North Macedonia

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

noun:

Macedonian(s)

adjective:

Macedonian

• Macedonian (official) 61.4%, Albanian (official) 24.3%, Turkish 3.4%, Romani 1.7%, other (includes Aromanian (Vlach) and Bosnian) 2%, persons for whom data were taken from administrative sources and no language data was available 7.2% (2021 est.);
• note - data represent mother tongue;
• minority languages are co-official with Macedonian in municipalities where they are spoken by at least 20% of the population;
• Albanian is co-official in Tetovo, Brvenica, Vrapciste, and other municipalities;
• Turkish is co-official in Centar Zupa and Plasnica;
• Romani is co-official in Suto Orizari;
• Aromanian is co-official in Krusevo;
• Serbian is co-official in Cucer Sandevo

major-language sample(s):

Книга на Светски Факти, неопходен извор на основни информации. (Macedonian); The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

total:

40.1 years (2023 est.)

male:

39.1 years

female:

41.2 years

at birth:

1.07 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.79 male(s)/female

total population:

0.99 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

total:

7.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male:

8.1 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

6.2 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

77.1 years (2023 est.)

male:

75 years

female:

79.3 years

total:

3.9 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

1.93 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

1.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

0.9 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.03 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

women married by age 15:

0.3%

women married by age 18:

7.5% (2019 est.)

urban population:

59.5% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.61% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

25.17 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

7.05 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

2.28 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

796,585 tons (2016 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

1,434 tons (2013 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

0.2% (2013 est.)

municipal:

310 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

20 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

140 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

conventional long form:

Republic of North Macedonia

conventional short form:

North Macedonia

local long form:

Republika Severna Makedonija

local short form:

Severna Makedonija

former:

Democratic Federal Macedonia, People's Republic of Macedonia, Socialist Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Macedonia

etymology:

the country name derives from the ancient kingdom of Macedon (7th to 2nd centuries B.C.)

name:

Skopje

geographic coordinates:

42 00 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

etymology:

• Skopje derives from its ancient name Scupi, the Latin designation of a classical era Greco-Roman frontier fortress town;
• the name may go back even further to a pre-Greek, Illyrian name

history:

several previous; latest adopted 17 November 1991, effective 20 November 1991

amendments:

• proposed by the president of the republic, by the government, by at least 30 members of the Assembly, or by petition of at least 150,000 citizens;
• final approval requires a two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly;
• amended several times, last in 2019;
• this amendment was the result of the 2018 Prespa Agreement with Greece, in which the constitutional name of the country would be changed to the Republic of North Macedonia - previously the Republic of Macedonia - in exchange for assurances that Greece would no longer object to North Macedonia's integration in international organizations

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of North Macedonia

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

8 years

chief of state:

President Stevo PENDAROVSKI (since 12 May 2019)

head of government:

Prime Minister Dimitar KOVACEVSKI (since 16 January 2022)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers elected by the Assembly by simple majority vote

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected using a modified 2-round system;
• a candidate can only be elected in the first round with an absolute majority from all registered voters;
• in the second round, voter turnout must be at least 40% for the result to be deemed valid;
• president elected for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 21 April and 5 May 2019 (next to be held in 2024);
• following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by the Assembly;
• Dimitar KOVACEVSKI elected prime minister by the Assembly on 16 January 2022;
• Assembly vote - NA

election results:

• 2019: Stevo PENDAROVSKI elected president in second round;
• percent of vote in first round - Stevo PENDAROVSKI (SDSM) 44.8%, Gordana SILJANOVSKA-DAVKOVA (VMRO-DPMNE) 44.2%, Blenim REKA (independent) 11.1%;
• percent of vote in second round - Stevo PENDAROVSKI 53.6%, Gordana SILJANOVSKA-DAVKOVA 46.4%

;

• 2014: Gjorge IVANOV reelected president in second round;
• percent of vote in first round - Gjorge IVANOV (VMRO-DPMNE) 53.1%, Stevo PENDAROVSKI (SDSM) 38.6%, Ilijaz HALIMI (DPA) 4.6%, Zoran POPOVSKI (GROM) 3.7%;
• percent of vote in second round - Gjorge IVANOV 57.3%, Stevo PENDAROVSKI 42.7%

description:

unicameral Assembly - Sobraine in Macedonian, Kuvend in Albanian (between 120 and 140 seats, currently 120; members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed-list proportional representation vote; possibility of 3 directly elected in diaspora constituencies by simple majority vote provided there is sufficient voter turnout; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:

last held on 15 July 2020 (next to be held in 2024)

election results:

• percent of vote by party/coalition - We Can 35.9%, Renewal 34.6%, BDI 11.5%, AfA-Alternative 9%, The Left 4.1%, PDSh 1.5%, other 3.4%;
• seats by party/coalition - We Can 46, Renewal 44, BDI 15, AfA-Alternative 12, The Left 2, PDSh 1;
• composition - men 70, women 50, percent of women 41.7%

highest court(s):

