British Indian Ocean Territory (2002) | Macedonia (2006) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 85 municipalities (opstini, singular - opstina); Aerodrom (Skopje), Aracinovo, Berovo, Bitola, Bogdanci, Bogovinje, Bosilovo, Brvenica, Butel (Skopje), Cair (Skopje), Caska, Centar (Skopje), Centar Zupa, Cesinovo, Cucer-Sandevo, Debar, Debartsa, Delcevo, Demir Hisar, Demir Kapija, Dojran, Dolneni, Drugovo, Gazi Baba (Skopje), Gevgelija, Gjorce Petrov (Skopje), Gostivar, Gradsko, Ilinden, Jegunovce, Karbinci, Karpos (Skopje), Kavadarci, Kicevo, Kisela Voda (Skopje), Kocani, Konce, Kratovo, Kriva Palanka, Krivogastani, Krusevo, Kumanovo, Lipkovo, Lozovo, Makedonska Kamenica, Makedonski Brod, Mavrovo i Rastusa, Mogila, Negotino, Novaci, Novo Selo, Ohrid, Oslomej, Pehcevo, Petrovec, Plasnica, Prilep, Probistip, Radovis, Rankovce, Resen, Rosoman, Saraj (Skopje), Skopje, Sopiste, Staro Nagoricane, Stip, Struga, Strumica, Studenicani, Suto Orizari (Skopje), Sveti Nikole, Tearce, Tetovo, Valandovo, Vasilevo, Veles, Vevcani, Vinica, Vranestica, Vrapciste, Zajas, Zelenikovo, Zelino, Zrnovci
note: the ten municipalities followed by Skopje in parentheses collectively constitute "greater Skopje" |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 20.1% (male 213,486/female 199,127)
15-64 years: 68.9% (male 711,853/female 701,042) 65 years and over: 11% (male 98,618/female 126,428) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | grapes, wine, tobacco, vegetables; milk, eggs |
Airports | 1 (2001) | 17 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 10
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 under 914 m: 8 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2006) |
Area | total: 60 sq km
land: 60 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes the entire Chagos Archipelago |
total: 25,333 sq km
land: 24,856 sq km water: 477 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.3 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Vermont |
Background | Established as a territory of the UK in 1965, a number of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) islands were transferred to the Seychelles when it attained independence in 1976. Subsequently, BIOT has consisted only of the six main island groups comprising the Chagos Archipelago. The largest and most southerly of the islands, Diego Garcia, contains a joint UK-US naval support facility. All of the remaining islands are uninhabited. Former agricultural workers, earlier residents in the islands, were relocated primarily to Mauritius but also to the Seychelles, between 1967 and 1973. In 2000, a British High Court ruling invalidated the local immigration order which had excluded them from the archipelago, but upheld the special military status of Diego Garcia. | Macedonia gained its independence peacefully from Yugoslavia in 1991, but Greece's objection to the new state's use of what it considered a Hellenic name and symbols delayed international recognition, which occurred under the provisional designation of the "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia." In 1995, Greece lifted a 20-month trade embargo and the two countries agreed to normalize relations, although differences over Macedonia's name remain. The undetermined status of neighboring Kosovo, implementation of the Framework Agreement - which ended the 2001 ethnic Albanian armed insurgency - and a weak economy continue to be challenges for Macedonia. |
Birth rate | - | 12.02 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $2.105 billion
expenditures: $2.15 billion; including capital expenditures of $114 million (2005 est.) |
Capital | - | name: Skopje
geographic coordinates: 41 59 N, 21 26 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | tropical marine; hot, humid, moderated by trade winds | warm, dry summers and autumns; relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall |
Coastline | 698 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | - | adopted 17 November 1991, effective 20 November 1991; amended November 2001 by a series of new constitutional amendments strengthening minority rights and in 2005 with amendments related to the judiciary |
Country name | conventional long form: British Indian Ocean Territory
conventional short form: none abbreviation: BIOT |
conventional long form: Republic of Macedonia
conventional short form: Macedonia local long form: Republika Makedonija local short form: Makedonija note: the provisional designation used by the UN, EU, and NATO is Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) former: People's Republic of Macedonia, Socialist Republic of Macedonia |
Death rate | - | 8.77 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $2.19 billion (2005 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK; administered by a commissioner, resident in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Gillian A. MILOVANOVIC
embassy: Bul. Ilindenska bb, 1000 Skopje mailing address: American Embassy Skopje, US Department of State, 7120 Skopje Place, Washington, DC 20521-7120 (pouch) telephone: [389] 2 311-6180 FAX: [389] 2 311-7103 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Ljupco JORDANOVSKI
chancery: 2129 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-0501 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2131 consulate(s) general: Southfield (Michigan) |
Disputes - international | Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Archipelago and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius, but in 2001 were granted UK citizenship and the right to repatriation since eviction in 1965; repatriation is complicated by the US military lease of Diego Garcia, the largest island in the chain | ethnic Albanians in Kosovo object to demarcation of the boundary with Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and Montenegro delimitation agreement; Greece continues to reject the use of the name Macedonia or Republic of Macedonia |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $250 million (2003 est.) |
