North Macedonia

North Macedonia

North Macedonia is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. The majority of the residents are ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people. Albanians form a significant minority at around 25%, followed by Turks, Romani, Serbs, Bosniaks, and Aromanians. North Macedonia is an upper-middle-income country and has undergone considerable economic reform since independence.

About North Macedonia in brief

Summary North MacedoniaNorth Macedonia is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. The majority of the residents are ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people. Albanians form a significant minority at around 25%, followed by Turks, Romani, Serbs, Bosniaks, and Aromanians. North Macedonia is an upper-middle-income country and has undergone considerable economic reform since independence in developing an open economy. It is a member of the UN, NATO, Council of Europe, World Bank, OSCE, CEFTA, and the WTO. In June 2018, Macedonia and Greece resolved the dispute with an agreement that the country should rename itself \”Republic of North Macedonia\”. This renaming came into effect in February 2019. The state’s name derives from the Greek word  Macedonia, a kingdom named after the ancient Macedonian people. The name is believed to have originally meant either ‘highlanders’ or ‘the tall ones’, possibly descriptive of the people. In the early 19th century, the name of Macedonia was almost unknown in the modern-day area. It was revived only in middle of the century, with the rise of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire. The country is a developing country, ranking 82nd on the Human Development Index, and provides a social security, universal health care system, and free primary and secondary education to its citizens. It has also been a candidate for joining the European Union since 2005, and is currently ranked 82nd in the World Economic Forum’s Doing Business Index.

It became the first Socialist Republic of Macedonia at the end of the Second World War, which became the six constituent countries of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1991. Prior to June 2018 the name Macedonia was disputed between Greece and the then-Republic of Macedonia. A non-binding national referendum on the name was held on June 8, 2018, and saw the country change its name to the Republic of North Macedonian. The Macedonia name was adopted for the first time at the start of the time by the new Socialist Republic, which was officially the first country to adopt the name at the time of its independence. The current name of the country was adopted on June 9, 2018. It will be used for the next eight months as the country prepares to host the Winter Olympics in South Korea and the Winter Paralympic Games in 2020. The Winter Games will be held in Skopje, the capital and largest city, from September 20-28, 2014. The games will be the first to be held outside of South Korea. The Games will take place in the South of Europe and the Middle East, and will be hosted by the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the United Nations and the European Community (EC), as well as the United States. The event will also feature a number of international sporting events, including the opening of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, Germany, and France.