Thursday, June 25, 2009




GeographyArea: 25,713 square km. (slightly larger than Vermont).


Capital--Skopje 600,000; Tetovo, Kumanovo, Gostivar and Bitola 100,000.


Geography: Situated in the southern region of the Balkan Peninsula, Macedonia is landlocked and mountainous.


Climate: Three climatic types overlap--Mediterranean; moderately continental; and mountainous, producing hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters.


Population (2006 est.): 2,042,894.


Ethnic groups (2002): Macedonian 64.18%, Albanian 25.17%, Turkish 3.85%, Roma 2.66%, Serb 1.78%. Religions: Eastern Orthodox 65%, Muslim 29%, Catholic 4% and others 2%.


Government: Parliamentary democracy. Constitution: Adopted November 17, 1991; effective November 20, 1991. Amended January 6, 1992. Independence: September 8, 1991 (from Yugoslavia).


Economy:


GDP (2008 est.): $9.624 billion.


Annualized inflation rate (2008 est.): 8.4%.


Unemployment rate (2008 est.): 34.5%.


Trade: Significant exports--steel, textile products, chromium, lead, zinc, nickel, tobacco, lamb, and wine.


Official exchange rate (2008 avg.): 41.9 Macedonian denars = U.S. $1.00

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