North Macedonia#EU and NATO path

{{Main|History of North Macedonia}}

{{See also|Historiography in North Macedonia}}

{{Main|Paeonia (kingdom)|Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Kingdom of Dardania|Roman Empire}}

File:PreMacedon.png

North Macedonia geographically roughly corresponds to the ancient kingdom of Paeonia,{{cite book |last1=Waterfield |first1=Robin |title=The Library, Books 16–20: Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Successors |date=2019 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-875988-1 |page=428 |quote=Paeonia is roughly equivalent to the country currently known as the Republic of North Macedonia (the former FYROM).}}{{cite book |author1=Ovid |editor1-last=Green |editor1-first=Peter |title=The Poems of Exile: Tristia and the Black Sea Letters |date=2005 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-24260-9 |page=[https://archive.org/details/poemsofexiletris00ovid/page/319 319] |quote=Ovid was lax in his geography, not least over Paeonia (in fact roughly coextensive with the present Slav Republic of Macedonia). |url=https://archive.org/details/poemsofexiletris00ovid/page/319 }}{{cite book |last1=Roisman |first1=Joseph |last2=Worthington |first2=Ian |title=A Companion to Ancient Macedonia |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-4051-7936-2 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lkYFVJ3U-BIC |page=13 |access-date=10 February 2016}}{{cite book |last1=Reames |first1=Jeanne |last2=Howe |first2=Timothy |title=Macedonian Legacies: Studies in Ancient Macedonian History and Culture in Honor of Eugene N. Borza |date=2008 |publisher=Regina Books |isbn=978-1-930053-56-4 |page=239 |quote=Having just conquered Paeonia (roughly where the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is today).}}{{cite book |last=Peshkopia |first=Ridvan |title=Conditioning Democratization: Institutional Reforms and EU Membership Conditionality in Albania and Macedonia |date=2015 |publisher=Anthem Press |isbn=978-0-85728-325-2 |page=189 |quote=Indeed, the territory of the Republic of Macedonia encompasses little of the ancient kingdom of Macedon, which, in most part, overlaps with the current region of the contemporary Greece, but the name Macedonia "flowed" northward with the creation of Roman region of Macedonia, after the Romans occupied Greece in 168 BC. Besides the former kingdom of Macedon, the Roman region included the territories of Paeonia, where the contemporary FYR Macedonia rests.}} which was located immediately north of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia.Strabo, Geography, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0239%3Abook%3D7%3Achapter%3Dfragments%3Asection%3D4 Book 7, Frg. 4:] Paeonia was inhabited by the Paeonians, whilst the northwest was inhabited by the Illyrian Dardani and southwest by the Enchelae (also an Illyrian tribe), as well as Pelagones and Lyncestae (generally regarded as Molossian tribes of the northwestern Greek group).{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4Nv6SPRKqs8C&pg=PA170 |title=The Illyrians |publisher=Wiley-Blackwell |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-631-19807-9 |page=49 |last=Willkes |first=John |access-date=10 February 2016}}{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofgreekci0000seal |url-access=registration |quote=illyrian lychnitis. |last=Sealey |first=Raphael |title=A history of the Greek city states, ca. 700–338 B.C. |publisher=University of California Press |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofgreekci0000seal/page/442 442] |year=1976 |isbn=978-0-520-03177-7}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4CpYot4N2PUC&pg=RA1-PA13 |title=Macedonia |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |last=Evans |first=Thammy |year=2007 |page=13 |isbn=978-1-84162-186-9}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=614pd07OtfQC&pg=PA99 |last=Borza |first=Eugene N. |title=In the shadow of Olympus: the emergence of Macedon |publisher=Princeton University Press |pages=74–75 |isbn=978-0-691-00880-6 |year=1992}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vx251bK988gC&pg=RA6-PA750 |editor=Lewis, D.M. |display-editors=et al |title=The Cambridge ancient history: The fourth century B.C. |publisher=Cambridge University Press |pages=723–724 |isbn=978-0-521-23348-4 |year=1994 |access-date=10 February 2016}}The Cambridge Ancient History Volume 3, Part 3: The Expansion of the Greek World, Eighth to Sixth Centuries BC by John Boardman and N. G. L. Hammond, 1982, {{ISBN|0-521-23447-6}}, p. 284.

In the late 6th century BC, the Achaemenid Persians under Darius the Great conquered Paeonia, incorporating the area within their vast territories.{{sfn|Howe|Reames|2008|p=239}}{{sfn|Roisman|Worthington|2011|pp=135–138, 342–345}}{{cite web |url=https://www.livius.org/ia-in/influence/influence02.html |title=Persian influence on Greece (2) |access-date=17 December 2014 |archive-date=24 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724223725/https://www.livius.org/ia-in/influence/influence02.html |url-status=dead }} Following their defeat in the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 479 BC, the Persians eventually withdrew from their European territories.

File:Ancientbitola.jpg, a city founded by Philip II of Macedon in the 4th century BC; ruins of the Byzantine "Small Basilica"]]

Philip II of Macedon absorbedWarfare in the ancient world: from the Bronze Age to the fall of Rome. By Stefan G. Chrissanthos, p. 75 the regions of Upper Macedonia (Lynkestis and Pelagonia) and the southern part of Paeonia (Deuriopus) into the kingdom of Macedon in 356 BC.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ppbuavUZKEwC&pg=PA187 |author=Poulton, Hugh |title=Who are the Macedonians? |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers |page=14 |date= 2000 |isbn=978-1-85065-534-3}} Philip's son Alexander the Great conquered the remainder of the region and incorporated it in his empire, reaching as far north as Scupi, but the city and the surrounding area remained part of Dardania.Macedonia yesterday and today Author Giorgio Nurigiani, Publisher Teleurope, 1967 p. 77. After the death of Alexander, Celtic armies began to bear down on the southern regions, threatening the kingdom of Macedon. In 310 BC, they attacked the area, but were defeated.Stipčević, Aleksandar (1977). The Illyrians. Translated by Stojana Čulić Burton. Park Ridge, New Jersey: Noyes Press. p. 44.

The Romans established the province of Macedonia in 146 BC. By the time of Diocletian, the province had been subdivided between Macedonia Prima ("first Macedonia") in the south, encompassing most of the kingdom of Macedon, and Macedonia Salutaris (meaning "wholesome Macedonia", known also as Macedonia Secunda, "second Macedonia") in the north, encompassing parts of Dardania and the whole of Paeonia, with the city of Stobi as its capital.A Companion to Ancient Macedonia, By Joseph Roisman and Ian Worthington, p. 549 This comprised most of the territory of the modern country. Roman expansion brought the Scupi area under Roman rule in the time of Domitian (81–96 AD), and it fell within the Province of Moesia.{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9068124/Skopje |title= Scopje |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=6 June 2011}} Whilst Greek remained the dominant language in the eastern part of the Roman empire, especially south of the Jireček Line, Latin spread to Macedonia to some extent.A. F. Christidis (2007). A History of Ancient Greek: From the Beginnings to Late Antiquity, Cambridge University Press, p. 351: "Despite Roman domination, there was no retreat on the part of Greek tradition in the eastern part of the empire, and only in Macedonia did Latin spread in some extent".

{{Further|Sclaveni|Byzantine Empire|First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgaria (theme)|Serbian Empire|Ottoman Vardar Macedonia}}

File:66-manasses-chronicle.jpg, depicting the defeat of Samuil by Basil II and the return of his blinded soldiers]]

Slavic tribes settled in the Balkan region including North Macedonia by the late 6th century AD. They were led by Pannonian Avars.{{cite book|editor=Lester K. Little|title=Plague and the End of Antiquity: The Pandemic of 541–750|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DKhLOd6gGlAC|year=2007|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-84639-4|pages=15, 24, 116, 118, 125, 286–287}}Wright, David Curtis (1997). "The Hsiung-Nu-Hun Equation Revisited". Eurasian Studies Yearbook. 69: 77–112.{{cite journal |author1=Ulf Büntgen |author2=Vladimir S. Myglan |author3=Fredrik Charpentier Ljungqvist |author4=Michael McCormick |author5=Nicola Di Cosmo |author6=Michael Sigl |author7=Johann Jungclaus |author8=Sebastian Wagner |author9=Paul J. Krusic |author10=Jan Esper |author11=Jed O. Kaplan |author12=Michiel A. C. de Vaan |author13=Jürg Luterbacher |author14=Lukas Wacker |author15=Willy Tegel |author16=Alexander V. Kirdyanov |title=Cooling and societal change during the Late Antique Little Ice Age from 536 to around 660 AD |journal=Nature Geoscience |date=2016 |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=231–236 |doi=10.1038/ngeo2652|bibcode=2016NatGe...9..231B |url=http://elib.sfu-kras.ru/handle/2311/27894 |issn = 1752-0894}} The Slavs settled on places of earlier settlements and probably merged later with the local populations to form mixed Byzantine-Slavic communities.Bintliff J.L. (2003), The ethnoarchaeology of a 'passive' ethnicity: The Arvanites of Central Greece, p. 142. In: Brown K.S., Hamilakis Y. (Eds.) The Usable Past. Greek Metahistories. Lanham-Boulder: Lexington Books. 129–144. Historical records document that in {{Circa|680}} a Bulgar ruler called Kuber led a group of largely Christians called Sermesianoi, who were his subjects, and they settled in the region of Pelagonia. They may have consisted of Bulgars, Byzantines, Slavs and even Germanic tribes.D. Hupchick (2002) The Balkans: From Constantinople to Communism, Springer, p. 33, {{ISBN|0-312-29913-3}}. There is no more information of Kuber's life.{{Cite web|author=Florin Curta|url=https://archive.org/details/southeasterneuro0000curt|url-access=registration|title=Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 500–1250|website=Archive.org|year=2006 }}{{Cite book|author=John Van Antwerp Fine Jr.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Y0NBxG9Id58C|isbn=0-472-08149-7|title=The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century| year=1991 | publisher=University of Michigan Press }} Presian's reign apparently coincides with the extension of Bulgarian control over the Slavic tribes in and around Macedonia. The Slavic tribes that settled in the region of Macedonia converted to Christianity around the 9th century during the reign of Tsar Boris I of Bulgaria. The Ohrid Literary School became one of the two major cultural centres of the First Bulgarian Empire, along with the Preslav Literary School. Established in Ohrid in 886 by Saint Clement of Ohrid on the order of Boris I, the Ohrid Literary School was involved in the spreading of the Cyrillic script.{{Cite web|author=S. Runciman|url=http://www.promacedonia.org/en/sr/sr_app9.htm|title=A history of the First Bulgarian empire – Appendix 9|website=Promacedonia.org}}

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After Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria, the Byzantines took control of East Bulgaria. Samuil was proclaimed Tsar of Bulgaria. He moved the capital to Skopje and then to Ohrid, which had been the cultural and military centre of southwestern Bulgaria since Boris I's rule. Samuil re-established Bulgarian power, but after several decades of conflicts, in 1014, the Byzantine Emperor Basil II defeated his armies, and within four years the Byzantines restored control over the Balkans (modern-day North Macedonia was included into a new province, called Bulgaria). The rank of the autocephalous Bulgarian Patriarchate was lowered due to its subjugation to Constantinople and it was transformed into the Archbishopric of Ohrid. By the late 12th century, Byzantine decline saw the region contested by various political entities, including a brief Norman occupation in the 1080s.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}}

In the early 13th century, a revived Bulgarian Empire gained control of the region. Plagued by political difficulties, the empire did not last, and the region came once again under Byzantine control in the early 14th century. In the 14th century, it became part of the Serbian Empire. Skopje became the capital of Tsar Stefan Dušan's empire. Following Dušan's death, a weak successor appeared, and power struggles between nobles divided the Balkans once again. These events coincided with the entry of the Ottoman Turks into Europe.

{{Further|Ottoman Vardar Macedonia}}

The Kingdom of Prilep was one of the short-lived states that emerged from the collapse of the Serbian Empire in the 14th century and was seized by the Ottomans at the end of the same century.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y2d6OHLqwEsC&pg=PA275 |title=The last Centuries of Byzantium, (1261–1453) |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1993 |isbn=978-0-521-43991-6 |page=500 |author1=Nicol, Donald Macgillivray |access-date=10 February 2016}} Gradually, all of the central Balkans were conquered by the Ottoman Empire and remained under its domination for five centuries as part of the province or Eyalet of Rumelia. The name Rumelia (Turkish: Rumeli) means "Land of the Romans" in Turkish, referring to the lands conquered by the Ottoman Turks from the Byzantine Empire.[https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9064407/Rumelia Encyclopædia Britannica – Rumelia] at Encyclopædia Britannica.com Over the centuries, Rumelia Eyalet was reduced in size through administrative reforms, until by the 19th century it consisted of a region of central Albania and western North Macedonia with its capital at Manastir or present-day Bitola.{{cite book |title=The Encyclopædia Britannica, or, Dictionary of arts, sciences ..., Volume 19 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TUEhAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA464 |page=464 |year=1859}} Rumelia Eyalet was abolished in 1867 and that territory of Macedonia subsequently became part of vilayets of Manastir, Kosova and Selanik until the end of Ottoman rule in 1912. With the beginning of the Bulgarian National Revival in the 19th century, many of the reformers were from this region, including the Miladinov brothers,{{cite book |last=Phillips |first=John |title=Macedonia: Warlords and Rebels in the Balkans |url=https://archive.org/details/macedoniawarlord00phil |url-access=limited |publisher=I.B. Tauris |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-86064-841-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/macedoniawarlord00phil/page/n51 41]}} Rajko Žinzifov, Joakim Krčovski,{{cite book |isbn=978-90-6143-311-8 |page=234 |title=Becoming Bulgarian: The articulation of Bulgarian identity in the nineteenth century in its international context: An intellectual history |last1=Sampimon |first1=Janette |year=2006|publisher=Pegasus }} Kiril Pejčinoviḱ{{cite book |isbn=978-0-88033-149-4 |page=221 |quote=Peichinovich of Tetovo, Macedonia, author of one of the first Bulgarian books |title=The pen and the sword: Studies in Bulgarian history |last1=Clarke |first1=James Franklin |last2=Hupchick |first2=Dennis P. |year=1988|publisher=East European Monographs }} and others. The bishoprics of Skopje, Debar, Bitola, Ohrid, Veles, and Strumica voted to join the Bulgarian Exarchate after it was established in 1870.{{cite book |title=The Crescent and the Eagle: Ottoman Rule, Islam and the Albanians, 1874–1913 |last=Gawrych |first=George |date=2006|page=28 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-1-84511-287-5}}

{{See also|Bulgarian Millet|Autonomy for Macedonia and Adrianople regions|Macedonia for the Macedonians}}

File:Nikola Karev.jpg, head of the provisional government of the short-lived Kruševo Republic during the Ilinden uprising]]

File:Krushevo 1918.jpg]]

Several movements whose goals were the establishment of an autonomous Macedonia, which would encompass the entire region of Macedonia, began to arise in the late 19th century; the earliest of these was the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees, later becoming Secret Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (SMARO). In 1905 it was renamed the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (IMARO), and after World War I the organisation separated into the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) and the Internal Thracian Revolutionary Organisation (ITRO).{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1jSg3lxgSy8C&q=thracian+revolutionary+organization&pg=PA100|isbn=978-0-8108-5565-6|page=100|access-date=14 November 2011|title=Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia|last=Bechev|first=Dimitar|year=2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press }}

