Bosnia and Herzegovina's population dropped by 20 percent over the last twenty years, which requires serious action of authorities at all levels, Senad Softic, Governor of Bosnia's Central Bank said in Dubrovnik on Monday.

“According to available data, Bosnia and Herzegovina was left without 20 percent of its population over the last 20 years. Partly, this was a consequence of the way (in the 1990s) but the process has continued due to very emphasised economic migration. In order to solve this problem, all levels must take serious steps,” said Softic, speaking at an international conference ‘Demographics, Jobs and Growth: Navigating the Future in Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe’ organised under auspices of the Croatian Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Softic pointed out the inflexible educational system as the main problem of the labour market since it creates a huge misbalance between what the market demands and the labour force's skills.

He also said that the self-employment potentials were insufficiently used.

Governor Softic discussed with central bank governors from the Central East and Southeast Europe the challenges which bring along the changes on the labour market and demography, as well as the IMF's potential role in tackling those challenges.