Southern Europe

North Macedonia Travel Podcast with Stefan Trajkovski

Hosted by Stefan Trajkovski — a new episode every day from North Macedonia.

This podcast follows Stefan Trajkovski as he gets to know North Macedonia the way a resident would, settling in one place and learning it before moving on. Travelling here means moving through a landlocked country of mountains, deep basins, and three large lakes that all sit on a frontier line.

The range covers Skopje, the capital of 611,000 people; Ohrid and its lake; Bitola, with its Ottoman-era boulevard; and Kratovo, a former mining town in the east. He also follows the Vardar River, which bisects the country and ties these places together. Moving across the mountainous terrain is part of the point.

The show unfolds across seasons, with winter snow closing high roads and summer heat drying the basins. Stefan returns to the same places months later, noticing what changes and what stays the same. Knowing North Macedonia properly takes that repetition, not a quick circuit. Every visit builds on the last.

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The basics

North Macedonia at a glance

Capital

Skopje

Population 2025

1,820,909

Area

25,713 sq km

Languages

Macedonian (official) 61.4%, Albanian (official) 24.3%, Turkish 3.4%

Time zone

UTC+1

Currency

Macedonian denars (MKD)

GDP per capita 2025

$10,490

Life expectancy 2024

76.6 years

Urban population 2025

62.9%

Inflation 2025

4.1%

Internet users 2025

93.1%

Government

Parliamentary republic

Country file

North Macedonia in depth

Reference data on the country — geography, people, history, economy and transport.

Geography and climate

Location

Southeastern Europe, north of Greece

Terrain

Mountainous with deep basins and valleys; three large lakes, each divided by a frontier line; country bisected by the Vardar River

Climate

Warm, dry summers and autumns; relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall

Elevation

Highest point: Golem Korab (Maja e Korabit) 2,764 m
Lowest point: Vardar River 50 m
Mean elevation: 741 m

Area

Total: 25,713 sq km
Land: 25,433 sq km
Water: 280 sq km

Size comparison

Slightly larger than Vermont; almost four times the size of Delaware

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Land borders

Total: 838 km
Border countries: Albania 181 km; Bulgaria 162 km; Greece 234 km; Kosovo 160 km; Serbia 101 km

Natural resources

Low-grade iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, manganese, nickel, tungsten, gold, silver, asbestos, gypsum, timber, arable land

Land use

Agricultural land: 49.6% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 16.5% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 1.6% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 31.5% (2023 est.)
Forest: 40.9% (2023 est.)
Other: 9.5% (2023 est.)

Natural hazards

High seismic risks

Note

Landlocked; major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe

People and society

Population

Total: 2,137,556 (2025 est.)
Male: 1,065,634
Female: 1,071,922

Nationality

Noun: Macedonian(s)
Adjective: Macedonian

Ethnic groups

Macedonian 58.4%, Albanian 24.3%, Turkish 3.9%, Romani 2.5%, Serb 1.3%, other 2.3%, no ethnic affiliation data available 7.2% (2021 est.)

Languages

Languages: Macedonian (official) 61.4%, Albanian (official) 24.3%, Turkish 3.4%, Romani 1.7%, other (includes Aromanian (Vlach) and Bosnian) 2%, unspecified 7.2% (2021 est.)
Major-language sample(s): Книга на Светски Факти, неопходен извор на основни информации. (Macedonian)

Religions

Orthodox 46.1%, Islam 32.2%, Christian 13.2%, Other 7.2%; less than 1%: atheist, Catholic, other religions, not specified, Protestant (2021 est.)

Median age

Total: 40.9 years (2025 est.)
Male: 39.4 years
Female: 41.6 years

Life expectancy

Total population: 77.3 years (2024 est.)
Male: 75.3 years
Female: 79.6 years

Urbanisation

Urban population: 59.5% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 0.61% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Where people live

A fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations

Largest cities

611,000 SKOPJE (capital) (2023)

Background and government

Background

North Macedonia gained its independence peacefully from Yugoslavia in 1991 under the name of "Macedonia." Greece objected to the new country’s name, insisting it implied territorial pretensions to the northern Greek province of Macedonia, and democratic backsliding for several years stalled North Macedonia's movement toward Euro-Atlantic integration. Immediately after Macedonia declared independence, Greece sought to block its efforts to gain UN membership if the name "Macedonia" was used. The country was eventually admitted to the UN in 1993 as "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia," and at the same time it agreed to UN-sponsored negotiations on the name dispute. In 1995, Greece lifted a 20-month trade embargo and the two countries agreed to normalize relations, but the issue of the name remained unresolved amid ongoing negotiations. As an interim measure, the US and over 130 other nations recognized Macedonia by its constitutional name, Republic of Macedonia.

Ethnic Albanian grievances over perceived political and economic inequities escalated into an armed conflict in 2001 that eventually led to the internationally brokered Ohrid Framework Agreement, which ended the fighting and established guidelines for constitutional amendments and new laws that enhanced the rights of minorities. In 2018, the government adopted a new law on languages, which elevated the Albanian language to an official language at the national level and kept the Macedonian language as the sole official language in international relations, but ties between ethnic Macedonians and ethnic Albanians remain complicated.

In 2018, Macedonia and Greece signed the Prespa Agreement whereby Macedonia agreed to change its name to North Macedonia, and the agreement went in to force on 12 February 2019. North Macedonia joined NATO in 2020 after amending its constitution as agreed and opened EU accession talks in 2022 after a two-year veto by Bulgaria over identity, language, and historical disputes. The 2014 legislative and presidential election triggered a political crisis that lasted almost three years and escalated in 2015 when the opposition party began releasing wiretapped material revealing alleged widespread government corruption and abuse. The country still faces challenges, including fully implementing reforms to overcome years of democratic backsliding, stimulating economic growth and development, and fighting organized crime and corruption.

Government

Parliamentary republic

Capital

Skopje

Time zone

UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

Local name

Republika Severna Makedonija

Independence

8 September 1991 (referendum endorsed independence from Yugoslavia)

National day

Independence Day, 8 September (1991), also known as National Day

Economy and cost of living

Overview

Upper-middle-income European economy; GDP growth driven by private consumption, public infrastructure investments, and wage growth; stalled progress on EU accession; public debt rising due to high pensions, wages, and interest payments; structural challenges of emigration, low productivity growth, and governance