North Macedonia

Република Северна Македонија Republika Severna Makedonija Republika e Maqedonisë së Veriut
Republic of North Macedonia
flag coat of arms
Official language	Macedonian (first official language) and Albanian 1
Capital	Skopje
Form of government	Parliamentary Republic
Government system	parliamentary democracy
Head of state	President Stevo Pendarovski
Head of government	Prime Minister Oliver Spasovski
surface	25,713 km²
population	2,065,769 (December 31, 2013)
Population density	80.34 inhabitants per km²
Population development	▲ + 0.15% per year
gross domestic product Total (nominal) Total ( PPP ) GDP / inh. (nominal) GDP / inh. ( KKP )	2016: $ 10.91 billion ( 133. ) $ 30.26 billion ( 126. ) 5,263 USD ( 93. ) 14,597 USD ( 86. )
Human Development Index	▲ 0.748 ( 82nd ) (2016)
currency	Denarius (MKD)
independence	September 8, 1991 (from Yugoslavia )
National anthem	Denes nad Makedonija Sot për Maqedoninë
National holiday	August 2nd ( Ilinden Uprising of 1903) and September 8th (Independence Day)
Time zone	UTC + 1 CET UTC + 2 CEST (March to October)
License Plate	NMK
ISO 3166	MK , MKD, 807
Internet TLD	.mk
Telephone code	+389
1At the local level also Turkish , Romani , Serbian and Wallachian ( Aromanian )

Skopje Bitola Kumanovo Prilep Tetovo Veles Štip Ohrid Gostivar Strumica Korab GREECE ALBANIA KOSOVO SERBIA BULGARIA Lake Ohrid Prespa lake Dojran Lake Mavrovo Lake

Northern Macedonia ( macedonian Северна Македонија Severna Makedonija , albanian  Maqedonia e Veriut ; officially Republic Northern Macedonia , macedonian Република Северна Македонија Republika Severna Makedonija , albanian  Republika e Maqedonisë Së Veriut ; 2019: Republic of Macedonia ) is an internal state in Southeast Europe . It covers the northern part of the historical region of Macedonia .

North Macedonia has been a member of NATO since March 27, 2020 and has been a candidate for accession to the European Union (EU) since 2005 . North Macedonia has one of the weakest economies in Europe and is in a process of transformation , both economically and politically . The country is struggling with high unemployment rates and weak infrastructure, as well as a lack of investment.

In addition to Slavic Macedonians , who make up around 64% of the total population, there is a large minority of Albanians (25%). Smaller minorities of Turks (3.85%), Roma (2.66%), Serbs (1.78%), Bosniaks (0.84%) and Aromanians / Megleno-Romanians (0.48%) as well as other ethnic groups (1st , 04%) are available. As a result of this situation there have always been and still are ethnically motivated conflicts, especially between Macedonians and Albanians. After the civil war-like situation in 2001 and the subsequent peace treaty, the overall situation in the country has improved significantly. However, social equality for all ethnic groups has still not been achieved.

Name and international memberships

The state was founded in 1944 in the resistance as the Socialist Republic of Macedonia , was officially the southernmost republic of socialist Yugoslavia from 1946 and declared its independence as the Republic of Macedonia in 1991 . Due to the name dispute with its southern neighbor Greece , the state was often referred to internationally as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia ( FYROM; English former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, abbreviated FYROM ) in order to avoid an official name. When NATO and in some other contexts, the three-letter abbreviation was FYR Macedonia used.

The agreement with the Greek government on June 12, 2018 initiated the change of the state name to Република Северна Македонија / Republika Severna Makedonija (German Republic of North Macedonia ). In return, Greece agreed not to block North Macedonia's accession negotiations with the EU and NATO any more. In a referendum on September 30, 2018, which only had an advisory function, 91% of the votes cast were in favor of NATO membership and the associated name change to "North Macedonia". The quorum of 50% was not achieved with a participation of 36%, so that the referendum remained invalid. However, since the parliaments in Skopje and Athens ratified the agreement, the renaming took effect in North Macedonia. To this end, the constitution was changed in January 2019. In the vote in the Macedonian parliament on January 11, 2019, a close two-thirds majority of 81 of the 120 votes in favor of the change. In the vote in the Greek Parliament, an absolute majority of 153 of the 300 MPs voted for the agreement with the neighboring state. The new state name came into effect on February 12, 2019.

The country has been a member of the United Nations since April 8, 1993 (until the name change registered on February 14, 2019 under the name of "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"), the CEFTA and a participating state of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe , the Council of Europe and of the Cooperation Council for Southeast Europe . North Macedonia is also a member of the World Trade Organization , the International Monetary Fund , the World Bank and NATO .

geography

The Ohrid Lake Northern Macedonia shares with Albania . It is the largest lake in the country, one of the largest on the Balkan Peninsula and one of the oldest on earth .

North Macedonia is a landlocked country and is centrally located on the Balkan Peninsula . It borders Serbia in the north, Bulgaria in the east, Greece in the south, Albania in the west and Kosovo in the northwest . The longest extension from north to south is 188 km, from west to east 216 km. The national border with Serbia is 62 km long, that with Bulgaria 148 km, that with Greece 246 km, that with Albania 151 km and that with Kosovo 159 km. Thus the state border is a total of 766 km long.

Only along the larger rivers and in the basin landscapes is the country relatively flat. These plateaus and lowlands make up 19.1 percent of the country's area (4,900 square kilometers). Water bodies take up 2.11 percent (551 square kilometers) of the state's surface; the rest of the country (20,262 square kilometers) consists of mountains and hills. The highest mountains are in the west of the country on the border with Albania and Kosovo. The highest peak is the Golem Korab (alb. Maja e Korabit ) with 2764  m. i. J. , which is also Albania's highest mountain. Around 3.8 percent of the state's area is protected by national parks. They are located in the west and southwest of the country.

The Republic of North Macedonia occupies part of the geographical region of Macedonia . She shares them mainly with Greece.

See also : List of Border Places in North Macedonia  and List of Protected Areas in North Macedonia

terrain

The Carev Vrv is one of the highest mountains in the Osogovo Mountains . It is located southeast of the town of Kriva Palanka near the border with Bulgaria .

The western mountains of North Macedonia are foothills of the Dinaric Mountains , the most important mountains of the Western Balkans . The highest peaks are the 2764 m high Golem Korab on the border with Albania and the 2747 m high Titov Vrv in the Šar Planina massif (Alb. Malet e Sharrit ). Other mountains are the Jablanica Mountains in the south-west of the country , which partly form the border with Albania, the Osogovo Mountains with Bulgaria, the Galičica massif between Lake Ohrid and Lake Prespa and the Massif of Pelister between Lake Prespa and Bitola .

The largest plateaus and lowlands form the Ovče Pole northwest of Štip , the Pelagonia plain between Prilep and Bitola, the Skopje and Kumanovo plains and the Polog plain between Tetovo and Gostivar . In addition, the wide river valleys form further areas that can be used for agriculture.

Waters

The Korab waterfall is the highest waterfall in Southeast Europe with a height of 139 m.

The river Vardar rises in the Šar Planina and flows through the entire country first to the east and then to Skopje in the southeast, before it finally flows as Axiós ( Greek Αξιός ) through the Greek region of Macedonia into the Thermaic Gulf . It forms the main orientation axis of the country and has four major tributaries. The Black Drin rises from Lake Ohrid and flows through the south-western region of the country until it flows on to Albania near the city of Debar and flows into the Adriatic Sea .

In the southwest on the border with Albania, North Macedonia has about two thirds each of the Ohrid and Prespa lakes . These lakes (700 meters and 900  m in the year ) are around 400 square kilometers in size and were created by tectonics in a geological weak zone in the earth's crust . Lake Ohrid has a maximum depth of 287 meters; it is rich in endemic species. Both lakes, the city of Ohrid and the Galičica National Park are UNESCO World Heritage Sites .

North Macedonia is located in the Blue Heart of Europe .

climate

The climate of North Macedonia is relatively harsh in the mountainous interior. In general, it is in the transition area between the Mediterranean and the continental climate . In winter it is usually very rainy and cold, while in summer it is very little rainy and warm. The seasons autumn and spring are weak; H. the summers and winters are relatively long.

flora

The flora and fauna of North Macedonia are characterized by many regions untouched by human hands and a rich flora and fauna . The flora in the country is represented by around 210 families , 920 genera and 3700 plant species . Of these, 3200 species belong to the flowers , 350 species to the deciduous mosses and 42 species to the ferns . A third of the country is covered by mixed forests dominated by beech , oak and chestnut . In the plains, the vegetation consists mainly of maquis and pasture areas, which are used by agriculture and animal husbandry. Cypress , walnut and fig trees grow around the larger lakes . From 1300  m. i. J. Mountain pines and firs thrive . And from 2000  m. i. J. mainly juniper bushes and plant species that have adapted to the harsh mountain climate occur.

According to WWF and the digital map of the European ecological regions of the European Environment Agency , the country's territory can be divided into four ecoregions : mixed forests of the Pindus , mixed forests of the Balkan Peninsula , mixed forests of the Rhodope Mountains and mixed forests with hard-leaved vegetation of the Aegean Sea .