In the early years of the organisation, membership eligibility was exclusive to Bulgarians, but later it was extended to all inhabitants of European Turkey regardless of ethnicity or religion.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6RveDmHbIv8C&pg=PA136 |title=Region, Regional Identity and Regionalism in Southeastern Europe |first1=Klaus |last1=Roth |first2=Ulf |last2=Brunnbauer |date=2008 |publisher=LIT Verlag Münster |via=Google Books |isbn=978-3-8258-1387-1}} The majority of its members were Macedonian Bulgarians.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AIET_7ji7YAC&pg=PA209 |title=History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey: Volume 2, Reform, Revolution, and Republic: The Rise of Modern Turkey 1808–1975 |last=Shaw |first=Stanford J. |publisher=Cambridge University Press |page=209 |date=1977 |isbn=978-0-521-29166-8}} In 1903, IMRO organised the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising against the Ottomans, which after some initial successes, including the forming of the Kruševo Republic, was crushed with much loss of life.There was even an attempt to form a kind of revolutionary government led by the socialist Nikola Karev. The Krushevo manifesto was declared, assuring the population that the uprising was against the Sultan and not against Muslims in general, and that all peoples would be included. As the population of Krushevo was two-thirds hellenised Vlachs and Patriarchist Slavs, this was a wise move. Despite these promises, the insurgent flew Bulgarian flags everywhere and in many places the uprising did entail attacks on Muslim Turks and Albanians who themselves organised for self-defence." Who are the Macedonians? Hugh Poulton, C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1995, {{ISBN|1-85065-238-4}}, p. 57. The uprising and the forming of the Kruševo Republic are considered the cornerstone and precursors to the eventual establishment of the Macedonian state.In fact Macedonian historians as Blaze Ristovski have recognized, that the "government" of the "republic", nowadays a symbol of Macedonian statehood, was actually composed of people who identified themselves as "Greeks", "Vlachs" and "Bulgarians". "We, the People: Politics of National Peculiarity in Southeastern Europe" Diana Mishkova, Central European University Press, 2009, {{ISBN|963-9776-28-9}}, p. 124."The IMARO activists saw the future autonomous Macedonia as a multinational polity, and did not pursue the self-determination of Macedonian Slavs as a separate ethnicity. Therefore, Macedonian was an umbrella term covering Bulgarians, Turks, Greeks, Vlachs, Albanians, Serbs, Jews, and so on." Historical Dictionary of Macedonia, Historical Dictionaries of Europe, Dimitar Bechev, Scarecrow Press, 2009, {{ISBN|0-8108-6295-6}}, Introduction.The political and military leaders of the Slavs of Macedonia at the turn of the century seem not to have heard the call for a separate Macedonian national identity; they continued to identify themselves in a national sense as Bulgarians rather than Macedonians.[...] (They) never seem to have doubted "the predominantly Bulgarian character of the population of Macedonia". "The Macedonian conflict: ethnic nationalism in a transnational world", Princeton University Press, Danforth, Loring M. 1997, {{ISBN|0-691-04356-6}}, p. 64. The leaders of the Ilinden uprising are celebrated as national heroes in North Macedonia. The names of IMRO revolutionaries like Gotse Delchev, Pitu Guli, Dame Gruev and Yane Sandanski were included into the lyrics of the national anthem of the state of North Macedonia "Denes nad Makedonija" ("Today over Macedonia"). The major national holiday of North Macedonia, the Republic Day, is celebrated on 2 August, Ilinden (St. Elijah day), the day of the Ilinden uprising.

{{See also|Second Balkan War|Serbianisation}}

Following the two Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 and the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, most of its European-held territories were divided between Greece, Bulgaria and Serbia.{{sfn|Nicolle|2008|p=162}} Most of the territory that was to become North Macedonia was annexed by Serbia conforming to the treaty of peace concluded at Bucharest.{{cite book | last=Saucerman | first=S.B. | title=International Transfers of Territory in Europe with Names of the Affected Political Subdivisions| publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office | series=Department of State publication | year=1937 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KrJ9AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA195| page=195}} However, Strumica region was passed to Bulgaria. Following the partition, an anti-Bulgarian campaign was carried out in the areas under Serbian and Greek control.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/nationalquestion0000bana/page/317|title=The National Question in Yugoslavia. Origins, History, Politics|last=Banac|first=Ivo|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=1984|place=London and Ithaka|isbn=978-0-8014-1675-0}} As many as 641 Bulgarian schools and 761 churches were closed by the Serbs, while Exarchist clergy and teachers were expelled. The use of all Macedonian dialects and standard Bulgarian were proscribed. IMRO, together with local Albanians, organised the Ohrid–Debar uprising against the Serbian rule. Within a few days the rebels captured the towns of Gostivar, Struga and Ohrid, expelling the Serbian troops. According to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace report, a Serbian army of 100,000 regulars suppressed the uprising. Many were killed and tens of thousands of refugees fled to Bulgaria and Albania.{{cite book|last=Mojzes|first=Paul|title=Balkan Genocides: Holocaust and Ethnic Cleansing in the Twentieth Century|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|date=2011|page=38|isbn=978-1-4422-0663-2}}Йосиф Разсуканов, 85 години от Охриско-Дебърското въстание, в-к "Македония", брой 33, 16 септември 1998 г.

File:Balkan Wars Boundaries cleanup.jpg) after the Balkan Wars according to the Treaty of Bucharest]]

{{See also|Bulgarian occupation of Serbia (World War I)}}

During the First World War, most of today's North Macedonia was part of the Bulgarian occupied zone of Serbia after the country was invaded by the Central Powers in the fall of 1915. The region was known as the "Military Inspection Area of Macedonia" and was administered by a Bulgarian military commander.{{cite book|last1=Király|first1=B.K.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lGrfAAAAMAAJ|title=War and Society in East Central Europe: East central European society in World War I|last2=Rothenberg|first2=G.E.|publisher=Brooklyn College Press|year=1985|isbn=978-0-88033-089-3|series=Atlantic studies|page=377}} A policy of Bulgarisation of the region and its population was immediately initiated,{{cite book|last1=Gerwarth|first1=R.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lao-AAAAQBAJ|title=War in Peace: Paramilitary Violence in Europe After the Great War|last2=Horne|first2=J.|publisher=OUP Oxford|year=2013|isbn=978-0-19-968605-6|series=The Greater War|page=150}}{{cite book|last=Bianchi|first=B.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ln1FLgEACAAJ|title=War crimes and crimes against humanity: violence against civilians on the eastern front (1914–1919)|publisher=UNICOPLI|year=2012|isbn=978-88-400-1579-8|series=Biblioteca di storia contemporanea|page=163|language=it}} during the period the IMRO arose from a clandestine organisation to serve as gendarmerie, taking control of the whole police structure, enforcing the Bulgarisation of the region. According to Robert Gerwarth, the Bulgarian denationalisation policy, including its paramilitary aspect, was almost identical in its intent and execution to the Serbian policy that preceded it.

Bulgarian language was to be exclusively used, Serbian Cyrillic was forbidden, Serbian priests were arrested and deported, Serbian-sounding names had to be changed to Bulgarian ones,{{cite book|last=Laffan|first=R.G.D.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_MwlAQAAMAAJ|title=The Serbs: The Guardians of the Gate|publisher=Dorset Press|year=1989|isbn=978-0-88029-413-3|series=Armenian Research Center collection|page=252}} school teachers were brought from Bulgaria while Serbian books were taken from schools and libraries and publicly destroyed.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MxakAAAAMAAJ|title=Report of the Interallied Commission on the Violation of the Hague Convention|publisher=Imprimerie "Yougoslavia"|year=1919|page=22}} Adult males were sent to labour camps or forced to join the Bulgarian Army, representatives of the Serbian intelligentsia were deported or executed. According to Paul Mojzes the aim of the Bulgarian government was to create pure Bulgarian territories by denationalising the non-Bulgarian Slavic population of Macedonia.{{cite book|last=Mojzes|first=P.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KwW2O7v7CUcC|title=Balkan Genocides: Holocaust and Ethnic Cleansing in the Twentieth Century|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|year=2011|isbn=978-1-4422-0663-2|page=42}}

{{See also|South Serbia (1919–1922)|Vardar Banovina}}

After the capitulation of Bulgaria and the end of the First World War, the area returned under Belgrade control as part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes"Kraljevina Jugoslavija! Novi naziv naše države. No, mi smo itak med seboj vedno dejali Jugoslavija, četudi je bilo na vseh uradnih listih Kraljevina Srbov, Hrvatov in Slovencev. In tudi drugi narodi, kakor Nemci in Francozi, so pisali že prej v svojih listih mnogo o Jugoslaviji. 3. oktobra, ko je kralj Aleksander podpisal "Zakon o nazivu in razdelitvi kraljevine na upravna območja", pa je bil naslov kraljevine Srbov, Hrvatov in Slovencev za vedno izbrisan." (Naš rod ("Our Generation", a monthly Slovenian language periodical), Ljubljana 1929/30, št. 1, str. 22, letnik I.) and saw a reintroduction of anti-Bulgarian measures. Bulgarian teachers and clergy were expelled, Bulgarian language signs and books removed, and all Bulgarian organisations dissolved. Also after the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine, the Strumica region was annexed to Serbian Macedonia in 1919.

The Serbian government pursued a policy of forced Serbianisation in the region,{{Google books |id=ZMyZdvTympMC |page=123 |title=Dejan Djokić, Yugoslavism: histories of a failed idea, 1918–1992 }}{{Google books |id=SGnKpNf2RbAC |page=20 |author=R. J. Crampton|title= Eastern Europe in the twentieth century – and after }} which included systematic suppression of Bulgarian activists, altering family surnames, internal colonisation, exploiting workers, and intense propaganda.{{cite web |url=http://www.kroraina.com/knigi/en/ban/pww2.html#60 |title=An article by Dimiter Vlahov about the persecution of the Bulgarian population in Macedonia |publisher=newspaper "Balkanska federatsia", No. 140, 20 August 1930, Vienna, original in Bulgarian |access-date=3 August 2007}} To aid the implementation of this policy, some 50,000 Serbian army and gendarmerie were stationed in present-day North Macedonia. By 1940 about 280 Serbian colonies (comprising 4,200 families) were established as part of the government's internal colonisation program (initial plans envisaged 50,000 families settling in present-day North Macedonia).

In 1929, the Kingdom was officially renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and divided into provinces called banovinas. South Serbia, including all of present-day North Macedonia, became the Vardar Banovina of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.{{Google books |id=IGeJzd6BLU4C |page=43 |title=War of words: Washington tackles the Yugoslav conflict }}

The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) promoted the concept of an Independent Macedonia in the interwar period. Its leaders—including Todor Alexandrov, Aleksandar Protogerov, and Ivan Mihailov—promoted independence of the Macedonian territory split between Serbia and Greece for the whole population, regardless of religion and ethnicity.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qMZaPjrHqYYC&q=Mihailov,%20Macedonia;%20A%20Switzerland%20%20Balkans%20%20bulgarian%20state&pg=PA127 |title=Balkan Strongmen: Dictators and Authoritarian Rulers of South Eastern Europe |first=Bernd Jürgen |last=Fischer |date=2007 |publisher=Purdue University Press |via=Google Books |isbn=978-1-55753-455-2}} The Bulgarian government of Alexander Malinov in 1918 offered to give Pirin Macedonia for that purpose after World War I,Gerginov, Kr., Bilyarski, Ts. Unpublished documents for Todor Alexandrov's activities 1910–1919, magazine VIS, book 2, 1987, p. 214 – Гергинов, Кр. Билярски, Ц. Непубликувани документи за дейността на Тодор Александров 1910–1919, сп. ВИС, кн. 2 от 1987, с. 214. but the Great Powers did not adopt this idea because Serbia and Greece opposed it. In 1924, the Communist International (Comintern) suggested that all Balkan communist parties adopt a platform of a "United Macedonia" but the suggestion was rejected by the Bulgarian and Greek communists.Victor Roudometof, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Xoww453NVQMC&dq=%22united+macedonia%22&pg=PA100 Collective Memory, National Identity, and Ethnic Conflict: Greece, Bulgaria, and the Macedonian Question], Praeger, 2002 p. 100

IMRO followed by starting an insurgent war in Vardar Macedonia, together with Macedonian Youth Secret Revolutionary Organization, which also conducted guerrilla attacks against the Serbian administrative and army officials there. In 1923 in Stip, a paramilitary organisation called Association against Bulgarian Bandits was formed by Serbian chetniks, IMRO renegades and Macedonian Federative Organization (MFO) members to oppose IMRO and MMTRO.{{cite web |author=Vassil Karloukovski |url=http://www.promacedonia.org/ag/ag_4_6.html |title=Гиза, Антони, "Балканските държави и Македония", Македонски Научен Институт София, 2001 г |publisher=Promacedonia.org |access-date=28 April 2010}} On 9 October 1934, IMRO member Vlado Chernozemski assassinated Alexander I of Yugoslavia.

The Macedonist ideas increased in Yugoslav Vardar Macedonia and among the left diaspora in Bulgaria during the interwar period. They were supported by the Comintern.{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ilGfCIF4Ao4C&q=macedonism&pg=PA140 |title=Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia |first=Dimitar |last=Bechev |date=2009 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |via=Google Books |isbn=978-0-8108-6295-1}} In 1934, the Comintern issued a special resolution in which for the first time directions were provided for recognising the existence of a separate Macedonian nation and Macedonian language.Duncan Perry, "The Republic of Macedonia: finding its way" in Karen Dawisha and Bruce Parrot (eds.), Politics, power and the struggle for Democracy in South-Eastern Europe, Cambridge University Press, 1997, pp. 228–229.

{{Clear}}

{{Main|World War II in Yugoslav Macedonia}}

File:Liberation of Skopje.jpg, Mihajlo Apostolski, Metodija Andonov-Čento, Lazar Koliševski and others, greeted in Skopje on 20 November 1944, a week after its liberationMitre Inadeski, Hronologija na Skopje: rabotničkoto i narodnoosloboditelnoto dviženje 1939–1945, tom 2, Arhiv, 1974, str. 181.]]

During World War II, Yugoslavia was occupied by the Axis powers from 1941 to 1945. The Vardar Banovina was divided between Bulgaria and Italian-occupied Albania. Bulgarian Action Committees were established to prepare the region for the new Bulgarian administration and army.[http://www.kroraina.com/knigi/bugarash/bccc_1941/index.html Bulgarian Campaign Committees in Macedonia – 1941] Dimitre Mičev The committees were mostly formed by former members of IMRO and Macedonian Youth Secret Revolutionary Organization (MYSRO, but some IMRO (United) former members also participated.{{cite web|url=http://www.kroraina.com/knigi/bugarash/bccc_1941/Chapter1_3.html|title=Forming of the Local Campaign Committees|work=kroraina.com}}{{sfn|Georgieva|Konechni|1998|p=223}}

As leader of the Vardar Macedonian communists, Metodi Shatorov ("Sharlo") switched from the Yugoslav Communist Party to the Bulgarian Communist Party{{sfn|Georgieva|Konechni|1998|p=223}}{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j_NbmSoRsRcC&q=Metodi+Shatorov+bulgarian+communist&pg=PA102 |title=Who are the Macedonians? |author=Hugh Poulton |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers |page=102 |isbn=978-1-85065-238-0 |year=1995 |access-date=10 February 2016}} and refused to start military action against the Bulgarian Army.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HjSsAAAAIAAJ&q=Metodi+Shatarov+bulgarian+communist&pg=PA130 |title=Bulgaria during the Second World War |publisher=Stanford University Press |year=1975 |isbn=978-0-8047-0870-8 |page=314 |last=Miller |first=Marshall Lee |access-date=10 February 2016}} The Bulgarian authorities, under German pressure,Bulgaria managed to save its entire 48,000-strong Jewish population during World War II from deportation to Nazi concentration camps, but under German pressure those Jews from their newly annexed territories without Bulgarian citizenship were deported, such as those from Vardar Macedonia and Western Thrace. [http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10006804 The Holocaust in Macedonia: Deportation of Monastir Jewry] United States Holocaust Memorial Museum were responsible for the round-up and deportation of over 7,000 Jews in Skopje and Bitola.Mark Cohen, [http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/article.php?lang=en&ModuleId=10006803 The Holocaust in Macedonia: Deportation of Monastir Jewry], United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Harsh rule by the occupying forces encouraged many Vardar Macedonians to support the Communist Partisan resistance movement of Josip Broz Tito after 1943,This policy changed after 1943 with the arrival of Tito's envoy Montenegrin Serb Svetozar Vukmanović-Tempo. He began in earnest to organise armed resistance to the Bulgarian rule and sharply criticised Sharlo's pro-Bulgarian policy. At a meeting of the partisan brigades, as well as a group of battalions in the Resen region on 21 December 1943, Tempo makes the following comments about Shatorov and the leadership of the MCP: "They thought that the Macedonian people were Bulgarians and that they were oppressed by the hegemony of Great Serbia and had to be transferred to Bulgaria. Their basic slogan is: 'All non-Macedonians out of Macedonia'. The capital J [Serbo-Croatian spelling of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavian, etc.] was deleted from all documents. In fact they did not want Yugoslavia, no matter where it stood politically. When the war started, the initial decision of this leadership was to be separate from Yugoslavia and from Tito. They declared that Macedonia would be free as soon as the Bulgarians came...." and the National Liberation War ensued."НОБ на Македонија" Јован Поповски. Скопје, 1962"Историја на Македонскиот Народ" Александар Стојановски, Иван Катарџиев, Данчо Зографски. Скопје, 1988

In Vardar Macedonia, after the Bulgarian coup d'état of 1944, the Bulgarian troops, surrounded by German forces, fought their way back to the old borders of Bulgaria.History of Bulgaria, Petar Delev et al., 2001, p. 364 Under the leadership of the new Bulgarian pro-Soviet government, four armies, 455,000 strong in total, were mobilised and reorganised. Most of them re-entered occupied Yugoslavia in early October 1944 and moved from Sofia to Niš, Skopje and Pristina with the strategic task of blocking the German forces withdrawing from Greece.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A8X6UH58dlgC&pg=PA33 |title=Axis Forces in Yugoslavia 1941–45 |date=1995 |publisher=Bloomsbury |via=Google Books |isbn=978-1-85532-473-2 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The Bulgarian army would reach the Alps in Austria, participating in the expulsion of the Germans to the west, through Yugoslavia and Hungary.

Compelled by the Soviet Union with a view towards the creation of a large South Slav Federation, in 1946 the new Communist government, led by Georgi Dimitrov, agreed to give Bulgarian Macedonia to a United Macedonia. With the Bled agreement, in 1947 Bulgaria formally confirmed the envisioned unification of the Macedonian region, but postponed this act until after the formation of the future Federation.James Horncastle, The Macedonian Slavs in the Greek Civil War, 1944–1949, Rowman & Littlefield, 2019, {{ISBN|1-4985-8505-1}}, p. 167.Andrew Rossos, Macedonia and the Macedonians: A History, Hoover Press, 2013, {{ISBN|0-8179-4883-X}}, p. 205. It was the first time it accepted the existence of a separate Macedonian ethnicity and language. After the Tito–Stalin split the region of Pirin Macedonia remained part of Bulgaria and later the Bulgarian Communist Party revised its view of the existence of a separate Macedonian nation and language.

{{Main|Socialist Republic of Macedonia}}

File:Lazar Kolishevski left.jpg was the political leader of SR Macedonia and briefly of SFR Yugoslavia.]]

In December 1944, the Anti-fascist Assembly for the National Liberation of Macedonia (ASNOM) proclaimed the People's Republic of Macedonia as part of the People's Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.Мичев, Добрин. Партизанското движение във Вардарска Македония, 1941–1944 г. сп. Македонски преглед, кн. 2, стр. 5–40. ASNOM remained an acting government until the end of the war. The Macedonian alphabet was codified by linguists of ASNOM, who based their alphabet on the phonetic alphabet of Vuk Stefanović Karadžić and the principles of Krste Petkov Misirkov. During the civil war in Greece (1946–1949), Macedonian communist insurgents supported the Greek communists. Many refugees fled to the Socialist Republic of Macedonia from there. The state removed "Socialist" from its name in 1991 when it peacefully seceded from Yugoslavia.

The new republic became one of the six republics of the Yugoslav federation. Following the federation's renaming as the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1963, the People's Republic of Macedonia was likewise renamed the Socialist Republic of Macedonia.{{Cite web|url=http://www.slvesnik.com.mk/Issues/0AF2E0456C964935B7705FB5BF6F31F9.pdf|title=Constitution of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia, 1974 – Official Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia}}Устав Федеративне Народне Републике Југославије (1946), [http://sr.wikisource.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B2_%D0%A4%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B5_%D0%9D%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BD%D0%B5_%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%BF%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B5_%D0%88%D1%83%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B5_%281946%29 sr.wikisource.org], retrieved on 19 October 2007. {{in lang|sh}}Устав Социјалистичке Федеративне Републике Југославије (1963), [http://sr.wikisource.org/wiki/%D0%A3%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%B2_%D0%A1%D0%BE%D1%86%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%BA%D0%B5_%D0%A4%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B5_%D0%A0%D0%B5%D0%BF%D1%83%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B5_%D0%88%D1%83%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B5_%281963%29 sr.wikisource.org], retrieved on 19 October 2007. {{in lang|sh}}

North Macedonia officially celebrates 8 September 1991 as Independence day ({{langx|mk|Ден на независноста}}, Den na nezavisnosta), with regard to the referendum endorsing independence from Yugoslavia.Nohlen, D & Stöver, P (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p. 1278 {{ISBN|978-3-8329-5609-7}} The anniversary of the start of the Ilinden Uprising (St. Elijah's Day) on 2 August is also widely celebrated on an official level as the Day of the Republic.

Robert Badinter, as the head of the Arbitration Commission of the Peace Conference on Yugoslavia, recommended EC recognition in January 1992.{{cite web |url=http://www.ejil.org/journal/Vol4/No1/art8-02.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050215223455/http://www.ejil.org/journal/Vol4/No1/art8-02.html |archive-date=15 February 2005 |title=Recognition of States: Annex 3 |access-date=28 April 2010 }} On 15 January 1992, Bulgaria was the first country to recognise the independence of the republic.

Macedonia remained at peace through the Yugoslav Wars of the early 1990s. A few very minor changes to its border with Yugoslavia were agreed upon to resolve problems with the demarcation line between the two countries. It was seriously destabilised by the Kosovo War in 1999, when an estimated 360,000 ethnic Albanian refugees from Kosovo took refuge in the country.{{cite book |last=Thomas |first=Nigel |ref=Thomas |year=2006 |publisher=Osprey Publishing |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=a7cOQ9Nch2AC |title=The Yugoslav Wars (2): Bosnia, Kosovo And Macedonia 1992–2001 |isbn=978-1-84176-964-6}} They departed shortly after the war, and Albanian nationalists on both sides of the border took up arms soon after in pursuit of autonomy or independence for the Albanian-populated areas of Macedonia.

{{Clear}}

{{Main|2001 insurgency in Macedonia}}

File:2001 Macedonian insurgency map.svg

A conflict took place between the government and ethnic Albanian insurgents, mostly in the north and west of the country, between February and August 2001.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1231596.stm |work=BBC News |title=Who are the rebels? |date=20 March 2001}}{{cite web |title=Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in the Republic of Macedonia, 2002 – Book XIII, Skopje, 2005. |publisher=State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia |url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/pdf/kniga_13.pdf}}{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/kla-veterans-linked-to-latest--bout-of-violence-in-macedonia-686995.html |work=The Independent |location=London |title=KLA veterans linked to latest bout of violence in Macedonia |first=Justin |last=Huggler |date=12 March 2001 |access-date=4 April 2010 }}{{Dead link|date=September 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The war ended with the intervention of a NATO ceasefire monitoring force. Under the terms of the Ohrid Agreement, the government agreed to devolve greater political power and cultural recognition to the Albanian minority.{{cite journal |url=http://www.ecmi.de/fileadmin/downloads/publications/JEMIE/2002/nr1/Focus1-2002Brunnbauer.pdf |title=The implementation of the Ohrid Agreement: Ethnic Macedonian resentments |first=Ulf |last=Brunnbauer |journal=Journal on Ethnopolitics and Minority Issues in Europe |issue=1/2002 |year=2002 |access-date=18 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923233057/http://www.ecmi.de/fileadmin/downloads/publications/JEMIE/2002/nr1/Focus1-2002Brunnbauer.pdf |archive-date=23 September 2015 }} The Albanian side agreed to abandon separatist demands and to recognise all Macedonian institutions fully. In addition, according to this accord, the NLA were to disarm and hand over their weapons to a NATO force.{{cite web |url=http://rtvfan.net/ria-novosti-clashes-between-macedonians-and-albanians-in-macedonia/ |title=Clashes between Macedonians and Albanians in Macedonia |date=5 May 2016 |website=rtvfan.net}}{{dead link|date=May 2019}}{{cbignore}} However the Macedonian security forces had two more armed confrontations with Albanian militant groups, in 2007 and 2015 respectively.

Inter-ethnic tensions flared in Macedonia in 2012, with incidents of violence between ethnic Albanians and Macedonians.{{cite web |url=http://www.rferl.org/content/macedonia_ethnic_albanians_protest_murder_suspect_arrests/24578167.html |title=In Macedonia, Ethnic Albanians Protest Arrests Of Murder Suspects |work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |date=11 May 2012}} In April 2017, about 200 protesters - reportedly mostly from the conservative VMRO-DPMNE party, stormed the Macedonian Parliament in response to the election of Talat Xhaferi, an ethnic Albanian and former National Liberation Army commander during the 2001 conflict, as the Speaker of the Assembly.{{cite web | last=Service | first=s Balkan | title=Protesters Attack Lawmakers After Storming Macedonia's Parliament | website=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty | date=2017-04-27 | url=https://www.rferl.org/a/macedonian-parliament-stormed-zaev-injured-beaten-vmro-dpmne/28455833.html | access-date=2023-12-06}}{{cite web | title=Macedonia: protesters storm parliament and attack MPs | website=the Guardian | date=2017-04-27 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/27/macedonia-protesters-storm-parliament-and-attack-mps | access-date=2023-12-06}}

{{Main|Antiquisation|Macedonism}}

Upon its coming to power in 2006, but especially since the country's non-invitation to NATO in 2008, the VMRO-DPMNE government pursued a policy of "Antiquisation" ("Antikvizatzija") as a way of putting pressure on Greece as well as for the purposes of domestic identity-building."Ghosts of the past endanger Macedonia's future". Boris Georgievski, Balkan Insight, 27 October 2009 [http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/ghosts-of-the-past-endanger-macedonia-s-future]. Statues of Alexander the Great and Philip of Macedon have been erected in several cities across the country. Additionally, many pieces of public infrastructure, such as airports, highways, and stadiums were renamed after Alexander and Philip. These actions were seen as deliberate provocations in neighbouring Greece, exacerbating the dispute and further stalling the country's EU and NATO applications.Greece slates Skopje's provocative Alexander statue Sinisa Jakov Marusic, Balkan Insight, 15 June 2011 [http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/greece-slates-skopje-s-provocative-alexander-statue] The policy has also attracted criticism domestically, as well as from EU diplomats, and, following the Prespa agreement, it has been partly reversed after 2016 by the new SDSM government of North Macedonia.{{cite news |last=Marusic|first=Sinisa Jakov |date=15 June 2018 |title=Macedonia to Rename Divisive Statues That Irked Greece |url= https://balkaninsight.com/2018/06/15/divisive-skopje-2014-landmarks-find-new-purpose-06-14-2018/|work=BalkanInsight |location=Skopje|access-date=2 April 2019}}{{cite news |last=Tagaris |first=Karolina |date=24 January 2018 |title=Macedonia to rename airport to help resolve name row with Greece, PM says |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-greece-macedonia-name-airport/macedonia-to-rename-airport-to-help-resolve-name-row-with-greece-pm-says-idUSKBN1FD2TS |work=Reuters |location= Davos|access-date=2 April 2019}} Moreover, per Prespa agreement both countries have acknowledged that their respective understanding of the terms "Macedonia" and "Macedonian" refers to a different historical context and cultural heritage.

{{Main|Macedonia naming dispute|Prespa agreement|Accession of North Macedonia to the European Union|North Macedonia–NATO relations|Bulgaria–North Macedonia relations}}

File:Потпишување на договорот за македонско-грчкиот спор (17.06.2018, Преспа) (42853677381).jpg

In August 2017, what was then the Republic of Macedonia signed a friendship agreement with Bulgaria, aiming to end the "anti-Bulgarian ideology" in the country and to solve the historical issues between the two.

Under the Prespa agreement, signed with Greece on 17 June 2018, the country agreed to change its name to the Republic of North Macedonia and stop public use of the Vergina Sun. It retained the demonym "Macedonian", but clarified this as distinct from the Hellenistic Macedonian identity in northern Greece. The agreement included removal of irredentist material from textbooks and maps in both countries, and official UN recognition of the Slavic Macedonian language. It replaced the bilateral Interim Accord of 1995.{{cite web|url=http://s.kathimerini.gr/resources/article-files/symfwnia-aggliko-keimeno.pdf|title=Final Agreement for the Settlement of Differences as Described in the United Nations Security Council Resolutions 817 (1993) and 845 (1993), the Termination of the Interim Accord of 1995, and the Establishment of a Strategic Partnership Between the Parties|website=Kathimerini.gr|access-date=13 June 2018}}

The withdrawal of the Greek veto, along with the signing the friendship agreement with Bulgaria, resulted in the European Union on 27 June approving the start of accession talks, which were expected to take place in 2019, under the condition that the Prespa deal was implemented.{{cite news |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2018/06/27/eu-paves-the-road-for-macedonia-albania-accession-talks-06-27-2018/ |title=Macedonia, Albania Hail EU Approval for Accession Talks |first=Sinisa Jakov |last=Marusic |website=Balkan Insight |date=27 June 2018 |access-date=27 June 2018}} On 5 July, the Prespa agreement was ratified by the Macedonian parliament with 69 MPs voting in favour of it.{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-greece-macedonia/macedonias-parliament-endorses-name-deal-with-greece-for-second-time-idUSKBN1JV1MP |title=Macedonia's parliament endorses name deal with Greece for second time |website=Reuters |date=5 July 2018 |access-date=6 July 2018}} On 12 July, NATO invited Macedonia to start accession talks in a bid to become the alliance's 30th member.{{cite news |url=https://balkaninsight.com/2018/07/11/nato-invites-macedonia-to-join-the-western-alliance-07-11-2018/ |title=NATO Invites Macedonia to Join the Western Alliance |first=Sinisa Jakov |last=Marusic |website=Balkan Insight |date=11 July 2018 |access-date=13 July 2018}} On 30 July, the parliament of Macedonia approved plans to hold a non-binding referendum on changing the country's name, which took place on 30 September.{{cite news |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/macedonia-to-hold-name-change-referendum-on-september-30 |title=Macedonia to hold name-change referendum on September 30 |website=SBS News |date=30 July 2018 |access-date=31 July 2018}} Ninety-one percent of voters voted in favour with a 37% turnout,{{cite web |url=https://referendum.sec.mk/Referendum/Results?cs=en-US&r=r&rd=r1&eu=All&m=All |title=iVote Demokra – Integrated Election Information System of the State Election Commission of the Republic of Macedonia |website=referendum.sec.mk |access-date=14 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180930231415/https://referendum.sec.mk/Referendum/Results?cs=en-US&r=r&rd=r1&eu=All&m=All |archive-date=30 September 2018 }} but the referendum was not carried because of a constitutional requirement for a 50% turnout.{{cite web |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-macedonia-referendum-turnout/macedonia-name-referendum-fails-to-reach-turnout-threshold-election-commission-idUSKCN1MA0X2 |title=Macedonia name referendum fails to reach turnout threshold: election commission |website=Reuters |date=30 September 2018 |language=en |access-date=20 November 2019}}

