Netherlands Antilles (2006) | Macedonia (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands)
note: each island has its own government |
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: 23.9% (male 27,197/female 25,886)
15-64 years: 67.3% (male 71,622/female 77,710) 65 years and over: 8.7% (male 7,925/female 11,396) (2006 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 | aloes, sorghum, peanuts, vegetables, tropical fruit | grapes, wine, tobacco, vegetables; milk, eggs |
Airports | 5 (2006) | 17 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 5
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
total: 10
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 under 914 m: 8 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2007) |
Area | total: 960 sq km
land: 960 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten (Dutch part of the island of Saint Martin) |
total: 25,333 sq km
land: 24,856 sq km water: 477 sq km |
Area - comparative | more than five times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Vermont |
Background | Once the center of the Caribbean slave trade, the island of Curacao was hard hit by the abolition of slavery in 1863. Its prosperity (and that of neighboring Aruba) was restored in the early 20th century with the construction of oil refineries to service the newly discovered Venezuelan oil fields. The island of Saint Martin is shared with France; its southern portion is named Sint Maarten and is part of the Netherlands Antilles; its northern portion is called Saint-Martin and is part of Guadeloupe (France). | 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 | 14.78 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 12.02 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $757.9 million
expenditures: $949.5 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2004) |
revenues: $2.381 billion
expenditures: $2.456 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | name: Willemstad (on Curacao)
geographic coordinates: 12 06 N, 68 56 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
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 | tropical; ameliorated by northeast trade winds | warm, dry summers and autumns; relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall |
Coastline | 364 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 29 December 1954, Statute of the Realm of the Netherlands, as amended | 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: none
conventional short form: Netherlands Antilles local long form: none local short form: Nederlandse Antillen former: Curacao and Dependencies |
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 | 6.45 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 8.78 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.68 billion (2004) | $2.561 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
Dependency status | an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands; full autonomy in internal affairs granted in 1954; Dutch Government responsible for defense and foreign affairs | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Consul General Robert E. SORENSON
consulate(s) general: J. B. Gorsiraweg #1, Willemstad, Curacao mailing address: P. O. Box 158, Willemstad, Curacao telephone: [599] (9) 4613066 FAX: [599] (9) 4616489 |
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 (represented by the Kingdom of the Netherlands); note - Mr. Jeffrey CORRION, Minister Plenipotentiary for Aruba at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands | 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 | none | 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 | $21.5 million IMF provided $61 million in 2000, and the Netherlands continued its support with $40 million (2004) | $230.3 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | Tourism, petroleum refining, and offshore finance are the mainstays of this small economy, which is closely tied to the outside world. Although GDP has declined or grown slightly in each of the past eight years, the islands enjoy a high per capita income and a well-developed infrastructure compared with other countries in the region. Almost all consumer and capital goods are imported, the US and Mexico being the major suppliers. Poor soils and inadequate water supplies hamper the development of agriculture. Budgetary problems hamper reform of the health and pension systems of an aging population. | 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 | 945.8 million kWh (2003) | 8.929 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 0 kWh (2006) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 2.994 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - production | 1.017 billion kWh (2003) | 5.935 billion kWh (2006) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Scenery 862 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | mixed black 85%, Carib Amerindian, white, East Asian | Macedonian 64.2%, Albanian 25.2%, Turkish 3.9%, Roma (Gypsy) 2.7%, Serb 1.8%, other 2.2% (2002 census) |
Exchange rates | Netherlands Antillean guilders per US dollar - 1.79 (2005), 1.79 (2004), 1.79 (2003), 1.79 (2002), 1.79 (2001) | 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: Queen BEATRIX of the Netherlands (since 30 April 1980), represented by Governor General Frits GOEDGEDRAG (since 1 July 2002)