Economy - overview | All economic activity is concentrated on the largest island of Diego Garcia, where joint UK-US defense facilities are located. Construction projects and various services needed to support the military installations are done by military and contract employees from the UK, Mauritius, the Philippines, and the US. There are no industrial or agricultural activities on the islands. When the Ilois return, they plan to reestablish sugarcane production and fishing. | At independence in September 1991, Macedonia was the least developed of the Yugoslav republics, producing a mere 5% of the total federal output of goods and services. The collapse of Yugoslavia ended transfer payments from the central government and eliminated advantages from inclusion in a de facto free trade area. An absence of infrastructure, UN sanctions on the downsized Yugoslavia, one of its largest markets, and a Greek economic embargo over a dispute about the country's constitutional name and flag hindered economic growth until 1996. GDP subsequently rose each year through 2000. However, the leadership's commitment to economic reform, free trade, and regional integration was undermined by the ethnic Albanian insurgency of 2001. The economy shrank 4.5% because of decreased trade, intermittent border closures, increased deficit spending on security needs, and investor uncertainty. Growth barely recovered in 2002 to 0.9%, then rose by 3.4% in 2003, 4.1% in 2004, and 3.7% in 2005. Macedonia has maintained macroeconomic stability with low inflation, but it has lagged the region in attracting foreign investment and job growth has been anemic. Macedonia has an extensive grey market, estimated to be more than 20 percent of GDP, that falls outside official statistics. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 7.933 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | - | 1.662 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by the US military | 6.271 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location on Diego Garcia 15 m |
lowest point: Vardar River 50 m
highest point: Golem Korab (Maja e Korabit) 2,764 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | air pollution from metallurgical plants |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | - | Macedonian 64.2%, Albanian 25.2%, Turkish 3.9%, Roma 2.7%, Serb 1.8%, other 2.2% (2002 census) |
Exchange rates | - | Macedonian denars per US dollar - 48.92 (2005), 49.41 (2004), 54.322 (2003), 64.35 (2002), 68.037 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Commissioner Alan HUCKLE (since 2001); Administrator Louise SAVILL (since NA); note - both reside in the UK cabinet: NA elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; commissioner and administrator appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: President Branko CRVENKOVSKI (since 12 May 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Nikola GRUEVSKI (since 28 August 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the majority vote of all the deputies in the Assembly; note - current cabinet formed by the government coalition parties VMRO/DPMNE, NSDP, PDSH/DPA, and several small parties elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); two-round election last held 14 April and 28 April 2004 (next to be held by April 2009); prime minister elected by the Assembly following legislative elections election results: Branko CRVENKOVSKI elected president on second-round ballot; percent of vote - Branko CRVENKOVSKI 62.7%, Sasko KEDEV 37.3% |
Exports | - | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | - | food, beverages, tobacco; miscellaneous manufactures, iron and steel |
Exports - partners | - | Germany 17.8%, Greece 15.3%, Italy 8.3% (2005) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | white with six blue wavy horizontal stripes; the flag of the UK is in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the striped section bears a palm tree and yellow crown centered on the outer half of the flag | a yellow sun with eight broadening rays extending to the edges of the red field |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 11.8%
industry: 31.9% services: 56.3% (2005 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 4% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 6 00 S, 71 30 E | 41 50 N, 22 00 E |
Geography - note | archipelago of 2,300 islands; Diego Garcia, largest and southernmost island, occupies strategic location in central Indian Ocean; island is site of joint US-UK military facility | landlocked; major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: short stretch of paved road of NA km between port and airfield on Diego Garcia unpaved: NA km |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | - | major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and hashish; minor transit point for South American cocaine destined for Europe; although not a financial center and most criminal activity is thought to be domestic, money laundering is a problem due to a mostly cash-based economy and weak enforcement (no arrests or prosecutions for money laundering to date) |
Imports | - | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | - | machinery and equipment, automobiles, chemicals, fuels, food products |
Imports - partners | - | Russia 13.2%, Germany 10.4%, Greece 9.2%, Bulgaria 7.3%, Italy 6% (2005) |
Independence | - | 8 September 1991 (referendum by registered voters endorsing independence from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 6.8% (2005 est.) |
Industries | - | food processing, beverages, textiles, chemicals, steel, cement, energy, pharmaceuticals |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 9.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.94 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.66 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 0% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | - | BIS, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 550 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court - the Assembly appoints the judges; Constitutional Court - the Assembly appoints the judges; Republican Judicial Council - the Assembly appoints the judges |
