The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia




                                 Geography


Location:
     Balkan State, Southeastern Europe, between Serbia and Montenegro and
     Greece
Map references:
     Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the
     World
Area:
total area:
     25,333 sq km
land area:
     24,856 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly larger than Vermont
Land boundaries:
     total 748 km, Albania 151 km, Bulgaria 148 km, Greece 228 km, Serbia
     and Montenegro 221 km (all with Serbia)
Coastline:
     0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
     none; landlocked
International disputes:
     Greece claims republic's name implies territorial claims against
     Aegean Macedonia
Climate:
     hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy
     snowfall
Terrain:
     mountainous territory covered with deep basins and valleys; there are
     three large lakes, each divided by a frontier line
Natural resources:
     chromium, lead, zinc, manganese, tungsten, nickel, low-grade iron ore,
     asbestos, sulphur, timber
Land use:
arable land:
     5%
permanent crops:
     5%
meadows and pastures:
     20%
forest and woodland:
     30%
other:
     40%
Irrigated land:
     NA sq km
Environment:
current issues:
     air pollution from metallurgical plants
natural hazards:
     high seismic risks
international agreements:
     party to - Ozone Layer Protection




Note:
     landlocked; major transportation corridor from Western and Central
     Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe


                                  People


Population:
     2,213,785 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     0.89% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     15.59 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     6.72 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     27.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     73.59 years
male:
     71.51 years
female:
     75.85 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     1.98 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Macedonian(s)
adjective:
     Macedonian
Ethnic divisions:
     Macedonian 65%, Albanian 22%, Turkish 4%, Serb 2%, Gypsies 3%, other
     4%
Religions:
     Eastern Orthodox 67%, Muslim 30%, other 3%
Languages:
     Macedonian 70%, Albanian 21%, Turkish 3%, Serbo-Croatian 3%, other 3%
Literacy:
total population:
     NA%
male:
     NA%
female:
     NA%
Labor force:
     507,324
by occupation:
     agriculture 8%, manufacturing and mining 40% (1990)


                                Government




Names:
conventional long form:
conventional short form:
     none
local long form:
     Republika Makedonija
local short form:
     Makedonija
Abbreviation:
     F.Y.R.O.M.
Digraph:
     MK
Type:
     emerging democracy
Capital:
     Skopje
Administrative divisions:
     34 counties (opstinas, singular - opstina) Berovo, Bitola, Brod,
     Debar, Delcevo, Gevgelija, Gostivar, Kavadarci, Kicevo, Kocani,
     Kratovo, Kriva Palanka, Krusevo, Kumanovo, Murgasevo, Negotino, Ohrid,
     Prilep, Probistip, Radovis, Resen, Skopje-Centar, Skopje-Cair,
     Skopje-Karpos, Skopje-Kisela Voda, Skopje-Gazi Baba, Stip, Struga,
     Strumica, Sveti Nikole, Tetovo, Titov Veles, Valandovo, Vinica
Independence:
     17 September 1991 (from Yugoslavia)
National holiday:
     NA
Constitution:
     adopted 17 November 1991, effective 20 November 1991
Legal system:
     based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage:
     18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
     President Kiro GLIGOROV (since 27 January 1991); election last held 27
     January 1991 (next to be held NA); results - Kiro GLIGOROV was elected
     by the Assembly
head of government:
     Prime Minister Branko CRVENKOVSKI (since 4 September 1992), Deputy
     Prime Ministers Jovan ANDONOV (since NA March 1991), Risto IVANOV
     (since NA), and Becir ZUTA (since NA March 1991)
cabinet:
     Council of Ministers; elected by the majority vote of all the deputies
     in the Sobranje
Legislative branch:
     unicameral
Assembly (Sobranje):
     elections last held 11 and 25 November and 9 December 1990 (next to be
     held November 1994); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats -
     (120 total) VMRO-DPMNE 32, SDSM 29, PDPM 23, SRSM 19, SPM 4, DP 4, SJM
     2, others 7
Judicial branch:
     Constitutional Court, Judicial Court of the Republic




