North Macedonia

A landlocked Southeast European country with ancient roots and a modern name.

North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the north. It constitutes approximately the northern third of the larger geographical region of Macedonia. Skopje, the capital and largest city, is home to a quarter of the country's population of over 1.83 million. The majority of the residents are ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people. Albanians form a significant minority at around 25%, followed by Turks, Roma, Serbs, Bosniaks, Aromanians and a few other minorities.

Quick Facts

Official name: Republic of North Macedonia
Capital: Skopje
Religion year: 2021
Largest city: capital
Regional languages: Aromanian, Bosnian, Romani, Serbian, Turkish
Demonym: Macedonian
Legislature: Assembly
Area rank: 145th

Lore & Background

In classical antiquity most of present-day North Macedonia corresponded to the ancient regions of Paeonia and Pelagonia. In the late-6th century BC, parts of the area were subjugated by the Persian Empire, and then incorporated into the kingdom of Macedonia by the mid-4th century BC. Rome conquered the region by the mid-2nd century BC and made it part of its larger province of Macedonia. The area remained part of the Byzantine Empire, but was often raided and settled by Slavic tribes beginning in the 6th century CE. Following centuries of contention between the Byzantine and Bulgarian empires, it became part of the Serbian Empire in the mid-14th century, and then it was part of the Ottoman Empire from the late-14th century until the Balkan Wars (1912-1913), when it came under Serbian rule. During the First World War, the territory was under Bulgarian military occupation. After the end of the war, it returned to Serbian rule as part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. During the Second World War, it was again ruled by Bulgaria; and in 1945 it was established as a constituent state of communist Yugoslavia, which it remained until its peaceful secession in 1991. The country became a member of the United Nations (UN) in 1993.

Reader's Guide

North Macedonia is a member of NATO, the Council of Europe, the World Bank, OSCE, CEFTA, BSEC and the WTO. Since 2005, it has also been a candidate for joining the European Union. North Macedonia is an upper-middle-income country by the World Bank's definitions and has undergone considerable economic reform since its independence in developing an open economy. It is a developing country, ranking 68th on the Human Development Index, with low income inequality. The country provides social security, a universal health care system as well as free primary and secondary education to its citizens.

Did You Know?

The state's name derives from the Greek word 'Makedonia', ultimately from the ancient Greek adjective 'makednos', meaning 'tall' or 'taper'.
The name 'Macedonia' was adopted officially for the first time at the end of the Second World War by the new Socialist Republic of Macedonia.
The Prespa agreement of June 2018 saw the country change its name to the 'Republic of North Macedonia' eight months later.
Many of the country's citizens and local media outlets unofficially refer to the country as 'Macedonia'.