Labor force | - | 855,000 (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 766 km
border countries: Albania 151 km, Bulgaria 148 km, Greece 246 km, Serbia 221 km |
Land use | arable land: NEGL
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 22.01%
permanent crops: 1.79% other: 76.2% (2005) |
Languages | - | Macedonian 66.5%, Albanian 25.1%, Turkish 3.5%, Roma 1.9%, Serbian 1.2%, other 1.8% (2002 census) |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts |
Legislative branch | - | unicameral Assembly or Sobranie (120 seats - members elected by popular vote from party lists based on the percentage of the overall vote the parties gain in each of six electoral districts; all serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 5 July 2006 (next to be held by July 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - VMRO-DPMNE 32.5%, SDSM 23.3%, DUI 12.2%, PDSH/DPA 7.5%; seats by party - VMRO-DPMNE 44, SDSM 32, DUI 28, PDSH/DPA 11, other 5 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 73.97 years
male: 71.51 years female: 76.62 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.1% male: 98.2% female: 94.1% (2002 est.) |
Location | Southern Asia, archipelago in the Indian Ocean, about one-half the way from Africa to Indonesia | Southeastern Europe, north of Greece |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Europe |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 3 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK; the US lease on Diego Garcia expires in 2016 | - |
Military branches | - | Army of the Republic of Macedonia (ARM): Joint Operational Command, with subordinate Air Wing (Makedonsko Voeno Vozduhoplovstvo, MVV), Special Force Command (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $200 million (FY01/02 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 6% (FY01/02 est.) |
National holiday | - | Uprising Day, 2 August (1903); note - also known as Saint Elijah's Day and Ilinden |
Nationality | - | noun: Macedonian(s)
adjective: Macedonian |
Natural hazards | NA | high seismic risks |
Natural resources | coconuts, fish, sugarcane | low-grade iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, manganese, nickel, tungsten, gold, silver, asbestos, gypsum, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | - | -0.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 268 km; oil 120 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Democratic Alliance [Pavle TRAJANOV]; Democratic Alternative or DA [Vasil TUPURKOVSKI]; Democratic League of the Bosniaks [Rafet MUMINOVIC]; Democratic Party of Albanians or PDSH/DPA [Arben XHAFERI]; Democratic Party of Serbs [Ivan STOILJKOVIC]; Democratic Party of Turks [Kenan HASIPI]; Democratic Renewal of Macedonia [Liljana POPOVSKA]; Democratic Republican Union of Macedonia or DRUM [Goran RAFAJLOVSKI]; Democratic Union of Vlachs for Macedonia [Mitko KOSTOV]; Democratic Union for Integration or DUI [Ali AHMETI]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity or VMRO-DPMNE [Nikola GRUEVSKI]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Macedonian [Boris STOJMENOV]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-People's Party or VMRO-Narodna [Vesna JANEVSKA, acting]; League for Democracy [Gjorgi MARJANOVIC]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Risto PENOV]; Liberal Party [Stojan ANDOV]; National Alternative [Harun ALIU]; National Democratic Party or PDK [Basri HALITI]; National Farmers' Party [Vejljo TANTAROV]; New Democratic Forces [Hysni SHAQIRI]; New Social Democratic Party or NSDP [Tito PETKOVSKI]; Party for Democratic Future [Alajdin DEMIRI]; Party for Democratic Prosperity or PPD/PDP [Abduljhadi VEJSELI]; Social Democratic Alliance of Macedonia or SDSM [Vlado BUCKOVSKI]; Socialist Party of Macedonia or SP [Ljubisav IVANOV-ZINGO]; United Party for Emancipation or OPE [Nezdet MUSTAFA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | Civic Movement of Macedonia [Gordana SILJANOVSKA]; World Macedonian Congress [Todor PETROV] |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,200 former agricultural workers resident in the Chagos Archipelago, often referred to as Chagossians or Ilois, were relocated to Mauritius and the Seychelles around the time of the construction of UK-US military facilities; in 2001, there were approximately 1,500 UK and US military personnel and 2,000 civilian contractors living on the island of Diego Garcia (July 2002 est.) |
2,050,554 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 29.6% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | - | 0.26% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Diego Garcia | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 29, FM 20, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | NA | - |
Railways | - | total: 699 km
standard gauge: 699 km 1.435-m gauge (233 km electrified) (2005) |
Religions | - | Macedonian Orthodox 64.7%, other Christian 0.37%, Muslim 33.3%, other and unspecified 1.63% (2002 census) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: separate facilities for military and public needs are available
domestic: all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet international: international telephone service is carried by satellite (2000) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 389 |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 533,200 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 1.261 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 31 (plus 166 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | flat and low (most areas do not exceed four meters in elevation) | mountainous territory covered with deep basins and valleys; three large lakes, each divided by a frontier line; country bisected by the Vardar River |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.57 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 37.3% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | none | - |