Capital: Skopje
Currency: Macedonian Denar (MKD)
Borders: Albania 151 km, Bulgaria 148 km, Greece 246 km,
Serbia & Montenegro 221 km
The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is a country located in
Southeast Europe. It is a landlocked nation, bordered by Greece in
the south, Albania to the west, Serbia and Montenegro in the north
and Bulgaria to the east. The landmass of Macedonia is 24,856 sq km
with a further 477 sq km of water. The terrain is comprised of a
mountainous plateau in the east and west, intersected by beautifully
lush valleys. The Vardar River dissects Macedonia in two, down the
middle. Within the center of Macedonia, there are two major rivers,
the Bregalnaca and the Crna Reka. Lakes Ohrid and Prespa occupy the
south western border with Albania. The central region is made up of
a rocky terrain, though it is not as substantial as the land areas
either side of its shoulders. The highest point of elevation within
Macedonia is Golem Korab, which reaches a height of 2753m. Macedonia
possesses the very valuable natural resources of chromium, lead,
zinc, manganese, nickel and small amounts of iron ore. The
Macedonian flag appears as a sun, bursting defined rays of light
against a bright red background.Macedonia
declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, although Greece was
unhappy at the time about the usage of the country's new name, given
the fact that it is Hellenic in origin. The population of Macedonia
is represented by the ethnic groups of Macedonians, Albanians, Turks
and Serbs. The capital city is Skopje. The official language is
Macedonian although Albanian, Turkish and Serbo-Croatian are also
spoken. The national unit of currency is Macedonian Denar.
Macedonia was the least developed former Yugoslav republic at the
time of independence. In modern day Macedonia the main economic
sectors are industry and services. The industries of Macedonia are
coal, metallic chromium, lead, zinc, textiles, wood products,
tobacco and food processing. 24% of the population of Macedonia
lives below the poverty line and 39% of the populous is unemployed.
The transport network of Macedonia consists of 699 km of railways
and 8684 km of highways.
It is true to say that Macedonia's climate is temperate. Summertime
tends to be very warm and dry. The highest recorded temperature in
Skopje was 41°C. The winter is very cold, with temperatures
sometimes dropping to as little as -20°C. Wintertime always brings a
great deal of snow along with it. |
