What are the Key Facts of North Macedonia?

Where is the North Macedonia?

North Macedonia is a Southeast European country that is located in the north of Greece.

What is the Geography of North Macedonia?

North Macedonia is spread over a total area of 25,713 sq. km (9,928 sq. mi), out of which 25,433 sq. km (9,820 sq. mi) is land area and 280 sq. km (108 sq. mi) is water area. It has a 838 km (521 mi) long border that is shared with 5 neighboring countries: Greece (234 km or 145 mi), Albania (181 km or 112 mi), Bulgaria (162 km or 101 mi), Kosovo (160 km or 99 mi), and Serbia (101 km or 63 mi). There is no coastline.

The country’s landscape mainly consists of a large elevated plateau, rolling hills, and deep valleys. It is surrounded by mountains. A part of the Dinaric Alps has also extended into Macedonia. Golem Korab (Maja e Korabit) is the highest elevation point at 2,764 m (9,068 ft). Major mountains of the country are Mount Korab, Šar Mountains, Baba Mountain, Jakupica, Nidže, etc.

Vardar River at 50 m (164 ft) is the lowest elevation point of the country. The mean elevation of the North Macedonia is 741 m (2,431 ft). There are many water sources. Around 1,100 water sources of various sizes are there. The main rivers are Vardar, Bregalnica, and Crna. The major lakes are Ohrid, Doiran, and Prespa.

Three types of climates are found in North Macedonia: Changed Mediterranean, Mountainous, and Mildly Continental.

The changed Mediterranean climate is found in the Strumica-Radovis, Dojran, and Gevgelija-Valandovo ravines. It is found along the flow of the Vardar River to the north, up to Skopje. It has mild rainy winters and long dry summers.

While spring is colder and shorter, fall is warmer and longer. July is the hottest month, where the average temperature revolves around 25 ˚C (77 ˚F). The town having the highest temperature is Demir Kapija, where the temperature can soar to 40 ˚C (104 ˚F). January is the coldest month. The temperature remains around 3 ˚C (37.4 ˚F).

The average rainfall along the Vardar River is very low, which is below 500 mm (19.7 in). Other region having changed Mediterranean climate gets an average annual rainfall of 600-750 mm (23.6-29.5 in). Snowfall hardly takes place.

The mountainous climate in North Macedonia is found in the high mountainous regions, having long/snowy winters and short/cold summers. The spring season is colder than the fall. While January-February is the coldest, July-August is the warmest.

The regions having mountainous climate get the highest yearly rainfall/snowfall, which is around 1,000 mm (39.4 in) per year. Snow in the mountain caps in this climatic condition remains during November-April. The higher mountains remain snow-capped till May.

The third type of climatic condition found is the mildly continental climate. While the winters are cold and humid, the summers are warm and dry. The spring season in the areas having mildly continental climate is colder than the fall.

Geographic elevation causes the temperature to vary from one region to the other here this climatic condition prevails. While the highest average July temperature is found in Skopje, Kocani, and Ovcepole ravines, the lowest average January temperature is found in the Malesevo ravine.

While the Ovcepole ravine gets around 490 mm (19.3 in), the Prespa ravine gets around 760 mm (29.9 in) of rainfall annually. These regions also get rain, snow, and hail-fall.

What is the Economy of North Macedonia?

North Macedonia is an upper-middle-income country that has a sufficiently liberalized economy. The nominal GDP of North Macedonia grew at a rate of 2.7% to US$12,669 million in 2018. In absolute value, it increased by US$1,362 million in 2018 over 2017.

The export is mainly dependent upon Reaction and Catalytic Products, Insulated Wire, Centrifuges, Buses, Vehicle Parts, etc. The main import items are Refined Petroleum, Platinum, Cars, Laboratory Ceramic Ware, Hot-Rolled Iron, etc. North Macedonia had a negative trade balance in 2017 of US$1.48 billion. While the import value was US$ 7.74 billion, the export value was US$6.26 billion in 2017.

The country has a high unemployment rate, which was 21.55% in 2018. There are over 450,000 Macedonia citizens (21.5% of the population) who live under the national poverty line. 9.1% of the total Macedonian population lives in extreme poverty, lower than US$2 per day.

What is the Transportation System of North Macedonia?

North Macedonia has 14,182 km (8,812 mi) of roadways, out of which 9,633 km (5,986 mi) is paved and 4,549 km (2,827 mi) is unpaved. There is only 290 km (180 mi) of expressways in the country. 925 km (575 mi) long standard gauge railway is also present in the country, out of which 313 km (194 mi) has an electricity-driven railway facility. 10 airports are there in the Republic of Macedonia. While 8 have paved runways, 2 have unpaid runways.

What International Organizations is North Macedonia part of?

WTO, UN, IMF, UNESCO, BIS, CD, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SELEC, UNCTAD, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, EU (candidate country), ICC (NGOs), ITUC (NGOs), OAS (observer)

Related Links:

• The Prespa Agreement
• The Macedonian-Greece Dispute

• Where is Yugoslavia Located?