Macedonia

Background:

International recognition of The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's (F.Y.R.O.M.) independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 was delayed by Greece's objection to the new state's use of what it considered a Hellenic name and symbols. Greece finally lifted its trade blockade in 1995, and the two countries agreed to normalize relations, despite continued disagreement over F.Y.R.O.M.'s use of "Macedonia." F.Y.R.O.M.'s large Albanian minority, an ethnic Albanian armed insurgency in F.Y.R.O.M. in 2001, and the status of neighboring Kosovo continue to be sources of ethnic tension.

Geography Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of

Location:
Southeastern Europe, north of Greece

Geographic coordinates:
41 50 N, 22 00 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 25,333 sq km
water: 477 sq km
land: 24,856 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Vermont

Land boundaries:
total: 766 km
border countries: Albania 151 km, Bulgaria 148 km, Greece 246 km, Serbia and Montenegro 221 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions):
none (landlocked)

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

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

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Vardar River 50 m
highest point: Golem Korab (Maja e Korabit) 2,753 m

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

Land use:
arable land: 23.59%
permanent crops: 1.85%
other: 74.56% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land:
550 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
high seismic risks

Environment - current issues:
air pollution from metallurgical plants

Environment - international agreements:
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

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

People Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of

Population:
2,071,210 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 21.5% (male 231,078; female 213,906)
15-64 years: 67.8% (male 707,298; female 696,830)
65 years and over: 10.7% (male 97,437; female 124,661) (2004 est.)

Median age:
total: 32.8 years
male: 31.7 years
female: 33.9 years (2004 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.39% (2004 est.)

Birth rate:
13.14 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Death rate:
7.83 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Net migration rate:
-1.45 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 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 (2004 est.)

Infant mortality rate:
total: 11.74 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 10.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
male: 12.67 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.73 years
male: 72.45 years
female: 77.2 years (2004 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.74 children born/woman (2004 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
less than 100 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
less than 100 (2001 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Macedonian(s)
adjective: Macedonian

Ethnic groups:
Macedonian 64.2%, Albanian 25.2%, Turkish 3.8%, Roma 2.7%, Serb 1.8%, other 2.3% (2002)

Religions:
Macedonian Orthodox 70%, Muslim 29%, other 1%

Languages:
Macedonian 68%, Albanian 25%, Turkish 3%, Serbo-Croatian 2%, other 2%

Literacy:
definition: NA
total population: NA%
male: NA%
female: NA%

Government Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of

Country name:
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

Government type:
parliamentary democracy

Capital:
Skopje

Administrative divisions:
123 municipalities (opstini, singular - opstina); Aracinovo, Bac, Belcista, Berovo, Bistrica, Bitola, Blatec, Bogdanci, Bogomila, Bogovinje, Bosilovo, Brvenica, Cair (Skopje), Capari, Caska, Cegrane, Centar (Skopje), Centar Zupa, Cesinovo, Cucer-Sandevo, Debar, Delcevo, Delogozdi, Demir Hisar, Demir Kapija, Dobrusevo, Dolna Banjica, Dolneni, Dorce Petrov (Skopje), Drugovo, Dzepciste, Gazi Baba (Skopje), Gevgelija, Gostivar, Gradsko, Ilinden, Izvor, Jegunovce, Kamenjane, Karbinci, Karpos (Skopje), Kavadarci, Kicevo, Kisela Voda (Skopje), Klecevce, Kocani, Konce, Kondovo, Konopiste, Kosel, Kratovo, Kriva Palanka, Krivogastani, Krusevo, Kuklis, Kukurecani, Kumanovo, Labunista, Lipkovo, Lozovo, Lukovo, Makedonska Kamenica, Makedonski Brod, Mavrovi Anovi, Meseista, Miravci, Mogila, Murtino, Negotino, Negotino-Polosko, Novaci, Novo Selo, Oblesevo, Ohrid, Orasac, Orizari, Oslomej, Pehcevo, Petrovec, Plasnica, Podares, Prilep, Probistip, Radovis, Rankovce, Resen, Rosoman, Rostusa, Samokov, Saraj, Sipkovica, Sopiste, Sopotnica, Srbinovo, Star Dojran, Staravina, Staro Nagoricane, Stip, Struga, Strumica, Studenicani, Suto Orizari (Skopje), Sveti Nikole, Tearce, Tetovo, Topolcani, Valandovo, Vasilevo, Velesta, Veles, Vevcani, Vinica, Vitoliste, Vranestica, Vrapciste, Vratnica, Vrutok, Zajas, Zelenikovo, Zeleno, Zitose, Zletovo, Zrnovci
note: the seven municipalities followed by Skopje in parentheses collectively constitute "greater Skopje"