The Pelister National Park near Bitola is known for the occurrence of the endemic Rumelian pine and 88 plant species, which make up 30 percent of the tree flora in North Macedonia. The pine forests of the Pelister are divided into two groups: pine forests with ferns and pine forests with junipers .

The most common deciduous trees include the Macedonian oak , sycamore maple , weeping willow , pollard willow , alder , poplar , elm and common ash . Another plant species that characterizes North Macedonia - especially in the Šar Planina and the Bistra - is the poppy . Reeds grow on pristine lake shores .

fauna

There are only about 40 specimens left of the Balkan lynx ( Lynx lynx balcanicus ); pictured is a Eurasian lynx .

North Macedonia is rich in wildlife. The species range from bears , wild boars , badgers , wolves, and red foxes to squirrels , martens , chamois, and red deer . Red deer can be found in the region of Demir Kapija , while the rare Balkan lynx ( Lynx lynx martinoi ) live almost exclusively in the mountains in the west and north. There are  only about 40 specimens left of the endangered subspecies in North Macedonia - especially in the Mavrovo National Park - and in neighboring Albania. The mountain area around Mavrovo is also home to a large population of chamois, which attract many hunters.

Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest lakes in the world and is known for its Ohrid trout , whitefish , gudgeon , roach and snakes . Similar species can only be found in Lake Baikal . The European eel, which is also represented in the lake, swims thousands of kilometers from the Sargasso Sea to the Ohrid Sea, to stay there for ten years and then return to its place of birth in the Atlantic after reaching sexual maturity.

The Šarplaninac (Alb. Deltari Ilir ) is the most famous sheepdog in the country.

Large parts of North Macedonia are in the European Green Belt .

population

According to the last census in 2002, North Macedonia had exactly 2,022,547 inhabitants. A new census was carried out in 2011, but it failed to collect the results for technical and political reasons.

A total of 564,296 private households and 698,143 dwellings were also counted. This corresponds to around 3.6 people per household.

age structure

North Macedonia has a fairly balanced age structure in its society. The beehive shape is very pronounced, which means that every age group up to the age of 59 has roughly the same proportion of the total population, although the younger people between 0 and 29 years predominate a little.

The following table illustrates the age distribution in the population according to the 2002 census.

Age	0-9	10-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50-59	60-69	70-79	80+	Unknown
Absolute proportion of the population	265.941	325,761	315.406	298.118	289,590	222.994	174,265	102.353	026,916	001203
Relative share in the population	13.15%	16.11%	15.60%	14.74%	14.32%	11.03%	08.62%	05.06%	01.33%	00.04%

Population density

The population density is around 78 inhabitants per square kilometer and is therefore on the same level as Greece and Croatia (see list of countries in the world ). The densest human-inhabited regions are the upper reaches of the Vardar River , i.e. the regions between Gostivar , Tetovo , Skopje , Kumanovo and Veles . Other areas that are relatively heavily populated include the plains around Struga , Ohrid , Prilep , Bitola , Štip and Strumica .

ethnicities

The 80 Opštini (municipalities) of North Macedonia with the ethnic group that makes up the majority of the population. According to the 2002 census:

Macedonians (65 Opštini)

Albanians (13 Opštini)

Turks (2 Opštini)

The population of North Macedonia is not homogeneous. Over nine ethnic groups live in the country. For this reason there have been conflicts between the individual ethnic groups in the past, but also today . In 2001 the country narrowly escaped civil war. The ethnic groups live largely separate from one another and have hardly any contact with one another. For example, according to official statistics, in 2011 there were 7,313 marriages between ethnic Macedonians and 4,940 between ethnic Albanians, but only 127 in which one partner belonged to the other ethnic group.

Macedonians

In the last census in 2002, 64.18 percent described themselves as ethnic Macedonians . In absolute numbers that was 1,297,981 people. Thus they form the majority in the country's ethnic structure. The Macedonians live mainly in the east, in the center and in the south of the country. In the west and north they are partly the minority. The majority of them belong to Orthodox Christianity, but a large minority consider themselves to be Islam. These Muslim Macedonians are also called Torbeschen .

Albanians

→ Main article : Albanians in North Macedonia

The largest minority is the Albanian ethnic group , which lives mainly in the western half of the country and also in the north. In 2002 it represented 25.17 percent of the total population (absolute number: 509,083 people). As a result of the large emigration of this ethnic group, it is estimated that between 200,000 and 300,000 Albanians live abroad. The Albanians in North Macedonia are almost without exception against , only in the southwest of the country, in the region around the city of Bitola, there are a few villages with a Tuscan population.

Turks

→ Main article : Balkan Turks

In addition to these two large ethnic groups, there are many other ethnic minorities that together make up just over 10 percent of the total population. The Turks also belong to these minorities . In 2002 they were the third largest ethnic group with 3.85 percent. In absolute numbers that was 77,959 people. The Turkish population is mainly distributed in the cities of the west and central North Macedonia. They form the majority in the two municipalities of Plasnica and Centar Župa .

Roma

The number of Roma in 2002 was given as 53,879. That is 2.66 percent of the country's population. Other sources report from 80,000 to 260,000 Roma in North Macedonia. According to the Berlin Institute for Population and Development, around 185,000 Roma live in North Macedonia. Because of the high level of poverty among them, the Roma also mostly live in cities, as they hope for a better life there. They only make up the majority of the population in the Šuto Orizari district of the capital Skopje . This district is the only one in the world where the Roma form a majority. The district's mayor, Elvis Bajram, is ethnic Rome.

Other

The smaller minorities of North Macedonia include the Serbs (1.78% or 35,939), the Bosniaks (0.84% ​​or 17,018) and the Wallachians / Aromanians (0.48% or 9695, of which around 1000 are meglenoromanians ). There are also other minorities with 1.04 percent or 20,993 people. The Slavic Muslims of North Macedonia - regardless of their Slavic idiom - belong to different groups, mostly the Turks, but to a lesser extent also the Albanians, Macedonians and, more recently, the Bosniaks.

languages

Macedonian is the official language and at the same time the most widely spoken language.

In January 2018, Parliament passed a law that would make Albanian the second official language across the country. Albanian, with the second largest number of native speakers, is already the second official language in some municipalities; In addition, some state organs have introduced Albanian as a working language alongside Macedonian, such as parliament.

Turkish , Romani and Serbian are also spoken regionally . The Turks enjoy some minority rights and - like all ethnic groups - are allowed to set Turkish as the official language in communities in which at least 20 percent of the inhabitants belong to their ethnic group.

Many members of the Roma have adopted the language of the respective residential area.

religion

Church and mosque in the immediate vicinity, like here in Ohrid , can be found in many parts of the country

The Orthodox Christianity and Islam dominate the area now Nordmazedoniens together for centuries. With the conquest of the region by the Sunni Ottomans , their religion also spread. The reasons for the conversion of many people to the new faith during many centuries might be different: sympathy, exemption from taxes, better position in society, careers in administration and the military, etc. One of the main reasons why mainly Albanians and Macedonians converted to Islam, was the short previously violent and cruel conquest of these areas by the Serbian King Car Dushan . Mainly these were Albanians and Macedonians who changed their faith. Many Macedonian and Macedonian-Albanian Muslims emigrated to Turkey (voluntarily or expelled) when the Ottomans withdrew; the emigration lasted until 1967. Most of the time, followers of both religions lived peacefully together. With the rise of nationalism and repeated conquest by the Serbs, in the 19th century, relations increasingly deteriorated. Since independence, nationalist attacks on churches and mosques have also increased.

At the last census in 2002, 64.8 percent of the population were Orthodox Christians , the majority of whom believed in the Macedonian Orthodox Church . The Islam was represented by 33.3 percent; the vast majority of them are Sunnis. Another 1.5 percent belonged to other religious communities, such as the Roman Catholic Church .

Cities

Skopje

Today over half of the population of North Macedonia lives in cities. In 2010, according to a calculation, 59 percent of the population lived in the country's urban centers.

The ten largest cities (2016)

rank	city	Residents
1.	Skopje	505,400
2.	Kumanovo	073,360
3.	Bitola	071,890
4th	Prilep	064,830
5.	Tetovo	056,080
6th	Štip	044,510
7th	Veles	043,140
8th.	Ohrid	038,900
9.	Gostivar	037.030
10.	Strumica	036,920

See also : List of cities in North Macedonia

emigration

North Macedonia is a typical emigration country . The first major waves of emigration took place between 1912 and 1944, when Bulgarians and Turks left the region after it had been assigned to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia . After the Second World War, in the federal system of Yugoslavia, the newly founded Socialist Republic of Macedonia was the most economically backward next to Kosovo , as a result of emigration, militarization and a lack of investment in previous years. This mainly led to the fact that during the 1970s numerous guest workers (especially members of the Albanian ethnic group) emigrated to Central Europe ( Switzerland , Germany and Austria ) in order to earn their families there. After independence, families often followed their heads of family, especially in the 1990s. It is estimated that around 200,000 to 300,000 Macedonians of Albanian descent live abroad. The number of Slavic Macedonians abroad, on the other hand, is much lower.

