North Macedonia

• mountainous territory covered with deep basins and valleys;
• three large lakes, each divided by a frontier line;
• country bisected by the Vardar River

party to:

Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

0-14 years:

22.4% (male 239,638; female 221,446)

15-64 years:

67.2% (male 694,368; female 686,450)

65 years and over:

10.4% (male 94,214; female 118,684) (2002 est.)

at birth:

1.08 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.08 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.79 male(s)/female

total population:

1 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

total population:

74.26 years

female:

76.68 years (2002 est.)

male:

72.01 years

noun:

Macedonian(s)

adjective:

Macedonian

definition:

NA

total population:

NA%

male:

NA%

female:

NA%

conventional long form:

The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia

conventional short form:

none

local long form:

Republika Makedonija

abbreviation:

F.Y.R.O.M.

local short form:

Makedonija

chief of state:

President Boris TRAJKOVSKI (since 15 December 1999)

head of government:

Prime Minister Branko CRVENKOVSKI (since 1 November 2002)

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term;
• election last held 14 November 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004);
• prime minister elected by the Assembly;
• election last held NA October 2002 (next to be held NA 2006)

election results:

• Boris TRAJKOVSKI elected president on second-round ballot;
• percent of vote - Boris TRAJKOVSKI 52.4%, Tito PETKOVSKI 46.2%;
• Branko CRVENKOVSKI elected prime minister by Parliament with 72% of the vote

cabinet:

• Council of Ministers elected by the majority vote of all the deputies in the Assembly;
• note - current cabinet formed by the government coalition parties VMRO-DPMNE, PDP, and DPA

• Supreme Court - Parliament appoints the judges;
• Constitutional Court - Parliament appoints the judges;
• Republican Judicial Council - Parliament appoints the judges

• Democratic Alternative or DA [Vasil TUPURKOVSKI, president];
• Democratic Integrative Union [leader NA];
• Democratic Party of Albanians or DPA [Arben XHAFERI, president];
• Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity or VMRO-DPMNE [Ljubcho GEORGIEVSKI, president];
• Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-True Macedonian Reform Option or VMRO-VMRO [Boris STOJMANOV];
• Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Risto GUSTERVO];
• Liberal Party [leader NA];
• National Democratic Party or MPDK [Kastriot HAXHISEXHA];
• Party for Democratic Prosperity or PDP [Imeri IMERI, president];
• Social-Democratic Alliance of Macedonia or SDSM (former Communist Party) [Branko CRVENKOVSKI, president];
• Socialist Party of Macedonia or SP [Ljubisav IVANOV, president];
• Together for Macedonia coalition (including the Social Democrats) [leader NA];
• Union of Romanies of Macedonia or SRM [leader NA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Nikola DIMITROV

chancery:

Suite 302, 1101 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007

consulate(s) general:

New York

FAX:

[1] (202) 337-3093

telephone:

[1] (202) 337-3063

chief of mission:

Ambassador Laurence Edward BUTLER

embassy:

bul. Ilinden bb, 1000 Skopje

mailing address:

American Embassy Skopje, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7120 (pouch)

telephone:

[389] (02) 116-180

FAX:

[389] (02) 117-103

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

general assessment:

NA

domestic:

NA

international:

NA

total:

699 km

standard gauge:

699 km 1.435-m gauge (233 km electrified)

note: a 56-km extension of the Kumanovo-Beljakovce line to the Bulgarian border at Gyueshevo is under construction (2001)

total:

8,684 km

paved:

5,540 km (including 133 km of expressways)

unpaved:

3,144 km (1997)

• dispute with Greece over country's name persists;
• 2001 FYROM-Yugoslavia boundary delimitation agreement, which adjusts former republic boundaries, was signed and ratified and awaits demarcation;
• ethnic Albanians in Kosovo dispute legitimacy of the agreement, which cedes small tracts of Kosovo lands to FYROM

• major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish;
• minor transit point for South American cocaine destined for Europe;
• while money laundering is a problem on a local level due to organized crime activities, the lack of a well-developed financial infrastructure limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center