File:North Macedonia Joins NATO.jpg

On 6 February 2019, the permanent representatives of NATO member states and Macedonian Foreign Affairs Minister Nikola Dimitrov, signed in Brussels the accession protocol of North Macedonia into NATO.{{Cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-47139118 |title=Macedonia signs Nato accession deal |date=6 February 2019 |work=BBC News}}{{Cite news |url=https://www.euractiv.com/section/enlargement/news/north-macedonia-minister-nato-not-eu-saved-name-change-deal |title=North Macedonia minister: NATO, not EU, saved name change deal |date=19 March 2019 |work=Euractiv}} The protocol was then ratified on 8 February by the Greek parliament, thus completing all the preconditions for putting into force the Prespa agreement. Subsequently, on 12 February the Macedonian government announced the formal activation of the constitutional amendments which effectively renamed the country as North Macedonia and informed accordingly the United Nations and its member states.{{Cite news |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/un-notified-of-north-macedonia-s-name-change/29768586.html |title=UN Notified Of North Macedonia's Name Change |website=RFE/RL}}{{Cite press release |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-statement-on-the-republic-of-north-macedonia |title=Foreign Secretary statement on the Republic of North Macedonia |publisher=Government of the United Kingdom |date=16 February 2019 |access-date=29 December 2021 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.dw.com/en/north-macedonia-name-change-enters-force/a-47487844 |title=North Macedonia name change enters force |work=Deustche Welle |date=12 February 2019 |access-date=29 December 2021 }}

In March 2020, after the ratification process by all NATO members was completed, North Macedonia acceded to NATO, becoming the 30th member state.{{cite web |url=https://www.dw.com/en/nato-north-macedonia-becomes-30th-member/a-52944781 |title=NATO: North Macedonia becomes 30th member |work=Deutsche Welle |date=27 March 2020 |access-date=29 December 2021 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_174589.htm |title=North Macedonia joins NATO as 30th Ally |publisher=NATO |date=27 March 2020 |access-date=29 December 2021 }} The same month, the leaders of the European Union formally gave approval to North Macedonia to begin talks to join the EU.{{cite web |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/eu-leaders-give-final-approval-eu-membership-talks-macedonia-albania/30512156.html |title=EU Leaders Give Final OK To Begin North Macedonia, Albania Membership Talks |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=27 March 2020 |access-date=29 December 2021 }}{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/23/eu-can-start-talks-with-albania-and-north-macedonia-over-joining |title=EU can start talks with Albania and North Macedonia over joining |agency=Reuters |work=The Guardian |date=23 March 2020 |access-date=29 December 2021 }} On 17 November 2020, Bulgaria refused to approve the European Union's negotiation framework for North Macedonia, effectively blocking the official start of accession talks with this country.{{cite news |title=Bulgaria blocks EU accession talks with North Macedonia |agency=Reuters |url=https://nationalpost.com/pmn/news-pmn/bulgaria-blocks-eu-accession-talks-with-north-macedonia |date=17 November 2020 |work=National Post |access-date=29 December 2021 }} The explanation from the Bulgarian side was: no implementation of the friendship treaty from 2017, state-supported hate speech, minority claims, and an "ongoing nation-building process" based on historical negationism of the Bulgarian identity, culture and legacy in the broader region of Macedonia.{{Cite web|title=Foreign Minister Zaharieva: Bulgaria Cannot Approve EU Negotiating Framework with North Macedonia – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency|url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/206579/Foreign+Minister+Zaharieva%3A+Bulgaria+Cannot+Approve+EU+Negotiating+Framework+with+North+Macedonia|access-date=10 December 2020|website=Novinite.com}} The veto received condemnation by intellectuals from both states{{Cite web|title=Bulgarian intellectuals: Unacceptable to deny Macedonian nation, language; green-light talks immediately |date=5 December 2020|url=https://english.republika.mk/news/balkans/bulgarian-intellectuals-unacceptable-to-deny-macedonian-nation-language-green-light-talks-immediately/|access-date=31 December 2020}} and criticism from international observers.{{Cite web|title=Bulgaria asks EU to stop 'fake' Macedonian identity|website=Deutsche Welle|url=https://www.dw.com/en/bulgaria-asks-eu-to-stop-fake-macedonian-identity/a-55020781|access-date=31 December 2020}}{{Cite web|title=Der Spiegel: Bulgaria Misuses Its Right of Veto for Nationalistic Purposes|url=https://www.novinite.com/articles/206604/Der+Spiegel%3A+Bulgaria+Misuses+Its+Right+of+Veto+for+Nationalistic+Purposes|work=novinite.com |date=19 November 2020 |access-date=29 December 2021 }}{{cite journal |url=https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/1460787 |first=Tomasz |last=Kamusella |date=2021 |title=Bulgaria's Secret Empire: An Ultimatum to North Macedonia |pages=155–212 |journal=Journal of Balkan and Black Sea Studies |number=6}}

Protests broke out in July 2022, organized by the opposition parties, over the French proposal for the accession of North Macedonia to the EU.{{Cite web |title=North Macedonia: More violence reported at protests |url=https://news.yahoo.com/north-macedonia-47-police-officers-090041288.html |access-date=2022-07-08 |website=news.yahoo.com |date=6 July 2022 |language=en-GB}} The accession talks for the accession of North Macedonia to the EU officially began in the same month, after the French proposal was passed by the Assembly of North Macedonia.{{cite web|last=Casert|first=Raf|url=https://apnews.com/article/albania-ursula-von-der-leyen-european-union-edi-rama-c302c3fb6329185f30e6952a906b201a|title=EU starts membership talks with Albania, North Macedonia|work=Associated Press|date=19 July 2022|access-date=20 July 2022}}

The 2023 European Commission Progress Report has cited the unfulfilled constitutional changes, as the primary reasons for the blocking of the further country's accession path. The EU's intention regarding the country's accession seems unclear, excluding desire to maintain its geopolitical influence here, countering the Chinese and Russian impact in the Western Balkans.North Macedonia’s EU Trajectory amidst Geopolitical Dynamics. [https://china-cee.eu/2023/12/04/n-macedonias-eu-trajectory-amidst-geopolitical-dynamics/ China-CEE Institute, Weekly Briefing, Vol. 67. No. 1 (MK) November 2023.]

On 25 September 2024, the EU announced the separation of Albania from North Macedonia on the EU accession path, due to the disputes between North Macedonia and Bulgaria.{{Cite news|last=Restelica |first=Bleona |date=2024-09-26 |title=EU Separates Albania's Accession Path From North Macedonia |url=https://schengen.news/eu-separates-albanias-accession-path-from-north-macedonia/ |access-date=2024-09-26 |website=SchengenNews |language=en}} Following the decision, the EU opened negotiations on the first chapters with Albania separately on October 15, 2024.

{{Clear}}

{{Main|Geography of North Macedonia}}

{{see also|Geology of North Macedonia}}

File:Mount Korab, Republic of Macedonia.jpg, the highest mountain in North Macedonia]]

North Macedonia has a total area of {{cvt|25436|km2|0}}. It lies between latitudes 40° and 43° N, and mostly between longitudes 20° and 23° E (a small area lies east of 23°). North Macedonia has some {{cvt|748|km|0}} of boundaries, shared with Serbia ({{cvt|62|km|0|disp=or}}) to the North, Kosovo ({{cvt|159|km|0|disp=or}}) to the northwest, Bulgaria ({{cvt|148|km|0|disp=or}}) to the east, Greece ({{cvt|228|km|0|disp=or}}) to the south, and Albania ({{cvt|151|km|0|disp=or}}) to the west. It is a transit way for shipment of goods from Greece, through the Balkans, towards Eastern, Western and Central Europe and through Bulgaria to the east. It is part of the larger region of Macedonia, which also includes Greek Macedonia and the Blagoevgrad Province in southwestern Bulgaria.

North Macedonia is a landlocked country that is geographically clearly defined by a central valley formed by the Vardar river and framed along its borders by mountain ranges. The terrain is mostly rugged, located between the Šar Mountains and Osogovo, which frame the valley of the Vardar river. Three large lakes—Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa and Dojran Lake—lie on the southern borders, bisected by the frontiers with Albania and Greece. Ohrid is considered to be one of the oldest lakes and biotopes in the world.{{cite web |url=http://www.moe.gov.mk/soer2/ohrid_a.htm |title=Macedonian Ministry of Environment |access-date=28 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080119010740/http://www.moe.gov.mk/soer2/ohrid_a.htm |archive-date=19 January 2008 }} The region is seismically active and has been the site of destructive earthquakes in the past, most recently in 1963 when Skopje was heavily damaged by a major earthquake, killing over 1,000.{{cite web | title=History of deadly earthquakes | website=BBC News | date=2011-03-11 | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-12717980 | access-date=2023-12-05}}

North Macedonia also has scenic mountains. They belong to two different mountain ranges: the first is the Šar Mountains{{cite encyclopedia |author=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/523838/Sar-Mountains |title=Britannica's article about Sar Mountains |encyclopedia=Britannica.com |access-date=28 April 2010}}{{cite web |url=http://www.euratlas.com/Atlasphys/Sarplanina2.htm |title=Sar Mountains on the Euratlas map of the Europe's most significant mountain ranges |publisher=Euratlas.com |access-date=28 April 2010}} that continues to the West Vardar/Pelagonia group of mountains (Baba Mountain, Nidže, Kožuf and Jakupica), also known as the Dinaric range. The second range is the Osogovo–Belasica mountain chain, also known as the Rhodope range. The mountains belonging to the Šar Mountains and the West Vardar/Pelagonia range are younger and higher than the older mountains of the Osogovo-Belasica mountain group. Mount Korab of the Šar Mountains on the Albanian border, at {{cvt|2764|m}}, is the tallest mountain in North Macedonia. In North Macedonia there are 1,100 large sources of water. The rivers flow into three different basins: the Aegean, the Adriatic and the Black Sea.{{cite web |url=http://www.mymacedonia.net/links/geography.htm |title=Macedonia |publisher=Mymacedonia.net |access-date=25 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101023070728/http://www.mymacedonia.net/links/geography.htm |archive-date=23 October 2010 }}

File:Matka2.jpg]]

The Aegean basin is the largest. It covers 87% of the territory of North Macedonia, which is {{convert|22075|km2|0|abbr=out}}. Vardar, the largest river in this basin, drains 80% of the territory or {{convert|20459|km2|0|abbr=out}}. Its valley plays an important part in the economy and the communication system of the country. The Vardar Valley project is considered to be crucial for the strategic development of the country. The river Black Drin forms the Adriatic basin, which covers an area of about {{cvt|3320|km2|0}}, i.e., 13% of the territory. It receives water from Lakes Prespa and Ohrid. The Black Sea basin is the smallest with only {{cvt|37|km2|0}}. It covers the northern side of Mount Skopska Crna Gora. This is the source of the river Binačka Morava, which joins the Morava, and later, the Danube, which flows into the Black Sea. North Macedonia has around fifty ponds and three natural lakes, Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa and Lake Dojran. In North Macedonia there are nine spa towns and resorts: Banište, Banja Bansko, Istibanja, Katlanovo, Kežovica, Kosovrasti, Banja Kočani, Kumanovski Banji and Negorci.{{cn|date=December 2024}}

{{See also|Geography of North Macedonia#Climate|l1=Climate of North Macedonia}}

File:Koppen-Geiger Map MKD present.svg climate classification map for North Macedonia]]

Four different seasons are found in the country with warm and dry summers and moderately cold and snowy winters. The range of temperatures recorded throughout the year ranges from {{cvt|-20|C}} in winter, to {{cvt|40|C}} in summer. Low winter temperatures are influenced by winds from the north while heat seasons during summer arise due to the subtropical pressure of the Aegean Sea and climate influences from the Middle East, with the latter causing dry periods.{{sfn|Georgieva|Konechni|1998|p=73}} There are three main climatic zones in the country: mildly continental in the north, temperate Mediterranean in the south and mountainous in the zones with high altitude.{{sfn|Georgieva|Konechni|1998|p=31}} Along the valleys of the Vardar and Strumica rivers, in the regions of Gevgelija, Valandovo, Dojran, Strumica, and Radoviš, the climate is temperate Mediterranean. The warmest regions are Demir Kapija and Gevgelija, where the temperature in July and August frequently exceeds {{cvt|40|C}}.{{cite book |script-title=mk:Клима и климатска регионализација во Република Македонија, "Географски разгледи"|trans-title=Climate and climatic regionalization in the Republic of Macedonia "Geographical postcards"|language=mk|first=Mihailo|last=Zikov|date=1995|number=30|location=Skopje}}

Average annual precipitation varies from {{cvt|1700|mm|1}} in the western mountainous area to {{cvt|500|mm|1}} in the eastern area. There is a low level of precipitation in the Vardar valley with {{cvt|500|mm|1}} of water per year.{{sfn|Georgieva|Konechni|1998|p=73}} The climate and irrigation diversity allow the cultivation of different plant types, including wheat, corn, potatoes, poppies, peanuts, and rice.{{sfn|Georgieva|Konechni|1998|p=2}} There are thirty main and regular weather stations in the country.

{{Main|Wildlife of North Macedonia}}

{{Multiple image

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| image1 = Lynx lynx poing.jpg

| caption1 = Eurasian lynx

| image2 = Sarplaninac front.jpg

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The flora of North Macedonia is represented by around 210 families, 920 genera, and around 3,700 plant species. The most abundant group are the flowering plants with around 3,200 species, followed by mosses (350 species) and ferns (42).

Phytogeographically, North Macedonia belongs to the Illyrian province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agency, the territory of the Republic can be subdivided into four terrestrial ecoregions: the Pindus Mountains mixed forests, Balkan mixed forests, Rodope montane mixed forests, and Aegean and Western Turkey sclerophyllous and mixed forests.{{cite journal|last1=Dinerstein|first1=Eric|last2=Olson|first2=David|last3=Joshi|first3=Anup|last4=Vynne|first4=Carly|last5=Burgess|first5=Neil D.|last6=Wikramanayake|first6=Eric|last7=Hahn|first7=Nathan|last8=Palminteri|first8=Suzanne|last9=Hedao|first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed|last11=Hansen|first11=Matt|last12=Locke|first12=Harvey|last13=Ellis|first13=Erle C|last14=Jones|first14=Benjamin|last15=Barber|first15=Charles Victor|last16=Hayes|first16=Randy|last17=Kormos|first17=Cyril|last18=Martin|first18=Vance|last19=Crist|first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes|last21=Price|first21=Lori|last22=Baillie|first22=Jonathan E. M.|last23=Weeden|first23=Don|last24=Suckling|first24=Kierán|last25=Davis|first25=Crystal|last26=Sizer|first26=Nigel|last27=Moore|first27=Rebecca|last28=Thau|first28=David|last29=Birch|first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter|last31=Turubanova|first31=Svetlana|last32=Tyukavina|first32=Alexandra|last33=de Souza|first33=Nadia|last34=Pintea|first34=Lilian|last35=Brito|first35=José C.|last36=Llewellyn|first36=Othman A.|last37=Miller|first37=Anthony G.|last38=Patzelt|first38=Annette|last39=Ghazanfar|first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan|last41=Klöser|first41=Heinz|last42=Shennan-Farpón|first42=Yara|last43=Kindt|first43=Roeland|last44=Lillesø|first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow|last45=van Breugel|first45=Paulo|last46=Graudal|first46=Lars|last47=Voge|first47=Maianna|last48=Al-Shammari|first48=Khalaf F.|last49=Saleem|first49=Muhammad|display-authors=1|title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm|journal=BioScience|volume=67|issue=6|year=2017|pages=534–545|issn=0006-3568|doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014|pmid=28608869|pmc=5451287}} North Macedonia had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 7.42/10, ranking it 40th globally out of 172 countries.{{cite journal|last1=Grantham|first1=H. S.|last2=Duncan|first2=A.|last3=Evans|first3=T. D.|last4=Jones|first4=K. R.|last5=Beyer|first5=H. L.|last6=Schuster|first6=R.|last7=Walston|first7=J.|last8=Ray|first8=J. C.|last9=Robinson|first9=J. G.|last10=Callow|first10=M.|last11=Clements|first11=T.|last12=Costa|first12=H. M.|last13=DeGemmis|first13=A.|last14=Elsen|first14=P. R.|last15=Ervin|first15=J.|last16=Franco|first16=P.|last17=Goldman|first17=E.|last18=Goetz|first18=S.|last19=Hansen|first19=A.|last20=Hofsvang|first20=E.|last21=Jantz|first21=P.|last22=Jupiter|first22=S.|last23=Kang|first23=A.|last24=Langhammer|first24=P.|last25=Laurance|first25=W. F.|last26=Lieberman|first26=S.|last27=Linkie|first27=M.|last28=Malhi|first28=Y.|last29=Maxwell|first29=S.|last30=Mendez|first30=M.|last31=Mittermeier|first31=R.|last32=Murray|first32=N. J.|last33=Possingham|first33=H.|last34=Radachowsky|first34=J.|last35=Saatchi|first35=S.|last36=Samper|first36=C.|last37=Silverman|first37=J.|last38=Shapiro|first38=A.|last39=Strassburg|first39=B.|last40=Stevens|first40=T.|last41=Stokes|first41=E.|last42=Taylor|first42=R.|last43=Tear|first43=T.|last44=Tizard|first44=R.|last45=Venter|first45=O.|last46=Visconti|first46=P.|last47=Wang|first47=S.|last48=Watson|first48=J. E. M.|display-authors=1|title=Anthropogenic modification of forests means only 40% of remaining forests have high ecosystem integrity – Supplementary Material|journal=Nature Communications|volume=11|issue=1|year=2020|page=5978|issn=2041-1723|doi=10.1038/s41467-020-19493-3|pmid=33293507|pmc=7723057|bibcode=2020NatCo..11.5978G }}

The native forest fauna is abundant and includes bears, wild boars, wolves, foxes, squirrels, chamois and deer. The lynx is found, very rarely, in the mountains of western Macedonia, while deer can be found in the region of Demir Kapija. Forest birds include the blackcap, the grouse, the black grouse, the imperial eagle and the forest owl.

