Map of Macedonia | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Macedonia gained its independence peacefully from Yugoslavia in 1991. Greek objection to Macedonia’s name insisting it implies territorial pretensions to the northern Greek province of the same name have stalled the country’s movement toward Euro-Atlantic integration. Immediately after Macedonia declared independence Greece sought to block Macedonian efforts to gain UN membership if the name “Macedonia” was used. Macedonia was eventually admitted to the UN in 1993 as “The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” and at the same time it agreed to UN-sponsored negotiations on the name dispute. In 1995 Greece lifted a 20-month trade embargo and the two countries agreed to normalize relations but the issue of the name remained unresolved and negotiations for a solution are ongoing. Since 2004 the US and over 130 other nations have recognized Macedonia by its constitutional name Republic of Macedonia. Ethnic Albanian grievances over perceived political and economic inequities escalated into an insurgency in 2001 that eventually led to the internationally brokered Ohrid Framework Agreement which ended the fighting and established guidelines for constitutional amendments and the creation of new laws that enhanced the rights of minorities. Relations between Macedonians and ethnic Albanians remain fragile however. Although Macedonia became an EU candidate in 2005 the country still faces challenges including overcoming the ongoing political crisis that began in 2015 when opposition party SDSM began releasing wiretap content that it alleged showed widespread government corruption the ongoing migration crisis fully implementing the Framework Agreement resolving the outstanding name dispute with Greece improving relations with Bulgaria halting democratic backsliding and stimulating economic growth and development. Macedonia's membership in NATO was blocked by Greece at the Alliance's Summit of Bucharest in 2008.


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Location: Southeastern Europe north of Greece

Geographic coordinates: 41 50 N 22 00 E

Map reference: Europe

Area
Total: 25,713 km²
Land: 25,433 km²
Water: 280 km²
Rank: 150
Comparative: slightly larger than Vermont

Land boundaries
Total: 838 km
Border countries: (5) Albania 181 km; Bulgaria 162 km; Greece 234 km; Kosovo 160 km; Serbia 101 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: warm dry summers and autumns; relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall

Terrain: mountainous with deep basins and valleys; three large lakes each divided by a frontier line; country bisected by the Vardar River

Elevation
Mean elevation: 741 m
Elevation extremes: lowest point: Vardar River 50 m: highest point: Golem Korab (Maja e Korabit) 2,764 m

Natural resources: low-grade iron ore copper lead zinc chromite manganese nickel tungsten gold silver asbestos gypsum timber arable land

Land use
Agricultural land: 44.3%
Forest: 39.8%
Other: 15.9%

Irrigated land: 1280 km² (2012)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: high seismic risks

Geography
Note: landlocked; major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe


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Population
Distribution: a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations: 2,100,025 (July 2016 est.)
Rank: 146
Growth rate: 0.18% (2016 est.)
Growth rate rank: 188
Below poverty line: 30.4% (2011 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Macedonian
Adjective: Macedonian

Ethnic groups: Macedonian 64.2% Albanian 25.2% Turkish 3.9% Roma (Gypsy) 2.7% Serb 1.8% other 2.2% (2002 est.)

Languages: Macedonian (official) 66.5% Albanian (official) 25.1% Turkish 3.5% Roma 1.9% Serbian 1.2% other 1.8% (2002 est.)

Religions: Macedonian Orthodox 64.8% Muslim 33.3% other Christian 0.4% other and unspecified 1.5% (2002 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 17.27%
15-24 years: 13.69%
25-54 years: 43.65%
55-64 years: 12.3%
65 years and over: 13.09% (2016 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 41.4%
Youth dependency ratio: 24%
Elderly dependency ratio: 17.4%
Potential support ratio: 5.7%

Median age
Total: 37.5 years
Male: 36.4 years
Female: 38.6 years
Rank: 65

Population growth rate: 0.18% (2016 est.)
Rank: 188

Birth rate: 11.5 births/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 170

Death rate: 9.1 deaths/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 66

Net migration rate: -0.5 migrant(s)/1000 population (2016 est.)
Rank: 129

Population distribution: a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations

Urbanization
Urban population: 57.1% of total population
Rate of urbanization: 0.11% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: SKOPJE (capital) 503,000 (2015)

Environment
Current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants
International agreements party to: Air Pollution Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Ozone Layer Protection Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.08 male/female
0-14 years: 1.07 male/female
15-24 years: 1.07 male/female
25-54 years: 1.03 male/female
55-64 years: 0.96 male/female
65 years and over: 0.75 male/female
Total population: 0.99 male/female

Mothers mean age at first birth: 26.6 (2013 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 7.5 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 7.8 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 7.2 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 158

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 76.2 years
Male: 73.6 years
Female: 79 years
Rank: 89

Total fertility rate: 1.6 children born/woman (2016 est.)
Rank: 181

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 40.2% (2011)

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 2.62 physicians/1000 population (2009)

Hospital bed density: 4.5 beds/1000 population (2011)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.01% (2013 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 131
People living with hivaids: 200 (2013 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 126
Deaths: fewer than 100 (2013 est.)
Deaths rank: 106

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 20.8% (2014)
Rank: 92

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 1.3% (2011)
Rank: 128

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 97.8%
Male: 98.8%
Female: 96.8%

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 13 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 13 years

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Macedonia
Conventional short form: Macedonia
Local long form: Republika Makedonija
Local short form: Makedonija
Note: the provisional designation used by the UN EU and NATO is the 'former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia'
Former: People's Republic of Macedonia Socialist Republic of Macedonia
Etymology: the country name derives from the ancient kingdom of Macedon

Government type: parliamentary republic

Capital
Name: Skopje
Geographic coordinates: 42 00 N 21 26 E
Time difference: UTC+1
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

Administrative divisions: 70 municipalities (opstini singular - opstina) and 1 city* (grad); Aracinovo Berovo Bitola Bogdanci Bogovinje Bosilovo Brvenica Caska Centar Zupa Cesinovo-Oblesevo Cucer Sandevo Debar Debarca Delcevo Demir Hisar Demir Kapija Dojran Dolneni Gevgelija Gostivar Gradsko Ilinden Jegunovce Karbinci Kavadarci Kicevo Kocani Konce Kratovo Kriva Palanka Krivogastani Krusevo Kumanovo Lipkovo Lozovo Makedonska Kamenica Makedonski Brod Mavrovo i Rostusa Mogila Negotino Novaci Novo Selo Ohrid Pehcevo Petrovec Plasnica Prilep Probistip Radovis Rankovce Resen Rosoman Skopje* Sopiste Staro Nagoricane Stip Struga Strumica Studenicani Sveti Nikole Tearce Tetovo Valandovo Vasilevo Veles Vevcani Vinica Vrapciste Zelenikovo Zelino Zrnovci

Dependent areas

Independence: 8 September 1991 (referendum by registered voters endorsed independence from Yugoslavia)

National holiday: Independence Day 8 September (1991); also known as National Day

Constitution: several previous; latest adopted 17 November 1991 effective 20 November 1991; amended several times last in 2015 (2016)

Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Macedonia
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 8 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Gjorge IVANOV
Head of government: Interim Prime Minister Emil DIMITRIEV ; Prime Minister Nikola GRUEVSKI (since 26 August 2006) resigned on 15 January 2016
Cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Assembly by simple majority vote; note - the 2014 cabinet formed by the government coalition parties VMRO-DPMNE DUI and several small parties; as a result of an agreement reached in July 2015 between the largest parties to resolve a 16-month opposition boycott of the Assembly several minister and deputy minister positions were also given to the opposition SDSM
Electionsappointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term ; election last held on 13 and 27 April 2014 (next to be held in 2019); following legislative elections the leader of the majority party or majority coalition usually elected prime minister by the Assembly
Election results: Gjorge IVANOV reelected president in second round; percent of vote - Gjorge IVANOV 55.3% Stevo PENDAROVSKI (SDSM) 41.1% other 3.6%

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Assembly or Sobranie
Elections: last held on 27 April 2014
Election results: percent of vote by party - VMRO-DPMNE 43.0% SDSM 25.3% BDI 13.7% PDSh 5.9% GROM 2.8% RDK 1.6% other 4.3% invalid 3.4%; seats by party - VMRO-DPMNE 61 SDSM 34 BDI 19 PDSh 7 GROM 1 RDK 1

Judicial branch
Highest court: Supreme Court ; Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges nominated by the Judicial Council a 7-member body of legal professionals and appointed by the Assembly; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Court judges appointed by the Assembly for nonrenewable 9-year terms
Subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; Basic Courts

Political parties and leaders:
Note: during the 2014 parliamentary elections VMRO-DPMNE SDSM and GROM each led coalitions

International organization participation: BIS CD CE CEI EAPC EBRD EU (candidate country) FAO IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC (NGOs) ICCt ICRM IDA IFAD IFC IFRCS ILO IMF IMO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITU ITUC (NGOs) MIGA OAS (observer) OIF OPCW OSCE PCA PFP SELEC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNIFIL UNWTO UPU WCO WHO WIPO WMO WTO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Vasko NAUMOVSKI
In the us chancery: 2,129 Wyoming Avenue NW Washington DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] 667-0501
In the us FAX: [1] 667-2,131
In the us consulate general: Chicago Detroit New York
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Jess L. BAILY
From the us embassy: Str. Samolilova Nr. 21 1000 Skopje
From the us mailing address: American Embassy Skopje US Department of State 7,120 Skopje Place Washington DC 20,521-7,120
From the us telephone: [389] 310-2000
From the us FAX: [389] 310-2,499

Flag description: a yellow sun (the Sun of Liberty) with eight broadening rays extending to the edges of the red field; the red and yellow colors have long been associated with Macedonia

National symbols: eight-rayed sun; national colors: red yellow

National anthem
Name: 'Denes nad Makedonija'
Lyrics and music: Vlado MALESKI/Todor SKALOVSKI
Note: written in 1943 and adopted in 1991 the song previously served as the anthem of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia while part of Yugoslavia

National heritage


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Economy overview:

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2015 US dollars; Macedonia has a large informal sector that may not be reflected in these data
Rank: 132

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 75

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2015 US dollars
Rank: 114

Gross national saving:
Rank: 30

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 67.7%
Government consumption: 16.7%
Investment in fixed capital: 18.2%
Investment in inventories: 13.7%
Exports of goods and services: 48.5%
Imports of goods and services: -64.8%

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 11.2%
Industry: 26.1%
Services: 62.7%

Agriculture products: grapes tobacco vegetables fruits; milk eggs

Industries: food processing beverages textiles chemicals iron steel cement energy pharmaceuticals automotive parts

Industrial production growth rate: 7.8% (2015 est.)
Rank: 20

Labor force: 954,900 (2015 est.)
Rank: 146
By occupation agriculture: 18.3%
By occupation industry: 29.1%
By occupation services: 52.6%

Unemployment rate:
Rank: 182

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 30.4% (2011 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.2%
Highest 10: 34.5%

Distribution of family income gini index:
Rank: 48

Budget
Revenues: $2.903 billion
Expenditures: $3.252 billion
Surplus or deficit: -3.5% of GDP (2015 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 132

Taxes and other revenues: 29.3% of GDP (2015 est.)
Rank: 87

Public debt:
Note: official data from Ministry of Finance; data cover central government debt; this data exclude debt instruments issued by government entities other than the treasury; include treasury debt held by foreign entitites; exclude debt issued by sub-national entities as well as intra-governmental debt; there are no debt instruments sold for social funds
Rank: 91

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Rank: 41

Central bank discount rate:
Note: series discontinued in January 2010; the discount rate has been replaced by a referent rate for calculating the penalty rate
Rank: 101

Commercial bank prime lending rate:
Rank: 118

Stock of narrow money:
Rank: 134

Stock of broad money:
Rank: 123

Stock of domestic credit:
Rank: 121

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 98

Current account balance:
Rank: 72

Exports:
Rank: 122
Commodities: foodstuffs beverages tobacco; textiles miscellaneous manufactures iron steel; automotive parts
Partners: Germany 33.2% Kosovo 11.5% Bulgaria 5.1% Greece 4.5% (2015)

Imports:
Rank: 121
Commodities: machinery and equipment automobiles chemicals fuels food products
Partners: Germany 15.9% UK 13.6% Greece 10.9% Serbia 8.7% Bulgaria 6.7% Turkey 5.5% Italy 4.7% (2015)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 113

Debt external:
Rank: 120

Stock of direct foreign investment at home:
Rank: 97

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad:
Rank: 86

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100%
Production: 4.569 billion kWh (2014 est.)
Production rank: 120
Consumption: 6.96 billion kWh (2014 est.)
Consumption rank: 105
Exports: 112.9 million kWh (2014 est.)
Exports rank: 78
Imports: 3.073 billion kWh (2014 est.)
Imports rank: 52
Installed generating capacity: 2.011 million kW (2014 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 108
Generation sources fossil fuels: 64.5% of total installed capacity (2014 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 121
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2014 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 140
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 33% of total installed capacity (2014 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 70
Generation sources other renewable sources: 2.6% of total installed capacity (2014 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 76

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 167
Crude oil exports: 0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 160
Crude oil imports: 146 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 81
Crude oil proven reserves: 0 bbl (1 January 2016 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 167

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 1719 bbl/day (2013 est.)
Products production rank: 106
Products consumption: 20,000 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products consumption rank: 141
Products exports: 2,616 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products exports rank: 101
Products imports: 17,950 bbl/day (2014 est.)
Products imports rank: 117

Natural gas
Production: 0 m³ (2014)
Production rank: 102
Consumption: 134.7 million m³ (2014 est.)
Consumption rank: 107
Exports: 0 m³ (2014)
Exports rank: 145
Imports: 134.7 million m³ (2014 est.)
Imports rank: 71
Proven reserves: 0 m³ (31 December 2014 )
Proven reserves rank: 170

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 7.9 million Mt (2013 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 111

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 372,557
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 18
Fixed lines rank: 105
Mobile cellular total: 2.223 million
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 106
Mobile cellular rank: 147

Telephone system
General assessment: competition from the mobile-cellular segment of the telecommunications market has led to a drop in fixed-line telephone subscriptions
Domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular telephone subscribership about 120 per 100 persons
International: country code - 389

Broadcast media: public TV broadcaster operates 3 national channels and a satellite network; 5 privately owned TV channels broadcast nationally using terrestrial transmitters and about 15 broadcast on national level via satellite; roughly 75 local commercial TV stations; large number of cable operators offering domestic and international programming; public radio broadcaster operates over multiple stations; 3 privately owned radio stations broadcast nationally; about 70 local commercial radio stations (2012)

Internet
Country code: .mk
Users:
Users rank: 121

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures:
Rank: 92

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription abolished in 2008 (2013)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: Z3 (2016)

Airports: 10 (2013)
Rank: 155
With paved runways total: 8
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways under 914 m: 6
With unpaved runways total: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 1
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 1

Heliports

Pipelines: gas 268 km; oil 120 km (2013)

Railways
Total: 699 km
Standard gauge: 699 km 1.435-m gauge (2014)
Rank: 101

Roadways
Total: 14,182 km
Paved: 9,633 km
Unpaved: 4,549 km
Rank: 124

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: Kosovo and Macedonia completed demarcation of their boundary in September 2008; Greece continues to reject the use of the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Stateless persons: 667
Note: 478,003 refugee and migrant arrivals

Illicit drugs: major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish; minor transit point for South American cocaine destined for Europe; although not a financial center and most criminal activity is thought to be domestic money laundering is a problem due to a mostly cash-based economy and weak enforcement