Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Independence Day is observed on 1 March, commemorating the 1992 referendum and declaration of independence.
The independence referendum was held on 29 February and 1 March 1992. Most participating voters supported independence, although many Bosnian Serbs boycotted the vote. Bosnia and Herzegovina formally declared independence after the referendum, and the European Community recognized the country in April 1992.
The holiday is officially observed mainly in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and is not recognized as a public holiday in Republika Srpska. That distinction reflects the country’s complex postwar constitutional structure. A separate holiday, Statehood Day, is celebrated on 25 November in the Federation and recalls the 1943 session of the State Anti-fascist Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina.