North Macedonia

The Republic of North Macedonia occupies a landlocked expanse in the southern reaches of the Balkan Peninsula, encompassing approximately 25 436 square kilometres. Straddling latitudes 40° to 43° N and longitudes 20° to 23° E, it constitutes the northern third of the broader geographical region historically known as Macedonia. The country is bounded to the north by Serbia, to the northwest by Kosovo, to the west by Albania, to the south by Greece and to the east by Bulgaria, with a total land boundary of some 748 kilometres. Skopje, the nation’s capital and largest urban centre, sustains roughly one quarter of its population, which exceeds 1.83 million inhabitants. The demographic majority comprises ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people, while Albanians constitute around one quarter of the populace; smaller communities include Turks, Roma, Serbs, Bosniaks, Aromanians and other groups.

The record of human settlement in the territory now known as North Macedonia extends back to the ancient kingdom of Paeonia. In the late sixth century BC, the region fell under the dominion of the Achaemenid Persians, only to be incorporated into the burgeoning Kingdom of Macedonia in the fourth century BC. The Roman Republic annexed the area in the second century BC, integrating it into the province of Macedonia. Following the division of the Roman realm, the territory remained under Byzantine authority, despite repeated incursions and settlements by Slavic tribes from the sixth century AD onward. Over the ensuing centuries, control oscillated among competing Bulgarian, Byzantine and Serbian polities until the Ottoman Empire subsumed the region in the mid-fourteenth century. Ottoman rule endured until the early twentieth century, when the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 placed the modern boundaries of North Macedonia under Serbian sovereignty.

The upheavals of the twentieth century brought further shifts in governance. During the First World War, Bulgaria administered the territory, but the war’s end restored Serbian rule within the newly constituted Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. In the Second World War, control again passed to Bulgaria, and with the establishment of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1945, the region became one of its six constituent republics. A peaceful secession in 1991 yielded full independence, and in 1993 the country joined the United Nations under the provisional appellation “the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia” (FYR Macedonia), owing to a naming dispute with Greece. After protracted negotiations, the 2018 Prespa Agreement resolved this contention by stipulating the official title Republic of North Macedonia, which entered into force in early 2019.

Since independence, North Macedonia has pursued integration into Euro-Atlantic structures. It acceded to NATO in 2020 and holds membership in the Council of Europe, the World Bank, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA), the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) and the World Trade Organization (WTO). A candidate for European Union membership since 2005, the country has enacted extensive economic reforms to transition from a socialist, centrally planned system to an open market economy. Classified by the World Bank as an upper-middle-income nation, North Macedonia exhibits a developing-country profile with a very high Human Development Index, low income inequality and publicly funded social security, universal health care and free primary and secondary education.

The topography of North Macedonia is dominated by a central valley carved by the Vardar River and enclosed by mountain ranges. Spanning between the Šar Mountains in the northwest and the Osogovo–Belasica chain in the southeast, the terrain is largely rugged. Three major lakes—Ohrid, Prespa and Dojran—straddle the country’s southern frontiers, partly shared with Albania and Greece. Lake Ohrid ranks among the oldest lakes in the world, along with its unique aquatic ecosystem. The region lies within an active seismic zone; most notably, a devastating earthquake in 1963 severely damaged Skopje and resulted in over 1 000 fatalities.

Two principal mountain systems define the country’s relief. The Šar Mountains and the West Vardar/Pelagonia range, comprising peaks such as Baba Mountain, Nidže, Kožuf and Jakupica, form part of the Dinaric system and are geologically younger and loftier than the Osogovo–Belasica (Rhodope) chain. Mount Korab, reaching 2 764 metres on the border with Albania, represents the nation’s highest summit. Hydrologically, North Macedonia’s waterways drain into three basins: the Aegean, the Adriatic and the Black Sea. The Aegean basin covers some 22 075 square kilometres—approximately 87 percent of the territory—with the Vardar River alone channeling water from 80 percent of the land area. The Adriatic basin, defined by the Black Drin River and fed by Lakes Prespa and Ohrid, encompasses 3 320 square kilometres or 13 percent of the country. The Black Sea basin is the smallest, draining only 37 square kilometres north of Mount Skopska Crna Gora via the Binačka Morava and the Morava–Danube system. In addition to the three natural lakes, the country contains around fifty man-made ponds and hosts nine spa towns and resorts renowned for their mineral waters.

