Latvia (2001) | Macedonia (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 26 counties (singular - rajons) and 7 municipalities*: Aizkraukles Rajons, Aluksnes Rajons, Balvu Rajons, Bauskas Rajons, Cesu Rajons, Daugavpils*, Daugavpils Rajons, Dobeles Rajons, Gulbenes Rajons, Jekabpils Rajons, Jelgava*, Jelgavas Rajons, Jurmala*, Kraslavas Rajons, Kuldigas Rajons, Leipaja*, Liepajas Rajons, Limbazu Rajons, Ludzas Rajons, Madonas Rajons, Ogres Rajons, Preilu Rajons, Rezekne*, Rezeknes Rajons, Riga*, Rigas Rajons, Saldus Rajons, Talsu Rajons, Tukuma Rajons, Valkas Rajons, Valmieras Rajons, Ventspils*, Ventspils Rajons | 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 the larger Skopje Municipality |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
16.55% (male 201,746; female 193,036) 15-64 years: 68.15% (male 776,509; female 848,908) 65 years and over: 15.3% (male 118,110; female 246,922) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 19.8% (male 210,418/female 195,884)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 715,997/female 704,739) 65 years and over: 11.1% (male 99,892/female 128,985) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grain, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables; beef, milk, eggs; fish | grapes, wine, tobacco, vegetables; milk, eggs |
Airports | 25 (2000 est.) | 17 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
13 2,438 to 3,047 m: 7 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
total: 10
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 under 914 m: 8 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
12 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
Area | total:
64,589 sq km land: 64,589 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 25,333 sq km
land: 24,856 sq km water: 477 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than West Virginia | slightly larger than Vermont |
Background | After a brief period of independence between the two World Wars, Latvia was annexed by the USSR in 1940. It reestablished its independence in 1991 following the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although the last Russian troops left in 1994, the status of the Russian minority (some 30% of the population) remains of concern to Moscow. Latvia continues to revamp its economy for eventual integration into various Western European political and economic institutions. | 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. The United States began referring to Macedonia by its constitutional name, Republic of Macedonia, in 2004 and negotiations continue between Greece and Macedonia to resolve the name issue. Some ethnic Albanians, angered by perceived political and economic inequities, launched an insurgency in 2001 that eventually won the support of the majority of Macedonia's Albanian population and led to the internationally-brokered Framework Agreement, which ended the fighting by establishing a set of new laws enhancing the rights of minorities. The undetermined status of neighboring Kosovo, implementation of the Framework Agreement, and slow economic growth continue to be challenges for Macedonia. |
Birth rate | 8.03 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 12.02 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.33 billion expenditures: $1.27 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
revenues: $2.381 billion
expenditures: $2.456 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Riga | name: Skopje
geographic coordinates: 42 00 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 | maritime; wet, moderate winters | warm, dry summers and autumns; relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall |
Coastline | 531 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | the 1991 Constitutional Law which supplements the 1922 constitution, provides for basic rights and freedoms | 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:
Republic of Latvia conventional short form: Latvia local long form: Latvijas Republika local short form: Latvija former: Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic |
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 |
Currency | Latvian lat (LVL) | - |
Death rate | 14.8 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.78 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $800 million (2000 est.) | $2.561 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador James H. HOLMES embassy: Raina Boulevard 7, LV-1510, Riga mailing address: American Embassy Riga, PSC 78, Box Riga, APO AE 09723 telephone: [371] 721-0005 FAX: [371] 782-0047 |
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 | chief of mission:
Ambassador Aivis RONIS chancery: 4325 17th Street NW, Washington, DC 20011 telephone: [1] (202) 726-8213, 8214 FAX: [1] (202) 726-6785 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Zoran JOLEVSKI
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 | draft treaty delimiting the boundary with Russia has not been signed; has not ratified 1998 maritime boundary agreement with Lithuania (primary concern is oil exploration rights) | ethnic Albanians in Kosovo object to demarcation of the boundary with Serbia 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 | $96.2 million (1995) | $230.3 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | In 2000, Latvia's transitional economy recovered from the 1998 Russian financial crisis, largely due to the SKELE government's budget stringency and a gradual reorientation of exports toward EU countries, lessening Latvia's trade dependency on Russia. Latvia officially joined the World Trade Organization in February 1999 - the first Baltic state to join - and was invited at the Helsinki EU Summit in December 1999 to begin accession talks in early 2000. Unemployment fell to 7.8% in 2000, down from 9.6% in 1999, and 9.2% in 1998. Privatization of large state-owned utilities and the shipping industry faced more delays in 2000, and political instability will continue to delay completion of the privatization process over the next year. Latvia projects 6% GDP growth, 2.5%-3.0% inflation, and a 1.7% fiscal deficit in 2001. Preparing for EU membership over the next few years remains a top foreign policy goal. | 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, 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 averaged 4% per year during 2003-07. Macedonia has maintained macroeconomic stability with low inflation, but it has so far lagged the region in attracting foreign investment and job creation despite making extensive fiscal and business sector reforms. Official unemployment remains the highest in Europe at 35%, but may be somewhat overstated based on the existence of an extensive gray market, estimated to be more than 20 percent of GDP, that falls outside official statistics. |
Electricity - consumption | 4.316 billion kWh (1999) | 8.929 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - exports | 400 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2006) |
Electricity - imports | 1 billion kWh (1999) | 2.994 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - production | 3.996 billion kWh (1999) | 5.935 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
31.78% hydro: 68.22% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Baltic Sea 0 m highest point: Gaizinkalns 312 m |
lowest point: Vardar River 50 m
highest point: Golem Korab (Maja e Korabit) 2,764 m |
Environment - current issues | air and water pollution because of a lack of waste conversion equipment; Gulf of Riga and Daugava River heavily polluted; contamination of soil and groundwater with chemicals and petroleum products at military bases | air pollution from metallurgical plants |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Latvian 56.5%, Russian 30.4%, Byelorussian 4.3%, Ukrainian 2.8%, Polish 2.6%, other 3.4% | Macedonian 64.2%, Albanian 25.2%, Turkish 3.9%, Roma (Gypsy) 2.7%, Serb 1.8%, other 2.2% (2002 census) |
Exchange rates | lati per US dollar - 0.614 (January 2001), 0.607 (2000), 0.585 (1999), 0.590 (1998), 0.581 (1997), 0.551 (1996) | Macedonian denars per US dollar - 45.174 (2007), 48.978 (2006), 48.92 (2005), 49.41 (2004), 54.322 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Vaira VIKE-FREIBERGA (since 8 July 1999) head of government: Prime Minister Andris BERZINS (since 5 May 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers nominated by the prime minister and appointed by the Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 17 June 1999 (next to be held by NA June 2003); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Vaira VIKE-FREIBERGA elected as a compromise candidate in second phase of balloting, second round (after five rounds in first phase failed); percent of parliamentary vote - Vaira VIKE-FREIBERGA 53%, Valdis BIRKAVS 20%, Ingrida UDRE 9% |
chief of state: President Branko CRVENKOVSKI (since 12 May 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Nikola GRUEVSKI (since 26 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 | $2.1 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 4,134 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | wood and wood products, machinery and equipment, metals, textiles, foodstuffs | food, beverages, tobacco; textiles, miscellaneous manufactures, iron and steel |
Exports - partners | Germany 16%, UK 11%, Sweden 11%, Russia 7% (1999) | Serbia and Montenegro 23.2%, Germany 15.6%, Greece 15.1%, Italy 9.9%, Bulgaria 5.4%, Croatia 5.2% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three horizontal bands of maroon (top), white (half-width), and maroon | a yellow sun with eight broadening rays extending to the edges of the red field |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $17.3 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
5% industry: 33% services: 62% (1999) |
agriculture: 12.1%
industry: 28.6% services: 59.3% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,200 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.5% (2000 est.) | 4.6% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 57 00 N, 25 00 E | 41 50 N, 22 00 E |
Geography - note | - | landlocked; major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe |
Highways | total:
59,178 km paved: 22,843 km unpaved: 36,335 km (1998 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.9% highest 10%: 25.9% (1998) |
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 29.6% (2003) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for opiates and cannabis from Central and Southwest Asia to Western Europe and Scandinavia and Latin American cocaine and some synthetics from Western Europe to CIS; limited production of illicit amphetamine, ephedrine, and ecstasy for export | 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 |