Administrative division

Political division of North Macedonia

On August 11, 2004, a new Territorial Administration Act came into force, which now subdivides the state into eight statistical regions ( Macedonian Статички региони , Albanian  Rajone statistike ) and 84 municipalities (maz. Општини, Alb. Komuna ). The previous 123 municipalities were partially merged, but in the greater Skopje area the previous eight municipalities were increased to ten. Since 2013, the number of municipalities in North Macedonia has been 80.

history

→ Main article : History of North Macedonia

The Macedonia question

View of Monastir (Manastır) (today's Bitola ), watercolor by Edward Lear , 19th century

The first uprisings against the Ottoman Empire took place in 1465, and others followed in 1565, 1689 and 1876. On March 3, 1878, the Peace of San Stefano came into force, which ended the Russo-Ottoman War . According to the agreement, the region from what is now North Macedonia to Thessaloniki fell to Bulgaria . After the Berlin Congress in 1878, however, the area fell back to the Ottoman Empire and a series of uprisings rocked many cities. The Albanians organized themselves in the Prizren League , which was founded in the same year . The Kresna-Razlog uprising was significant among the Bulgarians . At the end of the 19th century there was increasing resistance to Ottoman rule, and at the same time the neighboring nation states Bulgaria, Serbia and Greece exerted influence. The Bulgarian Macedonia-Adrianople Revolutionary Committee ( BMARK for short , IMRO since 1919 ) followed.

Since the 20th century

The border conditions in the Balkans in 1912 before the outbreak of the Balkan Wars

Flag of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia (1944–1991)

On August 2, 1903, the Ilinden uprising broke out, which was organized by the BMARK. In 1912 and 1913 the Balkan Wars were waged, which resulted in the end of Ottoman rule. The geographical region of Macedonia was divided between Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria. In the Serbian part of Macedonia, which was renamed Vardar-Macedonia , the anti-Ottoman movement turned into an anti-Serbian one. The Ohrid Debar uprising , led by them, broke out in 1913 , and in 1934 the Yugoslav King Alexander I was murdered with their help . Albanian nationalists, for their part, called for the unification of all areas populated by Albanians ( Greater Albania ), but at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 they could not even achieve the integration of the predominantly Albanian areas into the motherland of Albania and were completely ignored in the partition plans.

During the First World War , Vardar Macedonia had been occupied by Bulgaria since the end of 1915; the Salonika Front ran along the border with Greece . Bulgaria relied on the existing structures of IMRO to fill the administration. In many places both local komitajis (partisan leaders) who had previously fought against Serbian rule and returning emigrants took on central posts in the Bulgarian civil and military administration. Between 1918 and 1941, Vardar Macedonia was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia . This led to the reactivation of the IMRO's war of terror against the Serbian state power after 1920, so that at times up to 70 percent of the Yugoslav gendarmerie were stationed in Vardar Macedonia. From 1929 to 1941, today's North Macedonia together with parts of southern Serbia formed the Vardarska banovina ( Banschaft Vardar ) administratively due to internal political disputes .

During the Second World War , the Bulgarian occupation took place again from 1941 to 1944. 1943 recognized the communist partisans of Yugoslavia (excluding representatives from Macedonia) the existence of a separate Macedonian nation and planned the establishment of a "Republic of Macedonia" in a future federal Yugoslavia. On August 2, 1944, the first meeting of the Macedonian Communists ( ASNOM ) took place in the Serbian monastery of St. Prochor Pčinjski . On the same day, the Yugoslav socialist republic of Macedonia was founded .

The full legal, economic and social equality of the sexes and thus the active and passive right to vote for women were guaranteed for the first time in the constitution of 1946.

In 1963, an earthquake struck the city of Skopje.

Phase of democratization from 1991

In 1991 the state became independent as a result of the break-up of Yugoslavia . Bulgaria was the first country to recognize the Republic of Macedonia (officially Republic of Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia ; Macedonian Република Македонија Republika Makedonija , Albanian  Republika e Maqedonisë ) under its constitutional name. Due to the name and symbol dispute with its southern neighbor Greece , the state was often referred to internationally as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia ( FYROM ; English former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia , abbreviated FYROM ) in order to avoid an official name. In April 1993 the state was admitted to the United Nations . At the same time, it was implicitly recognized by most of the EC states . In 1999 the country took in thousands of Albanian refugees from Kosovo and cared for them ( Kosovo War ).

From the beginning of 2001, conditions similar to civil war occurred, especially in the north-west of the country , when Albanian guerrilla fighters occupied some villages and fought with the police and the army. Their goal was to obtain stronger minority rights . In August 2001, the Ohrid Framework Agreement was concluded, which included disarming the paramilitary groups and providing more rights for the Albanian ethnic group in North Macedonia.

In 2004 the Stabilization and Association Agreement (SAA) with the European Union came into force. In December 2005 the country was given the status of an official candidate for EU membership . The chronology of relations between North Macedonia and the EU begins in 1996 with the appointment of the first representative of North Macedonia in Brussels .

From 2006: Conservatives in government

Parliamentary elections were held on July 5, 2006. The winner was the Coalition For a Better Macedonia , which was led by the Christian Democratic VMRO-DPMNE , with around 32 percent of the votes cast . The previously ruling Social Democrats and their allies only achieved 23 percent. The alliance of the two large Albanian parties reached 12 percent. The new Prime Minister was Nikola Gruevski, chairman of VMRO-DPMNE . On March 14, 2008, the Albanian Democratic Party ( Albanian  Partia Demokratieike shqiptare , PDSH for short ) , which had been co-governing until then, left the existing coalition. She justified this on the one hand with the refusal of the strongest party VMRO-DPMNE to recognize the state of Kosovo , which was proclaimed independent in February 2008 , and on the other hand with the sluggish adoption of laws to strengthen the rights of the Albanian minority. For the time being, however, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski remained in office and now led a minority government . This situation finally led to the dissolution of parliament on April 12, 2008. As a result, early elections were scheduled for June 1, 2008 . The new elections were overshadowed by outbreaks of violence that killed at least one person. In the early parliamentary elections in June 2011 , the government was confirmed for a third legislative period.

On April 3, 2008, North Macedonia attended the NATO summit in Bucharest with a delegation . The delegation hoped to be invited to join the military alliance, but this was not issued due to a veto from Greece due to the ongoing name dispute.

From 2015, North Macedonia became a focal point of the refugee crisis on the Balkan route, in the strange situation that here migrants on the Greek border are trying to leave the EU illegally and then re-enter via Hungary or Croatia. The massive migratory pressure from the Union was particularly difficult for the small country, and initially there was little support from the EU. With the escalation of the situation at the end of summer 2015, a state of emergency was declared at times, and tumult broke out. At the end of the year, a border fence based on the Hungarian model was erected, after which the number of people passing through decreased significantly. When the number of transfers was allocated after the Western Balkans Conference in February 2016 (Austrian initiative), the backlog caused riots again.

See also: Refugee crisis from 2015

State and politics

Officials in the executive branch
President : Stevo Pendarovski Prime Minister: Zoran Zaev ( SDSM ) Deputy Prime Minister: Dragan Tevdovski Musa Xhaferi Vladimir Peševski Fatmir Besimi Finance Minister: Dragan Tevdovski Foreign Minister: Nikola Dimitrov (independent) Defense Minister: Radmila Šekerinska (SDSM) Interior Minister: Oliver Spasovski (SDSM) Minister of Justice: Blerim Bexheti (BDI) Minister of Transport and Communication: Goran Sugareski Economy Minister: Valon Saracini (BDI) Minister of Agriculture: Ljupčo Nikoloski (SDSM) Minister of Health: Arben Taravari Minister of Education: Renata Deskovska Minister for Information Society and Administration: Damjan Mančevski Minister for Local Self-Government: Nevzat Bejta (BDI) Minister of Culture: Robert Alagozovski Minister of Labor and Social Affairs: Mila Carovska Environment Minister: Abdilaqim Ademi (BDI) Minister for Foreign Investment: Bill Pavleski Ministers without portfolio : Hadi Neziri Neždet Mustafa ( OPERA ) Vele Samak Dimitar Bogov (Central Bank Director) Zoran Jolevski (chief negotiator in the name dispute )
President since 1991 (with party membership before election)
1991–1999: Kiro Gligorov ( SDSM ) 1999 (provisional) : Savo Klimovski ( DA ) 1999-2004: Boris Trajkovski (VMRO-DPMNE) 2004 (provisional) : Ljupčo Jordanovski ( PSD ) 2004–2009: Branko Crvenkovski (SDSM) 2009–2019: Gjorge Ivanov (VMRO-DPMNE) since 2019: Stevo Pendarovski (SDSM)
Prime Minister since 1991
1991–1992: Nikola Kljusev (independent) 1992–1998: Branko Crvenkovski (SDSM) 1998–2002: Ljubčo Georgievski (VMRO-DPMNE) 2002–2004: Branko Crvenkovski (SDSM) 2004: Hari Kostov (SDSM) 2004–2006: Vlado Bučkovski (SDSM) 2006–2016: Nikola Gruevski (VMRO-DPMNE) 2016–2017: Emil Dimitriev (VMRO-DPMNE) since 2017: Zoran Zaev (SDSM)