The country has four national parks:

{{Main|Politics of North Macedonia}}

North Macedonia is a parliamentary democracy with an executive government composed of a coalition of parties from the unicameral legislature ({{lang|mk|Собрание}}, {{lang|mk-Latn|Sobranie}}; Assembly in English) and an independent judicial branch with a constitutional court. The Assembly is made up of 120 seats and the members are elected every four years. The role of the president is mostly ceremonial, with the real power resting in the hands of the prime minister. The president is the commander-in-chief of the state armed forces and a president of the State Security Council. The president is elected every five years and he or she can be elected twice at most.

Since 2019, local government functions are divided between 80 municipalities ({{lang|mk|општини}}, {{lang|mk-Latn|opštini}}; singular: {{lang|mk|општина}}, {{lang|mk-Latn|opština}}).{{Cite web |url=https://www.stat.gov.mk/KlucniIndikatori_en.aspx |title=Key indicators |website=State Statistical Office |access-date=11 November 2022}} The capital, Skopje, is governed as a group of ten municipalities collectively referred to as the "City of Skopje". Municipalities in North Macedonia are units of local self-government. Neighbouring municipalities may establish co-operative arrangements.

The country's main political divergence is between the largely ethnically based political parties representing the country's ethnic Macedonian majority and Albanian minority. The issue of the power balance between the two communities led to a brief war in 2001, following which a power-sharing agreement was reached. In August 2004, parliament passed legislation redrawing local boundaries and giving greater local autonomy to ethnic Albanians in areas where they predominate.

After a troublesome pre-election campaign, North Macedonia saw a relatively calm and democratic change of government in the elections held on 5 July 2006. The elections were marked by a decisive victory of the centre-right party VMRO-DPMNE led by Nikola Gruevski. Gruevski's decision to include the Democratic Party of Albanians in the new government, instead of the Democratic Union for Integration–Party for Democratic Prosperity coalition which won the majority of the Albanian votes, triggered protests throughout the parts of the country with a respective number of Albanian population. A dialogue was later established between the Democratic Union for Integration and the ruling VMRO-DMPNE party as an effort to talk about the disputes between the two parties and to support European and NATO aspirations of the country.{{cite web |url=http://limun.hr/en/main.aspx?id=127474 |title=Ahmeti accepts the invitation for dialog with Gruevski |publisher=Limun.hr |access-date=5 May 2009 |archive-date=25 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080225142712/http://limun.hr/en/main.aspx?id=127474 |url-status=dead }}

After the early parliamentary elections held in 2008, VMRO-DPMNE and Democratic Union for Integration formed a ruling coalition.{{cite web |url=http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/features/2008/07/08/feature-02 |title=VMRO-DPMNE and DUI form ruling coalition in Macedonia |publisher=SeTimes |access-date=28 April 2010}} In April 2009, presidential and local elections in the country were carried out peacefully, which was crucial for Macedonian aspirations to join the EU.{{cite news |url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0322/breaking39.htm |title=Macedonia elections pass off peacefully |newspaper=Irish Times |date=3 March 2009 |access-date=28 April 2010}} The ruling conservative VMRO-DPMNE party won a victory in the local elections and the candidate supported by the party, Gjorgi Ivanov, was elected as the new president.

In June 2017, Zoran Zaev of the Social Democratic Party, became the new prime minister six months after early elections.{{Cite news |last=Smith |first=Helena |date=2020-07-16 |title=North Macedonia's Social Democrats grab slim election victory |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/16/north-macedonia-social-democrats-election-victory |access-date=2025-04-21 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |date=2024-05-12 |title=North Macedonia's new president reignites a spat with Greece at her inauguration ceremony |url=https://apnews.com/article/president-north-macedonia-greece-inauguration-e1bdfa1fb9021f91023b0250ae8b7541 |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=AP News |language=en}} The new center-left government ended 11 years of conservative VMRO-DPMNE rule led by former prime minister Nikola Gruevski.{{cite web |url=https://www.dw.com/en/macedonia-gets-new-government-six-months-after-elections/a-39073477 |title=Macedonia gets new government six months after elections |work=Deutsche Welle |date=1 June 2017 |access-date=29 December 2021 }}

{{As of|2020|1|4}}, the acting prime minister of North Macedonia was Oliver Spasovski and the president of the Parliament was Talat Xhaferi.{{cite web |url=http://www.balkaneu.com/tension-in-skopje-talat-xhaferi-is-elected-assembly-speaker-in-a-situation-of-chaos/ |title=Tension in Skopje, Talat Xhaferi is elected Assembly Speaker in a situation of chaos |website=Balkaneu.com |date=27 April 2017 |language=en-US |access-date=31 August 2017}}{{cite news |title=Macedonian Parliament's New Ethnic Albanian Speaker Enters Office |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/macedonia-parliament-speaker-xhaferi-enters-office/28466113.html |newspaper=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=3 May 2017 |language=en}} The election of Xhaferi was immediately met with protests led by VMRO-DPMNE, which was quickly handled by the police.

The early parliamentary elections took place on 15 July 2020.{{cite web |url=https://europeanmovement.eu/news/em-north-macedonia-review-of-the-2020-parliamentary-elections-in-north-macedonia/ |title=EM North Macedonia: Review of the 2020 parliamentary elections in North Macedonia |publisher=European Movement International |date=22 July 2020 |access-date=29 December 2021 }} Zoran Zaev has served as the prime minister of the Republic of North Macedonia again since August 2020.{{cite web |url=https://vlada.mk/node/14652?ln=en-gb |title=President of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia – Zoran Zaev |date=11 May 2018 |publisher=Government of the Republic of North Macedonia |access-date=29 December 2021 }} Stevo Pendarovski was sworn in as North Macedonia's president in May 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.euronews.com/2019/05/12/north-macedonia-s-new-president-stevo-pendarovski-takes-office|title = North Macedonia's new president Stevo Pendarovski takes office |work=euronews |first=Cristina Abellan |last=Matamoros |date = 12 May 2019 |access-date=29 December 2021 }} Prime minister Zoran Zaev announced his resignation after his party, the Social Democratic Union, suffered losses in local elections in October 2021.{{Cite web|url=https://www.dw.com/en/north-macedonia-prime-minister-zoran-zaev-resigns/a-59681002|title = North Macedonia Prime Minister Zoran Zaev resigns | DW |date=31 October 2021|website = Deutsche Welle |access-date=29 December 2021 }} In January 2022, Dimitar Kovačevski was elected as prime minister. The new coalition cabinet composed of Kovačevski's Social Democrats and two ethnic Albanian parties.{{cite news |title=North Macedonia's Kovacevski Approved As New PM |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/north-macedonia-elect-prime-minister--dimitar-kovacevski-/31657339.html |work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty |language=en}} Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova took office on 12 May 2024, becoming the country's first female president.{{cite web |title=North Macedonia's First Female President Sworn In, Declines To Use 'North' |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/north-macedonia-siljanovska-davkova-inauguration-greece-prespa/32943180.html |website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |access-date=13 May 2024 |date=12 May 2024}}{{Cite web |date=2024-05-12 |title=North Macedonia's new president reignites a spat with Greece at her inauguration ceremony |url=https://apnews.com/article/president-north-macedonia-greece-inauguration-e1bdfa1fb9021f91023b0250ae8b7541 |access-date=2025-04-21 |website=AP News |language=en}}

Parliament, or Assembly ({{langx|mk|Собрание}}, {{lang|mk-Latn|Sobranie}}), is the country's legislative body. It makes, proposes and adopts laws. The Constitution of North Macedonia has been in use since shortly after the independence of the republic in 1991. It limits the power of the governments, both local and national. The military is also limited by the constitution. The constitution states that North Macedonia is a social free state, and that Skopje is the capital.{{cite web |url=http://eudo-citizenship.eu/NationalDB/docs/MAC%20Constitution%20(amended%20by%20XXX)%20eng.pdf |title=Constitution of the Republic of North Macedonia |access-date=17 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170110075847/http://eudo-citizenship.eu/NationalDB/docs/MAC%20Constitution%20(amended%20by%20XXX)%20eng.pdf |archive-date=10 January 2017}} The 120 members are elected for a mandate of four years through a general election. Each citizen aged 18 years or older can vote for one of the political parties. The current president of Parliament is Jovan Mitreski since 2024.{{cite web |title=Jovan Mitreski elected Parliament Speaker |url=https://mia.mk/en/story/jovan-mitreski-elected-parliament-speaker |website=Media Information Agency |access-date=13 May 2024 |date=26 January 2024}}{{Cite web |title=North Macedonia nationalists seek coalition partner after election win |website=Reuters |date=9 May 2024 |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/north-macedonia-nationalists-seek-coalition-partner-after-election-win-2024-05-09/? |last1=Vasovic |first1=Aleksandar |last2=Vasovic |first2=Aleksandar }}

Executive power in North Macedonia is exercised by the Government, whose prime minister is the most politically powerful person in the country. The members of the government are chosen by the prime minister and there are ministers for each branch of the society. There are ministers for economy, finance, information technology, society, internal affairs, foreign affairs and other areas. The members of the Government are elected for a mandate of four years. Judiciary power is exercised by courts, with the court system being headed by the Judicial Supreme court, Constitutional Court and the Republican Judicial Council. The assembly appoints the judges.

{{Main|Macedonia naming dispute}}

{{See also|Macedonia (terminology)}}

File:Flag of North Macedonia (1992–1995).svg]]

The use of the name "Macedonia" was disputed between Greece and North Macedonia. The specific naming dispute was reignited after the breakup of Yugoslavia and the newly gained independence of the former Socialist Republic of Macedonia in 1991.Floudas, Demetrius Andreas; {{cite news |publisher=24 (1996) Journal of Political and Military Sociology, 285 |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3719/is_199601/ai_n8752910/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060127053906/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3719/is_199601/ai_n8752910 |archive-date=27 January 2006 |title=A Name for a Conflict or a Conflict for a Name? An Analysis of Greece's Dispute with FYROM |access-date=11 February 2008 |year=1996}} Greece opposed the use of the name without a geographical qualifier so as to avoid confusion with its own region of Greek Macedonia to the south.[http://www.mfa.gr/en/fyrom-name-issue/ FYROM Name Issue] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113160107/https://www.mfa.gr/en/fyrom-name-issue/ |date=13 January 2018 }}, Hellenic Republic – Ministry of Foreign Affairs As some ethnic Greeks identify themselves as Macedonians, unrelated to the Slavic people who are associated with North Macedonia, Greece further objected to the use of the term Macedonian for the neighbouring country's largest ethnic group; it accused the country of appropriating symbols and figures that are historically considered parts of Greece's culture (such as Vergina Sun and Alexander the Great), and of promoting the irredentist concept of a United Macedonia, which would include territories of Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, and Serbia.{{cite web |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/09/25/its-time-for-macedonia-to-accept-compromise/ |title=It's Time for Macedonia to Accept Compromise |publisher=ForeignPolicy |date=25 September 2018 |access-date=13 February 2019}}

The UN adopted the provisional reference the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia ({{langx|mk|Поранешна Југословенска Република Македонија|Poranešna Jugoslovenska Republika Makedonija}}) when the country was admitted to the organisation in 1993.{{cite web |url=https://www.un.org/documents/ga/res/47/a47r225.htm |title=United Nations Resolution 225 (1993) |publisher=United Nations |date=8 April 1993 |access-date=28 April 2010}} The lower-cased "former" was chosen intentionally to display the provisionality of the name although most UN member countries soon abandoned the provisional reference and recognised the country as the Republic of Macedonia instead.{{cite book |title=The Birth of Classical Europe: A History from Troy to Augustine |first1=Peter |last1=Thonemann |first2=Simon |last2=Price |date=29 April 2010 |publisher=Penguin Books |pages=123–124}} Most international organisations adopted the same convention along with over 100 UN members and four of the five permanent UN Security Council members."[http://www.macedonian-heritage.gr/Opinion/comm_20050916Tziampiris.html Naming the solution]", Kathimerini English edition, 16 September 2005{{cite web |author=European Commission |title=Background information – The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia |url=http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/international/bilateral/background/mk1_en.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223150634/http://ec.europa.eu/comm/competition/international/bilateral/background/mk1_en.html |archive-date=23 December 2007 |access-date=1 October 2006 }} In the period between 1991 and 2019, the country's name was an ongoing issue in bilateral and international relations. The UN set up a negotiating process with a mediator, Matthew Nimetz, and the two parties to try to mediate the dispute. Following the ratification of the Prespa agreement, most major international organisations welcomed the settlement of the long-standing dispute, and adopted the country's new name.{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/sgsm19460.doc.htm|title=Secretary-General Congratulates Greece, Republic of North Macedonia on Settling Long-Standing 'Name' Dispute, as Agreement Enters into Force

|website=United Nations|date=13 February 2019|access-date=2 April 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/republic-north-macedonia_en/1457/The%20Republic%20of%20North%20Macedonia%20and%20the%20EU|title=The Republic of North Macedonia and the EU|website=European External Action Service|date=12 May 2016|access-date=2 April 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_48830.htm?selectedLocale=en|title=Relations with the Republic of North Macedonia |website=NATO|date=15 February 2019|access-date=2 April 2019}}

{{Main|Foreign relations of North Macedonia}}

{{See also|List of diplomatic missions of North Macedonia}}

North Macedonia became a member state of the UN on 8 April 1993, eighteen months after its independence from Yugoslavia. It was referred to within the UN as "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia", until the resolution of the long-running dispute with Greece about the country's name.

The major interest of the country is a full integration in the European and the Trans-Atlantic integration processes.{{cite news |url=https://www.ft.com/content/94fd64f4-3035-11e9-8744-e7016697f225 |title=Renamed Balkan country seeks closer ties with Nato, EU, PM says |newspaper=Financial Times|date=18 February 2019 |last1=Hopkins |first1=Valerie }}

North Macedonia is a member of the following international and regional organisations:{{cite web |url=http://www.mfa.gov.mk/default1.aspx?ItemID=314 |title=North Macedonia, Ministry of foreign affairs |publisher=Mfa.gov.mk |access-date=5 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081116103843/http://www.mfa.gov.mk//default1.aspx?ItemID=314 |archive-date=16 November 2008}} IMF (since 1992), WHO (since 1993), EBRD (since 1993), Central European Initiative (since 1993), Council of Europe (since 1995), OSCE (since 1995), SECI (since 1996), La Francophonie (since 2001), WTO (since 2003), CEFTA (since 2006), and NATO (since 2020).

