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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

at birth:

1.08 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.78 male(s)/female

total population:

1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

noun:

Macedonian(s)

adjective:

Macedonian

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 Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)

former:

People's Republic of Macedonia, Socialist Republic of Macedonia

name:

Skopje

geographic coordinates:

41 59 N, 21 26 E

time difference:

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

• adopted 17 November 1991, effective 20 November 1991;
• amended November 2001 by a series of new constitutional amendments strengthening minority rights and in 2005 with amendments related to the judiciary

chief of state:

President Branko CRVENKOVSKI (since 12 May 2004)

head of government:

Prime Minister Nikola GRUEVSKI (since 28 August 2006)

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, NSDP, PDSH/DPA, and several small parties

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term);
• two-round election last held 14 April and 28 April 2004 (next to be held by April 2009);
• prime minister elected by the Assembly following legislative elections

election results:

Branko CRVENKOVSKI elected president on second-round ballot; percent of vote - Branko CRVENKOVSKI 62.7%, Sasko KEDEV 37.3%

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

• Democratic Alliance [Pavle TRAJANOV];
• Democratic Alternative or DA [Vasil TUPURKOVSKI];
• Democratic League of the Bosniaks [Rafet MUMINOVIC];
• Democratic Party of Albanians or PDSH/DPA [Arben XHAFERI];
• Democratic Party of Serbs [Ivan STOILJKOVIC];
• Democratic Party of Turks [Kenan HASIPI];
• Democratic Renewal of Macedonia [Liljana POPOVSKA];
• Democratic Republican Union of Macedonia or DRUM [Goran RAFAJLOVSKI];
• Democratic Union of Vlachs for Macedonia [Mitko KOSTOV];
• Democratic Union for Integration or DUI [Ali AHMETI];
• Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity or VMRO-DPMNE [Nikola GRUEVSKI];
• Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Macedonian [Boris STOJMENOV];
• Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-People's Party or VMRO-Narodna [Vesna JANEVSKA, acting];
• League for Democracy [Gjorgi MARJANOVIC];
• Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Risto PENOV];
• Liberal Party [Stojan ANDOV];
• National Alternative [Harun ALIU];
• National Democratic Party or PDK [Basri HALITI];
• National Farmers' Party [Vejljo TANTAROV];
• New Democratic Forces [Hysni SHAQIRI];
• New Social Democratic Party or NSDP [Tito PETKOVSKI];
• Party for Democratic Future [Alajdin DEMIRI];
• Party for Democratic Prosperity or PPD/PDP [Abduljhadi VEJSELI];
• Social Democratic Alliance of Macedonia or SDSM [Vlado BUCKOVSKI];
• Socialist Party of Macedonia or SP [Ljubisav IVANOV-ZINGO];
• United Party for Emancipation or OPE [Nezdet MUSTAFA]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Ljupco JORDANOVSKI

chancery:

2129 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 667-0501

FAX:

[1] (202) 667-2131

consulate(s) general:

Southfield (Michigan)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Gillian A. MILOVANOVIC

embassy:

Bul. Ilindenska bb, 1000 Skopje

mailing address:

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

telephone:

[389] 2 311-6180

FAX:

[389] 2 311-7103

agriculture:

NA%

industry:

NA%

services:

NA%

lowest 10%:

NA%

highest 10%:

NA%

general assessment:

NA

domestic:

NA

international:

country code - 389

total:

699 km

standard gauge:

699 km 1.435-m gauge (233 km electrified) (2005)

total:

8,684 km

paved:

5,540 km

unpaved:

3,144 km (1999)

• conscription to be phased out by 2007;
• current tour of conscript duty is six months;
• 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2005)

males age 18-49:

498,259

females age 18-49:

481,317 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

411,156

females age 18-49:

397,839 (2005 est.)

males age 18-49:

16,686

females age 18-49:

15,664 (2005 est.)

• ethnic Albanians in Kosovo object to demarcation of the boundary with Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and Montenegro delimitation agreement;
• Greece continues to reject the use of the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia

• 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 (no arrests or prosecutions for money laundering to date)