Constitution

Northern Macedonia is a Republic with the system of government to a parliamentary democracy . The constitution was largely drafted by the German President of the Federal Constitutional Court and later Federal President Roman Herzog and the French President of the Constitutional Council , the former Minister of Justice Robert Badinter , and passed by the Macedonian Parliament on November 17, 1991. It has been updated several times since then: for example in 1992, to expressly state that the country does not make any territorial claims against neighboring states and does not interfere with the sovereignty rights of other states or in their internal affairs (in connection with the negotiations with Greece over the dispute over the name of the country and its international recognition) and in 2001 to establish a constitutional framework for the implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement of August 13, 2001 (status of the Albanian language ).

legislative branch

→ Main article : Parliament of the Republic of North Macedonia

According to the constitution, the legislature is taken over by the parliament ( Macedonian Собрание Sobranie , Albanian  Kuvendi ). A maximum of 123 members are elected by direct general election for a legislative period of four years.

executive

→ Main article : North Macedonian Government  and President of the Republic of North Macedonia

The government (maz. Vlada Влада; alb. Qeveria ) and the president (maz. Pretsedatel Претседател; alb. Kryetari i Shtetit ) take on executive tasks . The government is headed by the Prime Minister (maz. Pretsedatel na Vladata Претседател на Владата; alb. Kryeministri ). He goes to parliament as a candidate elected by the president, where he has to get a majority of the votes in order to form a government. The head of state is the president, who primarily has representative tasks. He is elected by the electorate for five years.

Party landscape

See also : List of political parties in North Macedonia

The North Macedonian party system is characterized by a double polarity: on the one hand an ethnic-national (Macedonian and Albanian) and on the other hand a political (social democratic and conservative). The conservative camp is only represented by the VMRO-DPMNE . The VMRO-DPMNE is also the only party striving for close ties to its eastern neighbor Bulgaria. The SDSM represents the social democratic camp. The largest Albanian parties (in terms of number of parliamentary seats) include the BDI , PDSH and RDK .

Domestic politics

Domestic politics is strongly shaped by the conflict between the two largest nationalities, the Macedonians and the Albanians . In response to international pressure during the Kosovo conflict in 1999, North Macedonia took in around 380,000 refugees from Kosovo, which changed the fragile ethnic structure in the country for a while. Since the spring of 2001 the conflict intensified after the formation of a new militant Albanian organization ( Ushtria Çlirimtare Kombëtare ). Thanks to the commitment of President Boris Trajkovski , the European Union and the United States , a compromise between the ethnic groups and a disarmament of the militant Albanians could be achieved in the Ohrid Framework Agreement .

One of the main points of contention is the legal regulation on the use of the Albanian language. The Ohrid Framework Agreement , which ended the armed conflict in 2001, laid the foundations for such a legal regulation. After seven years a law was passed that established Albanian as the (second) official language in the communities in which at least 20 percent Albanians live. In addition, all parliamentary documents are translated into Albanian, but debates in parliament are still only in Macedonian. After this law initially met with widespread approval, two opposition Albanian parties demanded full equality of Albanian as the official language throughout the country in the summer of 2009 ( Switzerland is the model ).

Because of the name dispute , Greece prevented North Macedonia from accepting NATO's promise of membership in April 2008 . There was a coalition crisis and the dissolution of parliament. In the parliamentary elections on June 1, 2008 , the VMRO-DPMNE won the absolute majority of the mandates with 48 percent of the votes; it governs together with the Albanian coalition partner Democratic Union for Integration ( Albanian  Bashkimi democik për integrim , BDI for short ), the 10 percent of the Votes received. The previous coalition partner of VMRO-DPMNE, the Albanian Democratic Party ( Albanian  Partia democike shqiptare , PDSH for short ), which also sees itself as the Party of Albanians , went into opposition. On July 26, 2008, the parliament re-elected Nikola Gruevski as Prime Minister .

Protests in North Macedonia in 2012

Again and again there are violent attacks and acts of sabotage on mosques and Orthodox churches on both sides. The conflict flared up in the Struga region after the carnival in the village of Vevčani saw the people moving with costumes, gestures and slogans insulting Islam and its customs in this region. On the evening of January 30, 2012, St. Nicholas Drimeni was set on fire in the ethnically mixed town of Labuništa . Some witnesses reported that ethnic Macedonians started the fire. The Muslim community responded the following day with a peaceful protest in downtown Struga, where over a thousand people took part. In addition to the mufti, the mayor of Struga municipality was also present, who condemned the offensive actions in Vevčani. In January 2012, a series of propaganda activities flared up again when migrants insulted Islam at the carnival in Vevčani . On January 31, 2012 a graffiti with the inscription "Death to the Albanians" was painted on a mosque wall in Bitola . That evening, Albanian extremists set fire to an Orthodox church in a village near Tetovo , but it was spared from burning down after Albanian villagers and the local fire brigade arrived to extinguish it.

Political crisis 2015–2017

From February 2015 the party chairman of the Social Democratic League of Macedonia (SDSM), Zoran Zaev , and his party colleagues published politically and criminally explosive content at press conferences, which discredited the government policy of the VMRO-DPMNE with its chairman and current Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski . Telephone calls between VMRO-DPMNE members in which they express themselves racially against the Albanian minority were bugged. In further revelations, the government is accused of corruption and influencing the judiciary. All information has been given to the public prosecutor, who has not yet brought any charges.

On May 9 and 10, 2015, a large number of security forces were involved in shootings in the mostly Albanian district of Lagjja e Trimave of Kumanovo . A group that initially acted anonymously against the North Macedonian security forces was described by the government as "terrorist" on the second day of the clashes. While the resident population was in absolute uncertainty about what was happening, important road connections to the city and the nearby A1 motorway were blocked or closed. The nearby Tabanovce border crossing to Serbia was temporarily closed. Several civilians were arrested, including children, the elderly and women. On May 10th the situation calmed down again; the shootings stopped and residents who had previously been evacuated from the district were allowed to return to their apartments that evening. In a report published by the Macedonian Interior Ministry Video perpetrators contact KLA in uniforms. An Albanian-language newspaper also published a "statement" by a group calling itself the UÇK. Eight police officers and 14 armed group members were killed in the fighting. 37 security guards were injured. In addition, around 30 armed “terrorists” surrendered and were arrested. Meanwhile, the Macedonian government declared state mourning for May 10th and 11th.

After mediation by EU Neighborhood Commissioner Johannes Hahn at the beginning of June 2015, the heads of the four largest parties agreed on early parliamentary elections on April 24, 2016. However, the planned elections were postponed to June 5, 2016 and finally canceled in mid-May as necessary Preparations had still not been made: Apart from the VMRO-DPMNE, no party had run for elections, making an election campaign and a fair election impossible, and election lists were still out of date.

New elections in 2016

New elections finally took place on December 11, 2016, but they did not end the political crisis in North Macedonia. There was a close head-to-head race between the two major parties. The conservative VMRO-DPNE received 38.06% of the vote and 51 parliamentary seats, the social-democratic SDSM 36.7% and thus 49 parliamentary seats. 62 seats were needed for a safe majority. The formation of a government turned out to be difficult, as there was no agreement in coalition negotiations between VMRO-DPNE and DUI. The formation of the government should be completed on January 29th. This did not happen, however, and after a 10-day period had elapsed, according to the constitution, the government formation contract had to be passed on to the runner-up. After negotiations between SDSM and BDI, the formation of a government by the former opposition became apparent. The deputies of the VMRO-DPNE tried to paralyze the parliament by persistent speeches and thus prevent the formation of a government. When Talat Xhaferi (BDI) was elected as the new President of Parliament, supporters of Nikola Gruevski stormed parliament on April 27 and attacked the members of the SDSM and BDI, and Prime Minister-designate Zoran Zaev was injured in the head. On May 31, Zoran Zaev was elected by parliament as the new head of government.

Foreign policy

Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Skopje

The foreign policy of North Macedonia is strongly shaped by the efforts to become a member of the European Union. However, the neighbor Greece opposed the admission of North Macedonia under the name "Republic of Macedonia". It is characterized by the pursuit of domestic political goals through foreign policy means, which is particularly a consequence of the Macedonian nation -building project that was successfully pursued after 1945 . Almost all parties use the topic of " Greater Bulgarian aspirations" and the Bulgarian occupation from 1941 to 1944 (in which the VMRO provided the administration in the region) as a means to keep the power of the nationalist VMRO-DPMNE in check.

One of the reasons was the constitution of North Macedonia: Article 49 stated that the republic would campaign for the status and rights of Macedonians in neighboring countries, including the former Macedonian ethnic groups (expatriats) . This article obliged North Macedonia to promote all Macedonians in their cultural development and to promote their ties to the old homeland. Greece interpreted this as encouraging separatism towards its Macedonian Slavs minority and feared potential territorial claims by North Macedonia. After a trade blockade by Greece, North Macedonia changed its constitution and now expressly declares that it has no territorial claims against neighboring states. Likewise, due to the trade blockade, North Macedonia changed its flag , which originally featured the sixteen- pointed star of Vergina (Vergina Sun), the symbol of the ancient Macedonian state.

