Country Facts - Macedonia

The People

Ethnic Composition

Macedonian	66.6%
Albanian	22.7%
Turkish	4%
Roma	2.2%
Serbian	2.1%
Other	2.4%

Religious Composition

Eastern Orthodox	67%
Muslim	30%
Nonaffiliated and other	3%

Nationality

Macedonian(s)

Languages Spoken

Macedonian 70%, Albanian 21%, Turkish 3%, Serbo-Croatian 3%, other 3%

Education and Literacy

Currently, there are no accurate figures regarding the literacy rate of Macedonia. Much of the education system of the former Yugoslavia was disrupted during political upheaval in the early 1990s.

Labor Force

Total: 1.1 million (2000)
By occupation:

Agriculture	20%
Industry	40%
Services	40%

Geography

Land Mass Total

9,781 sq mi (25,333 sq km)

Land

9,596 sq mi (24,856 sq km)

Water

184 sq mi (477 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 475 mi (766 km)
Border countries: Albania 93 mi (151 km), Bulgaria 91 mi (148 km), Greece 152 mi (246 km), Yugoslavia 137 mi (221 km)

Coastline

Landlocked

Maritime claim

None

Climate/Weather

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: Vardar River 164 ft (50 m)
Highest: Golem Korab (Maja e Korabit) 9,032 mi (2,753 m)

Natural Resources

Chromium, lead, zinc, manganese, tungsten, nickel, low-grade iron ore, asbestos, sulfur, timber, arable land.

Land use

Arable land	24%
Permanent crops	2%
Other	74%

(1998)

Natural hazards

High seismic risks.

Environment - current issues

Air pollution from metallurgical plants.

Geography Note

Landlocked; major transportation corridor from western and central Europe to Aegean Sea and southern Europe to Western Europe.

Demographics

Population

2,054,800 (July 2002)
Note: a Framework Agreement ratified by Macedonia on 16 November 2001 calls for a new census in 2002.

Age structure

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)

Growth Rate

0.41% (2002)

Life Expectancy

74.26 years (2002)
Female: 76.68 years
Male: 72.01 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$4,400 (2001)

Infant Mortality

12.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

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)

Net migration rate

-1.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

At independence in November 1991, Macedonia was the least developed of the Yugoslav republics, producing a mere 5 percent 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, U.N. sanctions on Yugoslavia (one of Macedonia's 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 about 4 percent because of decreased trade, intermittent border closures, increased deficit spending on security needs, and investor uncertainty. The international community hoped to restart growth with a donors' conference in 2002. However, only 0.1-percent growth was the result in 2002. Predictions for 2003 and 2004 are 3 percent and 4 percent respectively.

Unemployment

39% (2001)

Inflation Rate

5.3% (2001)

Industries

Coal, metallic chromium, lead, zinc, ferronickel, textiles, wood products, tobacco, food processing, buses

Exports

US$1.2 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$1.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$9 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

Yugoslavia 25%, Germany 19%, US 13%, Italy 7%, Greece 6% (2000)

Top Import Partners

Germany 12%, Ukraine 10%, Greece 10%, Russia 9%, Yugoslavia 9% (2000)

Top Exports

Food, beverages, tobacco; miscellaneous manufactures, iron and steel

Top Imports

Machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; food products

Debt - external

US$1.3 billion (2001)

Economic aid

US$150 million (2001)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	8a.m. to 8p.m.	Saturdays 8a.m to 2p.m.
Retail	8a.m. to 8p.m.	Saturdays 8a.m to 2p.m.
Banks	8a.m. to 6p.m.	Some rural banks may have later hours as well as Saturday hours.
Government	8a.m. to 5p.m.	Closed

Note: All businesses will take extended breaks for lunch although not necessarily at noon.

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Christmas Eve (Orthodox)	January 6	January 6	January 6
Christmas (Orthodox)¹	January 7	January 7	January 7
Old New Year (Vasilika)	January 14	January 14	January 14
Women's Day	March 8	March 8	March 8
May Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
Good Friday (Orthodox)	April 25	April 9	April 29
Easter (Orthodox)²	April 27	April 11	May 1
Easter Monday (Orthodox)	April 28	April 12	May 2
Sts. Cyrilus and Methodius Day	May 24	May 24	May 24
Ilinden Day	August 2	August 2	August 2
Republic Day	September 8	September 8	September 8
Start of Ramadan³	October 27	October 15	October 4
End of Ramadan*¹	November 26	November 14	November 3

¹	Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ. In A.D.320, Pope Julius I fixed the date at December 25 based on the Gregorian calendar. The Orthodox church calculates Christmas using the Julian calendar and celebrates 13 days later on January 7.
²	Easter, a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the first Sunday after the full moon and the vernal equinox (fixed in the Gregorian calendar at March 21), and often observed with Good Friday and Easter Monday. In the West, Easter is predicted using the Gregorian calendar, while Eastern Orthodox Christians use the much older Julian calendar, and celebrate 13 days later.
³	Ramadan (the month of fasting) begins with the first appearance of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic Hijra calendar, and lasts 30 days. Dates for the start of Ramadan will vary from country to country, depending on the first appearance of the moon.
*¹	Feasting that officially marks the end of Ramadan, and commonly lasts for three days.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press