:Macedonia Header
Note:
Macedonia has proclaimed independent statehood but has not been formally
recognized as a state by the United States.
:Macedonia Geography
Total area:
25,333 km2
Land area:
24,856 km2
Comparative area:
slightly larger than Vermont
Land boundaries:
748 km; Albania 151 km, Bulgaria 148 km, Greece 228 km, Serbia and
Montenegro 221 km
Coastline:
none - landlocked
Disputes:
Greece claims republic's name implies territorial claims against Aegean
Macedonia
Climate:
hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall
Terrain:
territory covered with deep basins and valleys; there are three large lakes,
each divided by a frontier line
Natural resources:
chromium, lead, zinc, manganese, tungsten, nickel, low-grade iron ore,
asbestos, sulphur, timber
Land use:
arable land 5%; permanent crops 5%; meadows and pastures 20%; forest and
woodland 30%; other 40%; includes irrigated NA%
Environment:
Macedonia suffers from high seismic hazard; air pollution from metallurgical
plants
Note:
major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Aegean Sea
:Macedonia People
Population:
2,174,000 (July 1992), growth rate NA% (1992)
Birth rate:
NA births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
NA deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
NA migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
NA deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
71 years male, 75 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
NA children born/woman (1992)
Ethnic divisions:
Macedonian 67%, Albanian 20%, Turkish 4%, Serb 2%, other 7%
Religions:
Eastern Orthodox 59%, Muslim 26%, Catholic 4%, Protestant 1%, unknown 10%
Languages:
Macedonian 70%, Albanian 21%, Turkish 3%, Serbo-Croatian 3%, other 3%
Literacy:
89.1% (male 94.2%, female 83.8%) age 10 and over can read and write (1992
est.)
Labor force:
507,324; agriculture 8%, manufacturing and mining 40% (1990)
Organized labor:
NA
:Macedonia Government
Long-form name:
Republic of Macedonia
Type:
emerging democracy
Capital:
Skopje
Administrative divisions:
NA
Independence:
20 November 1991 from Yugoslavia
Constitution:
adopted 17 November 1991, effective 20 November 1991
Legal system:
based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
National holiday:
NA
Executive branch:
presidency, Council of Ministers, prime minister
Legislative branch:
unicameral Assembly
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court, Judicial Court of the Republic
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Kiro GLIGOROV (since 27 January 1991)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Nikola KLJUSEV (since March 1991), Deputy Prime Ministers
Jovan ANDONOV (since March 1991), Blaze RISTOVSKI (since March 1991), and
Bezir ZUTA (since March 1991)
Political parties and leaders:
Social Democratic Alliance (SDA; former Communist Party), Branko
CRVENKOVSKI, chairman; Party of Democratic Prosperity, (PDP), Nevzat HALILI,
chairman; National Democratic Party, Iliaz HALIMI, chairman; Alliance of
Reform Forces of Macedonia (MARF), Sojan ANDOV, chairman; Socialist Party,
chairman NA; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Democratic
Party for Macedonian National Unity (IMRO-DPMNU), Ljupco GEORGIEVSKI,
chairman
Suffrage:
universal at age 18
Elections:
President:
last held 27 January 1991 (next to be held NA); results - Kiro GLIGOREV won
Assembly:
last held 11 November 1990 (next to be held NA);results - percent of vote by
party NA; seats - (120 total) IMRO-DPMNU 37, SDA 31, PDP 25, MARF 17, Party
of Yugoslavs 1, Socialists 5, others 4
Communists:
NA
Other political or pressure groups:
Movement for All Macedonian Action (MAAK), IMRU-Democratic Party, League for
Democracy, Albanian Democratic Union-Liberal Party
Member of:
none
Diplomatic representation:
has not been formerly recognized by the US
Flag:
NA
:Macedonia Economy
Overview:
Macedonia, although the poorest among the six republics of a disintegrated
Yugoslav federation, can meet basic food and energy needs through its own
agricultural and coal resources. As a breakaway republic, however, it will
move down toward a bare subsistence level of life unless economic ties are
reforged or enlarged with its neighbors Serbia, Albania, Greece, and
Bulgaria. The economy depends on outside sources for all of its oil and gas
and its modern machinery and parts. Continued political turmoil, both
internally and in the region as a whole, prevents any swift readjustments of
trade patterns and economic rules of the game. Inflation in early 1992 was
out of control, the result of fracturing trade links, the decline in
economic activity, and general uncertainties about the future status of the
country; prices rose 38% in March 1992 alone. Macedonia's geographical
isolation, technological backwardness, and political instability place it
far down the list of countries of interest to Western investors. Recognition
of Macedonia by the EC and an internal commitment to economic reform would
help to encourage foreign investment over the long run.
GDP:
$7.1 billion, per capita $3,110; real growth rate -18% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
20% (1991 est.)
Exports:
$578 million (1990)
commodities:
manufactured goods 40%, machinery and transport equipment 14%, miscellaneous
manufactured articles 23%, raw materials 7.6%, food (rice) and live animals
5.7%, beverages and tobacco 4.5%, chemicals 4.7%
partners:
principally Serbia and the other former Yugoslav republics, Germany, Greece,
Albania
Imports:
$1,112 million (1990)
commodities:
fuels and lubricants 19%, manufactured goods 18%, machinery and transport
equipment 15%, food and live animals 14%, chemicals 11.4%, raw materials
10%, miscellaneous manufactured articles 8.0%, beverages and tobacco 3.5%
partners:
other former Yugoslav republics, Greece, Albania, Germany, Bulgaria
External debt:
$NA
Industrial production:
growth rate -18% (1991 est.)
Electricity:
1,600,000 kw capacity; 6,300 million kWh produced, 3,103 kWh per capita
(1991)
Industries:
low levels of technology predominate, such as, oil refining by distillation
only; produces basic fuels; mining and manufacturing processes result in the
extraction and production of coal as well as metallic chromium, lead, zinc,
and ferronickel; light industry produces basic textiles, wood products, and
tobacco
Agriculture:
provides 12% of Macedonia's GDP and meets the basic need for food; principal
crops are rice, tobacco, wheat, corn, and millet; also grown are cotton,
sesame, mulberry leaves, citrus fruit, and vegetables; Macedonia is one of
the seven legal cultivators of the opium poppy for the world pharmaceutical
industry, including some exports to the US; agricultural production is
highly labor intensive