North Macedonia

North Macedonia (in red).

North Macedonia (in Macedonian, Северна Македонија, romanization Séverna Makedóniya), officially called the Republic North Macedonia (in Macedonian, Република Северна Македонија, romanization Repúblika Séverna Makedóniya), is a landlocked country in the southeast of Europe. It borders Serbia and Kosovo to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south and Albania to the west. Its capital is Skopje, with more than 700,000 inhabitants.

This country arose in 1991 after the former Socialist Republic of Macedonia, one of the constituent parts of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, declared its independence under the name "Republic of Macedonia" (Република Македонија, Repúblika Makedóniya), and with the short name of "Macedonia", in some cases. The use of the term "Macedonia" was rejected by Greece, and a dispute arose over the name of this country between both states. As a middle ground, the provisional reference of Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (Поранешна Југословенска Република Македонија) was adopted in 1993., Poranešna Jugoslovenska Republika Makedónija) to refer to the Macedonian state in some international organizations, such as the United Nations. The conflict lasted until February 2019, after both parties agreed to the final use of the name "Republic of North Macedonia".

North Macedonia has been a member of NATO since 27 March 2020 and has been a candidate for membership of the European Union (EU) since 2005. North Macedonia has one of the weakest economies in Europe and is in the 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.

Etymology

According to etymology, the term "Macedonia" emanates from the Greek word μάκος (mākos), and the adjective μακεδνός (makednós), which means "high".

There are three theories about the origin of the term. According to Greek mythology, Macedon was the name of the chief of the tribe that would settle in the region and found the Kingdom of Macedonia. According to Herodotus, the makednoí were a Dorian tribe.

The name could also derive from the word μακεδνός (makednós), meaning “tall”, which is used by Homer to designate a tree in Odyssey, and which according to the grammarian Hesychius of Alexandria would be a Doric word meaning "big" or "heavy". Commonly, it is believed that both the Macedonians and their ancestors madenoí they were considered people of great stature.

A third hypothesis suggests that the name makedónes would mean "inhabitants of the highlands", according to a term from the ancient Macedonian language, μακι-κεδόνες (maki-kedónes, "from the high place"). The World Book Encyclopedia accepts this theory, but based on the Greek term makednós which would refer to the high mountains of the area.

History

The ruins of Heraclea Lincestis, a city founded by Philip II of Macedonia in the centuryIVa. C.

Antiquity (Greece, Persia and Roman Empire)

The current North Macedonia does not correspond to the Ancient Macedonia of Alexander the Great, since the current territory of the country was not part of that kingdom. Both Alexander the Great, his father Philip, and the great philosopher Aristotle, were born and lived in Greek territory, historic Macedonia, one of the many kingdoms that made up Greece. North Macedonia roughly corresponds geographically to the ancient kingdom of Peonia, which was located immediately north of the former kingdom of Macedonia. Paeonia was inhabited by the Paeoniani, a Thracian people, while the northwest was inhabited by the Dardani and the southwest by tribes known historically as the Enchelae, Pelagones, and Lyncestae; the last two are generally considered to be tribes of the northwestern Greek group, while the former two are considered to be Illyrian.

At the end of the century VI a. C., the Achaemenid Persians of Darius the Great conquered the Peonians, incorporating what is now the territory of North Macedonia into their vast territories. After the loss in the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 479 a. C., the Persians finally withdrew from their European territories, including what is now North Macedonia.

Philip II of Macedonia absorbed the regions of Upper Macedonia (Lynkestis and Pelagonia) and the southern part of Peonia (Deuriopus) into the kingdom of Macedonia in 356 BC. Philip's son, Alexander the Great, conquered the rest of the region as part of his empire, reaching as far north as Scupi, although the city and surrounding area remained part of Dardania.

The Romans established the province of Macedonia in 146 BC. In the time of Diocletian, the province had been subdivided between Macedonia Prima ("first Macedonia") in the south, encompassing most of the Macedonian kingdom, and Macedonia Salutaris (also known as Macedonia Secunda, "second Macedonia") in the north, which partially includes Dardania and the whole of Paeonia; most of the country's modern borders were within the latter, with the city of Stobi as its capital. Roman expansion brought the area of Scupi under Roman rule in the time of Domitian (81–96 AD), and it fell within the Province of Moesia. [60] While Greek remained the dominant language in the eastern part of the Roman empire, Latin spread to some extent in Macedonia.

Middle Ages

During the Middle Ages it was a disputed region. It was first a province of the Byzantine Empire, although the VI century saw massive immigration of Slavs, demographically outnumbering the local populations of Illyrian, Thracian and Greek origins. The territory then became an integral part of the Bulgarian Empire for hundreds of years, which is why the current language and much of the Slavic Macedonian culture has strong affinities with that of Bulgaria.

Slavic tribes settled in the Balkan region, including North Macedonia, in the late VI century d. C. During the 580s, Byzantine literature attests that the Slavs raided Byzantine territories in the region of Macedonia, often aided by the Bulgars or Avars. Historical records document that in c. 680 a group of Pannonian Bulgars, together with Slavs, Germans, and Byzantines, all led by the Bulgarian nobleman Kuber, settled in the Keramis plain region, centered on the town of Bitola, forming a second route for settlement definitive history of the Bulgars on the Balkan Peninsula at the end of the VII century.

Presian's reign apparently coincides with the extension of Bulgarian control and possession over the Slavic tribes in and around Macedonia. The Slavic tribes that settled in the region of Macedonia converted to Christianity along with the rest of Bulgaria around the IX century during the reign of Tsar Boris I of Bulgaria. The Ohrid Literary School became one of the two main cultural centers of the First Bulgarian Empire, along with the Preslav Literary School. Established in Ohrid in 886 by Saint Clement of Ohrid on the orders of Boris I, the Ohrid Literary School was involved in the spread of Cyrillic.

Southeast Europe around 850.

After the invasion of Bulgaria by Sviatoslav, Grand Prince of kyiv, the Byzantines took control of Eastern Bulgaria. Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria, one of the Cometopuli brothers, was proclaimed emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria. He moved the capital of Bulgaria to Skopje and then to Ohrid, which had been the cultural and military center of southwestern Bulgaria since the rule of Boris I. Samuel restored Bulgarian power, but after several decades of conflict, in 1014, the Emperor Byzantine Basil II defeated the armies of Tsar Samuel of Bulgaria, and within four years the Byzantines regained control over the Balkans (including North Macedonia) for the first time since the 17th century VII. The rank of the autocephalous Bulgarian Patriarchate was reduced due to its subjugation to Constantinople and it was transformed into the Archbishopric of Ohrid. In the late 12th century century, Byzantine decline saw the region contested by various polities, including a brief Norman occupation in the 1080s.

