Macedonia (2007) | Bangladesh (2008) | |
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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 the larger Skopje Municipality |
6 divisions; Barisal, Chittagong, Dhaka, Khulna, Rajshahi, Sylhet |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 33.1% (male 25,639,640/female 24,174,937)
15-64 years: 63.4% (male 48,659,087/female 46,712,687) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 2,818,638/female 2,443,350) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grapes, wine, tobacco, vegetables; milk, eggs | rice, jute, tea, wheat, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, pulses, oilseeds, spices, fruit; beef, milk, poultry |
Airports | 17 (2007) | 16 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 10
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 under 914 m: 8 (2007) |
total: 15
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 5 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
Area | total: 25,333 sq km
land: 24,856 sq km water: 477 sq km |
total: 144,000 sq km
land: 133,910 sq km water: 10,090 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Vermont | slightly smaller than Iowa |
Background | 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 a weak economy continue to be challenges for Macedonia. | Europeans began to set up trading posts in the area of Bangladesh in the 16th century; eventually the British came to dominate the region and it became part of British India. In 1947, West Pakistan and East Bengal (both primarily Muslim) separated from India (largely Hindu) and jointly became the new country of Pakistan. East Bengal became East Pakistan in 1955, but the awkward arrangement of a two-part country with its territorial units separated by 1,600 km left the Bengalis marginalized and dissatisfied. East Pakistan seceded from its union with West Pakistan in 1971 and was renamed Bangladesh. A military-backed caretaker regime suspended planned parliamentary elections in January 2007 in an effort to reform the political system and root out corruption; the regime has pledged new democratic elections by the end of 2008. About a third of this extremely poor country floods annually during the monsoon rainy season, hampering economic development. |
Birth rate | 12.02 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 29.36 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.132 billion
expenditures: $2.167 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $7.078 billion
expenditures: $9.642 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | 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 |
name: Dhaka
geographic coordinates: 23 43 N, 90 24 E time difference: UTC+6 (11 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | warm, dry summers and autumns; relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall | tropical; mild winter (October to March); hot, humid summer (March to June); humid, warm rainy monsoon (June to October) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 580 km |
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 | 4 November 1972, effective 16 December 1972; suspended following coup of 24 March 1982, restored 10 November 1986; amended many times |
Country name | 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 |
conventional long form: People's Republic of Bangladesh
conventional short form: Bangladesh local long form: Gana Prajatantri Banladesh local short form: Banladesh former: East Bengal, East Pakistan |
Death rate | 8.78 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 8.13 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.365 billion (2006 est.) | $20.25 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Geeta PASI
embassy: Madani Avenue, Baridhara, Dhaka 1212 mailing address: G. P. O. Box 323, Dhaka 1000 telephone: [880] (2) 885-5500 FAX: [880] (2) 882-3744 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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) |
chief of mission: Ambassador M. Humayun KABIR
chancery: 3510 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-0183 FAX: [1] (202) 244-7830/2771 consulate(s) general: Los Angeles, New York |
Disputes - international | 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 | discussions with India remain stalled to delimit a small section of river boundary, exchange territory for 51 small Bangladeshi exclaves in India and 111 small Indian exclaves in Bangladesh, allocate divided villages, and stop illegal cross-border trade, migration, violence, and transit of terrorists through the porous border; Bangladesh resists India's attempts to fence or wall off high-traffic sections of the porous boundary; a joint Bangladesh-India boundary inspection in 2005 revealed 92 pillars are missing; dispute with India over New Moore/South Talpatty/Purbasha Island in the Bay of Bengal deters maritime boundary delimitation; 21,000 Burmese Rohingya Muslim refugees reside in two camps in Bangladesh |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA (2005) | $1.321 billion (2005) |
Economy - overview | 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 2003-06. 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 gray market, estimated to be more than 20 percent of GDP, that falls outside official statistics. | The economy has grown 5-6% over the past few years despite inefficient state-owned enterprises, delays in exploiting natural gas resources, insufficient power supplies, and slow implementation of economic reforms. Bangladesh remains a poor, overpopulated, and inefficiently-governed nation. Although more than half of GDP is generated through the service sector, nearly two-thirds of Bangladeshis are employed in the agriculture sector, with rice as the single-most-important product. Garment exports and remittances from Bangladeshis working overseas, mainly in the Middle East and East Asia, fuel economic growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 8.929 billion kWh (2006) | 19.49 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2006) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 2.994 billion kWh (2006) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 5.935 billion kWh (2006) | 21.35 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Vardar River 50 m
highest point: Golem Korab (Maja e Korabit) 2,764 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Keokradong 1,230 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from metallurgical plants | many people are landless and forced to live on and cultivate flood-prone land; water-borne diseases prevalent in surface water; water pollution, especially of fishing areas, results from the use of commercial pesticides; ground water contaminated by naturally occurring arsenic; intermittent water shortages because of falling water tables in the northern and central parts of the country; soil degradation and erosion; deforestation; severe overpopulation |
Environment - international agreements | 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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Macedonian 64.2%, Albanian 25.2%, Turkish 3.9%, Roma (Gypsy) 2.7%, Serb 1.8%, other 2.2% (2002 census) | Bengali 98%, other 2% (includes tribal groups, non-Bengali Muslims) (1998) |
Exchange rates | Macedonian denars per US dollar - 48.978 (2006), 48.92 (2005), 49.41 (2004), 54.322 (2003), 64.35 (2002) | taka per US dollar - 69.893 (2007), 69.031 (2006), 64.328 (2005), 59.513 (2004), 58.15 (2003) |
Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state: President Iajuddin AHMED (since 6 September 2002)
note: the country has a caretaker government until a general election is held; Iajuddin AHMED remains as President and Minister of Defense, and all other Cabinet portfolios are held by Caretaker Advisers (CAs); the Chief CA, Fakhruddin AHMED, is roughly equivalent to a prime minister elections: president elected by National Parliament for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election scheduled for 16 September 2002 was not held since Iajuddin AHMED was the only presidential candidate; he was sworn in on 6 September 2002 (next election NA); following legislative elections, the leader of the party that wins the most seats is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Iajuddin AHMED declared president-elect by the Election Commission; he ran unopposed as president; percent of National Parliament vote - NA |
Exports | NA bbl/day | 1,100 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | food, beverages, tobacco; textiles, miscellaneous manufactures, iron and steel | garments, jute and jute goods, leather, frozen fish and seafood (2001) |
Exports - partners | Serbia and Montenegro 23.2%, Germany 15.6%, Greece 15.1%, Italy 9.9%, Bulgaria 5.4%, Croatia 5.2% (2006) | US 24.9%, Germany 12.8%, UK 9.8%, France 5% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | a yellow sun with eight broadening rays extending to the edges of the red field | green field with a large red disk shifted slightly to the hoist side of center; the red disk represents the rising sun and the sacrifice to achieve independence; the green field symbolizes the lush vegetation of Bangladesh |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 12.6%
industry: 29.5% services: 57.9% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 19%
industry: 28.7% services: 52.3% (2007 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3.1% (2006 est.) | 6% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 41 50 N, 22 00 E | 24 00 N, 90 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe | most of the country is situated on deltas of large rivers flowing from the Himalayas: the Ganges unites with the Jamuna (main channel of the Brahmaputra) and later joins the Meghna to eventually empty into the Bay of Bengal |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% (2003) |
lowest 10%: 3.7%
highest 10%: 27.9% (2000 est.) |
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 | transit country for illegal drugs produced in neighboring countries |
Imports | NA bbl/day | 81,010 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, automobiles, chemicals, fuels, food products | machinery and equipment, chemicals, iron and steel, textiles, foodstuffs, petroleum products, cement |
Imports - partners | Russia 15.1%, Germany 9.8%, Greece 8.5%, Serbia and Montenegro 7.5%, Bulgaria 6.7%, Italy 6% (2006) | China 17.7%, India 12.5%, Kuwait 7.9%, Singapore 5.5%, Hong Kong 4.1% (2006) |
Independence | 8 September 1991 (referendum by registered voters endorsed independence from Yugoslavia) | 16 December 1971 (from West Pakistan); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is known as Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.4% (2006 est.) | 9.5% (2007 est.) |
Industries | food processing, beverages, textiles, chemicals, iron, steel, cement, energy, pharmaceuticals | cotton textiles, jute, garments, tea processing, paper newsprint, cement, chemical fertilizer, light engineering, sugar |
Infant mortality rate | 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.) |
total: 59.12 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 60.13 deaths/1,000 live births female: 58.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.2% (2006 est.) | 8.8% (2007 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, ITUC, MIGA, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ADB, ARF, BIMSTEC, C, CP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OPCW, SAARC, SACEP, UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNMIT, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 550 sq km (2003) | 47,250 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 | Supreme Court (the chief justices and other judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 880,000 (2006 est.) | 69.4 million
note: extensive export of labor to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Oman, Qatar, and Malaysia; workers' remittances estimated at $4.8 billion in 2005-06. (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 21.7%
industry: 32.6% services: 45.7% (September 2006) |
agriculture: 63%
industry: 11% services: 26% (FY95/96) |
Land boundaries | total: 766 km
border countries: Albania 151 km, Bulgaria 148 km, Greece 246 km, Serbia 221 km |
total: 4,246 km
border countries: Burma 193 km, India 4,053 km |
Land use | arable land: 22.01%
permanent crops: 1.79% other: 76.2% (2005) |
arable land: 55.39%
permanent crops: 3.08% other: 41.53% (2005) |
Languages | Macedonian 66.5%, Albanian 25.1%, Turkish 3.5%, Roma 1.9%, Serbian 1.2%, other 1.8% (2002 census) | Bangla (official, also known as Bengali), English |
Legal system | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
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; 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 |
unicameral National Parliament or Jatiya Sangsad; 300 seats elected by popular vote from single territorial constituencies; members serve five-year terms; note - parliament not in session during the extended caretaker regime