Supreme Court (consists of 22 judges); 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

• Alliance for Albanians or AfA [Ziadin SELA]
• Alternative (Alternativa) [Afrim GASHI]
• Besa Movement [Bilal KASAMI]
• Democratic Party of Albanians or PDSh [Menduh THACI]
• Democratic Union for Integration or BDI [Ali AHMETI]
• Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity or VMRO-DPMNE [Hristijan MICKOSKI]
• Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - People's Party or VMRO-NP [Ljubco GEORGIEVSKI]
• Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Goran MILEVSKI]
• Renewal [Maja MORACHANIN]
• Social Democratic Union of Macedonia or SDSM [Dimitar KOVACHEVSKI]
• The Left (Levica) [Dimitar APASIEV]
• Turkish Democratic Party of DPT [Beycan ILYAS]
• We Can (coalition includes SDSM/Besa/VMRO-NP, DPT, LDP)

chief of mission:

Ambassador Zoran POPOV (since 16 September 2022)

chancery:

2129 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 667-0501

FAX:

[1] (202) 667-2131

email address and website:

[email protected]

consulate(s) general:

Chicago, Detroit, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Angela AGGELER (since 8 November 2022)

embassy:

Str. Samoilova, Nr. 21, 1000 Skopje

mailing address:

7120 Skopje Place, Washington, DC 20521-7120

telephone:

[389] (2) 310-2000

FAX:

[389] (2) 310-2499

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://mk.usembassy.gov/

• 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

name:

"Denes nad Makedonija" (Today Over Macedonia)

lyrics/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

total World Heritage Sites:

2 (both natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid Region; Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians

• growing upper middle-income European economy;
• EU accession stalled due to Bulgarian dispute;
• new NATO member;
• private consumption-driven growth;
• investment declined due to COVID-19;
• regional economic power gains since Greek naming resolution

total:

34.1% (2021 est.)

male:

31.6%

female:

38.4%

on food:

30.8% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

7.3% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

lowest 10%:

1.7%

highest 10%:

25% (2015 est.)

production:

5.026 million metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption:

5.211 million metric tons (2020 est.)

exports:

1,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

imports:

174,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

332 million metric tons (2019 est.)

total petroleum production:

0 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

22,700 bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

0 barrels (2021 est.)

production:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

consumption:

218.917 million cubic meters (2019 est.)

exports:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

imports:

218.917 million cubic meters (2019 est.)

proven reserves:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• as part of the EU pre-accession process, North Macedonia has built closer economic ties with the Union which accounts for 77.5% of Macedonia’s exports and just over half of its imports;
• closer regulatory and administrative ties with European Commission (EC) institutions have done much to develop the telecom sector and prepare the market for the competitive environment encouraged in the EU;
• as part of EU integration legislation North Macedonia has implemented the principles of the EU’s regulatory framework for communications, established an independent regulator and set out several provisions to provide for a competitive telecom market, including wholesale access to the incumbent’s fixed-line network;
• broadband services are widely available, with effective competition between DSL and cable platforms complemented by wireless broadband and a developing fiber sector;
• the number of DSL subscribers has continued to fall in recent years as customers are migrated to fiber networks;
• the MNOs are increasingly focused on expanding their 5G networks, seeking stronger coverage across North Macedonia’s high value urban areas;
• mobile data services are also becoming increasingly important following investments in LTE network rollouts and in upgrades to LTE-A technology (2022)

domestic:

fixed-line roughly 20 per 100 and mobile-cellular 92 per 100 subscriptions (2021)

international:

country code - 389

• public service TV broadcaster Macedonian Radio and Television operates 3 national terrestrial TV channels and 2 satellite TV channels;
• additionally, there are 10 regional TV stations that broadcast nationally using terrestrial transmitters, 54 TV channels with concession for cable TV, 9 regional TV stations with concessions for cable TV;
• 4 satellite TV channels broadcasting on a national level, 21 local commercial TV channels, and a large number of cable operators that offer domestic and international programming;
• the public radio broadcaster operates over 3 stations;
• there are 4 privately owned radio stations that broadcast nationally;
• 17 regional radio stations, and 49 local commercial radio stations (2019)

total:

14,182 km (2017) (includes 290 km of expressways)

paved:

9,633 km (2017)

unpaved:

4,549 km (2017)

North Macedonia-Albania :

none identified

North Macedonia-Greece :

none identified

North Macedonia-Kosovo :

North Macedonia and Kosovo completed demarcation of their boundary in October 2009

North Macedonia-Serbia :

none identified

refugees (country of origin):

18,680 (Ukraine) (as of 14 November 2023)

stateless persons:

521 (2022)

note: 562,235 estimated refugee and migrant arrivals (January 2015-October 2023)

• 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