In the early 13th century century, the revived Bulgarian Empire gained control of the region. Plagued by political difficulties, the empire did not last, and the region again came under Byzantine control in the early 14th century.

Southeast Europe around 1241

In the 14th century, it became part of the short-lived Serbian Empire, who considered themselves liberators of their Slavic kin from the Byzantine despotism. In 1346 in the fortress of Skopje, Stephen Uroš IV Dušan adopted the title of emperor and Skopje became the capital of the Serbian empire.

Ottoman Empire

The Balkans in 1912, before the first Balkan war.

After Dusan's death, a weak successor appeared, and power struggles between nobles divided the Balkans once more. These events coincided with the entry of the Ottoman Turks into Europe. The Kingdom of Prilep was one of the short-lived states that emerged from the collapse of the Serbian Empire in the 14th century. Gradually, the central Balkans were conquered by the Ottoman Empire and remained under its rule for five centuries as part of the province or Eyalet of Rumelia. The name Rumelia (Turkish: Rumeli) means "land of the Romans" in Turkish, which refers to the lands conquered by the Ottoman Turks from the Byzantine Empire. Over the centuries, Rumelia was reduced in size through administrative reforms, until in the 19th century it consisted of a region from central Albania and northwestern North Macedonia, with its capital at Manastir or present-day Bitola. Rumelia was abolished in 1867 and that Macedonian territory subsequently became part of Manastir Province until the end of Ottoman rule in 1912.

The uprising of the Slavic peoples against the Ottoman Empire triggered the First Balkan War, which would end with the dispute between the Serbian and Bulgarian armies over the Macedonian territory, causing a second uprising that ended with the Serbian victory, passing through Macedonia into their hands through the Treaty of Bucharest.

Yugoslavia

After a period under the jurisdiction of the Kingdom of Serbia, the region of Macedonia became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918, later becoming part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929. During World War II World War, the current territory of North Macedonia was invaded by the Italian and Bulgarian armies, who annexed the territory to the Kingdom of Bulgaria between 1941 and 1944, and later by Nazi Germany, being liberated by the partisans. After the end of the war, Macedonia was integrated into the Federal Democratic Republic of Yugoslavia under the name of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, being one of the six republics into which the country was administratively divided.

Independence and name dispute

Nikola Karev, president of the ephemeral Republic Krushevo-Macedonia during the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising.

When the dissolution of Yugoslavia began, during the Yugoslav wars, on September 8, 1991 the Republic of Macedonia declared its independence from Yugoslavia. However, unlike what happened in Slovenia and Croatia, the Yugoslav Army did not intervene in Macedonia. Bulgaria was the first country to recognize Macedonia under its constitutional name. However, international recognition of the new country was delayed by Greece's objection to the use of what was considered a Hellenic name and flag symbol, as well as a quote controversy of the constitution of the republic. The United Nations Organization (UN) recognized the state in 1993 with the provisional reference of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), or the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) due to the influence of its name in French ( Former Yugoslav Republic of Macédoine).

2001 Conflict of the Republic of Macedonia

Greece imposed a trade blockade in February 1994. The sanctions were lifted in September 1995, after the Republic of Macedonia changed its flag and constitution. The two nations have agreed to normalize their relations, but the name of the state remains a source of local and international controversy. After the state was admitted to the UN with the provisional reference of FYROM, other international organizations adopted the same convention. Most diplomats are accredited to the republic using the FYROM designation. At least 40 countries recognized the country by its constitutional name, the Republic of Macedonia.

During the 1999 Kosovo war, Macedonia cooperated with NATO. Some 360,000 Kosovo Albanian refugees entered Macedonia during the war, threatening to upset the balance between the Macedonian and Albanian ethnic groups in the country. Many returned to Kosovo, but ethnic tensions grew. On August 13, 2001, an agreement was reached that ended the fighting between the Macedonians and the Albanians.

Adoption of “North Macedonia”

Signature of the Prespa agreement on June 17, 2018

In 2018, the Prespa Agreement was signed with Greece regarding the dispute over the name of Macedonia, whereby the independent state would change its name to "North Macedonia". On September 30 of that year, a referendum to approve the deal. The result was not conclusive: although the "Yes" vote reached the majority of votes, the referendum had only 36.3% participation, 15% less than the minimum required. Despite this, the Macedonian Parliament approved the name change on January 11, 2019, slightly exceeding the 80 required votes. Subsequently, the Prespa Agreement was ratified by the Greek Parliament, entering into regime during the month of February 2019. This allowed the process for the incorporation to begin from North Macedonia to NATO, which ended on March 27, 2020.

National symbols

North Macedonia has maintained an identity debate about its symbols since independence, influenced by the polyethnicity of its inhabitants, the intersecting history of the region and relations with its neighbors. The creation of a Macedonian national identity began to take shape at the end of the 19th century, with authors such as Georgi Pulevski and Krste Misirkov, and would be consolidated during World War II: the invasion of the Kingdom of Bulgaria in 1941. After the end of the war, the carried out the proclamation of the People's Republic of Macedonia within the Yugoslav Federation. The second stage came with the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the rise of Slobodan Milošević, resulting in independence in 1991.

Since the Republic does not correspond to the ancient Macedonia of Alexander the Great, since the current territory of the country was not part of that kingdom, the first Macedonian president Kiro Gligorov has defended the use of the name "Republic of Macedonia" in the following terms:

"We are Macedonians, but Slavomacedonians. That's what we are. We have no connection with Alexander the Great and his Macedonia. The ancient Macedonians no longer exist, disappeared from history long ago. Our ancestors arrived in the fifth and sixth century AD.

Flag

Comparison between the flag of the Sun of Vergina and the flag of the Republic of North Macedonia, approved in 1995.

The flag was adopted on October 5, 1995, and consists of a red cloth in which a golden sun with eight golden rays is represented, extended to the edges, which represents the freedom won after the independence of Yugoslavia. It was designed by Miroslav Grčev.

From 1992 to 1995, the country used a red flag with the Sun of Vergina or silver star, a symbol of the historical Greek region of Macedonia. The Greek government considered that both the use of the name "Macedonia" and that symbol represented "the usurpation of the cultural heritage of a neighboring country" and a possible act of irredentism on the entire region. After four years of diplomatic conflict and Even a Hellenic economic blockade, Macedonia agreed to change the national banner to a design inspired by the original.

The 1995 flag is widely accepted by Macedonians, but in some municipalities the Vergina Sun flag continues to fly alongside the official flag.