elections: last held 1 October 2001 (the scheduled January 2007 election has been postponed till late 2008) election results: percent of vote by party - BNP and alliance partners 41%, AL 40%, other 19%; seats by party - BNP 193, AL 58, JI 17, JP (Ershad faction) 14, IOJ 2, JP (Manzur) 4, other 12; note - the election of October 2001 brought to power a majority BNP government aligned with three other smaller parties - JI, IOJ, and Jatiya Party (Manzur) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.21 years
male: 71.73 years female: 76.88 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 62.84 years
male: 62.81 years female: 62.86 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.1% male: 98.2% female: 94.1% (2002 census) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 43.1% male: 53.9% female: 31.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Europe, north of Greece | Southern Asia, bordering the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and India |
Map references | Europe | Asia |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 18 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: up to the outer limits of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | - | total: 41 ships (1000 GRT or over) 328,530 GRT/468,509 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 3, cargo 27, container 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4 foreign-owned: 1 (China 1) registered in other countries: 9 (Comoros 1, Honduras 1, Malta 3, Panama 1, Singapore 2, St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007) |
Military branches | Army of the Republic of Macedonia (ARM): Joint Operational Command, with subordinate Air Wing (Makedonsko Voeno Vozduhoplovstvo, MVV), Special Operations Regiment (2007) | Bangladesh Defense Force: Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy, Bangladesh Air Force (Bangladesh Biman Bahini, BAF) (2008) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 6% (2005 est.) | 1.5% (2006) |
National holiday | Ilinden Uprising Day, 2 August (1903); note - also known as Saint Elijah's Day | Independence Day, 26 March (1971); note - 26 March 1971 is the date of independence from West Pakistan, 16 December 1971 is Victory Day and commemorates the official creation of the state of Bangladesh |
Nationality | noun: Macedonian(s)
adjective: Macedonian |
noun: Bangladeshi(s)
adjective: Bangladeshi |
Natural hazards | high seismic risks | droughts, cyclones; much of the country routinely inundated during the summer monsoon season |
Natural resources | low-grade iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, manganese, nickel, tungsten, gold, silver, asbestos, gypsum, timber, arable land | natural gas, arable land, timber, coal |
Net migration rate | -0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | -0.66 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 268 km; oil 120 km (2006) | gas 2,644 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Alliance [Pavle TRAJANOV]; 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 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 [Vesna JANEVSKA]; League for Democracy [Gjorgi MARJANOVIC]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Risto PENOV]; Liberal Party [Stojan ANDOV]; National Alternative [Harun ALIU]; National Democratic Party-New Democratic Forces or PDK-FRO [Hysni SHAQIR]; New Social Democratic Party or NSDP [Tito PETKOVSKI]; Party for Democratic Future [Alajdin DEMIRI]; Party for Democratic Prosperity or PPD/PDP [Abduljhadi VEJSELI]; Party for European Future or PEI [Fijat CANOSKI]; 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] | Awami League or AL [Sheikh HASINA]; Bangladesh Communist Party or BCP [Saifuddin Ahmed MANIK]; Bangladesh Nationalist Party or BNP [Khaleda ZIA]; Islami Oikya Jote or IOJ [Mufti Fazlul Haq AMINI]; Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh or JIB [Matiur Rahman NIZAMI]; Jatiya Party or JP (Ershad faction) [Hussain Mohammad ERSHAD]; Jatiya Party (Manzur faction) [Naziur Rahman MANZUR]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Badrudozza CHOWDHURY and Oli AHMED] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Federation of Free Trade Unions [Svetlana PETROVIC]; Federation of Trade Unions [Vanco MURATOVSKI]; World Macedonian Congress [Todor PETROV] | NA |
Population | 2,055,915 (July 2007 est.) | 150,448,339 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 30% (2005) | 45% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.263% (2007 est.) | 2.056% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 29, FM 20, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 15, FM 13, shortwave 2 (2006) |
Railways | total: 699 km
standard gauge: 699 km 1.435-m gauge (223 km electrified) (2006) |
total: 2,768 km
broad gauge: 946 km 1.676-m gauge narrow gauge: 1,822 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Macedonian Orthodox 64.7%, Muslim 33.3%, other Christian 0.37%, other and unspecified 1.63% (2002 census) | Muslim 83%, Hindu 16%, other 1% (1998) |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.061 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.042 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.154 male(s)/female total population: 1.052 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 389 |
general assessment: totally inadequate for a modern country; fixed-line telephone density of less than 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone density of 13 per 100 persons
domestic: modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities international: country code - 880; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-4 fiber-optic submarine cable system that provides links to Europe, the Middle East and Asia; satellite earth stations - 6; international radiotelephone communications and landline service to neighboring countries (2007) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 490,900 (2006) | 1.134 million (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.417 million (2006) | 19.131 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 31 (plus 166 repeaters) (1995) | 15 (1999) |
Terrain | mountainous territory covered with deep basins and valleys; three large lakes, each divided by a frontier line; country bisected by the Vardar River | mostly flat alluvial plain; hilly in southeast |
Total fertility rate | 1.57 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.09 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 36% (2006 est.) | 2.5% (includes underemployment) (2007 est.) |
Waterways | - | 8,370 km
note: includes up to 3,060 km main cargo routes; network reduced to 5,200 km in dry season (2006) |