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

National holiday:
Uprising Day, 2 August (1903); note - also known as Saint Elijah's Day and Ilinden

Constitution:
adopted 17 November 1991, effective 20 November 1991
note: in November of 2001, the Macedonian Assembly approved a series of new constitutional amendments strengthening minority rights

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

Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
chief of state: Acting President Ljupco JORDANOVSKI (since 26 February 2004); note - Boris TRAJKOVSKI was killed in a plane crash 26 February 2004; Parliament Speaker Ljupco JORDANOVSKI is acting president
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 (first round) 14 April 2004 (second round) 28 April 2004 (next to be held NA April 2009); prime minister elected by the Assembly; election last held 1 November 2002 (next to be held NA 2006)
election results: Branko CRVENKOVSKI elected president on second-round ballot; percent of vote - Branko CRVENKOVSKI 62.7%, Sasko KEDEV 37.3%; Branko CRVENKOVSKI elected prime minister by the Assembly 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 SDSM, LDP, and DUI (or BDI)

Legislative branch:
unicameral Assembly or Sobranie (120 seats - 85 members are elected by popular vote, 35 members come from lists of candidates submitted by parties based on the percentage that a party gains from the overall vote; all serve four-year terms)
election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Together for Macedonia coalition (SDSM and LDP) 60, VMRO-DPMNE 33, Democratic Union for Integration 16, Democratic Party of Albanians 7, Party for Democratic Prosperity 2, National Democratic Party 1, Socialist Party of Macedonia 1
elections: last held 15 September 2002 (next to be held NA 2006)

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

Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Alternative or DA [Vasil TUPURKOVSKI, president]; Democratic Union for Integration or DUI (also BDI) [Ali AHMETI]; Democratic Party of Albanians or PDSH [Arben XHAFERI, president]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity or VMRO-DPMNE [Nikola GRUEVSKI]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-True Macedonian Reform Option or VMRO-VMRO [Boris ZMEJKOVSKI]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Macedonian [Boris STOJMENOV]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Risto PENOV]; Liberal Party [Stojan ANDOV]; National Democratic Party or PDK [Basri HALITI]; Party for Democratic Prosperity or PPD [Abdulmenaf BEXHETI]; Social Democratic Alliance of Macedonia or SDSM [Branko CRVENKOVSKI, president]; Socialist Party of Macedonia or SP [Ljubisav IVANOV, president]; Together for Macedonia coalition (including the SDSM and LDP) [Branko CRVENKOVSKI]; Union of Romanies of Macedonia or SRM [leader NA]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
NA

International organization participation:
ACCT, BIS, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation in the US:
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

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Lawrence Edward BUTLER
embassy: Bul. Ilinden bb, 91000 Skopje
mailing address: American Embassy Skopje, Department of State, 7120 Skopje Place, Washington, DC 20521-7120 (pouch)
telephone: [389] 2 311-6180
FAX: [389] 2 311-7103

Flag description:
a yellow sun with eight broadening rays extending to the edges of the red field

Economy Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of

Economy - overview:
At independence in September 1991, Macedonia was the least developed of the Yugoslav republics, producing a mere 5% of the total federal output of goods and services. The collapse of Yugoslavia ended transfer payments from the center and eliminated advantages from inclusion in a de facto free trade area. An absence of infrastructure, UN sanctions on Yugoslavia, one of its largest markets, and a Greek economic embargo over a dispute about the country's constitutional name and flag hindered economic growth until 1996. GDP subsequently rose each year through 2000. However, the leadership's commitment to economic reform, free trade, and regional integration was undermined by the ethnic Albanian insurgency of 2001. The economy shrank 4.5% because of decreased trade, intermittent border closures, increased deficit spending on security needs, and investor uncertainty. Growth barely recovered in 2002 to 0.9%, then rose to 2.8% in 2003. Unemployment at one-third of the workforce remains the most critical economic problem. The gray economy is estimated at around 40% of GDP. Politically, the country is more stable than in 2002.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $13.81 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
2.8% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $6,700 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 9.9%
industry: 25.3%
services: 64.8% (2003 est.)