National anthem

The country's national anthem is called Denes Nad Makedonija (in Spanish, “Today about Macedonia”), composed in 1941 with words by Vlado Maleski and music by Todor Skalovski. The song became very popular after the proclamation of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia in 1944, and after independence in 1991 it was approved as the official anthem.

Shield

The shield is identical to the one used during the Socialist Republic, except for the removal of the red star in 2009. The central figures represent the natural Macedonian landscapes with the Shar mountain and Ohrid lake, surrounded by wheat plants (at the top) and the poppy (at the bottom). At the base there is a ribbon with traditional embroidery.

The coat of arms was approved on July 27, 1946 by the People's Assembly of the People's Republic of Macedonia. After independence in 1991, it was studied to recover the "Macedonian lion", a gold heraldic lion in a field of gules, but this initiative did not prosper due to the rejection of the Albanian ethnic group, who considered it an exclusive symbol, and because of its resemblance to the Bulgarian coat of arms. Since 2014, the adoption of a new coat of arms based on an illustration from the book Le blason des armoiries (1581) by Hiérosme de Bara has been debated: a heraldic lion gules on a golden background, with a mural crown adorned with pearls and rubies.

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  Current shield of the Republic of Northern Macedonia.

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  Styling version of the Macedonian lion.

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  Arms shield proposed in 2014.

Name dispute

International map of the dispute over the name of Macedonia. In green, countries that used "Republic of Macedonia"; in red, those that used the provisional name; in blue, without a defined formula.

Since the proclamation of independence in 1991, a dispute over the name of Macedonia has been going on between the Republic of Macedonia and Greece. The Hellenic country opposed three aspects of the new state: its name, due to the ambiguity it generated with the Greek region of Macedonia; the national flag with the Sun of Vergina, symbol of Philip II of Macedonia, and several articles of the Macedonian Constitution that could imply territorial claims. For this reason, Greece took several actions to prevent the use of these symbols: from blocking its accession to the UN and the European Economic Community, until an economic embargo in early 1994.

Thanks to international mediation, both states signed an agreement in 1995: the Greek-Macedonian border would be reopened in exchange for Macedonia changing the flag and eliminating the criticized paragraphs of the Constitution. However, the name conflict remained unresolved. Macedonia was a member of international organizations under a provisional name, "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (FYROM), while its flag was not flown at the Headquarters of the Organization of the United Nations until the presentation of the new banner in 1995.

The formula «Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia» continued to be used within international organizations, and in bilateral relations by states such as Greece, Australia, Germany, Spain and Mexico. However, most of the countries with which Macedonia maintains relations—among them the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, and China—used the constitutional name in their respective bilateral agreements.

On June 12, 2018, it was announced that the governments of both nations agreed on the name “Republic of North Macedonia” as a new proposal, which had to be endorsed by the Parliaments of both countries and by a referendum by the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. However, the referendum did not have the minimum participation necessary for its approval (only 36.9% of the census voted, and it was not renewed since 2002, being in 2018 mayor) and the decision to change the name depended on Parliament, which approved it in plenary session on October 19, 2018.

After all necessary interim steps were taken by all parties, the name change became effective on February 12, 2019.

Government and politics

North Macedonia is a parliamentary republic, whose political organization is defined by the Constitution of North Macedonia proclaimed on November 17, 1991. This law guarantees the rule of law, democracy and the protection of individual and fundamental rights. The Macedonian government is based on the division of powers into three branches: legislative, executive and judicial.

In the 2018 democracy index compiled by The Economist, North Macedonia obtained a score of 5.87 out of 10. The country scores notably in the parameter of electoral processes and pluralism, political participation and civil liberties, but the average decreases due to an approval in the functioning of the Government and a fail in political culture. Throughout its history, the country has been peppered with various scandals, the most recent being a case of wiretapping illegal in 2015 that led to the resignation of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.

Division of powers

The President of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski.

The Prime Minister of North Macedonia, Dimitar Kovacevski.

The legislative power is exercised by the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia (Skopje), of a unicameral type, whose maximum representative is the president of the Chamber. According to the Constitution, there can be between 120 and 140 representatives, elected by party list proportional representation. There are currently 120 deputies, 20 for each of the six electoral districts. There are also three extra seats, reserved for the Macedonian diaspora, which are only awarded if a minimum participation rate is exceeded. Legislative elections by direct universal suffrage are held every four years. The two main parties in the country are the Democratic Party for National Unity (conservative) and the Social Democratic Union of Macedonia (centre-left).

Executive power is in the hands of the President of the Republic and the Government of North Macedonia. The president has no executive power; He is elected for a period of five years by direct suffrage, with a maximum of two terms. His functions are limited to the terms established by the Constitution, including head of state and the appointment of a candidate to form a government. If the President of the Republic is unable to perform his functions, he will be temporarily replaced by the President of the Chamber. The Head of Government is held by the Prime Minister of North Macedonia, who is responsible for the appointment of ministers and responsibilities in domestic and foreign policy, without term limits.

The judiciary depends on an autonomous and independent legal system, guaranteed by the Macedonian Constitution and ratified international agreements. The system is divided into several levels: municipal courts, district courts, appeal courts and the Supreme Court, made up of 22 judges. Since 1994 there has been a Constitutional Court, made up of nine judges, which exercises the function of supreme interpreter of the Constitution. The governing body of this power is the Republican Judicial Council. Judges nominate candidates for the Supreme Court and these must be approved by the Assembly by a two-thirds majority. In addition, they will not be able to reconcile their position with any other political activity or militancy. Macedonian law follows the continental tradition.

Foreign Relations

European Union Headquarters in Skopie.

North Macedonia maintains bilateral relations with 167 states and manages 48 diplomatic missions (including embassies and consulates). The country became a member of the United Nations Organization on April 8, 1993, eighteen months after independence of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. During the dispute over the name of the state, it was listed in international treaties as the "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia". It is also a member of the Council of Europe, the Bank for International Settlements, the Organization for Food and Agriculture, Interpol, Unesco and NATO, among other institutions.

Independent North Macedonia's foreign policy has been marked by friction with all of its neighbors, most famously the dispute over national symbols with Greece. Their aspirations to enter the European Union and NATO with their constitutional name caused clashes with the Hellenic government, which even vetoed the entry of both entities until the conflict was resolved. Despite this controversy, both states they have maintained good economic relations.

Disagreements have also been common with Bulgaria, especially over the origins of the Macedonian language and the nationality of historical figures who were born in present-day North Macedonia but are recognized Bulgarians. With Serbia, its Orthodox Church does not recognize autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox. And regarding Albania and the Republic of Kosovo, which they officially recognize since the declaration of independence in 2008, it depends to a large extent on the ethnic situation between Macedonians and Albanians.