Climatically, North Macedonia experiences four distinct seasons. Summers tend to be warm and dry, with temperatures occasionally rising to 40 °C, particularly in the southern localities of Demir Kapija and Gevgelija, where subtropical pressures from the Aegean and influences from the Middle East create prolonged heat spells. Winters are moderately cold and snowy, with low temperatures falling to −20 °C under the influence of northern winds. The climate subdivides into three principal zones: a mildly continental regime in the north, a temperate Mediterranean pattern in the south and a mountainous climate at higher elevations. Annual precipitation varies significantly, from 1 700 mm in the western mountains to 500 mm in the eastern lowlands; the Vardar valley similarly records about 500 mm per year. These climatic and irrigation disparities support the cultivation of diverse crops, including wheat, maize, potatoes, poppies, peanuts and rice. Thirty principal meteorological stations across the country monitor weather and climate.

Administratively, North Macedonia is partitioned into eight statistical regions devised exclusively for legal and statistical purposes: Eastern, Northeastern, Pelagonia, Polog, Skopje, Southeastern, Southwestern and Vardar. In August 2004, a reform established 84 municipalities, of which ten form the City of Skopje—a distinct self-governing unit and the national capital. The reform consolidated many of the 123 municipalities that had existed since 1996, revising boundaries and merging smaller units as necessary. Prior to the introduction of municipalities, local governance operated through 34 administrative districts or communes.

Tourism constitutes a significant segment of the country’s economy, accounting for 6.7 percent of gross domestic product in 2016 and generating approximately 38.5 billion denars (€616 million) in revenue. The armed conflict of 2001 represented the most severe setback to tourism following independence; however, visitor numbers have since rebounded, rising by 14.6 percent in 2011. In 2019, the nation welcomed 1 184 963 tourist arrivals, of which 757 593 were foreign guests, primarily from Turkey, neighbouring Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria, as well as Poland and other Western European nations. Approximately 60 percent of visitors concentrate in Skopje and the southwestern region, attracted by cultural heritage, urban amenities and natural landscapes. Lake tourism, centred on Ohrid, Prespa and Dojran, constitutes the most prominent branch, supported by over fifty smaller glacial lakes. Mountain tourism is also well developed, with sixteen peaks surpassing 2 000 metres, while rural and ecotourism, city tourism and cultural tourism flourish through gastronomy, traditional music, festivals and heritage sites.

Transport infrastructure remains crucial for North Macedonia’s economic development. As a landlocked state in the heart of the Balkans, the country serves as a transit corridor for goods moving from the port of Thessaloniki in Greece through the Balkan interior to Western, Central and Eastern Europe, as well as via Bulgaria to the east. By 2019, the road network extended approximately 10 591 kilometres, of which about 6 000 kilometres were paved. The principal arterial route follows the Vardar valley north–south axis, notably the European route E75 connecting Greece to Serbia and beyond. The railway network, operated by Makedonski Železnici, spans 922 kilometres; its key line runs from the Serbian border through Kumanovo, Skopje and Veles to Gevgelija on the Greek frontier. Since 2001, a line linking North Macedonia to Bulgaria at Beljakovci has facilitated the prospective Skopje–Sofia connection. Skopje serves as the principal rail hub, with Veles and Kumanovo as secondary junctions.

Postal services are provided by the state-owned enterprise North Macedonia Post, established in 1992 as PTT Macedonia and admitted to the Universal Postal Union in 1993; in 1997, the postal and telecommunications functions were separated, yielding Macedonian Telekom and North Macedonia Post. Waterborne transport is limited to lake traffic on Ohrid and Prespa, primarily for tourism. Aviation infrastructure includes seventeen airfields, eleven with paved runways, and two international airports: Skopje International Airport and Ohrid St. Paul the Apostle Airport.