Imports | $3.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000) | 23,150 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels | machinery and equipment, automobiles, chemicals, fuels, food products |
Imports - partners | Russia 15%, Germany 10%, Finland 9%, Sweden 7% (1999) | Russia 15.1%, Germany 9.8%, Greece 8.5%, Serbia and Montenegro 7.5%, Bulgaria 6.7%, Italy 6% (2006) |
Independence | 18 November 1991 (from Soviet Union) | 8 September 1991 (referendum by registered voters endorsed independence from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | 6.3% (2000 est.) | 1.6% (2007 est.) |
Industries | buses, vans, street and railroad cars, synthetic fibers, agricultural machinery, fertilizers, washing machines, radios, electronics, pharmaceuticals, processed foods, textiles; note - dependent on imports for energy, raw materials, and intermediate products | food processing, beverages, textiles, chemicals, iron, steel, cement, energy, pharmaceuticals |
Infant mortality rate | 15.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 9.53 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 9.69 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.7% (2000) | 2% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | BIS, CBSS, CCC, CE, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UPU, WEU (associate partner), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | 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, ITUC, MIGA, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 42 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 160 sq km (1993 est.) | 550 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges' appointments are confirmed by Parliament) | Supreme Court - the Assembly appoints the judges; Constitutional Court - the Assembly appoints the judges; Republican Judicial Council - the Assembly appoints the judges |
Labor force | 1.4 million (2000 est.) | 890,000 (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 25%, services 65% (2000 est.) | agriculture: 21.7%
industry: 32.6% services: 45.7% (September 2006) |
Land boundaries | total:
1,150 km border countries: Belarus 141 km, Estonia 339 km, Lithuania 453 km, Russia 217 km |
total: 766 km
border countries: Albania 151 km, Bulgaria 148 km, Greece 246 km, Serbia 221 km |
Land use | arable land:
27% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 13% forests and woodland: 46% other: 14% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 22.01%
permanent crops: 1.79% other: 76.2% (2005) |
Languages | Latvian or Lettish (official), Lithuanian, Russian, other | Macedonian 66.5%, Albanian 25.1%, Turkish 3.5%, Roma 1.9%, Serbian 1.2%, other 1.8% (2002 census) |
Legal system | based on civil law system | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral Parliament or Saeima (100 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 3 October 1998 (next to be held NA October 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - People's Party 21%, LC 18%, TSP 14%, TB/LNNK 14%, Social Democrats 13%, New Party 7%; seats by party - People's Party 24, LC 21, TB/LNNK 17, TSP 16, Social Democrats 14, New Party 8 |
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; to 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 33%, SDSM 22%, BDI/DUI 12%, PDSh/DPA 7%, NSDP 6%, VMRO-Narodna 6%, other 14%; seats by party - VMRO-DPMNE 45, SDSM 32, BDI/DUI 17, PDSh/DPA 11, NSDP 7, VMRO-Narodna 6, other 2 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
68.7 years male: 62.8 years female: 74.9 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 74.21 years
male: 71.73 years female: 76.88 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 100% male: 100% female: 99% (1989 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.1% male: 98.2% female: 94.1% (2002 census) |
Location | Eastern Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea, between Estonia and Lithuania | Southeastern Europe, north of Greece |
Map references | Europe | Europe |
Maritime claims | continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
8 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 27,984 GRT/29,978 DWT ships by type: cargo 2, petroleum tanker 3, refrigerated cargo 3 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Security Forces, Border Guard, Home Guard (Zemessardze) | Army of the Republic of Macedonia (ARM): Joint Operational Command, with subordinate Air Wing (Makedonsko Voeno Vozduhoplovstvo, MVV), Special Operations Regiment (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $60 million (FY99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.9% (FY99) | 6% (2005 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
590,784 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
463,944 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
19,114 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 18 November (1918); note - 18 November 1918 is the date of independence from Soviet Russia, 18 November 1991 is the date of independence from the Soviet Union | Ilinden Uprising Day, 2 August (1903); note - also known as Saint Elijah's Day |
Nationality | noun:
Latvian(s) adjective: Latvian |
noun: Macedonian(s)
adjective: Macedonian |
Natural hazards | NA | high seismic risks |