Accession of North Macedonia to the European Union

Armed Forces

The Army of North Macedonia was created in 1992, its commander-in-chief is the President of the Republic and reports to the Ministry of Defence. The armed forces consist of two branches: the army and the air force. In total it has about 9,000 active soldiers and 16,000 reservists. Military service was eliminated in 2006; since then it has been considered a professional army, similar to other European states. In 2015, military spending was 1.06% of GDP.

North Macedonia's entry into NATO was conditioned on the resolution of the dispute over the name of the country. Meanwhile, it has participated in numerous peacekeeping programs with NATO itself, the European Armed Forces and the Association for Peace. Finally, the Balkan country joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on March 27, 2020, becoming the 30th member.

For its part, it should be noted that the army has deployed soldiers in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), EUFOR Althea, KFOR, the war in Afghanistan and the war in Iraq.

Human Rights

In terms of human rights, regarding membership of the seven bodies of the International Bill of Human Rights, which include the Human Rights Committee (HRC), North Macedonia has signed or ratified:

Status of major international human rights instruments

Northern Macedonia	International treaties
	CESCR		CCPR			CERD	CED	CEDAW		CAT		CRC			MWC	CRPD
	CESCR	CESCR-OP	CCPR	CCPR-OP1	CCPR-OP2-DP			CEDAW	CEDAW-OP	CAT	CAT-OP	CRC	CRC-OP-AC	CRC-OP-SC		CRPD	CRPD-OP
Pertenence
Signed and ratified, signed, but not ratified, neither signed nor ratified, without information, it has agreed to sign and ratify the body concerned, but also recognizes the competence to receive and process individual communications from the competent bodies.

Territorial organization

Map of municipalities of North Macedonia.

Administratively, North Macedonia is made up of 80 municipalities (Macedonian: општини, opštini), divided into urban and rural. The new system came into force in 2004. Each municipality has a local government, a capital, and a mayor elected by universal suffrage, whose powers are defined by law. Skopje is made up of ten municipalities and has a special status defined in the Constitution.

Municipalities can decentralize their work in towns or neighborhoods, with powers determined by the municipal government. However, these smaller entities cannot be political in nature. Regarding the polyethnicity of the country, an ethnic minority will be able to use its own language in local administration if it exceeds 20% of the municipal population.

On the other hand, North Macedonia is subdivided into eight statistical regions (регион, regioni). Unlike what happens with the municipalities, the regions are not considered an official territorial division: they are only used to obtain statistical data and coordinate local economic policies.

Cities

There are a total of 1,637 localities in North Macedonia. According to the 2002 census, 59.5% of Macedonians live in urban municipalities. Skopje is the capital and most inhabited city of the country with more than 460,000 inhabitants, 25% of the national population, and if the Skopje region is taken into account the figure would rise to 571,000 people. Far below are the municipalities of Bitola (74,550), Kumanovo (70,842) and Prilep (66,246). The municipality of Tetovo, in the northwest of the country and bordering Kosovo, is the first where the ethnic Albanian population outnumbers the Macedonian. about to be.

The most densely populated regions are Skopje and Polog, both of which are concentrated in the northwest of the country and around the valley of the Vardar River. The sum of Skopje, Tetovo and Gostivar represents 43% of the national citizenship, and they are also the ones with the highest demographic growth, motivated by two reasons: the rural population moves to the capital in search of opportunities, and the ethnic Albanian it has a higher birth rate. The south of the country presents a lower growth, but it is home to important cities such as Bitola, Prilep, Štip, Strumica, Kavadarci.

Geography

Physical map of North Macedonia.

North Macedonia is a state in southeastern Europe, located in the center of the Balkan Peninsula. Landlocked, it is bordered to the south by Greece, to the east by Bulgaria, to the north by Serbia and Kosovo, and to the west by Albania. Its total area is 25,713 square kilometers.

The terrain is mostly mountainous, situated between the Šar Mountains and the Osogovske Planina around the valley of the Vardar River. Three large lakes (Ohrid, Prespa and Doiran) lie on the southern border of the Republic, divided by the border with Albania and Greece.

The region is seismically active and has been the site of destructive earthquakes in the past, most recently in 1963 when Skopje was severely damaged by a large earthquake.

The country's largest city by far is Skopje, the capital, with an estimated population of 600,000. After Skopje, the largest cities are Bitola, Kumanovo, Prilep and Tetovo with populations ranging from 50,000 to 120,000.

Climate

There are four different seasons in the country, with hot and dry summers and moderately cold and snowy winters. The range of temperatures recorded throughout the year ranges from -20 °C in winter to 40 °C in summer. The low winter temperatures are influenced by the northerly winds, while the hot seasons during the summer arise due to the subtropical pressure of the Aegean Sea and the climatic influences of the Middle East, causing the latter periods of drought. [There are three zones main climatic conditions in the country: mild continental in the north, temperate Mediterranean in the south and mountainous in the high altitude areas. Along the valleys of the Vardar and Strumica rivers, in the regions of Gevgelija, Valandovo, Dojran, Strumica and Radoviš, the climate is temperate Mediterranean. The warmest regions are Demir Kapija and Gevgelija, where the temperature in July and August frequently exceeds 40 °C.

Mean annual rainfall varies between 1,700 mm in the western mountainous area and 500 mm in the eastern area. In the Vardar valley rainfall is low, with 500 mm per year. The climate and the diversity of irrigation allow the cultivation of different types of plants, such as wheat, corn, potato, poppy, peanut and rice. There are thirty main and regular weather stations in the country

Ecology

The biomes present in North Macedonia are the temperate broad-leaved forest and the Mediterranean forest. According to WWF, the territory of North Macedonia is divided into four different ecoregions:

• Mixed forest of the Rhodope mountains, in the eastern end
• Sclerophile and mixed forest of the Aegean and western Turkey, in the southeast
• Mixed forest of the Pindo Mountains, in the West
• Balkan mixed forest, in the rest of the country

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  Mount Korab.

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  Lake Ohrid.

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  Mávrovo.

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  Galichica Mountain.

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  Common linen.

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  Matka Canyon

Economy

National Bank of the Republic of Macedonia of the North.

According to the International Monetary Fund, North Macedonia has a developing market economy with a stable inflation rate, but penalized by low foreign investment, political crises and its vulnerability on the international stage. Distribution by sector in GDP in 2017 was as follows: services (62.5%), industry (26.6%) and agriculture (10.9%).

