Military service age and obligation: conscription to be phased out by 2007; current tour of conscript duty is 6 months; 18 years of age for voluntary military service (January 2005)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 498,259 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 411,156 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males: 16,686 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$200 million (FY01/02 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
6% (FY01/02 est.)
Transnational Issues Macedonia
Disputes - international:
ethnic Albanians in Kosovo object to demarcation of the boundary
with Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and
Montenegro delimitation agreement; Greece continues to reject the
use of the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
IDPs: 2,678 (ethnic conflict in 2001; most IDPs have returned)
(2004)
Illicit drugs:
major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish;
minor transit point for South American cocaine destined for Europe;
although most criminal activity is thought to be domestic and not a
financial center, money laundering is a problem due to a mostly
cash-based economy and weak enforcement (no arrests or prosecutions
for money laundering to date)