of their homeland, fleeing from politics, the state is irreversibly losing its most valuable human resource. If concrete steps are not taken toward creating a society of equal opportunities in which only expertise and knowledge are valued, Bosnia and Herzegovina will face severe consequences. Without a working-age population that fills the budget and builds the community, every political struggle for power ultimately becomes completely meaningless.