Historically, North Macedonia has been the poorest region on the Balkan Peninsula, a rural area with little industry until the 20th century. With the integration into Yugoslavia, the Tito government undertook an ambitious agrarian reform through expropriations, as well as a planned industrialization that had an impact on the local economy: the primary sector, in which more than 80% of the population worked before 1945, it reduced its weight to 57% in 1961 and to only 22% in 1981. The secondary sector at that time was limited to the needs of the whole of Yugoslavia: production of electricity, chrome, tobacco, textiles and construction materials. Despite industrialization, the Macedonian economy remained dependent on imports and maintained a structural unemployment rate of 20%.

After independence, North Macedonia had to face the transition towards a market economy with an added difficulty: the loss of its export markets, as a consequence of the Greek blockade and the Yugoslav wars. Business activity fell by 60%, unemployment shot up to {esd|40%}} in 1998, economic differences between Skopje and the rest of the world widened of municipalities, and the State was on the brink of bankruptcy. In 1995, the foundations for economic recovery were laid thanks to the Greek-Macedonian agreement, and even began a privatization program that would not end until 2001. Since the 2000s, the country has established sustained GDP growth and has set membership in the European Union as a priority objective. The unemployment rate, although still high, has dropped to 23% in 2016.

The blockade of exports in the 1990s consolidated an irregular economy that still represents a high percentage of GDP, favored in some regions by local culture. Other problems are money laundering, combated with new legislation in 2014; the high operational cost, and cases of corruption both on a small scale and in the political arena.

Almost half a million people left the country from 1991 to 2010, mainly due to the very high unemployment rate (30%) and low wages.

Foreign investment

North Macedonia's main trading partners are the member states of the European Union, and to a lesser extent the countries of the Balkan Peninsula. North Macedonia usually exports to Germany (more than 25%), Bulgaria, Italy, Serbia and Kosovo, mostly catalysts and raw materials, and imports products from Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, Greece and Italy, almost all goods from consumption. The Macedonian trade balance is in deficit because the country needs to import most of its products to get ahead, and it has also been affected by international crises such as the eurozone crisis. The State has signed trade stabilization agreements with the European Union and with Turkey.

Similarly, foreign investment has traditionally been low. Due to the Greek economic blockade over the name dispute Macedonia, in 1993 the country received only $812,000 of investment, compared to more than $330 million in 2007. North Macedonia currently ranks 98th in foreign direct investment. Thanks to the agreements with the European Union, the State has been able to reduce commercial dependence on Greece. In order to attract foreign investment, the Macedonian government introduced a 12% flat tax for companies in 2007.

Commercial balance
Exports to		Imports
Country	Percentage	Country	Percentage
GermanyGermany	44.32 per cent	GermanyGermany	12.64 %
SerbiaSerbia	8.73 %	United KingdomUnited Kingdom	9.70 %
BulgariaBulgaria	6.03 %	SerbiaSerbia	8.10 %
ItalyItaly	4.04 %	GreeceGreece	7.80 %
GreeceGreece	3.69 %	ChinaChina	6.10 %
Other	33.19 %	Other	55.66 %

Agriculture

Vineyard in Skopie.

Agriculture plays an important role in the Macedonian economy, accounting for a higher percentage of GDP than the European average. There is a total of 10,140 km² of agricultural land in the State, approximately 39% of the national territory. Land used for agricultural products represents 70% of production, while the rest is dedicated to sheep, cattle and pigs. There are two types of farms: private ones are small and represent 80% of the total, while the remaining 20% are public industrial fields, inherited from the socialist system. Domestic farmers have to deal with drought and excessive fragmentation of farms.

In 2015, the primary sector accounted for 12% of North Macedonia's total exports, mostly to the rest of the Balkan Peninsula and neighboring Bulgaria and Greece. The leading export product is tobacco (35%), followed by wine (15%), fruits and vegetables (10%) and lamb meat (5.7%). About the more than 80 Macedonian vineyards have been generated an incipient wine industry. The main cereal farms (wheat, corn, oats and rice) are concentrated in the south of the country.

Industry

The Macedonian industry is focused on the agri-food, textile manufacturing and metallurgical sectors. Due to the influence of agriculture there are numerous companies dedicated to food processing. The metallurgy, previously fed by local mines, is increasingly dependent on the export of metals. Mining is concentrated above all in chrome and dwindling copper deposits. The Radoviš and Pehcevo copper mines in the eastern part were closed in 2008 and turned into centers for obtaining and processing metals. For their part, Macedonian factories work imported metals such as nickel, iron and steel, under the control of ArcelorMittal and Makstil (a Duferco subsidiary).

Some of the major Macedonian companies are Alkаloid (medicines), Granit (construction), Makpetrol (hydrocarbons), Prilepska Pivarnica (beer), Rade Končar (drivers) and ZK Pelagonija (agriculture).

Tourism

Monastery of San Pantaleón de Ocrida.

North Macedonia has been a member of the World Tourism Organization since 1995. Since independence, the country has tried to boost international tourism by citing both its historical heritage and the many cultural and natural attractions it has. The contributions of this sector represented up to 1.4% of GDP in 2015. According to official government figures, there were a total of 262,000 foreign tourists in 2011, representing an increase of more than 14%. This is a low figure when compared to the data from the Yugoslav period, when more than 689,000 tourists came in 1987.

Landlocked, the main natural attractions are the mountains, three national parks (Mávrovo, Galichica and Monte Baba) and 33 nature reserves. The tourist capital is Ohrid, the only Macedonian cultural asset among the Unesco World Heritage Sites and famous for its lake, the monastery of Saint Pantaleon of Ohrid and the Samuel Fortress. The Marko Towers are candidates to enter the list (Prilep) and the Kokino astronomical observatory (Staro Nagoričane) dating from the Bronze Age. The capital Skopje lost part of its heritage in the 1963 earthquake, but it retains some Ottoman vestiges and has rebuilt neoclassical-inspired buildings.

Demographics

North Macedonia Demographic Table.

According to the 2002 official census, North Macedonia had a population of 2,022,547, while the estimated population in 2015 was 2,070,226. Women make up 49.9% of the total, so the masculinity index is slightly higher.

Unlike other countries, a reliable census could not be established in present-day North Macedonia until 1948, at the time of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. The first count provided a total of 1,152,986 inhabitants in the early 1950s. Since then the population has been increasing, reaching more than two million in 1991. Despite migratory departures, the formerly known as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia it was not affected as much by the Yugoslav wars as its neighbors and was able to sustain progressive growth.

The fertility rate is 1.52 children per woman, compared to the average of 4 children in the 1960s. average age of marriage and the insertion of women in the labor market. To try to solve it, the Macedonian government has been granting family support of 120 euros per month from the third child since 2008. Currently the migratory balance is negative, but there is a large Macedonian community abroad; many were able to leave the country in the second half of the 20th century.

