| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Macedonia conventional short form: Macedonia local long form: Republika Makedonija local short form: Makedonija former: People's Republic of Macedonia, Socialist Republic of Macedonia etymology: the country name derives from the ancient kingdom of Macedon (7th to 2nd centuries B.C.) note: the provisional designation used by the UN, EU, and NATO is the "former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (FYROM) |
| Government type | parliamentary republic |
| Capital | name: Skopje geographic coordinates: 42 00 N, 21 26 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
| Administrative divisions | 70 municipalities (opstini, singular - opstina) and 1 city* (grad); Aracinovo, Berovo, Bitola, Bogdanci, Bogovinje, Bosilovo, Brvenica, Caska, Centar Zupa, Cesinovo-Oblesevo, Cucer Sandevo, Debar, Debarca, Delcevo, Demir Hisar, Demir Kapija, Dojran, Dolneni, Gevgelija, Gostivar, Gradsko, Ilinden, Jegunovce, Karbinci, Kavadarci, Kicevo, Kocani, Konce, Kratovo, Kriva Palanka, Krivogastani, Krusevo, Kumanovo, Lipkovo, Lozovo, Makedonska Kamenica, Makedonski Brod, Mavrovo i Rostusa, Mogila, Negotino, Novaci, Novo Selo, Ohrid, Pehcevo, Petrovec, Plasnica, Prilep, Probistip, Radovis, Rankovce, Resen, Rosoman, Skopje*, Sopiste, Staro Nagoricane, Stip, Struga, Strumica, Studenicani, Sveti Nikole, Tearce, Tetovo, Valandovo, Vasilevo, Veles, Vevcani, Vinica, Vrapciste, Zelenikovo, Zelino, Zrnovci |
| Independence | 8 September 1991 (referendum by registered voters endorsed independence from Yugoslavia) |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 8 September (1991); also known as National Day |
| Constitution | history: several previous; latest adopted 17 November 1991, effective 20 November 1991 (2018) amendments: proposed by the president of the republic, by the government, by signed agreement of at least 30 members of the Assembly, or by petition of at least 150,000 citizens; draft amendments require approval by majority vote of Assembly members, followed by public debate; passage of final amendment to include public comments requires two-thirds majority vote by the Assembly; amended several times, last in 2011 (2018) |
| Legal system | civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts |
| International law organization participation | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| Citizenship | citizenship by birth: no citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Macedonia dual citizenship recognized: no residency requirement for naturalization: 8 years |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Gjorge IVANOV (since 12 May 2009) head of government: Prime Minister Zoran ZAEV (since 31 May 2017) cabinet: Council of Ministers elected by the Assembly by simple majority vote; note - after the December 2016 election, VMRO-DPMNE won a plurality of the seats but failed to gather a majority in the Assembly to establish a government; SDSM, DUI, and the Alliance for Albanians formed an alliance; however, the president refused to give the SDSM leader the mandate to form a new government; VMRO-DPMNE blocked the election of a Speaker of the Assembly until late April 2017, when a majority of Assembly members elected Talat XHAFERI as speaker; in response, demonstrators disrupted the Assembly building, attacking journalists and Assembly members; President Gjorge IVANOV eventually gave the mandate to SDSM’s Zoran ZAEV to form a new coalition government, and the Assembly confirmed the Cabinet on 31 May 2017 elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 13 and 27 April 2014 (next to be held in 2019); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by the Assembly election results: Gjorge IVANOV reelected president in second round; percent of vote - Gjorge IVANOV (independent) 55.3%, Stevo PENDAROVSKI (SDSM) 41.1%, other 3.6% |
| Legislative branch | description: unicameral Assembly or Sobranie (between 120 and 140 seats; currently 120 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed-list proportional representation vote; possibility of 3 directly elected in diaspora constituencies by simple majority vote provided there is sufficient voter turnout; members serve 4-year terms) elections: last held on 11 December 2016, with a second round held in one polling station on 25 December 2016 (next to be held in 2020) election results: percent of vote by party/coalition - VMRO-DPMNE 38.1%, SDSM coalition 36.7%, BDI 7.3%, Besa Movement 4.9%, AfA 3.1%, PDSh 2.7%, other 7.2%; seats by party - VMRO-DPMNE 51, SDSM coalition 49, BDI 10, Besa Movement 5, AfA 3, PDSh 2; note - the 3 seats for diaspora went unfilled because none of the candidates won the 6,500 minimum vote threshold note: as of June 2018, seats by party/coalition - ruling coalition 68 (SDSM coalition 49, BDI 10, Besa Movement 3, PDSh 2, other 5), opposition coalition 52 (VMRO-DPMNE coalition 48, Besa Movement 2, AfA 2); composition - men 75, women 45, percent of women 37.5% |
| Judicial branch | highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of 22 judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 judges) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges nominated by the Judicial Council, a 7-member body of legal professionals, and appointed by the Assembly; judge tenure NA; Constitutional Court judges appointed by the Assembly for nonrenewable, 9-year terms subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; Basic Courts |
| Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Albanians or AfA [Ziadin SELA] Besa Movement [Bilal KASAMI] Democratic Party of Albanians or PDSh [Menduh THACI] Democratic Union for Integration or BDI [Ali AHMETI] Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization - Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity or VMRO-DPMNE [Hristijan MICKOSKI] Liberal Democratic Party or LDP [Goran MILEVSKI] Social Democratic Union of Macedonia or SDSM [Zoran ZAEV] Socialist Party of Macedonia or SPM [Ljubislav IVANOV-DZINGO] note: during the 2016 parliamentary elections SDSM and VMRO-DPMNE each led coalitions |
| International organization participation | BIS, CD, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, EU (candidate country), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Vasko NAUMOVSKI (since 18 November 2014) chancery: 2129 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-0501 FAX: [1] (202) 667-2131 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Detroit, New York |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Jess L. BAILY (since 12 February 2015) embassy: Str. Samoilova, Nr. 21, 1000 Skopje mailing address: American Embassy Skopje, US Department of State, 7120 Skopje Place, Washington, DC 20521-7120 (pouch) telephone: [389] (2) 310-2000 FAX: [389] (2) 310-2499 |
| Flag description | a yellow sun (the Sun of Liberty) with eight broadening rays extending to the edges of the red field; the red and yellow colors have long been associated with Macedonia |
| National symbol(s) | eight-rayed sun; national colors: red, yellow |
| National anthem | name: "Denes nad Makedonija" (Today Over Macedonia) lyrics/music: Vlado MALESKI/Todor SKALOVSKI note: written in 1943 and adopted in 1991, the song previously served as the anthem of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia while part of Yugoslavia |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on March 17, 2019
