*Macedonia, Government
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Kiro GLIGOROV (since 27 January 1991)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Branko CRVENKOVSKI (since NA September 1992), Deputy Prime
Ministers Jovan ANDONOV (since NA March 1991), Stevo CRVENKOVSKI (since NA
September 1992), and Becir ZUTA (since NA March 1991)
Member of:
EBRD, ICAO, IMF, UN, UNCTAD, WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
none; US does not recognize Macedonia
US diplomatic representation:
none; US does not recognize Macedonia
Flag:
16-point gold sun (Vergino, Sun) centered on a red field
*Macedonia, Economy
Overview:
Macedonia, although the poorest among the six republics of a dissolved
Yugoslav federation, can meet basic food and energy needs through its own
agricultural and coal resources. It will, however, move down toward a bare
subsistence level of life unless economic ties are reforged or enlarged with
its neighbors Serbia and Montenegro, 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 programs. 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. In August 1992, Greece, angry at the use of "Macedonia" as
the republic's name, imposed a partial blockade for several months. This
blockade, combined with the effects of the UN sanctions on Serbia and
Montenegro, cost the economy approximately $1 billion in 1992 according to
official figures. Macedonia's geographical isolation, technological
backwardness, and potential political instability place it far down the list
of countries of interest to Western investors. Resolution of the dispute
with Greece and an internal commitment to economic reform would help to
encourage foreign investment over the long run. In the immediate future, the
worst scenario for the economy would be the spread of fighting across its
borders.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $7.1 billion (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate:
-18% (1991 est.)
National product per capita:
$3,110 (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
114.9% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
20% (1991 est.)
Budget: revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
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 Montenegro 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:
$845.8 million
Industrial production:
growth rate -18% (1991 est.)
Electricity:
1,600,000 kw capacity; 6,300 million kWh produced, 2,900 kWh per capita
(1992)
*Macedonia, Economy
Industries:
low levels of technology predominate, such as, oil refining by distillation
only; produces basic liquid fuels, coal, metallic chromium, lead, zinc, and
ferronickel; light industry produces basic textiles, wood products, and
tobacco
Agriculture:
provides 12% of 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
Illicit drugs:
NA
Economic aid:
$10 million from the US for humanitarian and technical assistance; EC
promised a 100 ECU million economic aid package
Currency:
1 denar (abbreviation NA) = 100 NA
Exchange rates:
denar per US$1 - 240 (January 1991)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
*Macedonia, Communications
Railroads:
NA
Highways:
10,591 km total (1991); 5,091 km paved, 1,404 km gravel, 4,096 km earth
Inland waterways:
NA km
Pipelines:
none
Ports:
none; landlocked
Airports:
total:
17
useable:
17
with permanent-surface runways:
9
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
2
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
2
Telecommunications:
125,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 6 AM, 2 FM, 5 (2 relays) TV;
370,000 radios, 325,000 TV; satellite communications ground stations - none
*Macedonia, Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force, Police Force
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 597,024; fit for military service 484,701; reach military
age (19) annually 18,979 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
7 billion denars, NA% of GNP (1993 est.); note - conversion of the military
budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce
misleading results