In 1980 there were propaganda disputes between what was then Yugoslavia and Bulgaria about the ethnic origin of the Macedonians. Bulgaria believed that it had to defend itself propagandistically against Yugoslav claims on the Macedonian province of Bulgaria. But it was only local propaganda via radio and newspapers, which was hardly noticed internationally. In connection with these tensions, two Bulgarian anglers were shot dead by Yugoslav border guards at a border stream in 1980.

After the independence of North Macedonia on January 15, 1992, Bulgaria became the first country to recognize the “Republic of Macedonia” under its constitutional name. Bulgaria initially refused to recognize the existence of a separate Macedonian language. This led to some complications when the contract was signed between the two countries. Bulgaria argued that the Macedonian language was an artificial elevation of a Bulgarian dialect and that it was on a linguistic continuum with today's Bulgarian language . Bulgaria gives the North Macedonians the right to obtain Bulgarian citizenship provided they can prove a Bulgarian origin. Around 10 percent of those entitled have made use of this, including former Prime Minister Ljubčo Georgievski . Historically, the area of ​​what is now the State of Macedonia, its population, its traditions and its language have been closely linked to Bulgarian history .

In 1999 the Bulgarian and North Macedonian governments settled their longstanding language dispute, which had put a heavy strain on bilateral relations. Bulgaria recognized the independence of the Macedonian language, and Macedonia in return renounced any influence on the Macedonian minority in Bulgaria. In 2009, the Bulgarian Foreign Minister Nikolaj Mladenow suggested signing a friendship and neighborhood agreement between the two states. However, his proposal has not yet been taken up in Skopje. Instead, in May 2012, a Bulgarian delegation led by the Bulgarian ambassador was attacked while laying a wreath in Skopje. Because of the frosty relationship between the two countries, cross-border cooperation is not making any progress either. Bulgaria complains about Skopje's lack of communication and accuses the North Macedonian authorities of failing to implement already negotiated EU projects amounting to 6.3 million euros. The Macedonian side also repeatedly postpones the expansion of the Pan-European Transport Corridor VIII . Furthermore, official politicians, scientists and other leading Macedonian personalities speak of 200,000 members of a "Macedonian minority" living in the area around Blagoewgrad , to 750,000 throughout the country, although in the last census of 2011 only 1,654 inhabitants (less than 1% of the entire population) of Bulgaria known as Macedonians. In August 2012, the chairman of the Macedonian World Congress, Todor Petrov, stated in an interview that there was no “Macedonian minority” but a “Macedonian majority” in Bulgaria. Further he led the common historical events only to the achievement of the Macedonian people, described the existing state borders as artificial and the foundation of the Bulgarian state as Macedonian from scratch. In September of the same year the EU commissioner for enlargement Štefan Füle warned the Macedonian politicians about the increasing problems and lack of cooperation with Bulgaria. In December of the same year, the Bulgarian government withdrew support from North Macedonia due to the lack of cooperation, the Skopje 2014 project and the way it dealt with the Bulgarian minority in North Macedonia and spoke out against a specific date for starting EU accession talks. The friendship treaty with the neighboring country was signed on August 1st, 2017.

Serbia is critical of its southern neighbor because North Macedonia split off from Yugoslavia and sided with NATO in the Kosovo conflict . Because of these circumstances, North Macedonian politics is primarily designed to appease. In addition to bringing the country closer to joining the European Union , the country has established important relations with the USA . North Macedonia was involved in the Iraq war with a small contingent of troops . The US government recognized the country shortly after the US presidential elections in November 2004 under the name "Republic of Macedonia". This immediately led to a scandal in Greece and the US ambassador in Athens was summoned to the Greek Foreign Ministry. However, the EU has assured Greece that it will not follow the US example. In October 2019, a veto by France prevented accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania.

Since the independence of North Macedonia, Albania has demanded that the rights of the Albanian minority in North Macedonia be safeguarded. In Albania, on the other hand, there is a Macedonian minority in the area of ​​Lake Prespa with a Macedonian-speaking school. The Macedonians of Albania are organized in their own political party.

military

→ Main article : North Macedonian Armed Forces

North Macedonia maintains a volunteer army of around 10,000 soldiers, which can be reinforced by a further 21,000 men by mobilizing the reserve . The defense budget in 2012 was around 130 million euros. Foreign Minister Dimitrov and representatives of the NATO countries signed the accession protocol on February 6, 2019. North Macedonia became the 30th NATO member on March 27, 2020.

economy

The headquarters of the Central Bank of North Macedonia in Skopje

Inflation rate and economic growth (as of 2016)
year	inflation rate	GDP growth
2016	−0.2%	02.4%
2015	−0.3%	02.8%
2014	−0.3%	03.6%
2013	02.8%	02.9%
2012	03.3%	−0.5%
2011	03.9%	02.3%
2010	01.5%	03.4%
2009	−0.7%	−0.4%
2008	08.3%	05.5%

The then SR Macedonia was within the SFR Yugoslavia one of the most economically backward areas with little developed industry and few raw material deposits. In 2000, 9.7% of the gross domestic product (GDP) was still generated in agriculture and 31.6% in industry. The unemployment rate , which was around 28% in 2014, fell to 24.62% by January 2016. According to estimates, the country's gross domestic product was around 8.9 billion euros in 2015, and the gross domestic product per capita around 4270 euros. In 2016, inflation was −0.2%. For 2017, 1.7% is assumed. In the Global Competitiveness Index , which measures a country's competitiveness, North Macedonia ranks 67th out of 138 countries (as of 2016). In 2017, the country ranks 31st out of 180 countries in the index for economic freedom .

The country suffered from the typical problems of a post-socialist state, e.g. B. a pronounced corruption, an overly large number of officials and the inefficiency of industrial operations as well as the economic blockade by Greece. According to the EU Commission in its 2009 progress report, these problems have been resolved by the reform policy.

In the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) of Transparency International , the country, along with Morocco , Liberia , Indonesia and Colombia, was ranked 90th out of 176 countries (as of 2016).

Although North Macedonia gained its independence after the break-up of Yugoslavia - unlike most other republics - without armed conflicts, it now ranks behind countries such as Bosnia and Herzegovina and Albania (as of 2018) in the Human Development Index (HDI ).

The unemployment rate is given as 23.7% in 2017 and is therefore very high. For young people it was even 46.9%. High unemployment is one of the main economic problems. The trade deficit is high, with imports exceeding exports by over 70%. The balance of trade deficit is largely offset by transfer payments from Albanians and Macedonians living abroad.

The largest direct investor in the country is Greece, followed by the Republic of Cyprus and Bulgaria. In the process of privatization , the largest and most profitable companies in the country have already been sold. What remained are numerous unprofitable companies and restructuring cases. In order to attract foreign investors nonetheless, North Macedonia introduced a so-called flat tax on January 1, 2007 based on the Slovak model. The tax rate for natural persons and corporations is a uniform 12% and will be reduced to 10% from 2008. Reinvested (i.e. retained) profits are not taxed at all.

Important export products are food, beverages (especially wine ) and tobacco as well as iron and steel. The most important target countries are Serbia (31.4%), Germany (19.9%), Greece (8.9%) and Croatia (6.9%). The largest share of imports to North Macedonia have Greece (15.4%), Germany (13.1%), Serbia (10.4%), Slovenia (8.6%) and Bulgaria (8.1%).

The 2016 state budget provides for revenues of EUR 2.889 billion and expenditures of EUR 3.199 billion. The deficit would then amount to EUR 309 million or 3.2% of the gross domestic product expected for 2016.

In 2016, the national debt was $ 4.0 billion, or 36.7% of GDP.

In 2006, the share of government expenditure (as a percentage of GDP) was as follows:

• Health : 8.0%
• Education : 3.5% (2002)
• Military : 6.0% (2005)

energy

The largest electricity producer in North Macedonia is Elem AD . The two coal-fired power plants in Bitola and Oslomej, with their capacities of 675 and 125 megawatts, cover around 80% of the electricity generation, 16% is accounted for by the hydropower plants in Raven, Vrutok, Kozjak, Vrben, Spilje, Globocica and Tikves with a combined capacity of 530 megawatts . The Negotino oil power plant with an output of 210 megawatts is also used during peak consumption times.

traffic

Main station of the MŽ in Skopje

rail

The main traffic axis is the wide Vardar valley running in the southeast-northwest direction with the main railway line of the state railway company Makedonski Železnici (MŽ), which runs from Tabanovce on the Serbian border via Skopje to Gevgelija on the Greek border. Three non-electrified lines branch off from this main artery. The length of the standard-gauge railway network is 925 km, plus two small narrow-gauge railways .

Street

In 2014, the entire road network covered around 14,182 km, of which 9633 km were paved.

In road traffic, the main rivers run along the Vardar. The M-1 motorway that runs here connects the capital Skopje with Belgrade and the Greek port of Thessaloniki . The M-4 is the new city bypass from Skopje and then leads west (Tetovo) and south to Gostivar, via which NATO supplies went to Kosovo.