head of government: Prime Minister Emily de JONGH-ELHAGE (since 26 March 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Staten (legislature) elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch for a six-year term; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party is usually elected prime minister by the Staten; election last held 27 January 2006 (next to be held by 2007) note: government coalition - PAR, PNP, DP St. Maarten, UP Bonaire, WIPM Saba, DP Statia |
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 | NA bbl/day | 4,134 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum products | food, beverages, tobacco; textiles, miscellaneous manufactures, iron and steel |
Exports - partners | US 29.4%, Panama 14.4%, Mexico 8.8%, Haiti 5.6%, Venezuela 4.9%, Bahamas, The 4.5% (2005) | 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 | white, with a horizontal blue stripe in the center superimposed on a vertical red band, also centered; five white, five-pointed stars are arranged in an oval pattern in the center of the blue band; the five stars represent the five main islands of Bonaire, Curacao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten | a yellow sun with eight broadening rays extending to the edges of the red field |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 15% services: 84% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 12.1%
industry: 28.6% services: 59.3% (2007 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1% (2004 est.) | 4.6% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 12 15 N, 68 45 W | 41 50 N, 22 00 E |
Geography - note | the five islands of the Netherlands Antilles are divided geographically into the Leeward Islands (northern) group (Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten) and the Windward Islands (southern) group (Bonaire and Curacao) | landlocked; major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 29.6% (2003) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American drugs bound for the US and Europe; money-laundering center | 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 | NA bbl/day | 23,150 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | crude petroleum, food, manufactures | machinery and equipment, automobiles, chemicals, fuels, food products |
Imports - partners | Venezuela 52.3%, US 21.4%, Italy 4.9%, Netherlands 4.6% (2005) | Russia 15.1%, Germany 9.8%, Greece 8.5%, Serbia and Montenegro 7.5%, Bulgaria 6.7%, Italy 6% (2006) |
Independence | none (part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) | 8 September 1991 (referendum by registered voters endorsed independence from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 1.6% (2007 est.) |
Industries | tourism (Curacao, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire), petroleum refining (Curacao), petroleum transshipment facilities (Curacao and Bonaire), light manufacturing (Curacao) | food processing, beverages, textiles, chemicals, iron, steel, cement, energy, pharmaceuticals |
Infant mortality rate | total: 9.76 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 10.54 deaths/1,000 live births female: 8.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 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) | 2.1% (2003 est.) | 2% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, UNESCO (associate), UPU, WCL, WCO, WMO, WToO (associate) | 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 |
Irrigated land | NA | 550 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Joint High Court of Justice (judges appointed by the monarch) | Supreme Court - the Assembly appoints the judges; Constitutional Court - the Assembly appoints the judges; Republican Judicial Council - the Assembly appoints the judges |
Labor force | 83,600 (2005) | 890,000 (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 1%
industry: 20% services: 79% (2005 est.) |
agriculture: 21.7%
industry: 32.6% services: 45.7% (September 2006) |
Land boundaries | total: 15 km
border countries: Guadeloupe (Saint-Martin) 15 km |
total: 766 km
border countries: Albania 151 km, Bulgaria 148 km, Greece 246 km, Serbia 221 km |
Land use | arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 0% other: 90% (2005) |
arable land: 22.01%
permanent crops: 1.79% other: 76.2% (2005) |
Languages | Papiamento 65.4% (a Spanish-Portuguese-Dutch-English dialect), English 15.9% (widely spoken), Dutch 7.3% (official), Spanish 6.1%, Creole 1.6%, other 1.9%, unspecified 1.8% (2001 census) | Macedonian 66.5%, Albanian 25.1%, Turkish 3.5%, Roma 1.9%, Serbian 1.2%, other 1.8% (2002 census) |
Legal system | based on Dutch civil law system with some English common law influence | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral States or Staten (22 seats - Curacao 14, Bonaire 3, St. Maarten 3, St. Eustatius 1, Saba 1; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 January 2006 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PAR 5, MAN 3, FOL 2, Forsa Korsou 2, National Alliance 2, PNP 2, UPB 2, DP St. E 1, DP St. M 1, BDP 1, WIPM 1 note: the government of Prime Minister Emily de JONGH-ELHAGE is a coalition of several parties |
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: 76.03 years
male: 73.76 years female: 78.41 years (2006 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: 96.7% male: 96.7% female: 96.8% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96.1% male: 98.2% female: 94.1% (2002 census) |
