Natural resources: chromium, lead, zinc, manganese, tungsten, nickel, low-grade iron ore, asbestos, sulfur, timber

Land use: arable land: 24% permanent crops: 2% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 39% other: 10% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 830 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: high seismic risks

Environment-current issues: air pollution from metallurgical plants

Environment-international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection 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

@Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of:People

Population: 2,009,387 (July 1998 est.) note: the Macedonian government census of July 1994 put the population at 1.94 million, but ethnic allocations were likely undercounted

Age structure: 0-14 years: 24% (male 244,636; female 230,103) 15-64 years: 67% (male 675,783; female 669,878) 65 years and over: 9% (male 85,030; female 103,957) (July 1998 est.)