At the time of the trade embargo by Greece and during the Kosovo conflict , there were restrictions in transit traffic . Although this made the dependence on the neighbors in the north and south visible, the expansion of east-west connections with Albania and Bulgaria is only progressing slowly.

air

International flight connections exist from Skopje and Ohrid .

Culture

Typical house architecture in the country

Young women in one of the national costumes in the south of North Macedonia

Tavče Gravče (Тавче Гравче) is a popular dish in North Macedonia. It is cooked in the oven in clay pots with white beans, meat, vegetables and peppers.

Handmade traditional carpets on a bazaar in Skopje

In North Macedonia there are considerable differences between many parts of the country. This is mainly due to the different ethnic groups, each of which "lives" its own culture and forms independent cultural areas. Religion also plays a role, as the country is shaped by Orthodox Christianity and Islam. But in many places there is a kind of “symbiosis” where cultures have mixed in part or influenced others. These areas are mainly located where the population is ethnically heterogeneous.

For this reason, North Macedonia can be divided into the following cultural areas: ethnic Macedonian, Albanian, Turkish, Romani, Serbian, Bosniak and Wallachian. In the following, however, only the ethnic Macedonian culture will be discussed for the most part, for the others see Albanian , Roma , Serbian and Romanian (Wallachian) culture .

kitchen

The Macedonian cuisine, which is part of the Balkan cuisine, is based on the grains grown in the high and river plains, especially wheat and maize , in the southeast of the country also on rice . Like the kitchens of other countries on the Balkan Peninsula , Macedonian cuisine has been exposed to oriental and Mediterranean influences for centuries .

In animal husbandry , cattle, sheep and pigs play the most important roles, there are also goats and game. The most important types of fruit are apple, pear, cherry, melon, apricot, peach, fig, watermelon and plum. Chestnuts, almond trees, walnuts, hazelnuts and especially grapes grow here.

Many fish species live in the waters of south-west Macedonia, among which the Ohrid trout and the small barbel groundling are among the specialties of the local cuisine.

Due to the not always best vegetative and climatic conditions, heat-resistant and not much water-consuming vegetables grow in the country, for example potatoes, onions, cabbage, carrots, garlic, spinach or peas. In many home gardens, but also in farms, other varieties are cultivated that need more water and sun protection, including tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and aubergines.

Meat is a popular side dish in many dishes. Dishes with beef, veal, lamb, pork and regional fish are often found. Sunflower oil and butter (especially in high altitudes) dominate as edible fat, in the regions in the southwest and south olive oil is often used. The most popular spices include salt, black pepper , sugar, vegeta , rosemary, parsley and, depending on the region, basil, marjoram and coriander. Caraway seeds, dill and chili powder can also be found in North Macedonia.

Appetizers

• Meza , shopska salad , Tarator , Kaymak , yoghurt , ajvar , Pindschur , Torshi , Leblebi

Meat specialties

• Ćevapčići , minced steak , sucuk , pastırma , köfte , ražnjići , goulash

Bakery products

• Burek or Börek , Pita , Pogatschen , Sač , Daktyla , Yufka

Stews and vegetable dishes

• Pasulj , pilaf , Gjuveč , stews of potatoes, sauerkraut or green beans, stuffed peppers , stuffed cabbage , Dolma , moussaka , polenta , bulgur

cheese

• Brine cheese , similar to the Bulgarian Siren (Macedonian Sirenje ), Kashkawal , ricotta , feta

Desserts

• Baklava , Halva , Kadaifi or Kadaifi, Lokum , Aşure , Vasina torta

beverages

• Boza , Rakija , Sahlep , Ayran , Skopsko pivo , beer from Skopje, different wines (see viticulture in North Macedonia )

Sports

Besides soccer, handball is the most important team sport in the country. The EHF Champions League was won by two teams from Skopje, in the women in 2002 by Kometal Gjorče Petrov Skopje and in the men in 2017 and 2019 by RK Vardar Skopje . The European Women's Handball Championship took place in North Macedonia in 2008 . The venues were Skopje and Ohrid. The North Macedonian national women's handball team reached seventh place.

Northern Macedonia has been taking at the 1996 Summer Olympics , and since 1998 at the Winter Games regularly participate. So far, a bronze medal has been won - at the 2000 Summer Games in the wrestling discipline by Mogamed Ibragimov .

public holidays

The official holidays in 2015 are as follows:

• 0January 1st: New Year celebrations
• 0January 6: the day before Christmas (only for Orthodox)
• 0January 7th: (Orthodox) Christmas
• January 19: Theophany (only for Orthodox)
• January 27: Memorial Day for Sava of Serbia (only for Serbs)
• 0April 6: Easter (only for Catholics)
• 0April 8: International Roma Day ( Roma only)
• April 10: Good Friday (only for Orthodox)
• April 13: (Orthodox) Easter
• 0May 1st: Labor Day
• May 23: National Aromanian Day (only for Aromanians)
• May 24th: "Day of the Slavic Pedagogues" by St. Cyril and Method
• May 25th: day off after St. Kyrill and Method
• May 29: Pentecost (only for Orthodox)
• July 17th: Feast of the breaking of the fast
• 0August 2nd: Republic Day
• 0August 3: rest day after Republic Day
• August 28: Assumption of Mary (only for Orthodox)
• 0September 8: Independence Day
• September 23: Yom Kippur (only for Jews)
• September 24: Islamic Festival of Sacrifice (only for Muslims)
• September 28: International Bosniak Day (for Bosniaks only)
• October 11: Popular Uprising Day
• October 12: rest day after the day of the popular uprising
• October 23: Macedonian Revolutionary Struggle Day
• 0November 1st: All Saints' Day (only for Catholics)
• November 22: Albanian Alphabet Day (for Albanians only)
• 0December 8th: Day of St. Clement of Ohrid
• December 21: Turkish Classes Day (only for Turks)
• December 25th: (Catholic) Christmas (only for Catholics)

literature

Until 1944, the Slavic dialects in what is now North Macedonia were classified as Bulgarian dialects. The legacy of the brothers Dimitar Miladinov (1810–1862) and Konstantin Miladinov (1830–1862), who were influenced by European Romanticism and who have made a contribution to the collection of oral tradition and folklore in the region of Macedonia in the dialect of their native Struga , is therefore occupied by both Bulgarian and Macedonian literature. The Slavophile Brothers, by working to appoint Slavic bishops, made enemies of both the Greek Orthodox bishops and the Ottoman administration and died in prison in Istanbul. The Poetry Evenings in Struga, at the birthplace of the Miladinov brothers, are among the oldest and largest of their kind in the world.

The first drama in the Macedonian dialect ( Ilinden , 1923) was written by the Macedonian-Bulgarian revolutionary Nikola Kirov-Majski (1880–1962) about the anti-Ottoman Ilinden uprising of 1903.

Vlada Urošević

It was not until the 1940s that Macedonian was standardized and fixed on the basis of the country's western dialects. Gane Todorovski (1929–2010) has published volumes of poetry and literary studies since 1951. Works by Vlada Urošević (* 1934) ( Meine Cousin Emilia , Ger. 2013) have become internationally known and have been translated into many languages ​​after 1990 . Savo Kostadinovski (* 1950) wrote numerous books for young people . The younger authors who were active after 1990 include the Romanian-born narrator Ermis Lafazanovski (* 1961), Lidija Dimkovska (* 1971) and Nikola Madzirov (* 1973) and Verica Tričković , who has lived in Germany since 1999 , who publishes poetry and stories. Petre M. Andreevski (1934–2006) wrote Pirej (1980; Eng . “Quecke”, 2017), a stylistically situated novel between realism, symbolism and postmodernism about rural North Macedonia during the wars at the beginning of the 20th century. The title is supposed to symbolize the tenacity and stoicism of the Macedonian people. A number of North Macedonian authors such as Kim Mehmeti (* 1955) also write in Albanian.

An anthology of texts in Macedonian and Albanian edited by Blagoja Risteski Platnar (1949–2004) in 2001 (“The House at the End of the Village: Contemporary Tales from Macedonia”) offers only a minimal selection of the works of five authors.

media

The public service broadcaster of North Macedonia, Makedonska Radio-Televizija (MRT for short), operates two television channels (MRT1 as the main channel and MRT2 for the ethnic minorities of Albanians, Turks, Serbs, Roma, Aromanians and Bosniaks) as well as a few radio stations. Radio Skopje (founded in 1944) is the most important among them. Radio 2 broadcasts folk music and other entertainment programs. Radio 3 is used by the ethnic minorities.

The Macedonian Information Agency is the country's public news agency.

The private TV channels Alfa TV , Sitel , Kanal 5 , Telma , Naša TV and Alsat-M are also important . Private radio stations broadcast nationwide are Buba Mara , Kanal 77 , Antenna 5 and Kanal 4 .

Macedonian-language daily newspapers are Dnevnik , Nova Makedonija (founded 1944), Utrinski Vesnik , Vreme and Večer (state-owned). Important Albanian-language daily newspapers are Fakti , Koha and Lajm . Other newspapers are listed under List of Macedonian Newspapers .

