Sierra Leone (2001) | Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 3 provinces and 1 area*; Eastern, Northern, Southern, Western* | 123 municipalities (opstini, singular - opstina); Aracinovo, Bac, Belcista, Berovo, Bistrica, Bitola, Blatec, Bogdanci, Bogomila, Bogovinje, Bosilovo, Brvenica, Cair (Skopje), Capari, Caska, Cegrane, Centar (Skopje), Centar Zupa, Cesinovo, Cucer-Sandevo, Debar, Delcevo, Delogozdi, Demir Hisar, Demir Kapija, Dobrusevo, Dolna Banjica, Dolneni, Dorce Petrov (Skopje), Drugovo, Dzepciste, Gazi Baba (Skopje), Gevgelija, Gostivar, Gradsko, Ilinden, Izvor, Jegunovce, Kamenjane, Karbinci, Karpos (Skopje), Kavadarci, Kicevo, Kisela Voda (Skopje), Klecevce, Kocani, Konce, Kondovo, Konopiste, Kosel, Kratovo, Kriva Palanka, Krivogastani, Krusevo, Kuklis, Kukurecani, Kumanovo, Labunista, Lipkovo, Lozovo, Lukovo, Makedonska Kamenica, Makedonski Brod, Mavrovi Anovi, Meseista, Miravci, Mogila, Murtino, Negotino, Negotino-Polosko, Novaci, Novo Selo, Oblesevo, Ohrid, Orasac, Orizari, Oslomej, Pehcevo, Petrovec, Plasnica, Podares, Prilep, Probistip, Radovis, Rankovce, Resen, Rosoman, Rostusa, Samokov, Saraj, Sipkovica, Sopiste, Sopotnica, Srbinovo, Star Dojran, Staravina, Staro Nagoricane, Stip, Struga, Strumica, Studenicani, Suto Orizari (Skopje), Sveti Nikole, Tearce, Tetovo, Topolcani, Valandovo, Vasilevo, Velesta, Veles, Vevcani, Vinica, Vitoliste, Vranestica, Vrapciste, Vratnica, Vrutok, Zajas, Zelenikovo, Zeleno, Zitose, Zletovo, Zrnovci
note: the seven municipalities followed by Skopje in parentheses collectively constitute "greater Skopje" |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
44.73% (male 1,190,207; female 1,237,326) 15-64 years: 52.12% (male 1,351,455; female 1,477,155) 65 years and over: 3.15% (male 84,364; female 86,111) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 22.4% (male 239,638; female 221,446)
15-64 years: 67.2% (male 694,368; female 686,450) 65 years and over: 10.4% (male 94,214; female 118,684) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, cocoa, palm kernels, palm oil, peanuts; poultry, cattle, sheep, pigs; fish | rice, tobacco, wheat, corn, millet, cotton, sesame, mulberry leaves, citrus, vegetables; beef, pork, poultry, mutton |
Airports | 11 (2000 est.) | 17 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 10
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 under 914 m: 8 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
10 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 7
914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
Area | total:
71,740 sq km land: 71,620 sq km water: 120 sq km |
total: 25,333 sq km
land: 24,856 sq km water: 477 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than South Carolina | slightly larger than Vermont |
Background | Since 1991, civil war between the government and the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and the displacement of more than 2 million people (well over one-third of the population) many of whom are now refugees in neighboring countries. A peace agreement, signed in July 1999, collapsed in May 2000 after the RUF took over 500 UN peacekeepers hostage. The RUF stepped up attacks on Guinea in December 2000, despite a cease-fire that it signed with the Freetown government one month earlier. As of late 2000, up to 13,000 UN peacekeepers were protecting the capital and key towns in the south. A UK force of 750 was helping to reinforce security and train the Sierra Leone army. | International recognition of The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia's (F.Y.R.O.M.) independence from Yugoslavia in 1991 was delayed by Greece's objection to the new state's use of what it considered a Hellenic name and symbols. Greece finally lifted its trade blockade in 1995, and the two countries agreed to normalize relations, despite continued disagreement over F.Y.R.O.M.'s use of "Macedonia." F.Y.R.O.M.'s large Albanian minority, an ethnic Albanian armed insurgency in F.Y.R.O.M. in 2001, and the status of neighboring Kosovo continue to be sources of ethnic tension. |
Birth rate | 45.11 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 13.35 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$96 million expenditures: $351 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $850 million
expenditures: $950 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
Capital | Freetown | Skopje |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid; summer rainy season (May to December); winter dry season (December to April) | warm, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall |
Coastline | 402 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 October 1991; subsequently amended several times | adopted 17 November 1991, effective 20 November 1991
note: the Macedonian Parliament approved November 2001 a series of new constitutional amendments, strengthening minority rights |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Sierra Leone conventional short form: Sierra Leone |
conventional long form: The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
conventional short form: none local long form: Republika Makedonija local short form: Makedonija abbreviation: F.Y.R.O.M. |
Currency | leone (SLL) | Macedonian denar (MKD) |
Death rate | 19.19 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 7.74 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.28 billion (1999) | $1.3 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Joseph H. MELROSE, Jr. embassy: Corner of Walpole and Siaka Stevens Streets, Freetown mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [232] (22) 226481 through 226485 FAX: [232] (22) 225471 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Laurence Edward BUTLER
