Macedonia
| Country summary | |
|---|---|
|
Capital |
Skopje |
|
Borders |
Albania 151 km, Bulgaria 148 km, Greece 246 km, Kosovo 159 km, Serbia 62 km |
|
Government type |
parliamentary democracy |
|
Population |
2,066,718 (July 2010 est.)[1] |
|
Population growth |
0.262% (2010 est.)[1] |
|
Life expectancy |
74.68 years[1] |
|
Unemployment |
32.2% (2009 est.)[1] |
|
56[2] | |
|
71[3] | |
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.[1]
Economical characteristics
- Currency: Macedonian denar (ISO code: MKD)
- Central bank discount rate: 6.5% (31 December 2009)[1]
- Commercial banks lending rate: 9.33% (31 December 2009)[1]
- Stock of money (M1): $1.224 billion (31 December 2009)[1]
- Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $3.132 billion (31 December 2009)[1]
Notable events:
- Banking crisis: 1993-1994[4]
Statistics
| Statistic / Year | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP (million USD)[5] | 3 673 | 3 587 | 3 437 | 3 791 | 4 630 | 5 368 | 5 815 | 6 373 | 7 927 | 9 521 |
| Govt. debt (% of GDP)[6] | ||||||||||
| Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[7] | 34.884 | 33.387 | 33.521 | 34.007 | ||||||
| Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[8] | 31.095 | 31.836 | 30.831 | 31.323 | ||||||
| Debt to revenue (years) |
References
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Macedonia", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-29.
- ↑ Heritage Foundation. "Macedonia", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-29.
- ↑ Transparency International. "Macedonia", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-29.
- ↑ Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. "This Time is Different", Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 372. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-20.
- ↑ World Bank. "Macedonia: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
- ↑ World Bank. "Macedonia: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
- ↑ World Bank. "Macedonia: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
- ↑ World Bank. "Macedonia: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
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