In 2014, Freedom House rated press freedom in North Macedonia as "partially free" and gave it one of the last ranks in Europe.

In 2016, 69.2% of the population used the internet.

In the 2017 press freedom ranking published by Reporters Without Borders , North Macedonia was ranked 111th out of 180 countries.

Movie

The films Before the Rain (1994) by Milčo Mančevski , The Day when Stalin's Pants Disappeared (2004) by Ivo Trajkov and Land of Honey (2019) by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov achieved international fame .

literature

• Benjamin Langer: "Foreign, distant world". Macedonia imaginations in German-language literature since the 19th century , transcript, Bielefeld 2019.
• Walter Lukan (Ed.): Macedonia. Geography - Ethnic Structure - History - Language and Culture - Politics - Economy - Law . (= Österreichische Osthefte. 40, 1/2). Vienna u. a. 1998.
• Židas Daskalovski: The Macedonian Conflict of 2001. Problems of Democratic Consolidation. Libertas Paper 56. Libertas, Sindelfingen 2004. ISBN 3-921929-16-4 .
• Steven W. Sowards: Modern History of the Balkans. The Balkans in the age of nationalism. BoD, Norderstedt 2004. ISBN 3-8334-0977-0 .
• Hans-Lothar Steppan: The Macedonian Knot. The Identity of the Macedonians, as revealed in the Development of the Balkan League 1878-1914 , Peter Lang, Frankfurt / M., 2009, ISBN 978-3-631-56067-9 .
• Heinz Willemsen: The political system of Macedonia . In: Wolfgang Ismayr : The political systems of Eastern Europe . VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden, 3rd updated and ext. Edition 2010, ISBN 978-3-531-16201-0 , pp. 967-1003.
• Henri Bohnet, Daniela Bojadzieva: Coming to terms with the past in the Balkans - The lustration process in Macedonia , KAS-Auslandsinformationen 01/2011 , Berlin 2011, pp. 62–75.

Web links

Commons : North Macedonia  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Portal: North Macedonia  - Overview of Wikipedia content about North Macedonia

Wikimedia Atlas: North Macedonia  - geographical and historical maps

Wiktionary: North Macedonia  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Wikibooks: Wikijunior Europe / North Macedonia  - learning and teaching materials

Wikisource: Macedonia  - Sources and full texts

Wikivoyage: North Macedonia  Travel Guide

 Wikinews: Portal: Macedonia  - In The News

• Official website of the Republic of North Macedonia
• European Stability Initiative (ESI) reports on North Macedonia