embassy: bul. Ilinden bb, 1000 Skopje mailing address: American Embassy Skopje, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7120 (pouch) telephone: [389] (02) 116-180 FAX: [389] (02) 117-103 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador John Ernest LEIGH chancery: 1701 19th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-9261 through 9263 FAX: [1] (202) 483-1793 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Nikola DIMITROV
chancery: Suite 302, 1101 30th Street NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 337-3063 FAX: [1] (202) 337-3093 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | civil war has engendered massive refugee movements into neighboring Guinea and Liberia | dispute with Greece over country's name persists; 2001 FYROM-Yugoslavia boundary delimitation agreement, which adjusts former republic boundaries, was signed and ratified and awaits demarcation; ethnic Albanians in Kosovo dispute legitimacy of the agreement, which cedes small tracts of Kosovo lands to FYROM |
Economic aid - recipient | $203.7 million (1995) | $150 million (2001 est.) |
Economy - overview | Sierra Leone is an extremely poor African nation with tremendous inequality in income distribution. It does have substantial mineral, agricultural, and fishery resources. However, the economic and social infrastructure is not well developed, and serious social disorders continue to hamper economic development. About two-thirds of the working-age population engages in subsistence agriculture. Manufacturing consists mainly of the processing of raw materials and of light manufacturing for the domestic market. Bauxite and rutile mines have been shut down by civil strife. The major source of hard currency is found in the mining of diamonds, the large majority of which are smuggled out of the country. The resurgence of internal warfare in 1999 brought another substantial drop in GDP, with GNP recovering part of the way in 2000. The fate of the economy depends upon the maintenance of domestic peace and the continued receipt of substantial aid from abroad. | At independence in November 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 center and eliminated advantages from inclusion in a de facto free trade area. An absence of infrastructure, UN sanctions on 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 4.6% because of decreased trade, intermittent border closures, increased deficit spending on security needs, and investor uncertainty. Growth recovered moderately in 2002 but unemployment at one-third of the workforce remained a critical problem. |
Electricity - consumption | 223.2 million kWh (1999) | 5.992 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 30 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 75 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 240 million kWh (1999) | 6.395 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 82%
hydro: 18% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Loma Mansa (Bintimani) 1,948 m |
lowest point: Vardar River 50 m
highest point: Golem Korab (Maja e Korabit) 2,753 m |
Environment - current issues | rapid population growth pressuring the environment; overharvesting of timber, expansion of cattle grazing, and slash-and-burn agriculture have resulted in deforestation and soil exhaustion; civil war depleting natural resources; overfishing | air pollution from metallurgical plants |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | 20 native African tribes 90% (Temne 30%, Mende 30%, other 30%), Creole 10% (descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area in the late-18th century), refugees from Liberia's recent civil war, small numbers of Europeans, Lebanese, Pakistanis, and Indians | Macedonian 66.6%, Albanian 22.7%, Turkish 4%, Roma 2.2%, Serb 2.1%, other 2.4% (1994) |
Exchange rates | leones per US dollar - 1,653.39 (January 2001), 2,092.13 (2000), 1,804.20 (1999), 1,563.62 (1998), 981.48 (1997), 920.73 (1996) | Macedonian denars per US dollar - 64.757 (January 2001), 65.904 (2000), 56.902 (1999), 54.462 (1998), 50.004 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (since 29 March 1996, reinstated 10 March 1998); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Ministers of State appointed by the president with the approval of the House of Representatives; the cabinet is responsible to the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election held 26-27 February and 15 March 1996 (next to be held NA September 2001); note - president's tenure of office is limited to two five-year terms election results: Ahmad Tejan KABBAH elected president; percent of vote - Ahmad Tejan KABBAH (SLPP) 59.5%, John KAREFA-SMART (UNPP) 40.5% |
chief of state: President Boris TRAJKOVSKI (since 15 December 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Branko CRVENKOVSKI (since 1 November 2002) 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, PDP, and DPA elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 14 November 1999 (next to be held NA October 2004); prime minister elected by the Assembly; election last held NA October 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: Boris TRAJKOVSKI elected president on second-round ballot; percent of vote - Boris TRAJKOVSKI 52.4%, Tito PETKOVSKI 46.2%; Branko CRVENKOVSKI elected prime minister by Parliament with 72% of the vote |
