North Macedonia

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North Macedonia (, ; officially Republic of North Macedonia, , ; until 2019: Republic of Macedonia) is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It is partly located in the northwest of the historical region of Macedonia.

Since 27. North Macedonia is a member of NATO in March 2020 and has been a candidate country of the European Union (EU) since 2005. North Macedonia has one of the weakest economies in Europe and is undergoing a process of transformation, both economically and politically. The country is struggling with high unemployment rates, poor infrastructure and a lack of investment.

According to the results of the national census of September 2021, in addition to Slavic Macedonians, who make up 58.44 % of the total population, there is a large minority of Albanians with 24.3 %. Of the remaining inhabitants, 3.86% are ethnic Turks, 2.53% Roma, 1.3% Serbs, 0.87% Bosniaks and 0.47% Walachians. This always leads to ethnically motivated conflicts, especially between Macedonians and Albanians, but after the civil war-like conditions in 2001 and the peace treaty signed afterwards, the overall situation in the country has improved significantly. However, social equality for all ethnic groups has still not been achieved.

Name and international membership

The state was founded in 1991 as the Republic of Macedonia following the disintegration of Yugoslavia from the southernmost part of the socialist Yugoslavia. Due to the name dispute with the southern neighbor Greece, the state was internationally referred to as the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM; abbreviated FYROM) to avoid an official designation. In NATO and in some other contexts, the three-letter abbreviation FYR Macedonia was used.

The agreement with the Greek government on 12. June 2018 began the change of state name to Република Северна Македонича/Republika Severna Makedonija (German Republic of North Macedonia). In return, Greece agreed not to block North Macedonia’s accession negotiations with the EU and NATO. In a referendum on September 30, 2018, however, which had only an advisory function, 91% of the votes cast supported NATO membership and the associated name change to “North Macedonia”. However, the quorum of 50% was missed in a 36% turnout, so that the referendum remained invalid. However, as the parliaments in Skopje and Athens ratified the agreement, the renaming in North Macedonia took effect. For this purpose, the constitution was amended in January 2019.

During the vote in the Macedonian parliament spoke on 11 November. January 2019, a narrow two-thirds majority of 81 of the 120 votes for the change. In the vote in the Greek Parliament, an absolute majority of 153 of the 300 MEPs voted for the agreement with the neighbouring state. The new state name became dami