Natural resources | minimal; amber, peat, limestone, dolomite, hydropower, arable land | low-grade iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, manganese, nickel, tungsten, gold, silver, asbestos, gypsum, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 750 km; refined products 780 km; natural gas 560 km (1992) | gas 268 km; oil 120 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | Anticommunist Union or PA [P. MUCENIEKS]; Christian Democrat Union or LKDS [Talavs JUNDZIS]; Christian People's Party or KTP [Uldis AUGSTKALNS]; Democratic Party "Saimnieks" or DPS [Ziedonis CEVERS, chairman]; For Fatherland and Freedom or TB [Maris GRINBLATS], merged with LNNK; For Human Rights in a United Latvia [Janis JURKANS], a coalition of the People's Harmony Party or TSP, the Latvian Socialist Party or LSP, and the Equal Rights Movement; Green Party or LZP [Olegs BATAREVSKI]; Latvian Liberal Party or LLP [J. DANOSS]; Latvian National Conservative Party or LNNK [Andrejs KRASTINS]; Latvian National Democratic Party or LNDP [A. MALINS]; Latvian Social-Democratic Workers Party (Social Democrats) or LSDWU [Juris BOJARS and Janis ADAMSONS, leaders]; Latvian Unity Party or LVP [Alberis KAULS]; Latvia's Way or LC [Andrei PANTELEJEVS]; New Christian Party [Ainars SLESERS]; New Faction [Ingrida UDRE]; "Our Land" or MZ [M. DAMBEKALNE]; Party of Russian Citizens or LKPP [V. SOROCHIN, V. IVANOV]; People's Party [Andris SKELE]; Political Union of Economists or TPA [Edvins KIDE] | Democratic Alliance [Pavle TRAJANOV]; Democratic League of Bosniaks [Rafet MUMINOVIC]; Democratic Party of Albanians or PDSh/DPA [Menduh THACI]; Democratic Party of Serbs [Ivan STOILJKOVIC]; Democratic Party of Turks [Kenan HASIPI]; Democratic Renewal of Macedonia [Liljana POPOVSKA]; Democratic Union of Albanians or BDSh [BardYL MAHMUTI]; Democratic Union of Vlachs for Macedonia [Mitko KOSTOV]; Democratic Union for Integration or BDI/DUI [Ali AHMETI]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity or VMRO-DPMNE [Nikola GRUEVSKI]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-People's Party or VMRO-Narodna [Gjorgji TRENDAFILOV]; League for Democracy [Gjorgi MARJANOVIC]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Jovan MANSIEVSKI]; Liberal Party [Stojan ANDOV]; National Alternative [Harun ALIU]; National Democratic Union or BDK [Hysni SHAQIR]; New Social Democratic Party or NSDP [Tito PETKOVSKI]; Party for Democratic Prosperity or PPD/PDP [Abduljhadi VEJSELI]; Party for European Future or PEI [Fijat CANOSKI]; Party of Free Democrats or PSD [Ljubco JORDANOVSKI]; Social Democratic Alliance of Macedonia or SDSM [Radmila SEKERINSKA]; Socialist Party of Macedonia or SP [Ljubisav IVANOV-ZINGO]; Union of Romas or SR [Saliu SHABAN]; United Party for Emancipation or OPE [Nezdet MUSTAFA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Federation of Free Trade Unions [Svetlana PETROVIC]; Federation of Trade Unions [Vanco MURATOVSKI]; World Macedonian Congress [Todor PETROV] |
Population | 2,385,231 (July 2001 est.) | 2,055,915 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 30% (2005) |
Population growth rate | -0.81% (2001 est.) | 0.263% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Daugavpils, Liepaja, Riga, Ventspils | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 56, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 29, FM 20, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 1.76 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
2,412 km broad gauge: 2,379 km 1.520-m gauge (271 km electrified) (1992) narrow gauge: 33 km 0.750-m gauge (1994) |
total: 699 km
standard gauge: 699 km 1.435-m gauge (223 km electrified) (2006) |
Religions | Lutheran, Roman Catholic, Russian Orthodox | Macedonian Orthodox 64.7%, Muslim 33.3%, other Christian 0.37%, other and unspecified 1.63% (2002 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.48 male(s)/female total population: 0.85 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.074 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.016 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.774 male(s)/female total population: 0.997 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal for Latvian citizens | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
inadequate, but is being modernized to provide an international capability independent of the Moscow international switch; more facilities are being installed for individual use domestic: expansion underway in intercity trunk line connections, rural exchanges, and mobile systems; still many unsatisfied subscriber applications international: international connections are now available via cable and a satellite earth station at Riga, enabling direct connections for most calls (1998) |
general assessment: competition from the mobile-cellular segment of the telecommunications market has led to a drop in fixed-line telephone subscriptions
domestic: combined fixed line and mobile telephone density exceeds 90 per 100 persons international: country code - 389 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 748,000 (1997) | 490,900 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 77,100 (1997) | 1.417 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 44 (plus 31 repeaters) (1995) | 31 (plus 166 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | low plain | 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 | 1.15 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.57 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 7.8% (2000 est.) | 35% (2007 est.) |
Waterways | 300 km (perennially navigable) | - |