In 2005, the country was officially recognised as a European Union candidate state.

At the NATO 2008 Bucharest summit, Macedonia failed to gain an invitation to join the organisation because Greece vetoed the move after the dispute over the name issue.{{cite web |url=http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=91875 |title=Bulgaria: Macedonia Remains Out of NATO Because of Greek Veto over Name Dispute – Novinite.com – Sofia News Agency |publisher=Novinite.com |date=3 April 2008 |access-date=5 May 2009}} The U.S. had previously expressed support for an invitation,{{cite web |url=http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/4/2/worldupdates/2008-04-02T203446Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-328122-1&sec=Worldupdates |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080410030104/http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=%2F2008%2F4%2F2%2Fworldupdates%2F2008-04-02T203446Z_01_NOOTR_RTRMDNC_0_-328122-1&sec=Worldupdates |archive-date=10 April 2008 |title=Greece stands by NATO veto threat for Macedonia | work=The Star Online |publisher=Thestar.com.my |access-date=5 May 2009 }} but the summit then decided to extend an invitation only on condition of a resolution of the naming conflict with Greece.

In March 2009, the European Parliament expressed support for North Macedonia's EU candidacy and asked the EU Commission to grant the country a date for the start of accession talks by the end of 2009. The parliament also recommended a speedy lifting of the visa regime for Macedonian citizens.{{cite web |url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/ep-urges-accession-talks-for-macedonia |title=EP Urges Accession Talks For Macedonia |date=13 March 2009 |publisher=BalkanInsight.com |access-date=5 May 2009}} Prior to the Prespa agreement, the country failed to receive a start date for accession talks as a result of the naming dispute. However, after the Prespa agreement, North Macedonia became a member state of NATO on 27 March 2020. The EU's stance was similar to NATO's in that resolution of the naming dispute was a precondition for the start of accession talks.

In October 2012, the EU Enlargement Commissioner Štefan Füle proposed a start of accession negotiations with the country for the fourth time, while the previous efforts were blocked each time by Greece. At the same time Füle visited Bulgaria in a bid to clarify the state's position with respect to Macedonia. He established that Bulgaria had almost joined Greece in vetoing the accession talks. The Bulgarian position was that Sofia cannot grant an EU certificate to Skopje, which is systematically employing an ideology of hate towards Bulgaria.{{cite web |url=http://www.euractiv.com/enlargement/bulgaria-vetoes-macedonia-eu-acc-news-515809 |title=Bulgaria vetoes Macedonia's EU accession talks |work=euractiv.com|date=2 November 2012 |author1=Frederic }}

{{Main|Army of North Macedonia}}{{Expand section|date=April 2025}}File:Macedonian_Soldiers_in_Kabul.jpg

The Army of the Republic of North Macedonia (ARSM) is led by the General Staff. Below it are the Operations Command, which includes the Mechanized Infantry Brigade, the Air Brigade, the Special Operations Regiment, and several independent battalions; the Training and Doctrine Command, which also oversees the Military Reserve Force; and the Logistics Base. There is also an Honor Guard Battalion that is directly subordinated to the General Staff.{{cite web |title=STRUCTURE OF THE ARMY |work=Army of the Republic of North Macedonia |url=https://mil.mk/struktura-na-arm/?lang=en |access-date=12 February 2024 }} As of 2024 the ARSM had 8,000 active personnel and 4,850 reservists, and as of 2023 it had a military budget of US$275 million.{{Cite book |author=IISS |author-link=International Institute for Strategic Studies |date=2024 |title=The Military Balance 2024 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |page=115 |isbn=978-1-032-78004-7 }} It has been a volunteer military since conscription was ended in 2007. North Macedonia has deployed troops to Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iraq, Kosovo, and Lebanon, as part of NATO, EU, or UN missions.{{cite web |title=North Macedonia |work=CIA World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/north-macedonia/#military-and-security |access-date=12 February 2024 }}

The Ministry of Defence develops the Republic's defence strategy and assesses possible threats and risks. It is also responsible for the defence system, including training, readiness, equipment, and development, and for drawing up and presenting the defence budget.{{Cite web|url=http://www.morm.gov.mk/morm/en/ARM/Defence-Structure.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100904165013/http://www.morm.gov.mk/morm/en/ARM/Defence-Structure.html|title=National Command Management|archive-date=4 September 2010}}

{{Main|Human rights in North Macedonia}}

North Macedonia is a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights and the UN Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and Convention against Torture, and the Constitution guarantees basic human rights to all Macedonian citizens.

According to human rights organisations, in 2003 there were suspected extrajudicial executions, threats against, and intimidation of, human rights activists and opposition journalists, and allegations of torture by the police.{{cite web |url=https://www.amnesty.org/en/region/macedonia?page=2 |title=Amnesty International – Summary – Macedonia |publisher=Web.amnesty.org |access-date=6 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518152631/http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/macedonia?page=2 |archive-date=18 May 2011}}{{cite web |url=https://www.hrw.org/legacy/campaigns/macedonia/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130414225403/http://www.hrw.org/legacy/campaigns/macedonia/ |title=Human Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide |date=14 April 2013 |archive-date=14 April 2013 }}

{{Main|Statistical regions of North Macedonia|Municipalities of North Macedonia}}

File:Map of urban and rural municipalities of North Macedonia en.svg

File:MSR.png

North Macedonia's statistical regions exist solely for legal and statistical purposes. The regions are:

• Eastern
• Northeastern
• Pelagonia
• Polog
• Skopje
• Southeastern
• Southwestern
• Vardar

In August 2004, the country was reorganised into 84 municipalities ({{lang|mk|opštini}}; sing. {{lang|mk|opština}}); 10 of the municipalities constitute the City of Skopje, a distinct unit of local self-government and the country's capital.

Most of the current municipalities were unaltered or merely amalgamated from the previous 123 municipalities established in September 1996; others were consolidated and their borders changed. Prior to this, local government was organised into 34 administrative districts, communes, or counties (also opštini).

{{Main|Economy of North Macedonia}}

Ranked as the fourth "best reformatory state" out of 178 countries ranked by the World Bank in 2009, North Macedonia has undergone considerable economic reform since independence.{{cite web |url=http://lnweb90.worldbank.org/eca/eca.nsf/f27e125b8411fe0e852567d10013f34a/fffd3db0d7306bfd85256c250061ac88/$FILE/Macedonia%20Country%20Brief.pdf |title=Macedonia Country Brief |publisher=The World Bank |date=24 April 2009 |access-date=5 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119132529/http://lnweb90.worldbank.org/eca/eca.nsf/f27e125b8411fe0e852567d10013f34a/fffd3db0d7306bfd85256c250061ac88/$FILE/Macedonia%20Country%20Brief.pdf |archive-date=19 November 2018 }} The country has developed an open economy with trade accounting for more than 90% of GDP in recent years. Since 1996, North Macedonia has witnessed steady, though slow, economic growth with GDP growing by 3.1% in 2005. This figure was projected to rise to an average of 5.2% in the 2006–2010 period.{{cite web |url=http://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/mkd_aag.pdf |title=World Bank development data |access-date=28 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100308000321/http://devdata.worldbank.org/AAG/mkd_aag.pdf |archive-date=8 March 2010}} The government has proven successful in its efforts to combat inflation, with an inflation rate of only 3% in 2006 and 2% in 2007, and has implemented policies focused on attracting foreign investment and promoting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

File:Грозје - Вранец.jpg

The current government introduced a flat tax system with the intention of making the country more attractive to foreign investment. The flat tax rate was 12% in 2007 and was further lowered to 10% in 2008.{{cite web |url=http://www.vlada.mk/english/News/December2006/ei8-12-2006.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080127122623/http://www.vlada.mk/english/News/December2006/ei8-12-2006.htm |archive-date=27 January 2008 |title=Government of the Republic of Macedonia |access-date=28 April 2010 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/macedonias-new-flat-tax-51002.aspx |title=Macedonia's Flat Tax |publisher=Nuwireinvestor.com |date=15 February 2007 |access-date=28 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522141422/http://www.nuwireinvestor.com/articles/macedonias-new-flat-tax-51002.aspx |archive-date=22 May 2010}}

{{As of|2005|lc=y}} North Macedonia's unemployment rate was 37.2%{{cite web |url=http://www.worldbank.org.mk/ |title=Macedonian unemployment rate |publisher=Worldbank.org.mk |access-date=28 April 2010 |archive-date=2 March 2001 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010302165747/http://www.worldbank.org.mk/ |url-status=dead }} and {{As of|2006|lc=y}} its poverty rate was 22%. Due to a number of employment measures as well as the successful process of attracting multinational corporations, and according to the State Statistical Office of North Macedonia, the country's unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2015 decreased to 27.3%.State Statistical Office [http://www.stat.gov.mk/PrikaziSoopstenie_en.aspx?rbrtxt=98 Active population – Unemployment data] Government's policies and efforts in regards to foreign direct investments have resulted with the establishment of local subsidiaries of several world leading manufacturing companies, especially from the automotive industry, such as: Johnson Controls Inc., Van Hool NV, Johnson Matthey plc, Lear Corp., Visteon Corp., Kostal GmbH, Gentherm Inc., Dräxlmaier Group, Kromberg & Schubert, Marquardt GmbH, Amphenol Corp., Tekno Hose SpA, KEMET Corp., Key Safety Systems Inc., ODW-Elektrik GmbH, etc.

In terms of GDP structure, {{As of|2013|lc=y}}, the manufacturing sector (including mining and construction)constituted the largest part of GDP at 21.4%, up from 21.1% in 2012. The trade, transportation and accommodation sector represents 18.2% of GDP in 2013, up from 16.7% in 2012, while agriculture represents 9.6%, up from 9.1% in the previous year.State Statistical Office [http://www.stat.gov.mk/PrikaziSoopstenie_en.aspx?id=32&rbr=1495 Gross domestic product 2013]

In terms of foreign trade, the largest sector contributing to the country's export in 2014 was "chemicals and related products" at 21.4%, followed by the "machinery and transport equipment" sector at 21.1%. North Macedonia's main import sectors in 2014 were "manufactured goods classified chiefly by material" with 34.2%, "machinery and transport equipment" with 18.7% and "mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials" with 14.4% of the total imports. Even 68.8% of the foreign trade in 2014 was done with the EU which makes the Union by far the largest trading partner of North Macedonia (23.3% with Germany, 7.9% with the UK, 7.3% with Greece, 6.2% with Italy, etc.). Almost 12% of the total external trade in 2014 was done with the Western Balkan countries.State Statistical Office [http://www.stat.gov.mk/PrikaziSoopstenie_en.aspx?id=78&rbr=1590 External trade volume 2014] In 2007, North Macedonia's information technology market increased 63.8% year on year, which was the fastest growing in the Adriatic region.[http://www.idc-cema.com/?showproduct=34598 "Investment in Government, Finance, and Telecom Sectors Makes Macedonia's IT Market the Fastest Growing in the Adriatic Region, Says IDC"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022031748/http://idc-cema.com/?showproduct=34598 |date=22 October 2012 }}, IDC (global provider of market intelligence)

North Macedonia has one of the highest shares of people struggling financially, with 72% of its citizens stating that they could manage on their household's income only "with difficulty" or "with great difficulty", though North Macedonia, along with Croatia, was the only country in the Western Balkans to not report an increase in this statistic.[http://www.balkan-monitor.eu/files/BalkanMonitor-2010_Summary_of_Findings.pdf Gallup Balkan Monitor], 2010 {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121227084847/http://www.balkan-monitor.eu/files/BalkanMonitor-2010_Summary_of_Findings.pdf |date=27 December 2012 }} Corruption and a relatively ineffective legal system also act as significant restraints on successful economic development. North Macedonia still has one of the lowest per capita GDPs in Europe. Furthermore, the country's grey market is estimated at close to 20% of GDP.The 2006 CIA Factbook [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/north-macedonia/ CIA Factbook Macedonia] PPS GDP per capita stood at 36% of the EU average in 2017.{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/tgm/table.do?tab=table&init=1&language=en&pcode=tec00114&plugin=1 |title=GDP per capita in PPS |publisher=Eurostat |access-date=18 May 2019 }} With a GDP per capita of US$9,157 at purchasing power parity and a Human Development Index of 0.701, North Macedonia is less developed and has a considerably smaller economy than most of the former Yugoslav states.

The outbreak of the Yugoslav wars and the imposition of sanctions on Serbia and Montenegro caused great damage to the country's economy, with Serbia constituting 60% of its markets before the disintegration of Yugoslavia. When Greece imposed a trade embargo on the Republic in 1994–95, the economy was also affected. Some relief was afforded by the end of the Bosnian War in November 1995 and the lifting of the Greek embargo, but the Kosovo War of 1999 and the 2001 Albanian crisis caused further destabilisation.

Since the end of the Greek embargo, Greece has become the country's most important business partner. (See Greek investments in North Macedonia.) Many Greek companies have bought former state companies in North Macedonia,{{cite web |url=http://www.greekembassy.org/embassy/Content/en/Article.aspx?office=1&folder=19&article=24108 |title=Greek investments in FYROM at 1 bil. Euros |publisher=Greekembassy.org |date=16 July 2008 |access-date=8 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100719013921/http://www.greekembassy.org/Embassy/Content/en/Article.aspx?office=1 |archive-date=19 July 2010}} such as the oil refinery Okta, the baking company Zhito Luks, a marble mine in Prilep, textile facilities in Bitola, etc., and employ 20,000 people. The moving of business to North Macedonia in the oil sector has been caused by the rise of Greece in the oil markets.{{Cite news |url=https://www.neweurope.eu/article/depa-sees-natural-gas-role-greece-exiting-crisis/ |title=DEPA sees natural gas role for Greece exiting from the crisis |date=3 April 2017 |work=New Europe |access-date=18 April 2017 |language=en-US |archive-date=19 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419105856/https://www.neweurope.eu/article/depa-sees-natural-gas-role-greece-exiting-crisis/ }}

Other key partners are Germany, Italy, the United States, Slovenia, Austria and Turkey.

{{Main|Tourism in North Macedonia}}

File:Church of St. John at Kaneo 6.jpg and Lake Ohrid, one of the most popular tourist destinations in North Macedonia]]

Tourism plays a significant role in the economy of North Macedonia accounting for 6.7% of its GDP in 2016. The annual income from tourism was estimated at 38.5 billion denars (€616 million) in that year.{{cite journal|first=Mirche|last=Jovanovski|title=Политичката криза не е добра реклама за туризмот|trans-title=The political crisis is not a good advertisement for tourism|journal=Ekonomija I Biznis|volume=19|issue=226|date=April 2017|pages=44–47}} Following its independence, the most serious negative impact on tourism performance occurred due to the armed conflicts taking place in 2001. The number of foreign visitors has been on the rise since, with a 14.6% increase in 2011.{{cite web|title=The State of Tourism in Macedonia |url=http://makstack.com/2011/03/15/the-state-of-tourism-in-macedonia/ |publisher=Makstack |date=15 March 2011 |access-date=2 May 2020}} In 2019, North Macedonia received 1,184,963 tourist arrivals out of which 757,593 foreign.{{cite web|url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/pdf/2020/8.1.20.03_mk.pdf |script-title=mk:Туризам во декември 2019|trans-title=Tourism in December 2019|language=mk|publisher=State Statistical Office|access-date=2 May 2020}} Most numerous are tourists from Turkey, neighboring Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria, Poland and other countries of Western Europe.{{cite web|url=http://makstat.stat.gov.mk/PXWeb/pxweb/mk/MakStat/MakStat__TirizamUgostitel__Turizam/250_Turizam_RM_ZemjiMes_ml.px/table/tableViewLayout2/?rxid=7695dab9-15aa-4a0e-ac4b-75d3194ce355|script-title=mk:Број на туристи и ноќевања по земја на припадност, по месеци|trans-title=Number of tourists and nights spent by country of origin, by months|publisher=State Statistical Office|language=mk|date=2020|access-date=2 May 2020}}{{Dead link|date=July 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The biggest bulk of tourists, approximately 60% of the million tourists that visited the country in 2017, was situated in Skopje and the southwestern region of the country.{{cite web|url=https://ako.mk/%D0%BC%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%98%D0%B0-%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%BA%D0%BE-%D1%82%D1%83%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%87%D0%BA%D0%B0-%D0%B4%D0%B5%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%86/ |script-title=mk:Македонија како туристичка дестинација за 4 сезони|trans-title=Macedonia as a tourist destination for 4 seasons|work=Ako.mk|first=Ljupčo|last=Janevski|date=7 August 2018|language=mk|access-date=3 May 2020}}

The most significant tourism branches are lake tourism as there are three lakes in Ohrid, Prespa and Dojran and over 50 small glacial lakes of variable sizes, mountainous tourism as there are 16 mountains higher than 2,000 metres. Other forms of tourism also include rural and ecotourism, city tourism and cultural tourism, represented through gastronomy, traditional music, cultural celebrations and cultural heritage sites.{{cite journal|title=Tourism in Macedonia in Changing Environment|journal=Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences|first1=Naume|last1=Marinoski|first2=Saso|last2=Korunovski|date=2012|volume=44|pages=19–31|doi=10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.05.001|doi-access=free}}

{{Main|Transport in North Macedonia}}

File:North Macedonian Highway System.svg

North Macedonia (along with Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo) belongs to the less-developed southern region of the former Yugoslavia. It suffered severe economic difficulties after independence, when the Yugoslav internal market collapsed and subsidies from Belgrade ended. In addition, it faced many of the same problems faced by other former socialist East European countries during the transition to a market economy. Its main land and rail exports route, through Serbia, remains unreliable with high transit costs, thereby affecting the export of its formerly highly profitable, early vegetables market to Germany.

