1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 25,333 km2 land area: 24,856 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than Vermont
Climate
hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
Environment
Macedonia suffers from high seismic hazard; air pollution from metallurgical plants
International disputes
Greece claims republic's name implies territorial claims against Aegean Macedonia
Irrigated land
NA km2
Land boundaries
total 748 km, Albania 151 km, Bulgaria 148 km, Greece 228 km, Serbia and Montenegro 221 km (all with Serbia)
Land use
arable land: 5% permanent crops: 5% meadows and pastures: 20% forest and woodland: 30% other: 40%
Location
Southern Europe, between Serbia and Montenegro and Greece
Map references
Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
none; landlocked
Natural resources
chromium, lead, zinc, manganese, tungsten, nickel, low-grade iron ore, asbestos, sulphur, timber
Note
landlocked; major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe
Terrain
mountainous territory covered with deep basins and valleys; there are three large lakes, each divided by a frontier line
People and Society
Birth rate
15.91 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
6.79 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Macedonian 67%, Albanian 21%, Turkish 4%, Serb 2%, other 6%
Infant mortality rate
29.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Labor force
507,324 by occupation: agriculture 8%, manufacturing and mining 40% (1990)
Languages
Macedonian 70%, Albanian 21%, Turkish 3%, Serbo-Croatian 3%, other 3%
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 73.19 years male: 71.15 years female: 75.41 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA%
Nationality
noun: Macedonian(s) adjective: Macedonian
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population
2,193,951 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
0.91% (1993 est.)
Religions
Eastern Orthodox 59%, Muslim 26%, Catholic 4%, Protestant 1%, other 10%
Total fertility rate
2 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
34 districts (opcine, singular - opcina) Berovo, Bitola, Brod, Debar, Delcevo, Demir Hisar, Gevgelija, Gostivar, Kavadarci, Kicevo, Kocani, Kratovo, Kriva Palanka, Krusevo, Kumanovo, Negotino, Ohrid, Prilep, Probistip, Radovis, Resen, Skopje-Centar, Skopje-Cair, Skopje-Karpos, Skopje-Kisela Voda, Skopje-Gazi Baba, Stip, Struga, Strumica, Sveti Nikole, Tetovo, Titov Veles, Valandovo, Vinica
Assembly
last held 11 and 25 November and 9 December 1990 (next to be held NA); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (120 total) VMRO-DPMNE 37, SDSM 31, PDPM 25, SRSM 17, SJM 1, SPM 5, others 4
Capital
Skopje
Chief of State
President Kiro GLIGOROV (since 27 January 1991)
Constitution
adopted 17 November 1991, effective 20 November 1991
Digraph
MK
Diplomatic representation in US
none; US does not recognize Macedonia
Executive branch
president, Council of Ministers, prime minister
Flag
16-point gold sun (Vergino, Sun) centered on a red field
Head of Government
Prime Minister Branko CRVENKOVSKI (since NA September 1992), Deputy Prime Ministers Jovan ANDONOV (since NA March 1991), Stevo CRVENKOVSKI (since NA September 1992), and Becir ZUTA (since NA March 1991)
Independence
20 November 1991 (from Yugoslavia)
Judicial branch
Constitutional Court, Judicial Court of the Republic
Legal system
based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Legislative branch
unicameral Assembly (Sobranje)
Macedonia local long form
Republika Makedonija local short form: Makedonija
Member of
EBRD, ICAO, IMF, UN, UNCTAD, WMO
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Macedonia conventional short form:
National holiday
NA
Other political or pressure groups
Movement for All Macedonian Action (MAAK); League for Democracy; Albanian Democratic Union-Liberal Party
Political parties and leaders
Social-Democratic League of Macedonia (SDSM; former Communist Party), Branko CRVENKOVSKI, president; Party for Democratic Prosperity in Macedonia (PDPM), Nevzat HALILI, president; National Democratic Party (PDP), Ilijas HALINI, president; Alliance of Reform Forces of Macedonia (SRSM), Stojan ANDOV, president; Socialist Party of Macedonia (SPM), Kiro POPOVSKI, president; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE), Ljupco GEORGIEVSKI, president; Party of Yugoslavs in Macedonia (SJM), Milan DURCINOV, president
President
last held 27 January 1991 (next to be held NA); results - Kiro GLIGOROV was elected by the Assembly
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Type
emerging democracy
