Republic of North Macedonia

North Macedonia is an ancient, Biblical land, geographically located in the central part of the Balkan Peninsula. With the end of the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) this land was unjustly divided, but after a long time and with persistent efforts, one of the parts of this land was granted the status of a state – Republic of North Macedonia. The territory of the Republic of North Macedonia covers a total area of 25,713 sq. km. North Macedonia borders five countries: Serbia and Kosovo to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south and Albania to the west. North Macedonia and its neighbouring countries share a number of border crossings. The territory of the Republic of North Macedonia is distinguished by many characteristic and prominent natural factors. These can be seen through the heterogenic relief mosaic which, similar to a chess board, is depicted through various geomorphologic forms of mountains, ravines, fields, valleys, gorges. As a result of the relief characteristics, there are various climate conditions on the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia - from a typical Mediterranean to a typical mountain climate. Throughout history, many important events have intertwined on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia, enabling a presence of various interesting and very important objects. This includes all of the cultural-historical and ethnographical monuments and crafts, as well as many of the created values, such as: settlements, tourist sites, communicational objects etc. The road infrastructure and traffic are oriented mainly along the valleys of large rivers. Tourist communication is enabled through the airports in Skopje and Ohrid, but also through the relatively close airports in the neighbouring countries. The main characteristics of the Macedonian tourist area are: transit tourism, convenient mountain conditions for winter sports, thermo mineral springs and also our beautiful lakes which provide excellent conditions for summer stationary tourism. The geo-tourist status of the Republic of North Macedonia is upgraded by the existence of areas preserved in their natural state.

 

Population

According to the census conducted in 2002, the number of inhabitants in the Republic of Macedonia is at a total of 2,071,210. More than 50% of the entire population lives in urban areas, predominantly in the capital city of Skopje. There are 1,753 settlements. The majority of the population in the Republic of North Macedonia is Macedonian. Nevertheless, there are some minorities, such as Albanians, Turks, Roma, Serbs, Vlachs.

 

Govermental structure

The Republic of North Macedonia is a sovereign, democratic and social state. The Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia, adopted on the 17th November 1991, defines the specific character of the state and establishes the governmental system: the state is a parliamentary republic headed by a President. The President represents the Republic of North Macedonia both at home and abroad. He is Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of North Macedonia and also the President of the Security Council.

 

 

 

The Flag of the Republic of North Macedonia

The flag of the Republic of North Macedonia depicts a yellow sun on a red field. The yellow and the red are colours typical for the Macedonian state. The flag was adopted on the 5th October 1995.

 

National Anthem of the Republic of North Macedonia

Today above Macedonia is the national anthem of the Republic of North Macedonia. It was written and composed by Vlado Maleski in 1941.

 

Religion

The majority of the population, i.e. 65% of the entire population in North Macedonia, is of Orthodox Christian confession of faith. In terms of prevalence, the population of Muslim religion holds the second place with approximately 33%. The remaining 2% of the population are Catholic, Protestant, atheist, nonreligious, and other religions.

 

Language

 

The official language in the Republic of North Macedonia is the Macedonian language. This language is also spoken in the USA, in Canada and Australia, as well as in many European countries and everywhere around the world where Macedonians live. It is the mother tongue in those parts of the Balkans which are inhabited by ethnic Macedonians. The writing system of the Macedonian language is the Cyrillic alphabet, constituted of 31 letters. The Macedonian language falls into the group of South Slavic languages.

 

Monetary Unit

 

In 1992, soon after the separation from Yugoslavia, the Republic of North Macedonia instigated coupons to function as transitional money. The present currency, Denar, was introduced in 1993.