Political parties and leaders:
     Social-Democratic Alliance of Macedonia (SDSM; former Communist
     Party), Branko CRVENKOVSKI, president; Party for Democratic Prosperity
     (PDPM); National Democratic Party (PDP), Ilijas HALINI, president;
     Alliance of Reform Forces of Macedonia - Liberal Party (SRSM-LP),
     Stojan ANDOV, president; Socialist Party of Macedonia (SPM), Kiro
     POPOVSKI, president; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization -
     Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity (VMRO-DPMNE), Ljupco
     GEORGIEVSKI, president; Party of Yugoslavs in Macedonia (SJM), Milan
     DURCINOV, president; Democratic Party (DP), Petal GOSEV, president
Other political or pressure groups:
     Movement for All Macedonian Action (MAAK); Democratic Party of Serbs;
     Democratic Party of Turks; Party for Democratic Action (Slavic Muslim)
Member of:
     CE (guest), CSCE (observer), EBRD, ECE, ICAO, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT
     (nonsignatory user), ITU, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO,
     WMO
Diplomatic representation in US:
     the US recognized The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on 9
     February 1994
US diplomatic representation:
     the US recognized The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on 9
     February 1994
Flag:
     16-point gold sun (Vergina, Sun) centered on a red field


                                  Economy


Overview:
     The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, although the poorest
     republic in the former Yugoslav federation, can meet basic food and
     energy needs through its own agricultural and coal resources. Its
     economic decline will continue unless ties are reforged or enlarged
     with its neighbors Serbia and Montenegro, Albania, Greece, and
     Bulgaria. The economy depends on outside sources for all of its oil
     and gas and its modern machinery and parts. Continued political
     turmoil, both internally and in the region as a whole, prevents any
     swift readjustments of trade patterns and economic programs. The
     country's industrial output and GDP are expected to decline further in
     1994. The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's geographical
     isolation, technological backwardness, and potential political
     instability place it far down the list of countries of interest to
     Western investors. Resolution of the dispute with Greece and an
     internal commitment to economic reform would help to encourage foreign
     investment over the long run. In the immediate future, the worst
     scenario for the economy would be the spread of fighting across its
     borders.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent -  $2.2 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     -14.7% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
     $1,000 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     13% monthly average (1993 est.)




Unemployment rate:
     27% (1993 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
     $NA
expenditures:
     $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports:
     $889 million (1993)
commodities:
     manufactured goods 40%, machinery and transport equipment 14%,
     miscellaneous manufactured articles 23%, raw materials 7.6%, food
     (rice) and live animals 5.7%, beverages and tobacco 4.5%, chemicals
     4.7% (1990)
partners:
     principally Serbia and Montenegro and the other former Yugoslav
     republics, Germany, Greece, Albania
Imports:
     $963 million (1993)
commodities:
     fuels and lubricants 19%, manufactured goods 18%, machinery and
     transport equipment 15%, food and live animals 14%, chemicals 11.4%,
     raw materials 10%, miscellaneous manufactured articles 8.0%, beverages
     and tobacco 3.5% (1990)
partners:
     other former Yugoslav republics, Greece, Albania, Germany, Bulgaria
External debt:
     $840 million (1992)
Industrial production:
     growth rate -14% (1993 est.)
Electricity:
capacity:
     1,600,000 kW
production:
     6.3 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     2,900 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     low levels of technology predominate, such as, oil refining by
     distillation only; produces basic liquid fuels, coal, metallic
     chromium, lead, zinc, and ferronickel; light industry produces basic
     textiles, wood products, and tobacco
Agriculture:
     provides 12% of GDP and meets the basic needs for food; principal
     crops are rice, tobacco, wheat, corn, and millet; also grown are
     cotton, sesame, mulberry leaves, citrus fruit, and vegetables; The
     Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is one of the seven legal
     cultivators of the opium poppy for the world pharmaceutical industry,
     including some exports to the US; agricultural production is highly
     labor intensive
Illicit drugs:
     limited illicit opium cultivation; transshipment point for Asian
     heroin




Economic aid:
recipient:
     US $10 million (for humanitarian and technical assistance)
     EC promised a 100 ECU million economic aid package (1993)
Currency:
     the denar, which was adopted by the Macedonian legislature 26 April
     1992, was initially issued in the form of a coupon pegged to the
     German mark; subsequently repegged to a basket of seven currencies
Exchange rates:
     denar per US$1 - 865 (October 1992)
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Railroads:
     NA
Highways:
total:
     10,591 km
paved:
     5,091 km
unpaved:
     gravel 1,404 km; earth 4,096 km (1991)
Inland waterways:
     NA km
Pipelines:
     none
Ports:
     none; landlocked
Airports:
total:
     16
usable:
     16
with permanent-surface runways:
     10
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     2
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     2
Telecommunications:
     125,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 6 AM, 2 FM, 5 (2 relays) TV;
     370,000 radios, 325,000 TV; satellite communications ground stations -
     none


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Force, Police Force
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 604,257; fit for military service 489,746; reach
     military age (19) annually 19,539 (1994 est.)




Defense expenditures:
     7 billion denars, NA% of GNP (1993 est.); note - conversion of the
     military budget into US dollars using the prevailing exchange rate
     could produce misleading results