US diplomatic representation
none; US does not recognize Macedonia
Economy
Agriculture
provides 12% of GDP and meets the basic need for food; principal crops are rice, tobacco, wheat, corn, and millet; also grown are cotton, sesame, mulberry leaves, citrus fruit, and vegetables; Macedonia is one of the seven legal cultivators of the opium poppy for the world pharmaceutical industry, including some exports to the US; agricultural production is highly labor intensive
Budget
revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Currency
1 denar (abbreviation NA) = 100 NA
Economic aid
$10 million from the US for humanitarian and technical assistance; EC promised a 100 ECU million economic aid package
Electricity
1,600,000 kw capacity; 6,300 million kWh produced, 2,900 kWh per capita (1992)
Exchange rates
denar per US$1 - 240 (January 1991)
Exports
$578 million (1990) commodities: manufactured goods 40%, machinery and transport equipment 14%, miscellaneous manufactured articles 23%, raw materials 7.6%, food (rice) and live animals 5.7%, beverages and tobacco 4.5%, chemicals 4.7% partners: principally Serbia and Montenegro and the other former Yugoslav republics, Germany, Greece, Albania
External debt
$845.8 million
Fiscal year
calendar year
Illicit drugs
NA
Imports
$1,112 million (1990) commodities: fuels and lubricants 19%, manufactured goods 18%, machinery and transport equipment 15%, food and live animals 14%, chemicals 11.4%, raw materials 10%, miscellaneous manufactured articles 8.0%, beverages and tobacco 3.5% partners: other former Yugoslav republics, Greece, Albania, Germany, Bulgaria
Industrial production
growth rate -18% (1991 est.)
Industries
low levels of technology predominate, such as, oil refining by distillation only; produces basic liquid fuels, coal, metallic chromium, lead, zinc, and ferronickel; light industry produces basic textiles, wood products, and tobacco
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
114.9% (1991 est.)
National product
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $7.1 billion (1991 est.)
National product per capita
$3,110 (1991 est.)
National product real growth rate
-18% (1991 est.)
Overview
Macedonia, although the poorest among the six republics of a dissolved Yugoslav federation, can meet basic food and energy needs through its own agricultural and coal resources. It will, however, move down toward a bare subsistence level of life unless economic ties are reforged or enlarged with its neighbors Serbia and Montenegro, Albania, Greece, and Bulgaria. The economy depends on outside sources for all of its oil and gas and its modern machinery and parts. Continued political turmoil, both internally and in the region as a whole, prevents any swift readjustments of trade patterns and economic programs. Inflation in early 1992 was out of control, the result of fracturing trade links, the decline in economic activity, and general uncertainties about the future status of the country; prices rose 38% in March 1992 alone. In August 1992, Greece, angry at the use of "Macedonia" as the republic's name, imposed a partial blockade for several months. This blockade, combined with the effects of the UN sanctions on Serbia and Montenegro, cost the economy approximately $1 billion in 1992 according to official figures. Macedonia's geographical isolation, technological backwardness, and potential political instability place it far down the list of countries of interest to Western investors. Resolution of the dispute with Greece and an internal commitment to economic reform would help to encourage foreign investment over the long run. In the immediate future, the worst scenario for the economy would be the spread of fighting across its borders.
Unemployment rate
20% (1991 est.)
Communications
Airports
total: 17 useable: 17 with permanent-surface runways: 9 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 2 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 2
Highways
10,591 km total (1991); 5,091 km paved, 1,404 km gravel, 4,096 km earth
Inland waterways
NA km
Pipelines
none
Ports
none; landlocked
Railroads
NA
Telecommunications
125,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 6 AM, 2 FM, 5 (2 relays) TV; 370,000 radios, 325,000 TV; satellite communications ground stations - none
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force, Police Force
Defense expenditures
7 billion denars, NA% of GNP (1993 est.); note - conversion of the military budget into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 597,024; fit for military service 484,701; reach military age (19) annually 18,979 (1993 est.)