Bosnia and Herzegovina

Can you drink the tap water in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Last reviewed September 2026

Bosnia and Herzegovina scores 67/100 on our water-safety index — drink with caution. At 67/100 it lands in the caution band — fine for washing and cooking, but most people filter or choose bottled water to drink. WHO/UNICEF monitoring puts safely-managed drinking water at 86.4% of the population. Scores above 70 mean tap water is generally safe to drink. 40–69 means treat it with caution — filtering or bottled water is wise. Below 40 means it’s best avoided straight from the tap.

Ice, brushing your teeth & cooking: what’s safe in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Drinkable?

With caution — locals and cautious travelers often filter or boil first, and short stays lean on bottled water.

Brush teeth?

Yes — brushing your teeth with tap water is perfectly fine.

Ice?

Yes — ice made from tap water is safe.

Cooking?

Yes — cooking and rinsing produce with tap water is safe.

Should you boil the tap water in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, bringing tap water to a rolling boil for a minute makes it microbiologically safe and is a cheap backup to bottled water. Note that boiling does nothing for chemicals, nitrates, or lead. More on what boiling does and doesn’t remove.

Do you need bottled water or a filter in Bosnia and Herzegovina?

Many visitors to Bosnia and Herzegovina stick to bottled water to be safe, and it's widely available — just check the seal is intact. A reusable bottle with a built-in filter is a lower-cost, lower-waste alternative.

A microbiologically-rated filter is worth it for tap water in Bosnia and Herzegovina; a plain taste filter isn't enough. Short-stay visitors often just buy bottled instead.

Waterborne illness risk in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The main risk from untreated water in Bosnia and Herzegovina is travelers' diarrhea, typically from bacteria such as E. coli. Being a little careful with ice, unpeeled fruit, and salads rinsed in tap water is the sensible precaution. See CDC food & water precautions.

Worried about a specific tap? How to tell if your tap water is contaminated.

Water treatment & pipe infrastructure in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina relies on municipal treatment, variable upkeep, delivered through a mixed network — aging mains in places. That puts the practical contamination risk between source and tap at medium. Even where water leaves the plant clean, aging mains and rooftop storage are where quality most often slips.

Common questions about tap water in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Data & sources

• WHO/UNICEF JMP — 86.4% safely managed (2024)
• World Bank · safely managed drinking water (SH.H2O.SMDW.ZS)
• CDC · food & water safety for travelers

Read the full methodology — how the 0–100 score is built and what it does (and doesn’t) mean.

More countries in Europe

See the full Europe ranking — all 45 countries, safest to least safe.