Macedonia

Macedonia ( /ˌmæsɨˈdoʊniə/ (help·info), Macedonian: Македонија), officially the Republic of Macedonia (Macedonian: Република Македонија, transliterated: Republika Makedonija [rɛˈpublika makɛˈdɔnija] ), is a country in the central Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991. It was admitted to the United Nations in 1993 under the provisional reference of the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia,^[3][4] sometimes abbreviated as FYROM.

A landlocked country, the Republic of Macedonia is bordered by Serbia and Kosovo to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south and Albania to the west.^[5] The country's capital is Skopje, with 506,926 inhabitants according to a 2004 census. Other cities include Bitola, Kumanovo, Prilep, Tetovo, Ohrid, Veles, Štip, Kočani, Gostivar and Strumica. It has more than 50 lakes and sixteen mountains higher than 2,000 meters (6,550 ft). Macedonia is a member of the UN and the Council of Europe. Since December 2005 it has also been a candidate for joining the European Union and has applied for NATO membership.

Contents

• 1 History
  • 1.1 Ancient history of the territory
  • 1.2 Medieval period
  • 1.3 The National Awakening
  • 1.4 Kingdoms of Serbia and Yugoslavia
  • 1.5 Yugoslav Macedonia in World War II
  • 1.6 Macedonia in Socialist Yugoslavia
  • 1.7 Declaration of independence
  • 1.8 Albanian insurgency
• 2 Geography
  • 2.1 Topography
  • 2.2 Climate
  • 2.3 Wildlife
• 3 Administrative regions
  • 3.1 Regions
  • 3.2 Municipalities and cities
• 4 Politics
  • 4.1 Parliament
  • 4.2 Government
  • 4.3 Law and courts
  • 4.4 Foreign relations
    • 4.4.1 Macedonia naming dispute
• 5 Military
• 6 Economy
  • 6.1 Resources
  • 6.2 Infrastructure and e-Infrastructure
  • 6.3 Trade and investment
  • 6.4 Tourism
• 7 Demographics
  • 7.1 Religion
    • 7.1.1 Orthodox
    • 7.1.2 Islam
    • 7.1.3 Catholicism
    • 7.1.4 Protestant Christianity
    • 7.1.5 Judaism
  • 7.2 Languages
• 8 Science
  • 8.1 Education
• 9 Society
  • 9.1 Cinema and media
  • 9.2 Culture
• 10 Gallery
• 11 See also
• 12 Notes and references
• 13 External links

Republic of Macedonia Република Македонија Republika Makedonija
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem: Денес над Македонија (English: "Today over Macedonia")
Location of Macedonia (green), with Europe (green + dark grey)
Capital (and largest city)		Skopje 42°0′N 21°26′E / 42°N 21.433°E / 42; 21.433
Official languages		Macedonian1[1]
Demonym		Macedonian
Government		Parliamentary republic
-	President	Gjorge Ivanov
-	Prime Minister	Nikola Gruevski
Independence from		Yugoslavia
-	Independence declared	8 September 1991
-	Officially recognized	8 April 1993
Area
-	Total	25,713 km2 (148th) 9,779 sq mi
-	Water (%)	1.9%
Population
-	2009 estimate	2,114,550 (142nd)
-	2002 census	2,022,547
-	Density	82,2/km2 (113th) 205/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2008 estimate
-	Total	$18.818 billion[2]
-	Per capita	$9,157[2]
GDP (nominal)		2008 estimate
-	Total	$9.569 billion[2]
-	Per capita	$4,656[2]
Gini (2004)		29.3 (low)
HDI (2005)		▲ 0.808 (high) (68th)
Currency		Macedonian denar (MKD)
Time zone		CET (UTC+1)
-	Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Drives on the		right
Internet TLD		.mk
Calling code		389