According to the 2021 national census, the population of North Macedonia stood at 1 836 713, yielding a density of 72.2 persons per square kilometre and an average age of 40.08 years. The census recorded 598 632 households, averaging 3.06 members apiece, and a near-even gender balance of 50.4 percent female to 49.6 percent male. Ethnically, Macedonians predominate, followed by Albanians—who are concentrated in the northwest—Turks, officially numbering around 70 000 yet subject to unofficial estimates as high as 200 000, and possibly up to 260 000 Roma in some assessments. Smaller groups include Serbs, Bosniaks and Aromanians.

Cultural life in North Macedonia reflects a rich heritage in art, architecture, literature and music, with numerous ancient religious monuments protected as national treasures. Ecclesiastical architecture abounds with Byzantine frescoes dating from the eleventh to sixteenth centuries; several thousand square metres of these paintings survive in excellent condition, exemplifying the Macedonian school of iconography. Annual events include the Ohrid Summer Festival of classical music and drama, the Struga Poetry Evenings—which convene poets from over fifty countries—the International Camera Festival in Bitola, the Open Youth Theatre Festival and the Skopje Jazz Festival. The National Opera, inaugurated in 1947 as the Macedonian Opera, staged its first production of Cavalleria rusticana under conductor Branko Pomorišac; since 1972, the May Opera Evenings in Skopje present two to three weeks of nightly performances, commencing with Kiril Makedonski’s Tsar Samuil.

Culinary traditions mirror the country’s position at the crossroads of Balkan, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern influences. A warm climate yields abundant vegetables, herbs and fruits, while local dairies and vineyards produce esteemed cheeses and wines. Rakija, a fruit brandy, accompanies tavče gravče—baked beans with red peppers—which is widely regarded as the national dish. Mastika, an anise-flavoured liqueur, is the national drink. Other popular specialties include Šopska salad, ajvar (roasted red pepper spread), stuffed peppers and pastrmajlija (a type of meat pie).

Urban centres range from the sprawling metropolitan area of Skopje, home to more than half a million residents and replete with Ottoman mosques, neoclassical facades, the medieval Kale fortress and the iconic Stone Bridge across the Vardar, to smaller towns such as Bitola—with its ancient city walls, Ottoman bazaars and contemporary cafés—Kratovo, perched within an extinct volcanic crater, and Kruševo, the highest town in the country and site of an 1878 uprising. The lakeside city of Ohrid, a dual UNESCO World Heritage Site for its cultural monuments and natural environment, boasts a wealth of Byzantine churches, the Church of St. John at Kaneo clinging to a cliff over the water and one of the world’s finest collections of Slavic icons. Its sister town, Struga, offers similar charm with a quieter ambience.

Beyond urban areas, the countryside teems with attractions. Pelister National Park, the oldest in the nation, shelters endemic flora and fauna and two glacial “Mountain Eyes” lakes. Mavrovo National Park encompasses the nation’s highest peak, Golem Korab, the deep gorge of the river Debar and the Sveti Jovan Bigorski Monastery. The rarely visited Jasen reserve near Skopje provides habitat for wildlife and pristine forests. Other sites of interest include the Stone Town of Kuklica near Kratovo, the medieval towers of Markovi Kuli by Prilep and the archaeological site of Stobi, which preserves ruins from Hellenistic, Roman and Early Christian phases.

In sum, North Macedonia presents a tapestry of historical layers, diverse landscapes, climatic zones and cultural traditions. From its ancient origins through successive empires, socialist federation and peaceful independence, the country has forged a distinct identity in the heart of the Balkans. Its mountainous terrain, seismically active valleys, crystalline lakes and urban landmarks testify to a complex physical geography, while its demographic mosaic, culinary specialties and vibrant festivals reflect a plural heritage. As a transit hub and candidate for European Union membership, North Macedonia continues to balance economic reform and cultural preservation, inviting visitors and scholars alike to explore its enduring legacies and evolving future.