Macedonia

Macedonia gained its independence peacefully from Yugoslavia in 1991. Greece's objection to the new state's use of what it considered a Hellenic name and symbols delayed international recognition, which occurred under the provisional designation of "the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia." In 1995, Greece lifted a 20-month trade embargo and the two countries agreed to normalize relations. The United States began referring to Macedonia by its constitutional name, Republic of Macedonia, in 2004 and negotiations continue between Greece and Macedonia to resolve the name issue. Some ethnic Albanians, angered by perceived political and economic inequities, launched an insurgency in 2001 that eventually won the support of the majority of Macedonia's Albanian population and led to the internationally-brokered Ohrid Framework Agreement, which ended the fighting by establishing a set of new laws enhancing the rights of minorities. Fully implementing the Framework Agreement and stimulating economic growth and development continue to be challenges for Macedonia, although progress has been made on both fronts over the past several years.

Economical characteristics

 * Currency: Macedonian denar (ISO code: MKD)
 * Central bank discount rate: 6.5% (31 December 2009)
 * Commercial banks lending rate: 9.33% (31 December 2009)
 * Stock of money (M1): $1.224 billion (31 December 2009)
 * Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $3.132 billion (31 December 2009)

Notable events:

 * Banking crisis: 1993-1994

Links

 * Macedonia on Wikipedia
 * Central bank of Macedonia
 * Country profile (pdf) from the Enterprise Studies page (part of the The World Bank Group)
 * BBC country profile