Location | Caribbean, two island groups in the Caribbean Sea - composed of five islands, Curacao and Bonaire located off the coast of Venezuela, and St. Maarten, Saba, and St. Eustatius lie east of the US Virgin Islands | Southeastern Europe, north of Greece |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 152 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,289,462 GRT/1,671,649 DWT
by type: barge carrier 3, bulk carrier 13, cargo 68, chemical tanker 3, container 19, liquefied gas 4, passenger 2, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 28, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 3 foreign-owned: 143 (Belgium 4, Cuba 1, Denmark 1, Germany 60, Netherlands 54, Norway 5, Sweden 5, Turkey 9, UK 3, US 1) registered in other countries: 1 (Netherlands 1) (2006) |
- |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the Kingdom of the Netherlands | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; National Guard, Police Force (2005) | Army of the Republic of Macedonia (ARM): Joint Operational Command, with subordinate Air Wing (Makedonsko Voeno Vozduhoplovstvo, MVV), Special Operations Regiment (2007) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 6% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Queen's Day (Birthday of Queen-Mother JULIANA in 1909 and accession to the throne of her oldest daughter BEATRIX in 1980), 30 April | Ilinden Uprising Day, 2 August (1903); note - also known as Saint Elijah's Day |
Nationality | noun: Dutch Antillean(s)
adjective: Dutch Antillean |
noun: Macedonian(s)
adjective: Macedonian |
Natural hazards | Curacao and Bonaire are south of Caribbean hurricane belt and are rarely threatened; Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustatius are subject to hurricanes from July to October | high seismic risks |
Natural resources | phosphates (Curacao only), salt (Bonaire only) | low-grade iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, manganese, nickel, tungsten, gold, silver, asbestos, gypsum, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | -0.61 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 268 km; oil 120 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | Bonaire: Democratic Party of Bonaire or PDB [Jopi ABRAHAM]; Patriotic Union of Bonaire or UPB [Ramonsito BOOI]
Curacao: Ban Vota [Norbert GEORGE]; C-93 [Stanley BROWN]; Democratic Party of Curacao or DP [Errol HERNANDEZ]; E Mayoria [Aurelio PEDRO]; Forsa Korsou [Nelson NAVARRO]; Liste Ni'un Paso Atras [Nelson PIERRE]; Movemiento Patriotiko Korsou [Reginald LAK]; New Antilles Movement or MAN [Charles COOPER]; Partido Akshon Pa Prosperidat I Seguridat [Sonja BERKEMEYER]; Partido Laboral Krusada Popular or PLKP [Errol COVA]; Party for the Restructured Antilles or PAR [Emily de JONGH-ELHAGE]; People's National Party or PNP [Ersilia DE LANNOOY]; Pidjin [Jasmin PINEDO]; Pueblo Soberano [Herman WIELS]; Workers' Liberation Front or FOL [Anthony GODETT] Saba: Saba Labor Party [Akilah LEVENSTONE]; Windward Islands People's Movement or WIPM [Ray HASSELL] Sint Eustatius: Democratic Party of Sint Eustatius or DP-St. E [Julian WOODLEY]; Progressive Labor Party [Clyde VAN PUTTEN]; St. Eustatius Alliance [Ingrid HOUTMAN-WHITFIELD] Sint Maarten: Democratic Party of Sint Maarten or DP-St. M [Sarah WESCOTT-WILLIAMS]; Freedom Slate of National Democratic Party [Theophilus PRIEST]; National Alliance or NA [William MARLIN]; People's Progressive Alliance or PPA [Gracita ARRINDELL]; St. Maarten People's Party [Johan LEONARD]; United People's Labor Party [Bienvenido RICHARDSON] note: political parties are indigenous to each island |
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 | Unions (AVBO) and Employers Association (VBC) | Federation of Free Trade Unions [Svetlana PETROVIC]; Federation of Trade Unions [Vanco MURATOVSKI]; World Macedonian Congress [Todor PETROV] |
Population | 221,736 (July 2006 est.) | 2,055,915 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 30% (2005) |
Population growth rate | 0.79% (2006 est.) | 0.263% (2007 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 8, FM 19, shortwave 0 (2004) | AM 29, FM 20, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 699 km
standard gauge: 699 km 1.435-m gauge (223 km electrified) (2006) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 72%, Pentecostal 4.9%, Protestant 3.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3.1%, Methodist 2.9%, Jehovah's Witnesses 1.7%, other Christian 4.2%, Jewish 1.3%, other or unspecified 1.2%, none 5.2% (2001 census) | 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: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.93 male(s)/female (2006 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 | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: generally adequate facilities
domestic: extensive interisland microwave radio relay links international: country code - 599; submarine cables - 2; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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 | 81,000 (2001) | 490,900 (2006) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 200,000 (2004) | 1.417 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (there is also a cable service, which supplies programs received from various US satellite networks and four Venezuelan channels) (2004) | 31 (plus 166 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | generally hilly, volcanic interiors | 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 | 1.99 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 1.57 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 17% (2002 est.) | 35% (2007 est.) |