Exports | $65 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $1 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Exports - commodities | diamonds, rutile, cocoa, coffee, fish | food, beverages, tobacco; miscellaneous manufactures, iron and steel |
Exports - partners | Belgium 38%, US 6%, Italy 4%, UK 4% (1999) | Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) 23.1%, Germany 20.6%, Greece 8.8%, Italy 8.6%, US 7.7% (2001) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of light green (top), white, and light blue | a rising yellow sun with eight rays extending to the edges of the red field |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $2.7 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $10 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
43% industry: 26% services: 31% (1999) |
agriculture: 11%
industry: 31% services: 58% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $510 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.2% (2000 est.) | 3.8% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 8 30 N, 11 30 W | 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 |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
11,300 km paved: 904 km unpaved: 10,396 km (1997) |
total: 8,684 km
paved: 5,540 km (including 133 km of expressways) unpaved: 3,144 km (1997) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
0.5% highest 10%: 43.6% (1989) |
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; while money laundering is a problem on a local level due to organized crime activities, the lack of a well-developed financial infrastructure limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center |
Imports | $145 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $1.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, machinery and equipment, fuels and lubricants, chemicals | machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels; food products |
Imports - partners | UK 34%, US 8%, Italy 7%, Nigeria 5% (1999) | Germany 12.6%, Greece 10.9%, Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) 9.3%, Russia 8.3%, Slovenia 7.0% (2000) |
Independence | 27 April 1961 (from UK) | 8 September 1991 referendum by registered voters endorsing independence (from Yugoslavia) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | -5% (2002 est.) |
Industries | mining (diamonds); small-scale manufacturing (beverages, textiles, cigarettes, footwear); petroleum refining | coal, metallic chromium, lead, zinc, ferronickel, textiles, wood products, tobacco, food processing, buses |
Infant mortality rate | 146.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 12.54 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 15% (2000 est.) | 4% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT, BIS, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 6 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 290 sq km (1993 est.) | 550 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Appeals Court; High Court | Supreme Court - Parliament appoints the judges; Constitutional Court - Parliament appoints the judges; Republican Judicial Council - Parliament appoints the judges |
Labor force | 1.369 million (1981 est.)
note: only about 65,000 wage earners (1985) |
1.1 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total:
958 km border countries: Guinea 652 km, Liberia 306 km |
total: 766 km
border countries: Albania 151 km, Bulgaria 148 km, Greece 246 km, Serbia and Montenegro 221 km |
Land use | arable land:
7% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 31% forests and woodland: 28% other: 33% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 23.59%
permanent crops: 1.85% other: 74.56% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official, regular use limited to literate minority), Mende (principal vernacular in the south), Temne (principal vernacular in the north), Krio (English-based Creole, spoken by the descendants of freed Jamaican slaves who were settled in the Freetown area, a lingua franca and a first language for 10% of the population but understood by 95%) | Macedonian 70%, Albanian 21%, Turkish 3%, Serbo-Croatian 3%, other 3% |
Legal system | based on English law and customary laws indigenous to local tribes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts |
Legislative branch | unicameral House of Representatives (80 seats - 68 elected by popular vote, 12 filled by paramount chiefs elected in separate elections; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 26-27 February 1996 (next to be held NA 2001) election results: percent of vote by party - SLPP 36.1%, UNPP 21.6%, PDP 15.3%, APC 5.7%, NUP 5.3%, DCP 4.8%, other 11.2%; seats by party - SLPP 27, UNPP 17, PDP 12, APC 5, NUP 4, DCP 3; note - first elections since the former House of Representatives was shut down by the military coup of 29 April 1992 |
unicameral Assembly or Sobranje (120 seats - 85 members are elected by popular vote, 35 members come from lists of candidates submitted by parties based on the percentage that a party gains from the overall vote; all serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 15 September 2002 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Together for Macedonia coalition 60, VMRO-DPMNE 33, Democratic Integrative Union 16, Democratic Party of Albanians 7, Party for Democratic Prosperity 2, National Democratic Party 1, Socialist Party of Macedonia 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
45.6 years male: 42.69 years female: 48.61 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 74.26 years
