Military service age and obligation:
conscription to be phased out by 2007; current tour of conscript
duty is six months; 18 years of age for voluntary military service
(2005)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 18-49: 498,259
females age 18-49: 481,317 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 18-49: 411,156
females age 18-49: 397,839 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually:
males age 18-49: 16,686
females age 18-49: 15,664 (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) (2005)
Illicit drugs:
major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish;
minor transit point for South American cocaine destined for Europe;
although not a financial center and most criminal activity is
thought to be domestic, money laundering is a problem due to a
mostly cash-based economy and weak enforcement (no arrests or
prosecutions for money laundering to date)