Population below poverty line:
30.2% (2002 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
1.2% (2003 est.)

Labor force:
860,000 (2003 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA%

Unemployment rate:
36.7% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $1.03 billion
expenditures: $1.05 billion, including capital expenditures of $80 million $NA (2003 est.)

Industries:
coal, metallic chromium, lead, zinc, ferronickel, textiles, wood products, tobacco, food processing, buses, steel

Industrial production growth rate:
3% (2003 est.)

Electricity - production:
6.465 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 83.7%
hydro: 16.3%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:
6.112 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
100 million kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
20,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Agriculture - products:
rice, tobacco, wheat, corn, millet, cotton, sesame, mulberry leaves, citrus, vegetables; beef, pork, poultry, mutton

Exports:
$1.346 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
food, beverages, tobacco; miscellaneous manufactures, iron and steel

Exports - partners:
Germany 27.4%, Italy 13.2%, US 9.5%, Croatia 7.9%, Greece 6.6%, Netherlands 5.6% (2002)

Imports:
$2.184 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; food products

Imports - partners:
Greece 18.2%, Germany 13.6%, Yugoslavia 8.6%, Slovenia 8.4%, Bulgaria 7%, Italy 6.4%, Turkey 5.6% (2002)

Debt - external:
$1.7 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$250 million (2003 est.)

Currency:
Macedonian denar (MKD)

Currency code:
MKD

Exchange rates:
Macedonian denars per US dollar - NA (2003), 64.35 (2002), 68.04 (2001), 65.9 (2000), 56.9 (1999)

Fiscal year:
calendar year

Communications Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of

Telephones - main lines in use:
560,000 (2002)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
365,300 (2002)

Telephone system:
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA
international: country code - 389

Radio broadcast stations:
AM 29, FM 20, shortwave 0 (1998)

Radios:
410,000 (1997)

Television broadcast stations:
31 (plus 166 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions:
510,000 (1997)

Internet country code:
.mk

Internet hosts:
3,167 (2002)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
6 (2000)

Internet users:
100,000 (2002)

Transportation Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of

Railways:
total: 699 km
standard gauge: 699 km 1.435-m gauge (233 km electrified) (2002)

Highways:
total: 8,684 km
paved: 5,540 km (including 133 km of expressways)
unpaved: 3,144 km (1999 est.)

Waterways:
note: lake transport only, on the Greek and Albanian borders

Pipelines:
gas 268 km; oil 120 km (2003)

Ports and harbors:
none

Airports:
17 (2003 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 10
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
under 914 m: 8 (2003 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 4 (2003 est.)

Military Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of

Military branches:
Army of the Republic of Macedonia (ARM; including Air and Air Defense Command)

Military manpower - military age:
19 years of age (2004 est.)

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 555,611 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 448,095 (2004 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 17,595 (2004 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$200 million (FY01/02 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
6% (FY01/02 est.)

Transnational Issues Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of

Disputes - international:
the Albanian government calls for the protection of the rights of ethnic Albanians in F.Y.R.O.M. while continuing to seek regional cooperation; ethnic Albanians in Kosovo resist demarcation of the F.Y.R.O.M.-Serbia and Montenegro boundary in accordance with the 2000 delimitation treaty, which transfered a small amount of land to F.Y.R.O.M.; dispute with Greece over country's name persists

Illicit drugs:
major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish; minor transit point for South American cocaine destined for Europe; although most criminal activity is thought to be domestic and not a financial center, money laundering is a problem due to a mostly cash-based economy and weak enforcement (no arrests or prosecutions for money laundering to date)