The Macedonian population is aging, but at a slower rate than the rest of Western Europe. Life expectancy has increased by five years between 1980 and 2011, reaching an average of 74.8 years. In 2009, 11.6% of the population was part of the elderly, while those under 15 years of age represented 17.7% that same year.

North Macedonia has lost 10% of its population between 2002 and 2021.

Ethnic composition

Map of the Republic of Macedonia of the North by ethnic groups.

The country has a diverse population according to its origin. From the census of more than two million inhabitants, the following ethnic groups can be distinguished: Macedonians (1,297,981 people, 64%), Albanians (509,083 people, 25.2%), Turks (77,959, 3.9%), Roma (53,859 people, 2.7%), Serbs (35,939 people, 1.8%), Bosniacs (17,018 people, 0.8%) and Vlachs (9,695 people, 0.5%). The mentioned minorities are the only ones recognized by the State in the preamble of the Constitution; all citizens of North Macedonia are equal before the law, and the state must protect and promote the cultures of all communities. If a group represents more than 20% of the total population of the country, as is the case with the Albanians, their language can be used in national institutions.

Although inter-ethnic coexistence is usually calm, there are few mixed marriages and confrontations have occasionally occurred. The most frequent are among the Macedonian and Albanian ethnic groups, whose high point was the armed conflict of 2001 in the north of the country. The resolution of the same led to the signing of the Ohrid agreement, by which the national government promised to improve the rights of the Albanian minority. There are also differences at the religious level: while Macedonians are mostly Orthodox Christians, Macedonian Albanians profess Islam. There have also been disputes in other aspects such as the preparation of the census, national identity, and government pacts.

An important aspect is the integration of the Roma people, whose living conditions differ greatly from the rest of the inhabitants, generally due to social and economic disadvantage. Of the almost 54,000 registered Roma, more than 14,000 live in poverty. North Macedonia has collaborated in the international initiative "Decade for Roma inclusion" and tries to integrate them through specialized education, differentiated policies and the creation of its own ministry. The municipality of Šuto Orizari is the only one in the world that recognizes the Romani language as an official language.

Languages

Street sign «20 October» by Skopie in Macedonian

Several vernacular languages are spoken in North Macedonia. Two official languages are spoken throughout the country: the Macedonian language, written in the Cyrillic alphabet, and the Albanian language, written in the Latin alphabet.

Macedonian is a Slavic language with many similarities to Bulgarian, although it is also influenced by Serbo-Croatian. Macedonian linguists claim that it is based on the Old Church Slavonic used by Cyril and Methodius. Until the adoption of a linguistic standard in 1945, it was a language used in rural areas and with multiple variants, to the point that some linguists considered it. considered a dialect derived from Bulgarian. Today it is the mother tongue of 1.4 million speakers, approximately 70% of the population, and the vast majority of Macedonians know how to use it.

In addition, other languages are spoken in some areas: Turkish, Romani, Aromanian, Serbian and Bosnian. According to the law, these languages can have official status in municipalities (opštini) where ethnic minorities exceed 20% of the population, but not at the national level. The country has signed the Charter Union of Minority Languages that guarantees their use in the administration, the media and teaching, always in the terms established by the constitution. The largest minority language group in the country is the Albanian people, approximately 25% of the population.

Until the 6th century, Greek in its Macedonian variant was the language of historic Macedonia. The earthquakes and Justinian's plague reduced the Hellenic population and led to the establishment of Slavic peoples, who would eventually be the majority thanks to the adoption of Orthodox Christianity.

Religion

The Macedonian constitution guarantees freedom of worship and religious expression, with separation of powers from the state and equality before the law. Traditionally the majority religion has been Orthodox Christianity, but there is also a notable Muslim community. Of the total number of Macedonians who profess a religion, 65% are Orthodox, 33% are Muslim, and the remaining 2% correspond to other beliefs.

Religion is closely linked to ethnicity, to the point of becoming an identity factor that prevails over true religious practice or belief. Macedonians and Vlachs belong to the Macedonian Orthodox Church, which continues to be unrecognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, while the Serbs follow the postulates of the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Archbishop of Ohrid in North Macedonia is an integral part of the Serbian Orthodox Church. Albanians, Turks, Roma, Bosniaks and Macedonian converts (Torbeši) are Sunni Muslims. The 33% percentage makes North Macedonia the fourth European country in terms of Muslim population, behind Kosovo (90%), Albania (80%) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (48%). Macedonian Albanians have a reputation for be more religious than the rest of the Albanians.

Population and society

Education

Campus of the Universidad Santos Cirilio and Metodio de Skopie.

The Macedonian education system has been reformed in the 2000s to adopt the standards of the European Union and the Bologna process. Basic education is compulsory and free from six to fifteen years of age for a period of eight grades, according to the National Education Law. As for secondary education, it covers from fifteen to nineteen years in four grades, it is not compulsory and some centers may ask for registration fees. Ethnic minorities have the right to receive education in their mother tongue, but Macedonian is compulsory from the third grade.

Parents can apply for a daycare place for their children from six months to six years. Although it is not compulsory, approximately 81% of Macedonian children have attended pre-school, a percentage that rises to 100% in the case of cities. Primary education is divided into two stages: an initial one that covers general knowledge (first to fourth year) and a second one with more specialization (fifth to eighth). In the end, graduates who have passed the final exam will be able to choose two paths: the vocational school or the institute (gym), the only option to enter the university.

Higher education is taught in universities, under the bachelor's, master's and doctorate system. North Macedonia has five public universities: Saints Cyril and Methodius University (Skopje), Gotse Delchev University (Štip), Saint Paul the Apostle University of Information Sciences and Technology (Ohrid), Saint Clement University (Bitola) and State University (Tetovo).

According to the 2011 United Nations Development Program Report, the literacy rate is 97.8%. The country has gone from being 64% illiterate in 1944 to reaching European standards in the decade of 1980. However, one of the biggest challenges of the Macedonian government has been to ensure that the Roma community can be integrated into the national education system.

Health

Since independence, Macedonian healthcare has reformed its hospitals and opened up to private competition. Approximately 91% of the population has access to the system, with notable differences between 97.2% of the urban population and 82.6% of the rural population. The average number of hospital beds is 4.94 per 1,000 inhabitants, below other former socialist states but slightly higher than Western Europe. There are also 2.5 doctors for every 1,000 inhabitants, below the European average. State budgets allocated 6.5% of GDP to health in 2014.

The health problems of the Balkan country are the same as in the rest of Europe. The leading causes of death are cardiovascular disease, cancer, mental illness, injury, and respiratory problems. The country exceeds the European average in traffic accidents, alcoholism and diseases derived from tobacco use. The infant mortality rate is 7.9 children per 1,000 births, and HIV cases are extremely rare.