North Macedonia is a landlocked country in the middle of the Balkan peninsula, and the main transport links in the country are those that connect the different parts of the peninsula (trans-Balkan links). Particularly important is the connection between north–south and Vardar valley, which connects Greece with the rest of Europe. {{As of|2019}}, there were {{cvt|10,591|km|0}} of roads, of which about {{cvt|6000|km|-2}} were paved.{{cite book |author1=Thammy Evans |author2=Philip Briggs |title=North Macedonia |year=2019 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OZ2SDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA2 |page=2 |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |isbn=9781784770846 |access-date=18 August 2024}}

File:Автопатска делница Велес - Неготино - Демир Капија.JPG in North Macedonia]]

{{As of|2019}}, the total length of the railway network in North Macedonia was {{Cvt|922|km|0}}. Operated by Makedonski Železnici, the most important railway line is the line on the border with Serbia–Kumanovo–Skopje–Veles–Gevgelija–border with Greece. Since 2001, the railway line Beljakovci has been built—the border with Bulgaria, which will get a direct connection Skopje-Sofia. The most important railway hub in the country is Skopje, while the other two are Veles and Kumanovo.

North Macedonia Post is the state-owned company for the provision of postal traffic. It was founded in 1992 as PTT Macedonia. In 1993 it was admitted to the World Postal Union in 1997, PTT Macedonia was divided into Macedonian Telekom and Macedonian Post (later renamed North Macedonia Post).

As far as water transport is concerned, only lake traffic through Ohrid and Prespan Lake has been developed, mostly for tourist purposes.

There are officially 17 airports in North Macedonia, of which 11 are with solid substrates. Two are international airports: Skopje International Airport and Ohrid St. Paul the Apostle Airport.

{{main|Education in North Macedonia}}

File:Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje 2.jpg in Skopje]]

The higher levels of education can be obtained at one of the five state universities: Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje, St. Clement of Ohrid University of Bitola, Goce Delčev University of Štip, State University of Tetova and University of Information Science and Technology "St. Paul The Apostle" in Ohrid. There are a number of private university institutions, such as the European University,{{cite web |url=http://www.oic.org.mk/ |title=Home |website=Oic.org.mk}} Slavic University in Sveti Nikole, the South East European University and others. North Macedonia was ranked 58th in the Global Innovation Index in 2024.{{Cite web |title=Global Innovation Index 2024 : Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/en/ |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=www.wipo.int |language=en}}

The United States Agency for International Development has underwritten a project called Macedonia Connects, which has made North Macedonia the first all-broadband wireless country in the world. The Ministry of Education and Sciences reports that 461 schools (primary and secondary) are now connected to the Internet.{{cite web |url=http://www.usaid.gov/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000815070243/http://www.usaid.gov/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=15 August 2000 |title=U.S. Agency for International Development |publisher=USAID |access-date=5 May 2009}} In addition, an Internet service provider (On.net), has created a MESH Network to provide WIFI services in the 11 largest cities/towns in the country. The national library of North Macedonia, National and University Library "St. Kliment of Ohrid", is in Skopje.

{{Clear}}

{{Main|Demographics of North Macedonia|List of cities in North Macedonia|Macedonians (ethnic group)|}}

The results from the last 2021 census show a population of 1,836,713. The population density of the country is 72.2 persons per km² and the average age of the population is 40.08 years. 598,632 households were recorded with an average number of household members of 3.06. The gender balance of the country is 50.4% female to 49.6% male.{{cite web |url=https://www.stat.gov.mk/InfoGraphic/2022/Broshura-en-web.pdf |title= Census 2021 |author= |date= |website= |publisher= Republic of North Macedonia State Statistical Office |access-date=17 April 2022 |quote=}}

Based on the 2021 census data, the largest ethnic group in the country are the ethnic Macedonians. The second-largest group are the Albanians, who dominated much of the northwestern part of the country. Following them, Turks are the third-biggest ethnic group of the country where official census data put them close to 70,000 and unofficial estimates{{Citation needed|date=May 2025}} suggest numbers between 170,000 and 200,000. Some unofficial estimates indicate that there are possibly up to 260,000 Roma.[http://europeandcis.undp.org/uploads/public/File/rbec_web/vgr/chapter1.1.pdf] UNDP's Regional Bureau for Europe {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090325012943/http://europeandcis.undp.org/uploads/public/File/rbec_web/vgr/chapter1.1.pdf|date=25 March 2009}}

{{Main|Religion in North Macedonia}}

{{Pie chart

|thumb = left

|caption = Religion in North Macedonia (2021){{cite web|url=https://www.stat.gov.mk/pdf/2022/2.1.22.10-mk-en.pdf/|title=Попис на населението, домаќинствата и становите во Република Северна Македонија, 2021 - прв сет на податоци|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220330231830/https://www.stat.gov.mk/pdf/2022/2.1.22.10-mk-en.pdf/|language=mk|archive-date=30 March 2022|url-status=dead}}

|label1 = Eastern Orthodoxy

|value1 = 46.1

|color1 = Red

|label2 = Catholicism

|value2 = 0.4

|color2 = Gold

|label3 = Other Christian

|value3 = 13.9

|color3 = DeepSkyBlue

|label4 = Islam

|value4 = 32.2

|color4 = MediumSeaGreen

|label5 = None

|value5 = 0.1

|color5 = Honeydew

|label6 = Others

|value6 = 7.3

|color6 = Chartreuse

}}

Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the most practiced religion in North Macedonia, making up 46.1% of the population, the vast majority of whom belong to the Macedonian Orthodox Church. Various other Christian denominations account for 13.9% of the population. Muslims constitute 32.2% of the population. North Macedonia has the fifth-highest proportion of Muslims in Europe, after those of Kosovo (96%),{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/kosovo/ |title=CIA The World Factbook: Kosovo |publisher=CIA.gov |access-date=24 November 2016}} Turkey (90%),{{citation needed|date=August 2021}} Albania (59%),{{cite web |url=http://www.instat.gov.al/media/177358/njoftim_per_media_-_fjala_e_drejtorit_te_instat_ines_nurja_per_rezultatet_finale_te_census_2011.pdf |title=Presentation of the main results of the Census of Population and Housing 2011. |access-date=15 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170326091156/http://www.instat.gov.al/media/177358/njoftim_per_media_-_fjala_e_drejtorit_te_instat_ines_nurja_per_rezultatet_finale_te_census_2011.pdf |archive-date=26 March 2017}} and Bosnia and Herzegovina (51%).{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/bosnia-and-herzegovina/ |title=CIA The World Factbook: Bosnia and Herzegovina |publisher=CIA.gov |access-date=24 November 2016}}

Most Muslims are Albanians, Turks, Romani or Bosniaks; few are Macedonian Muslims. The remaining 1.4% was determined to be "unaffiliated" by a 2010 Pew Research estimation.{{cite web |url=http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projection-table/2010/percent/all/ |title=Religious Composition by Country, 2010–2050 |date=2 April 2015 |access-date=6 November 2016 |archive-date=2 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170802041823/http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projection-table/2010/percent/all/ }}

There were 1,842 churches and 580 mosques in the country at the end of 2011.{{cite news |url=http://www.dnevnik.com.mk/?ItemID=A080C78F46FF724BB7AA82A63C63251E |script-title=mk:Во Македонија има 1.842 цркви и 580 џамии |date=28 December 2011 |publisher=Dnevnik |language=mk |access-date=28 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111014137/http://www.dnevnik.com.mk/?ItemID=A080C78F46FF724BB7AA82A63C63251E |archive-date=11 January 2012}} The Orthodox and Islamic religious communities have secondary religion schools in Skopje. There is an Orthodox theological college in the capital. The Macedonian Orthodox Church has jurisdiction over 10 provinces (seven in the country and three abroad), has 10 bishops and about 350 priests. A total of 30,000 people are baptised in all the provinces every year.

{{multiple image

| align = right

| image1 = Манастир Св Ђорђа.JPG

| width1 = 150

| image2 = Kalkandelen - Alaca Cami R01.JPG

| width2 = 150

| footer = The Church of St. George in Kumanovo (left) and Šarena Džamija Mosque in Tetovo (right)

}}

The Macedonian Orthodox Church, which declared autocephaly in 1967, remained unrecognised by the other Orthodox Churches until 2022 when it restored relations with the Serbian Orthodox Church and the Ecumenical Patriarchate, which has been followed by recognition from other churches.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-12 |title=Συλλείτουργο Οικουμενικού Πατριάρχη-Αρχιεπισκόπου Αχρίδος στο Φανάρι |trans-title=Ecumenical Patriarch, Archbishop of Ohrid in the Phanar |url=https://www.orthodoxianewsagency.gr/patriarxeia/oikomeniko_patriarxio/sylleitourgo-oikoumenikou-patriarxi-arxiepiskopou-axridos-sto-fanari/ |access-date=2022-06-13 |website=Ορθοδοξία News Agency |language=el}}{{Cite web |last= |date=16 May 2022 |title=Church of Serbia for North Macedonia: We are not under the influence or pressure of anyone |url=https://orthodoxtimes.com/church-of-serbia-for-north-macedonia-we-are-not-under-the-influence-or-pressure-of-anyone/ |access-date=2022-05-16 |website=Orthodox Times |language=en-US}}

The reaction of the Macedonian Orthodox Church was to cut off all relations with the new Ohrid Archbishopric and to prevent bishops of the Serbian Orthodox Church from entering North Macedonia. Bishop Jovan was jailed for 18 months for "defaming the Macedonian Orthodox church and harming the religious feelings of local citizens" by distributing Serbian Orthodox church calendars and pamphlets.{{cite web |url=http://www.iwpr.net/?p=bcr&s=f&o=257037&apc_state=henibcr200508 |title=Church Rivalry Threatens to Brim Over |publisher=Iwpr.net |access-date=5 May 2009}}

File:Македонска ханукија - מקדוני חנוכייה - Macedonian Hanukkah menorah.jpg]]

The Macedonian Byzantine Catholic Church has approximately 11,000 adherents in North Macedonia. The Church was established in 1918, and is made up mostly of converts to Catholicism and their descendants. The Church is of the Byzantine Rite and is in communion with the Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches. Its liturgical worship is performed in Macedonian.{{Catholic-hierarchy|country|mk|Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of|21 January 2015}}

There is a small Protestant community. The most famous Protestant in the country is the late president Boris Trajkovski. He was from the Methodist community, which is the largest and oldest Protestant church in the Republic, dating back to the late 19th century. Since the 1980s the Protestant community has grown, partly through new confidence and partly with outside missionary help.{{citation needed|date=September 2022}}

The country's Jewish community, which numbered some 7,200 people on the eve of World War II, was almost entirely destroyed during the war: only 2% survived the Holocaust.{{cite web |url=http://www.balkanalysis.com/2007/03/14/macedonia%E2%80%99s-jewish-community-commemorates-the-holocaust-and-embraces-the-future/ |title=Blog Archives " Macedonia's Jewish Community Commemorates the Holocaust, and Embraces the Future |publisher=Balkanalysis.com |access-date=28 April 2010 |archive-date=24 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091024102459/http://www.balkanalysis.com/2007/03/14/macedonia%E2%80%99s-jewish-community-commemorates-the-holocaust-and-embraces-the-future/ }}

After their liberation and the end of the War, most opted to emigrate to Israel. Today, the country's Jewish community numbers approximately 200 persons, almost all of whom live in Skopje. Most Macedonian Jews are Sephardic—the descendants of 15th-century refugees who had been expelled from Castile, Aragon and Portugal.{{citation needed|date=December 2019}}

{{Main|Macedonian language|Languages of North Macedonia}}

{{See also|Political views on the Macedonian language}}

File:Makedonija - Jezicki sastav po naseljima 2002.gif

The national and official language in all aspects of the whole territory of North Macedonia and in its international relations is the Macedonian language. Since 2019 Albanian is co-official at a state level (excluding defense, central police and monetary policy).Dimitar Bechev (2019) Historical Dictionary of North Macedonia, Rowman & Littlefield, {{ISBN|9781538119624}}, p. XLVII. Macedonian belongs to the Eastern branch of the South Slavic language group, while Albanian occupies an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. In municipalities where at least 20% of the population is part of another ethnic minority, those individual languages are used for official purposes in local government, alongside Macedonian and Albanian or just Macedonian.

Macedonian is closely related to and mutually intelligible with standard Bulgarian. It also has some similarities with standard Serbian and the intermediate Torlakian/Shop dialects spoken mostly in southeastern Serbia and western Bulgaria (and by speakers in the northeastern corner of the country). The standard language was codified in the period following World War II and has accumulated a thriving literary tradition.

Besides Macedonian and Albanian, minority languages with substantial numbers of speakers are Turkish (including Balkan Gagauz{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=MK |title=Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition |editor-last=Gordon |editor-first=Raymond G. Jr. |year=2005 |publisher=SIL International |access-date=3 November 2008}}), Romani, Serbian/Bosnian and Aromanian (including Megleno-Romanian).{{cite web |url=http://www.eurominority.eu/version/eng/minority-state2.asp?id_states=28 |title=Macedonia ethnic and linguistic minorities |publisher=Eurominority |access-date=7 November 2008 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130106233113/http://www.eurominority.eu/version/eng/minority-state2.asp?id_states=28 |archive-date=6 January 2013 }}{{cite web |url=http://www.eurominority.eu/version/maps/map-european-languages.asp |title=Map of the European languages |publisher=Eurominority |access-date=7 November 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160114185030/http://www.eurominority.eu/version/maps/map-european-languages.asp |archive-date=14 January 2016 }}{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/83/1983-004-1B1C7082.gif |title=Indo-European languages in contemporary Eurasia |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica Online |access-date=4 October 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081217180856/http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/83/1983-004-1B1C7082.gif |archive-date=17 December 2008}}{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/languages/european_languages/countries/macedonia.shtml |title=BBC: Languages across Europe – Macedonia |publisher=BBC |access-date=7 November 2008}} Macedonian Sign Language is the primary language of those of the deaf community who did not pick up an oral language in childhood.

According to the last census, 1,344,815 citizens of North Macedonia declared that they spoke Macedonian, 507,989 declared Albanian, 71,757 Turkish, 38,528 Romani, 24,773 Serbian, 8,560 Bosnian, 6,884 Aromanian and 19,241 spoke other languages.

