EVERYONE WANTS TO LIVE IN BANJA LUKA, WHILE BANJA LUKA RESIDENTS ARE MOVING TO LAKTAŠI

Despite the common belief that more and more people are leaving Republika Srpska each year, official statistics show that last year recorded a positive migration balance—255 more people moved into Republika Srpska than moved out of it.

PHOTO: Aleksandar Čavić

According to data from the Republika Srpska Institute of Statistics, a positive migration balance was recorded in 23 cities/municipalities across the entity, with the highest in the City of Banja Luka—713 people.

Banja Luka saw by far the largest influx of people from other towns or municipalities within RS, with a total of 1,450 people moving in, while 793 people left the city in 2024.

Interestingly, the largest share of those leaving Banja Luka—about a third (262 people)—moved to the nearby municipality of Laktaši.

Other cities that had a positive migration balance last year include East Sarajevo (382), Bijeljina (307), and Trebinje (209).

On the other hand, a negative migration balance was recorded in 41 cities/municipalities in Republika Srpska.

The most critical situation was in Zvornik (-174), followed by Teslić (-95), Kneževo (-91), Novi Grad (-80), and Prijedor (-76).

As for inter-entity migration, which includes the movement of people between Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), RS also had a net gain.

2,421 people moved from FBiH to RS, while 2,272 left RS for FBiH.

The majority of those who moved from FBiH to RS chose to settle in Banja Luka (240), Doboj (222), and Bijeljina (144).

In contrast, most of those leaving RS for FBiH were from Zvornik and Doboj.

In terms of gender structure, more women than men were on the move—54.4% of all migrations were female, and 45.6% male.

The average age of people in RS who changed their place of residence was 38.5 years.