Media

Makedonska Radio Televizija Headquarters in Skopie.

The public broadcasting company is Makedonska Radio Televizija (MRT), with three radio stations, three television channels and services for linguistic minorities. There are numerous commercial radio stations, including which include Kanal 77 and Antenna 5, and several free-to-air private television channels, such as Sitel and Kanal 5. In addition, the percentage of subscription television subscribers is high. Most of the media is consumed in the Macedonian language, with headers for the different ethnic minority groups. The internet penetration rate exceeds 70%.

As far as the press is concerned, there are four newspapers with a national circulation. Nova Makedonija and Večer are heirs to the Yugoslav state press system; although its majority capital is private, the Macedonian government still retains a stake. Utrinski Vesnik and Dnevnik have been published since the late 1990s and have no political ties. The Macedonian Information Agency (MIA) is the country's main news agency.

The Constitution guarantees freedom of the press and freedom of expression. However, the Macedonian media have sometimes denounced pressure and threats against their work. In 2011, Reporters Without Borders expressed concern about the closure of three newspapers and the A1 Televizija channel, all belonging to the same publishing group. In the same way, the National Assembly debated in 2012 a law on foreign press that restricted the informative work of correspondents. On the other hand, in December 2016 it was learned that a group of Macedonian students from Veles had produced fake news during the US presidential election to earn money from their virality on social media, without the government being able to prevent it.

Infrastructure

Energy

The Republic produces only 60% of its energy consumption, its plants depend to a large extent on coal and lignite, and it has to cover the rest with imports of gas, oil and electricity. Since the 1990s there have been signed energy export agreements with Russia, the main supplier. Throughout North Macedonia there are 262 km of gas pipelines and 120 km of oil pipelines, of which only one gas pipeline (between Skopje and the Bulgarian border) and one oil pipeline connected to the port of Thessaloniki. Makpetrol is the main energy company in the country.

The presence of renewable energies is still anecdotal. Although the Macedonians inherited several hydroelectric power plants from the Yugoslav period, their performance has been slowed by lack of maintenance. Solar energy is developed thanks to private initiative, and in 2015 a wind farm with a capacity of 37 megawatts was inaugurated in the municipality of Bogdanci.

Transportation

Autopista M1, part of the European Route E75, in its passage through Petrovets.

The valley of the Vardar River is the main natural axis of the country: it crosses North Macedonia from north to south and connects the interior of the Balkan Peninsula with the Aegean Sea. That road was used to build the two most important infrastructures in the country: the M1 motorway, which is part of the European route E75, and the railway between Belgrade and Thessaloniki. Skopje is connected along the route with other cities such as Kumanovo, Gostivar, Veles and the border Gevgelija. The country also takes advantage of the eighth pan-European corridor (between Durrës and Konstanz) to connect the western and eastern parts of the country.

Macedonian transportation is highly dependent on road traffic, with a hub and spoke structure around Skopje. The Republic has 13,736 km of roads, of which 216 km correspond to two highways: the aforementioned A1 and A2. The government has had to resort to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development to expand the road network, improve existing facilities and adapt to the road standards of the European Union.

The country has 699 kilometers of railway line (234 km electrified) with standard gauge that are managed by the state company Makedonski Železnici. The service consists of a main section, which is part of the line between Belgrade and Thessaloniki, and other minor roads to other cities. The network is pending renewal and only freight transport is profitable. North Macedonia is connected by train with Serbia, Kosovo and Greece; construction of a line between Skopje and Sofia is planned.

North Macedonia is served by two international airports: Skopje Airport (IATA: SKP) and Ohrid Airport (IATA: OHD). In total there are 10 aerodromes.

Culture

Traditional Skopie costume.

The culture of North Macedonia developed under the influence of the Byzantine and Ottoman past, as well as the absence of Western references until the late 19th century. Slavic culture and Orthodox religion had a huge impact on things like folk music and poetry, based on Byzantine sacred music. During the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, of which they were a part from 1945 to 1991, the authorities encouraged the growth of Macedonian cultural currents at all levels.

Since independence in 1992, efforts have been made to preserve Macedonian heritage and popular culture, as well as that of the other ethnic minorities that are part of the state: Albanians, Turks and Roma.

Architecture

Panoramic of Ohrid, World Heritage City.

North Macedonia preserves examples of prehistoric architecture, including the archaeological sites of Tomb Madžari, Stobi and Heraclea Lincestis. The country has an important Byzantine religious heritage, represented in the Orthodox monasteries of Treskavets, Osogovo and San Juan Bautista. The city of Ohrid, capital of the First Bulgarian Empire, is a World Heritage Site for having the Monastery of Saint Pantaleon of Ohrid, the oldest of the Slavic temples. The Skopje Fortress and the Samuel Fortress are the national example of Byzantine military architecture. On the other hand, the Ottoman mosques and Turkish baths stand out, especially the Painted Mosque of Tetovo.

There are few buildings belonging to the modern age, but cities like Ohrid, Prilep, Veles, Kratovo and Kruševo preserve traditional houses from the 18th century. In them the absence of western influence can be appreciated; stone was reserved for the ground floor, while the upper floors were built with wood. The most representative is the Robevi House in Ohrid, built in 1827. From the second half of the XIX century, the numerous European-inspired buildings, especially in Bitola, where most of the consulates had been established. Those in Skopje were partially destroyed in the 1963 earthquake.

When it comes to contemporary architecture, most examples are in Skopje. The capital, devastated by the earthquake, was rebuilt in the 1970s under the supervision of the Polish architect Adolf Ciborowski, responsible for the restoration of Warsaw after World War II. The city was divided into blocks dedicated to specific activities, the banks of the The Vardar River was reserved for natural parks, and almost everything followed a modernist and brutalist style. The urban center was designed by the Japanese Kenzō Tange. After independence, the Macedonian government promoted an ambitious nationalist-inspired urban plan, Skopje 2014, through which monumental buildings based on neoclassical and baroque were inaugurated, among them the reconstruction of the National Theater and an equestrian statue of Alexander the Great. Despite the fact that the plan was widely questioned by the public capital, served to eliminate all traces of the effects of the earthquake.

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  Warrior on horseback, Skopie, part of the project Macedonia 2014.

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  Church of the monastery of Osogovo.

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  Robevi House of Ohrid.

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  Makedonium Kruševo.

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  Archaeological Museum of Macedonia.

Music

Traditional music choir.