male: 72.01 years female: 76.68 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write English, Mende, Temne, or Arabic total population: 31.4% male: 45.4% female: 18.2% (1995 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea and Liberia | Southeastern Europe, north of Greece |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea:
200 NM continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
1 ship (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,057 GRT/3,498 DWT ships by type: cargo 1 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Army | Army (ARM), Air and Air Defense Forces, Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $46 million (FY96/97) | $200 million (FY01/02 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY96/97) | 6% (FY01/02 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,161,790 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 551,523 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
563,631 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 444,575 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 19 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 17,905 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 27 April (1961) | Uprising Day, 2 August (1903); note - also known as Saint Elijah's Day and Ilinden |
Nationality | noun:
Sierra Leonean(s) adjective: Sierra Leonean |
noun: Macedonian(s)
adjective: Macedonian |
Natural hazards | dry, sand-laden harmattan winds blow from the Sahara (December to February); sandstorms, dust storms | high seismic risks |
Natural resources | diamonds, titanium ore, bauxite, iron ore, gold, chromite | chromium, lead, zinc, manganese, tungsten, nickel, low-grade iron ore, asbestos, sulfur, timber, arable land |
Net migration rate | 10.23 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: by the end of 1999 refugees from Sierra Leone are assumed to be returning |
-1.49 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | 10 km |
Political parties and leaders | All People's Congress or APC [Edward Mohammed TURAY, chairman]; Democratic Centre Party or DCP [Adu Aiah KOROMA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Amadu M. B. JALLOH]; National Republican Party or NRP [Sahr Stephen MAMBU]; National Unity Party or NUP [Dr. John KARIMU, chairman]; People's Democratic Party or PDP [Thaimu BANGURA, chairman]; People's Progressive Party or PPP [Abass Chernok BUNDU, chairman]; Revolutionary United Front Party or RUFP [Foday SANKOH, chairman]; Sierra Leone People's Party or SLPP [President Ahmad Tejan KABBAH, chairman]; United National People's Party or UNPP [John KARIFA-SMART in exile, Raymond KAMARA, acting leader] | Democratic Alternative or DA [Vasil TUPURKOVSKI, president]; Democratic Integrative Union [leader NA]; Democratic Party of Albanians or DPA [Arben XHAFERI, president]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity or VMRO-DPMNE [Ljubcho GEORGIEVSKI, president]; Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization-True Macedonian Reform Option or VMRO-VMRO [Boris STOJMANOV]; Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Risto GUSTERVO]; Liberal Party [leader NA]; National Democratic Party or MPDK [Kastriot HAXHISEXHA]; Party for Democratic Prosperity or PDP [Imeri IMERI, president]; Social-Democratic Alliance of Macedonia or SDSM (former Communist Party) [Branko CRVENKOVSKI, president]; Socialist Party of Macedonia or SP [Ljubisav IVANOV, president]; Together for Macedonia coalition (including the Social Democrats) [leader NA]; Union of Romanies of Macedonia or SRM [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Trade Unions and Student Unions | NA |
Population | 5,426,618 (July 2001 est.) | 2,054,800
note: a Framework Agreement ratified by Macedonia on 16 November 2001 calls for a new census in 2002 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (1989 est.) | 24% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 3.61% (2001 est.) | 0.41% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bonthe, Freetown, Pepel | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 9, shortwave 1 (1999) | AM 29, FM 20, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | 1.12 million (1997) | 410,000 (1997) |
Railways | total:
84 km used on a limited basis because the mine at Marampa is closed narrow gauge: 84 km 1.067-m gauge |
total: 699 km
standard gauge: 699 km 1.435-m gauge (233 km electrified) note: a 56-km extension of the Kumanovo-Beljakovce line to the Bulgarian border at Gyueshevo is under construction (2001) |
Religions | Muslim 60%, indigenous beliefs 30%, Christian 10% | Macedonian Orthodox 67%, Muslim 30%, other 3% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.98 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
marginal telephone and telegraph service domestic: national microwave radio relay trunk system, made unserviceable by military activities, is now operating from Freetown to Bo and Kenema (April 2001) international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: NA international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 17,000 (1997) | 408,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 650 (1999) | 12,362 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1999) | 31 (plus 166 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | coastal belt of mangrove swamps, wooded hill country, upland plateau, mountains in east | 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 | 6.01 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.77 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 35% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round) | note: lake transport only, on the Greek and Albanian borders |