North Macedonia

Republic of North Macedonia Република Северна Македонија (Macedonian) Republika e Maqedonisë së Veriut (Albanian)
Flag National emblem
Anthem: Денес над Македонија (Macedonian) "Today over Macedonia"
Location of North Macedonia (green) in Europe (dark grey)  –  [Legend]
Capital and largest city	Skopje 42°0′N 21°26′E / 42.000°N 21.433°E / 42.000; 21.433
Official languages	Macedonian[a] Albanian[b]
Official regional languages	Turkish[1] Romani Serbian Bosnian Aromanian
Ethnic groups (2021[2])	58.4% Macedonians 24.3% Albanians 3.9% Turks 2.5% Roma 1.3% Serbs 0.9% Bosniaks 0.5% Aromanians (including Megleno-Romanians) 1.0% Other 7.2% Did not participate
Religion (2021[3])	60.4% Christianity —46.1% Eastern Orthodoxy —14.3% Other Christian 32.2% Islam 0.1% No religion 0.1% Other 7.2% Data taken from administrative sources
Demonym(s)	Macedonian
Government	Unitary parliamentary republic
• President	Stevo Pendarovski
• Prime Minister	Talat Xhaferi
• Chairman of the Assembly	Jovan Mitreski
Legislature	Assembly
Establishment history
• Socialist Republic of Macedonia	2 August 1944
• Independence referendum	8 September 1991
Area
• Total	25,713 km2 (9,928 sq mi) (145th)
• Water (%)	1.9
Population
• 2021 census	1,836,713[2]
• Density	80.1/km2 (207.5/sq mi) (122nd)
GDP (PPP)	2023 estimate
• Total	$44.055 billion[4] (130th)
• Per capita	$21,391[4] (75th)
GDP (nominal)	2023 estimate
• Total	$15.801 billion[4] (143rd)
• Per capita	$7,672[4] (90th)
Gini (2019)	30.7[5] medium
HDI (2022)	0.765[6] high (83rd)
Currency	Macedonian denar (MKD)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Calling code	+389
ISO 3166 code	MK
Internet TLD	.mk .мкд

North Macedonia (/ˌmæsɪˈdoʊniə/ MASS-ih-DOH-nee-ə),^[c] officially the Republic of North Macedonia,^[d] is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo^[e] to the northwest and Serbia to the north.^[7] It constitutes approximately the northern third of the larger geographical region of Macedonia. Skopje, the capital and largest city, is home to a quarter of the country's 1.83 million people. The majority of the residents are ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people. Albanians form a significant minority at around 25%, followed by Turks, Roma, Serbs, Bosniaks, Aromanians and a few other minorities.

The region's history begins with the kingdom of Paeonia. In the late sixth century BC, the area was subjugated by the Persian Achaemenid Empire, then incorporated into the Kingdom of Macedonia in the fourth century BC. The Roman Republic conquered the region in the second century BC and made it part of its larger province of Macedonia. The area remained part of the Byzantine Empire, but was often raided and settled by Slavic tribes beginning in the sixth century of the Christian era. Following centuries of contention between the Bulgarian, Byzantine, and Serbian Empires, it was part of the Ottoman Empire from the mid-14th until the early 20th century, when, following the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913, the modern territory of North Macedonia came under Serbian rule.

During the First World War, the territory was ruled by Bulgaria, but after the end of the war it returned to Serbian rule as part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. During the Second World War, it was again ruled by Bulgaria; and in 1945 it was established as a constituent state of communist Yugoslavia, which it remained until its peaceful secession in 1991. The country became a member of the United Nations (UN) in 1993, but as a result of a dispute with Greece over the name "Macedonia", it was admitted under the provisional description "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (abbreviated as "FYR Macedonia" or "FYROM"). In 2018, the dispute was resolved with an agreement that the country should rename itself "Republic of North Macedonia". This renaming came into effect in early 2019.

North Macedonia is also a member of the NATO, the Council of Europe, the World Bank, OSCE, CEFTA, BSEC and the WTO. Since 2005, it has also been a candidate for joining the European Union. North Macedonia is an upper-middle-income country according to the World Bank's definitions^[8] and has undergone considerable economic reform since its independence in developing an open economy. It is a developing country, ranked 82nd on the Human Development Index; and provides social security, a universal health care system, and free primary and secondary education to its citizens.

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