Folk music is based on the artistic traditions of each of the regions that make it up, and is characterized by the absence of Western influences until the end of the century XIX. They emphasize both the importance of female voices and the use of instruments of Turkish origin: the zurna, the tapan, the tambura and the gaida. These instruments are also present in contemporary folk music and in subgenres such as the čalgija, based on improvisation. The representative folk dances are the horo and the teshkoto .

Most contemporary Macedonian performers limit their success to the Balkans. One of the most important has been the clarinetist Tale Ognenovski, the first Macedonian who was able to perform at Carnegie Hall. The singer Esma Redžepova and her husband Stevo Teodosievski have been leaders in Roma music, coming to be nicknamed "the queen of the gypsies". In the Yugoslav era, Leb i Sol would become the most representative Macedonian rock group. And in the pop genre artists such as Toše Proeski and Kaliopi have emerged.

In other artistic disciplines, the dancer Duska Sifnios (1934-2016) is considered one of the most important artists to have been born in North Macedonia.

Fine Arts

14th century Icon in Ohrid.

Traditional Macedonian art has developed around the production of religious frescoes. The oldest date from the 11th century. Among these works, Byzantine paintings stand out due to their nature and their three-dimensional perspective. The frescoes in the Church of San Pantaleon, with scenes from the Passion of Christ, reach a level of expressiveness similar to that of the primitive Italians.

Icon production dates back to Christian terracotta representations made in the 5th century and discovered in Vinica. The nearly 800 medieval icons preserved in Ohrid are benchmarks of Slavic and Byzantine iconography, and the second largest collection behind from the Tretyakov Gallery. The Macedonians have also produced a large number of wood carvings, mostly intended to decorate iconostases, with both Orthodox and Oriental motifs after the Ottoman conquest. The Turks influenced the construction of mosques decorated with frescoes, carved wooden ceilings, and carpets.

Painting and sculpture began to develop in the 20th century due to Western influence. Expressionism included Macedonian artists trained mostly abroad, such as the painters Nikola Martinoski (1903-1973) and Petar Mazev (1927- 1993) and the sculptor Dimo Todorovski (1910-1983), while others such as Dimitar Kondovski (1927-1993) reinterpreted the country's traditional art. The Skopje Museum of Contemporary Art holds the largest collection of this genre in the country, among which there are works by renowned international artists: Pablo Picasso, Pierre Soulages, Alexander Calder and Victor Vasarely.

Literature and cinema

Literature in Macedonian could not develop until the adoption of a linguistic standard in 1945. However, in the 19th century There were already authors such as the Miladinov brothers who dedicated themselves to compiling songs from the Bulgarian popular tradition, later claimed by Macedonian nationalism. The other pioneer was the poet Kočo Racin (1908-1943), author of works such as the collection of poems « White Dawns» (Бели мугри, Beli mugri), published in 1939. After World War II, authors such as Slavko Janevski and Venko Markovski delved into the narrative. The national dramaturgy drinks from Western and Balkan trends.

As for cinema, in 1905 the Manaki brothers filmed the first Balkan film in Bitola. Although the country's first theater was opened in Veles in 1923, the industry did not get going until after 1945. In During the Yugoslav era, the Vardar Studios were created, which produced more than 30 films, including the first in Macedonian, Frosina (Vojislav Nanovic, 1952). Starting in the 1980s, a new generation of directors focused on in social realism, whose greatest representative is the drama "Happy New Year '49" (Stole Popov, 1986), set in the effects of the Tito-Stalin rupture. After independence, the greatest success of Macedonian cinema It has been Before the Rain (Milcho Manchevski, 1994), a Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and an Oscar nominee for Best Foreign Language Film. This achievement was repeated in 2020 with the nomination for Honeyland, set in rural beekeepers.

The Bitola International Film Festival stands out from other similar events for exclusively awarding cinematographers.

Gastronomy

Traditional Macedonian table with peppers, cucumbers and a casserole Tavče Gravče.

Macedonian cuisine is influenced by Greek, Turkish and Slavic cuisines, and takes advantage of the diversity of local cultures. The country's relatively warm climate is conducive to growing legumes, vegetables, fruit and all kinds of spices, among which paprika stands out. Similarly, there are more than 80 vineyards in the nation occupying a total of 33,000 ha; wine is the second most exported Macedonian product behind tobacco.

Red pepper is the essential plant of the country. Come autumn, it is traditional to use part of the harvest to make paprika and ajvar, a condiment with peppers, eggplant and garlic. The Tavče Gravče —beans in a casserole— and the mastika —liqueur seasoned with mastic— are considered the national dish and drink, respectively. the cheese kashkaval and the liqueur rakija are famous. Due to Ottoman influence, kjebapi and Turkish coffee are also regularly consumed.

Official holidays

The calendar of official holidays is fixed each year, depending on the weekly distribution. The Macedonian government distinguishes universal holidays, shared by the entire population, from religious, ethnic and minority holidays, celebrated only by those communities. The National Holiday is Republic Day (Ден на Републиката, Den na Republikata), celebrated every August 2 in memory of the Ilinden revolt of 1903. International Workers' Day, Saint Cyril and Methodius Day, and Independence Day, proclaimed on August 8, are also holidays. September 1991.

The repertoire of common festivals is as follows:

Sports

Delegation of North Macedonia at the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.

North Macedonia participates in the Olympic Games through the North Macedonian Olympic Committee, recognized in 1993. Since independence, only one Macedonian athlete has won a medal: wrestler Mogamed Ibraguimov, bronze in freestyle wrestling at the JJs. oo. in Sydney 2000. At the time they were part of Yugoslavia, the range of sporting successes was equally discreet: the only Olympic champions have been Šaban Trstena (gold in Los Angeles 1984 and silver in Seoul 1988) and the soccer player Blagoje Vidinić (gold in Rome 1960 with the Yugoslav national team).

The sport with the most fans is soccer. Its men's team played Euro 2020, being its first, and only so far, international tournament, and world-class footballers such as Darko Pančev (Golden Boot in 1991), Goran Pandev and Enis Bardhi have played in it. The main stadium in the capital, the Toše Proeski Arena, has hosted the 2017 European Super Cup. The most successful team is FK Vardar, the only Macedonian champion in the Yugoslav era.

Handball is another of the most practiced disciplines in the country, since the national team is assiduous in the final phases of the European and World Cups. Skopje has hosted the 2008 European Women's Handball Championship, the final of which took place at the Boris Trajkovski Pavilion, and its most important team, RK Vardar, was proclaimed champion of the 2017 and 2019 EHF Champions League.

The basketball team had a moment of splendor with fourth place in the 2011 Men's European Basketball Championship. But Antic made his NBA debut with the Atlanta Hawks, and on the European stage the names of Petar Naumoski stand out and Vrbica Stefanov.