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Macedonia in Figures 2014. (PDF) In: Statistisches Staatsamt. 2014, accessed on April 28, 2015 (English, PDF file, 4.4 MB). 
2. ↑ Key Indicators from theme: Population. In: State Statistical Office. Retrieved April 28, 2015 . 
3. ↑ Data from the International Monetary Fund , as of June 2017. Accessed June 11, 2017.
4. ↑ United Nations Development Program ( UNDP )
5. ↑ Official Journal of the European Communities: Provisional code that does not affect the final designation of the country, which will be determined after the ongoing negotiations within the UN.
6. ↑ Article 7 of the Constitution of North Macedonia
7. ↑ ^{a b} website of the Council of Europe
8. ↑ ^{a b} According to the UN, the first small letter of the word "former" in the English name should take into account the fact that this name is a temporary solution. See Simon Price, Peter Thonemann: The Birth of Classical Europe , London 2010, p. 141.
9. ↑ NATO codes on laenderdaten.de
10. ↑ Foreign Office: Foreign Office - North Macedonia. Retrieved June 10, 2019 . 
11. ↑ Macedonia will in future be called "Republic of North Macedonia". In: Spiegel Online. June 12, 2018, accessed June 13, 2018 . 
12. ↑ Macedonia is now officially called North Macedonia. In: welt.de . February 12, 2019.
13. ↑ Macedonia: Macedonian Parliament decides to change its name. Retrieved January 11, 2019 . 
14. ↑ Athens Parliament approves Macedonia Agreement. In: Tagesspiegel Online. January 25, 2019, accessed January 25, 2019 . 
15. ↑ UN Resolution 47/225 ; see. UN, Directory of Member States and Michael C. Wood: Participation of Former Yugoslav States in the United Nations and in Multilateral Treaties , Vol. 1 (1997), pp. 231-257. on-line
16. ↑ Thede Kahl, Izer Maksuti, Albert Ramaj: The Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia . Facts, analyzes, opinions on interethnic coexistence. In: Viennese Eastern European Studies . tape 23 . Lit Verlag, 2006, ISBN 3-7000-0584-9 , ISSN  0946-7246 , The Republic of Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) Key facts at a glance, p. 248 .
17. ↑ SCHWARZ, U. (2012): Balkan Rivers - The Blue Heart of Europe, Hydromorphological Status and Dam Projects, Report, 151 pp. [PDF, 6.4 MB]
18. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g} Flora and Fauna of Macedonia (short description) in: Macedonien.com, accessed on February 13, 2012.
19. ↑ Lynx lynx ssp. balcanicus in the Red List of Endangered Species of the IUCN 2015. Posted by: Melovski, D., Breitenmoser, U., von Arx, M., Breitenmoser-Würsten, C., Lanz, T., 2015. Accessed May 31, 2020 .
20. ↑ Bureau of Ecological Studies (2007): Map 9 on the European Green Belt ( Memento from June 28, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) [PDF]
21. ↑ ^{a b} Census of Macedonia 2002. (PDF) State Statistical Office, May 2005, accessed on December 16, 2012 (English, p. 20; 384 KB). 
22. ↑ Census of Macedonia 2002, pp. 22-23
23. ^ Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia (Ed.): Macedonia in Figures 2012 . 2012, ISSN  1409-665X , Marriages by ethnic affiliation of bride and groom, 2011, p. 15 (English, PDF ).
24. ↑ - ( Memento from September 28, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
25. ↑ - ( Memento from March 25, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
26. ↑ Berlin Institute for Population and Development: Regional Dynamics. Retrieved June 14, 2020 . 
27. ↑ Jordanka Telbizova-Sack: Between hammer and anvil. The Slavic Muslims of Macedonia. In: Klaus Steinke, Christian Voss (eds.): The Pomaks in Greece and Bulgaria. Publishing house Otto Sagner. Munich, 2007, pp. 201–225.
28. ^ Macedonian Parliament Boosts Albanian Language Status. In: Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty. January 11, 2018, accessed January 14, 2018 . 
29. ^ Macedonia Urbanization.
30. ↑ 2002 census (PDF; 2.3 MB), by city.
31. ^ Macedonia: Statistical Regions & Major Settlements - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information. Retrieved January 2, 2018 . 
32. ^ Mimoza Troni: Western Balkans: population census with calculation errors. Macedonia: allocation of office and ethnicity. Portal for European news, background information and communication Euractiv.de , April 18, 2011, accessed on April 19, 2011 . 
33. ^ The fisherman's world almanac : Macedonia .
34. ↑ Stefan Troebst: The Macedonian Century. From the beginnings of the national revolutionary movement to the Ohrid Agreement 1893–2001. Selected articles, Oldenbourg Wissenschaftsverlag, Munich 2007, ISBN 3-486-58050-7 , p.
35. ↑ Stefan Troebst, Historical Politics and Historical “Masterpieces” in Macedonia before and after 1991. ( Memento from January 10, 2004 in the Internet Archive ) New Balkan Politics, Issue 6, 2003: … the suicide-assassin from VMRO, Vlado Cernozemski, who , on orders from Mihajlov and his ethno-national VMRO, which was defined as Bulgarian, killed the Yugoslav king Alexander I Karadzordzevic and the French Minister of Foreign Affairs Louis Bareau in Marseilles in 1934.
36. ↑ Björn Sacrifice: In the Shadow of War. Crew or connection. Liberation or Oppression? A comparative study of the Bulgarian rule in Vardar Macedonia 1915–1918 and 1941–1944. Münster 2005, p. 160.
37. ↑ Björn Sacrifice: In the Shadow of War. Crew or connection. Liberation or Oppression? A comparative study of the Bulgarian rule in Vardar Macedonia 1915–1918 and 1941–1944. Münster, 2005, p. 164.
38. ^ Daniel Blum: Language and Politics. Language politics and language nationalism in the Republic of India and socialist Yugoslavia (1945–1991). Ergon Verlag, Würzburg 2002, ISBN 3-89913-253-X , p. 154 f.
39. ^ Marie-Janine Calic: History of Yugoslavia in the 20th century. CH Beck Munich, 2nd edition, 2014, p. 216
40. ^ Mart Martin: The Almanac of Women and Minorities in World Politics. Westview Press Boulder, Colorado, 2000, p. 240.
41. ↑ Rapprochement of the republic to the EU: The European Council in Brussels gives the country the status of an accession candidate. ( Memento from April 6, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
42. ↑ Progress of EU-FYROM relations: The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia becomes eligible for funding under the EU Phare program. ( Memento of July 7, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
43. ^ Government crisis in Macedonia . In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung , March 14, 2008.
44. ↑ Early election on June 1st . In: Der Standard, April 13, 2008.
45. ↑ Bloodshed overshadows the election in Macedonia.
46. ↑ Refugee crisis: Macedonia declares a state of emergency - military on duty. In: Focus online, August 20, 2015
47. ↑ Border with Greece: Macedonia's police use tear gas against refugees. In: Spiegel online, February 29, 2016.
48. ^ Government members. (No longer available online.) Government of the Republic of Macedonia, archived from original on June 12, 2016 ; accessed on June 12, 2016 . 
49. ↑ ^{a b} Wolfgang Ismayr: The political systems of Eastern Europe , Leske + Budrich, Opladen, 2006, p. 790, ISBN 3-8100-4053-3 .
50. ^ Zoran Jordanovski, Mirjana Dikic: Macedonia: Albanian parties question language law again . dw-world, August 6, 2009.
51. ^ Head of government presented new cabinet . In: Der Standard, July 15, 2008.
52. ↑ ^{a b c} Dnevnik online: Сите вкопани во ровови ( Memento from February 8, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), February 1, 2012.
53. ^ Religious tensions in Macedonia.
54. ^ Religious conflict flares up in Macedonia , Wiener Zeitung, January 31, 2012.
55. ↑ Utrinski vesnik online: Запалена црквата во струшкото село Лабуништа ( memento of February 2, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), January 30, 2012.
56. ^ Report of the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network. ( Memento of December 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
57. ^ Report from B92.net. ( Memento from November 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
58. ↑ ^{a b} Dnevnik online: Апелите не ги смируваат инцидентите ( Memento from February 8, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), February 1, 2012.
59. ↑ “Bombat e Zaevit, shkundin Maqedoninë” (The Zaev bombs shake Macedonia). In: Albinfo.ch. February 17, 2015, accessed April 22, 2015 (Albanian). 
60. ↑ Sinisa Jakov Marusic: Macedonia Declares Mourning For Police Killed in Gunbattles. Macedonia declared days of mourning for police killed in battles with shadowy armed formation in Kumanovo - where calm was slowly restored on Sunday. In: Balkan Insight . May 10, 2015, accessed May 10, 2015 . 
61. ^ Parliamentary elections in Macedonia in April 2016 Oberösterreichische Nachrichten, June 2, 2015
62. ↑ Parliamentary elections in Macedonia postponed to the beginning of June Zeit Online, February 24, 2016
63. ↑ New election in Macedonia canceled. In: tagesschau.de. ARD, May 18, 2016, accessed on May 20, 2016 . 
64. ↑ Secrecy Shrouds Coalition Talks in Macedonia :: Balkan Insight. Retrieved February 15, 2017 . 
65. ↑ Skopje: Citizens storm Macedonian parliament . In: FAZ.NET . ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed July 15, 2018]).
66. ^ Macedonia has a new government: What next for the crisis-ridden state? In: EUROPP . June 2, 2017 ( lse.ac.uk [accessed July 15, 2018]).
67. ^ ^{A b} Wolfgang Ismayr: Macedonia. In: The same: The political systems of Eastern Europe , 2nd edition, VS Verlag, 2004, ISBN 978-3-8100-4053-4 , p. 762.
68. ↑ See Filip Dimitrov : Bulgaria's Recognitions ( Memento of December 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) in the journal Foreign Policy; L. Ivanov et al. Bulgarian Policies on the Republic of Macedonia . Sofia: Manfred Wörner Foundation, 2008. 80 pp. (Trilingual publication in Bulgarian, Macedonian and English), ISBN 978-954-92032-2-6 .
69. ^ L. Ivanov et al .: Bulgarian Policies on the Republic of Macedonia . Sofia: Manfred Wörner Foundation, 2008.
70. ↑ ... Николај Младенов ... понуди договор за пријателство и добрососедство меѓу двете земји што никој веќе не смее да го извади од фиока ... ( Memento of 27 August 2011 at the Internet Archive ) Utrinski Vestnik, accessed on 24 August 2011th
71. ↑ Macedonians attacked the Bulgarian ambassador. In: mediapool.bg , accessed on May 4, 2012 (Bulgarian).
72. ↑ The Bulgarian ambassador was prevented from laying a wreath. In: Dnevnik.bg , accessed May 4, 2012.
73. ↑ Най-отчайващо е положението с програмата България - Македония. Тя посочи, че съседите ни не реагирали по никакъв начин на официални покани за срещи, писма и e-mail. За случаят е уведомена Европейската комисия. Бюджетът на тази програма е 6.6 млн. евро, като до момента са сключени 35 договора за 6.3 млн. евро, но поради липса на интерес от македонска страна не се изпълняват. In: mediapool.bg , accessed on May 10, 2012.
74. ↑ See: Wolfgang Libal / Christine von Kohl: Der Balkan. Stability or Chaos in Europa , Europa Verlag, 2000, ISBN 3-203-79535-3 , pp. 104-110; Census 2011 (bulg.) (PDF; 1.6 MB), National Statistics Office, final results of the 2011 census, p. 23.
75. ↑ Според процените што се правени во македонското МНР ... во Бугарија има 750,000 Македонци ( Memento of 30 July 2013, Internet Archive ), online version (from the Macedonian According to estimates of the Macedonian Foreign Ministry 750,000 Macedonians living in Bulgaria) of the newspaper Dnevnik from 15th August 2011, accessed September 1, 2011
76. ↑ There is everything in Bulgaria, except for Bulgarians. Online edition of the daily Vecer, accessed on August 8, 2012 (Macedonian, interview with Todor Petrov, Chairman of the Macedonian World Congress): “Во Бугарија има се, само Бугари не! Во Бугарија нема македонско малцинство, затоа што Македонците се мнозинство! Во Бугарија само Ѓупците и Турците не се Македонци! Не е прашањето дали Македонците во Македонија се Бугари ... затоа што основата на Бугарија е Македонија! ... бидејќи основата на "Балканите" е Македонија! Не живееме на Балканскиот, туку сите заедно на Македонскиот Полуостров. " 
77. ^ Füle: The problems between Sofia and Skopje must be resolved. Vest magazine, September 18, 2012, archived from the original on September 19, 2012 ; Retrieved September 19, 2012 (Macedonian). 
78. ^ Is Bulgaria against Macedonia joining the EU? In: Tageblatt , December 10, 2012; Bulgaria also rejects EU accession talks with Macedonia. In: europeonline-magazine.eu , December 10, 2012.
79. ↑ https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/05/news/us-grants-macedonia-the-name-recognition-it-wants.html
80. ↑ Alexandra Brzozowski: North Macedonia: A last attempt against France's veto. In: www.euractiv.de. October 17, 2019, accessed on June 14, 2020 (German). 
81. ↑ tagesschau.de: NATO decides to admit North Macedonia. Retrieved June 14, 2020 . 
82. ↑ NATO.int: North Macedonia joins NATO as 30th Ally , North Macedonia's flag raised at NATO Headquarters, following accession to NATO
83. ↑ EU Commission: Enlargement Strategy and Progress Reports 2007. ( Memento from February 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
84. ↑ GDP growth (annual%) | Data. Retrieved January 2, 2018 (American English). 
85. ↑ Inflation, consumer prices (annual%) | Data. Retrieved January 2, 2018 (American English). 
86. ↑ Macedonia Unemployment Rate | 1993-2020 Data | 2021-2022 forecast | Calendar. Retrieved June 14, 2020 . 
87. ^ Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - Overview. In: Auswaertiges-amt.de. Federal Foreign Office, accessed on June 11, 2016.
88. ^ ^{A b} Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia - Economy. In: Auswaertiges-amt.de. Federal Foreign Office, accessed on June 11, 2016.
89. ↑ Competitiveness Rankings. In: Global Competitiveness Index 2017-2018. Retrieved June 14, 2020 (American English). 
90. ↑ Country Rankings: World & Global Economy Rankings on Economic Freedom. Retrieved June 14, 2020 (English). 
91. ↑ Thanks to progress, there is no visa ( Memento from July 19, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
92. ↑ Transparency International e. V .: Corruption Perceptions Index 2016 . In: www.transparency.org . 2016 ( transparency.org [accessed February 7, 2018]).
93. ^ ^{A b} The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency. Accessed August 6, 2018 . 
94. ^ ^{A b c} The World Factbook - Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved August 23, 2018 . 
95. ^ The Fischer World Almanac 2010: Figures Data Facts, Fischer, Frankfurt, September 8, 2009, ISBN 978-3-596-72910-4 .
96. ↑ Fred Prillwitz, Harald Weber: Modeling of the Macedonian electrical energy system. University of Rostock , June 8, 2001
97. ↑ Државни и верски празници во Македонија in 2015 година. In: Msfi.com.mk. Retrieved April 29, 2015 (Macedonian). 
98. ↑ Freedom of the Press 2014 - Macedonia. In: Freedom House . Retrieved April 29, 2015 . 
99. ↑ Internet Users by Country (2016) - Internet Live Stats. Retrieved July 18, 2017 . 
100. ↑ Reporters Without Borders e. V .: Macedonia. Retrieved January 17, 2018 . 

Coordinates: 42 °  N , 22 °  E