{{Largest cities

| country = North Macedonia

| stat_ref = {{cite web | title=Total resident population of the Republic of North Macedonia by ethnic affiliation, by settlement, Census 2021-PxWeb | website=PxWeb | url=https://makstat.stat.gov.mk/PXWeb/pxweb/en/MakStat/MakStat__Popisi__Popis2021__NaselenieVkupno__PodatociNaselenie/T1503P21.px/?rxid=9d39a8f4-4901-4025-9983-776064c2ddd6 | access-date=2023-12-05}}

| list_by_pop =

| div_name = Region

| div_link = Statistical regions of North Macedonia{{!}}Region

| city_1 = Skopje | div_1 = Skopje Statistical Region{{!}}Skopje Statistical | pop_1 = 526,502 |img_1 = Skopje - Goce Delčev Bridge.jpg

| city_2 = Kumanovo | div_2 = Northeastern Statistical Region{{!}}Northeastern Statistical | pop_2 = 75,051 |img_2 = Куманово.jpg

| city_3 = Bitola | div_3 = Pelagonia Statistical Region{{!}}Pelagonia Statistical | pop_3 = 69,287 |img_3 = Bitola to mount Baba.jpg

| city_4 = Prilep | div_4 = Pelagonia Statistical Region{{!}}Pelagonia Statistical | pop_4 = 63,308 |img_4 = Prilep from Towers of Marko.jpg

| city_5 = Tetovo | div_5 = Polog Statistical Region{{!}}Polog Statistical | pop_5 = 63,176

| city_6 = Štip | div_6 = Eastern Statistical Region{{!}}Eastern Statistical | pop_6 = 42,000

| city_7 = Veles (city){{!}}Veles | div_7 = Vardar Statistical Region{{!}}Vardar Statistical | pop_7 = 40,664

| city_8 = Ohrid | div_8 = Southwestern Statistical Region{{!}}Southwestern Statistical | pop_8 = 38 818

| city_9 = Strumica | div_9 = Southeastern Statistical Region{{!}}Southeastern Statistical | pop_9 = 33,825

| city_10 = Gostivar | div_10 = Polog Statistical Region{{!}}Polog Statistical | pop_10 = 32,814

| city_11 = Kavadarci | div_11 = Vardar Statistical Region{{!}}Vardar Statistical | pop_11 = 32,038

| city_12 = Kočani | div_12 = Eastern Statistical Region{{!}}Eastern Statistical | pop_12 = 24,632

| city_13 = Kičevo | div_13 = Southwestern Statistical Region{{!}}Southwestern Statistical | pop_13 = 23,428

| city_14 = Gevgelija | div_14 = Southeastern Statistical Region{{!}}Southeastern Statistical | pop_14 = 15,156

| city_15 = Struga | div_15 = Southwestern Statistical Region{{!}}Southwestern Statistical | pop_15 = 15,009

| city_16 = Radoviš | div_16 = Southeastern Statistical Region{{!}}Southeastern Statistical | pop_16 = 14,460

| city_17 = Kriva Palanka | div_17 = Northeastern Statistical Region{{!}}Northeastern Statistical | pop_17 = 13,481

| city_18 = Negotino | div_18 = Vardar Statistical Region{{!}}Vardar Statistical | pop_18 = 12,488

| city_19 = Debar | div_19 = Southwestern Statistical Region{{!}}Southwestern Statistical | pop_19 = 11,735

| city_20= Sveti Nikole | div_20 = Eastern Statistical Region{{!}}Eastern Statistical | pop_20 = 11,728

}}

{{Main|Culture of North Macedonia|List of Macedonians (ethnic group)|Music of North Macedonia}}

File:Tanec folk ensemble Macedonia 3.jpg

North Macedonia has a rich cultural heritage in art, architecture, poetry and music. It has many ancient, protected religious sites. Poetry, cinema, and music festivals are held annually. Macedonian music styles developed under the strong influence of Byzantine church music. North Macedonia has a significant number of preserved Byzantine fresco paintings, mainly from the period between the 11th and 16th centuries. There are several thousands of square metres of fresco painting preserved, the major part of which is in very good condition and represent masterworks of the Macedonian school of ecclesiastical painting.

The most important cultural events in the country are the Ohrid Summer Festival of classical music and drama, the Struga Poetry Evenings which gather poets from more than 50 countries in the world, International Camera Festival in Bitola, Open Youth Theatre and Skopje Jazz Festival in Skopje etc.

The National Opera opened in 1947, then named "Macedonian Opera", with a performance of Cavalleria rusticana under the direction of Branko Pomorisac. Every year, the May Opera Evenings are held in Skopje for around 20 nights. The first May Opera performance was that of Kiril Makedonski's Tsar Samuil in May 1972.{{cite web |url=http://www.culture.in.mk/story.asp?id=19442&rub=35 |title=Macedonian Opera Marks 60th Anniversary. Culture – North Macedonia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727035755/http://www.culture.in.mk/story.asp?id=19442&rub=35 |archive-date=27 July 2011}}

{{Main|Macedonian cuisine}}

File:Грав во тава(тафче гравче) (3).jpg]]

The country's cuisine is representative of that of the Balkans—reflecting Mediterranean and Middle Eastern (Ottoman) influences, and to a lesser extent Italian, German and Eastern European (especially Hungarian) ones.{{citation |contribution=La cuisine macédonien |first1=Victor |last1=Friedman |first2=Veselka |last2=Palmer |title=Cuisines d'Orient et d'ailleurs |editor1-first=Michel |editor1-last=Aufray |editor2-first=Michel |editor2-last=Perret |publisher=Paris: INALCO/Grenoble: Glénant |year=1995 |pages=76–79 |url=http://mahimahi.uchicago.edu/media/faculty/vfriedm/094Friedman95.pdf |access-date=10 February 2016 |archive-date=14 October 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014103901/http://mahimahi.uchicago.edu/media/faculty/vfriedm/094Friedman95.pdf |url-status=dead }} The relatively warm climate in North Macedonia provides excellent growth conditions for a variety of vegetables, herbs and fruits. Thus, Macedonian cuisine is particularly diverse.

Macedonian cuisine is also noted for the diversity and quality of its dairy products, wines, and local alcoholic beverages, such as rakija. Tavče gravče and mastika are considered the national dish and drink of North Macedonia, respectively. Some other important dishes include Šopska salad, an appetiser and side dish that accompanies the main meal, ajvar, stuffed peppers, pastrmajlija and others.{{cite journal|title=Culture and Food – Determining the Value of Food in Rural Tourism as an Important Part of the total Tourism Experience|first=Michael|last=Risteski|journal=XVI International Conference of Partner Institutions "Planning for Change"|publisher=La Fondation pour la Formation Hoteliere, Nestle Pro Gastronomia|year=2016}}

File:SStandPhilipIIArena.jpg]]

File:HC Vardar in Skopje.jpg after winning the 2016–17 EHF Champions League]]

Football, handball, and basketball are the most popular sports in North Macedonia. The North Macedonia national football team is controlled by the Football Federation of Macedonia. Their home stadium is the Toše Proeski Arena. In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA's jubilee, Darko Pančev was selected as the Golden Player of Macedonia as their most outstanding player of the past 50 years.{{cite web|url=http://www.uefa.com/uefa/news/Kind=256/newsId=130150.html|title=Golden Players take centre stage|date=29 November 2003|website=UEFA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050317084104/http://www.uefa.com/uefa/news/Kind%3D256/newsId%3D130150.html|archive-date=17 March 2005|access-date=23 September 2020}} He was the winner of the European Golden Boot award in 1991 and he is best known for scoring the winning penalty in the 1991 European Cup Final, bringing Red Star Belgrade the most prestigious trophy in European football for the first time in its 50-year existence. In 2020, the national team qualified for UEFA Euro 2020 (held in 2021), their first major tournament in the country's history.{{cite news |title=North Macedonia qualify for Euro 2020, their first major tournament |url=https://www.beinsports.com/en/uefa-euro-2020-qualifying/news/north-macedonia-qualify-for-euro-2020-their-f/1582065/amp |access-date=12 November 2020 |publisher=beIN Sports |date=12 November 2020}}

Handball is the other important team sport in the country. Macedonian clubs have enjoyed success in European competitions. RK Vardar won 2016–17 and 2018–19 EHF Champions League, while Kometal Gjorče Petrov Skopje won the 2002 EHF Women's Champions League. The European Women's Handball Championship took place in 2008 in North Macedonia in Skopje and Ohrid; the women's national team finished seventh place. The country's men's national team has appeared in the European and World championships multiple times, with a best finish of fifth at the former (2012) and ninth at the latter (2015).

The North Macedonia national basketball team represents North Macedonia in international basketball. The team is run by the Basketball Federation of North Macedonia, the governing body of basketball in North Macedonia which was created in 1992 and joined FIBA in 1993. North Macedonia has participated in three EuroBaskets since then with its best finish at 4th place in 2011. It plays its home games at the Boris Trajkovski Sports Center in Skopje. Pero Antić became the first Macedonian basketball player to play in the National Basketball Association. He also won three EuroLeague trophies.

In the summer months the Ohrid Swimming Marathon is an annual event on Lake Ohrid and during the winter months there is skiing in North Macedonia's winter sports centres. North Macedonia also takes part in the Olympic Games. Participation in the Games is organised by the Olympic Committee of North Macedonia.{{cite web |url=https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1077274/ioc-approve-name-change-to-north-macedonia-national-olympic-committee |title=IOC approve name change to North Macedonia National Olympic Committee |website= insidethegames.biz|date=27 March 2019 }} Magomed Ibragimov competed for Macedonia in the freestyle 85 kg competition at the 2000 Summer Olympics and won the bronze medal, which was the first medal for independent country. Wrestlers Shaban Trstena and Shaban Sejdiu born in North Macedonia, as well as boxers Redžep Redžepovski and Ace Rusevski, won Olympic medals as part of Yugoslav Olympic team.

{{Main|Cinema of North Macedonia}}

File:Milcho Manchevski.JPG is a critically acclaimed Macedonian film and TV director who won the Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival.]]

The history of film making in the country dates back over 110 years.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}} The first film to be produced on the territory of the present-day country was made in 1895 by Janaki and Milton Manaki in Bitola. Throughout the past century, the medium of film has depicted the history, culture and everyday life of the Macedonian people. Over the years many Macedonian films have been presented at film festivals around the world and several of these films have won prestigious awards. The first Macedonian feature film was Frosina, released in 1952 and directed by Vojislav Nanović.{{Cite journal|last=Terzin Stojčić|first=Marijana|date=2019|title=Seme istorije Kirila Cenevskog|journal=Kinoteka|volume=33|pages=54–57}}

The first feature film in colour was Miss Stone, a movie about a Protestant missionary in Ottoman Macedonia. It was released in 1958. The highest grossing feature film in North Macedonia was Bal-Can-Can, having been seen by over 500,000 people in its first year alone. In 1994, Milcho Manchevski's film Before the Rain was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best International Feature Film.{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/North-Macedonia/Cultural-life|title=North Macedonia – Cultural life|encyclopedia=Britannica|access-date=12 August 2019}} Manchevski continues to be the most prominent modern filmmaker in the country having subsequently written and directed Dust and Shadows. In 2020, the documentary Honeyland (2019) directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov, received nominations in the categories for Best International Feature Film and Best Documentary Feature at the 92nd Academy Awards, making it the first non-fictional film to receive a nomination in both categories.{{cite news |last1=Martinelli |first1=Marissa |title=Honeyland Just Made Oscar History |url=https://slate.com/culture/2020/01/oscars-2020-honeyland-international-documentary-north-macedonia.html |access-date=28 January 2020 |work=The Slate |date=13 January 2020}}

{{Main|Mass media in North Macedonia}}

The oldest newspaper in the country is Nova Makedonija from 1944. Other well known newspaper and magazines are: Utrinski vesnik, {{Lang|mk-latn|Dnevnik}}, Vest, Fokus, Večer, Tea Moderna, Makedonsko Sonce, and Koha. Public channel is Macedonian Radio Television founded in 1993 by the Assembly of North Macedonia. TEKO TV (1989) from Štip is the first private television channel in the country. Other popular private channels are: Sitel, Kanal 5, Telma, Alfa TV, and Alsat-M.

{{Main|Public holidays in North Macedonia}}

The main public holidays in North Macedonia are:

Besides these, there are several major religious holidays and holidays of minorities. (See: Public holidays in North Macedonia)

{{See also|List of flags of North Macedonia|National symbols of North Macedonia}}

• Sun: The official flag of North Macedonia, adopted in 1995, is a yellow sun with eight broadening rays extending to the edges of the red field.
• Coat of arms: After independence in 1991, North Macedonia retained the coat of arms adopted in 1946 by the People's Assembly of the People's Republic of Macedonia on its second extraordinary session held on 27 July 1946, later on altered by article 8 of the Constitution of the Socialist Federal Republic of Macedonia. The coat-of-arms is composed by a double bent garland of ears of wheat, tobacco and poppy, tied by a ribbon with the embroidery of a traditional folk costume. In the center of such a circular room there are mountains, rivers, lakes and the sun. All this is said to represent "the richness of our country, our struggle, and our freedom".

{{portal|North Macedonia}}

• Outline of North Macedonia

{{Clear}}

{{notelist

| notes =

{{efn

| name = Kosovo

| North Macedonia has recognised Kosovo since 9 October 2008.[http://www.mia.com.mk/default.aspx?vId=57722300&lId=2 Macedonia recognizes Kosovo] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081015121606/http://www.mia.com.mk/default.aspx?vId=57722300&lId=2 |date=15 October 2008 }}, Macedonian Information Agency, 9 October 2008

}}

{{efn

| name = language1

| National and official language in all aspects of the whole territory of the state and in its international relations

}}

{{efn

| name = language2

| Co-official language at a state level (excluding defence, central police and monetary policy) and in local self-government units where speakers are 20% or more

}}

}}

{{reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

• Brunnbauer, Ulf. "'Pro‐Serbians' vs. 'Pro‐Bulgarians': Revisionism in Post‐Socialist Macedonian Historiography." History Compass 3.1 (2005). [https://compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1478-0542.2005.00130.x online]
• Brunnbauer, Ulf. "Serving the Nation: Historiography in the Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) After Socialism." Historein 4 (2003): 161–182. [https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/historein/article/download/2176/2016 online]
• {{cite book|last1=Georgieva|first1=Valentina|last2=Konechni|first2=Sasha|title=Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia|url=https://archive.org/details/historicaldictio0000geor|url-access=registration|publisher=Scarecrow Press|year=1998|isbn=0-8108-3336-0}}
• Marinov, Tchavdar. "Historiographical Revisionism and Re-Articulation of Memory in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia." Sociétés politiques comparées 25 (2010): 1-19. [https://fasopo.org/sites/default/files/article_n25.pdf online]
• {{cite book |last1=Mattioli |first1=Fabio |title=Dark Finance: Illiquidity and Authoritarianism at the Margins of Europe |date=2020 |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-1-5036-1294-5 |language=en}}
• {{cite book|first=David|last=Nicolle|title=The Ottomans: Empire of Faith|publisher=Thalamus Publishing|year=2008|isbn=978-1-902886-11-4}}* Tziampiris, Aristotle. "Greek Historiography and Slav-Macedonian National Identity." The Historical Review/La Revue Historique 8 (2011): 215-225. [https://ejournals.epublishing.ekt.gr/index.php/historicalReview/article/download/4064/3850 online]

{{Refend}}

• [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/north-macedonia/ North Macedonia]. The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency.

{{Sister project links|North Macedonia|voy=North Macedonia|q=no}}

• {{Official website|1=http://www.vlada.mk/}}
• [https://www.rferl.org/z/737 North Macedonia] from RFE/RL
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-17550407 North Macedonia] from BBC News
• {{Wikiatlas|North Macedonia}}
• {{osmrelation-inline|53293|bullet=no}}
• [http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=MK Key Development Forecasts for North Macedonia] from International Futures

{{Geographic location

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