North Macedonia, officially Republika Sewerna Makedonija, German Republic of North Macedonia, until 11.2.2019 Macedonia, English officially Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, German Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, landlocked country in Southeast Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula with (2018) 2 million residents; The capital is Skopje.
Population
The population is made up of Macedonians (64.2%), Albanians (25.2%), Turks (3.9%), Roma (2.7%) and Serbs (1.8%). The remaining 2.2% are Bosniaks, Torbeši (Slavs who converted to Islam), Aromanians and others. The Albanians mainly settle in the north-west of the country in the border region with Kosovo, the Macedonians of Turkish descent mainly in the cities. Roma live all over the country, especially in the Šuto Orizari suburb of Skopje, while the Serbs have their center in Kumanovo northeast of Skopje. The Aromanians have larger settlement centers in Štip, Kruševo and on Lake Ohrid.
The average population density is (2017) 83 residents / km 2. Settlement focuses are the fertile basin landscapes, where densities of 300 residents per km 2 are reached. The strong industrialization and urbanization process after the Second World War was associated with an emigration from the peripheral rural areas to the cities, which are mostly located on the edge of the basin. The proportion of the urban population reached 57% (2017) (1948: 26%).
The biggest cities in North Macedonia
| Biggest Cities (Residents 2015) | |
| Skopje | 502 700 |
| Kumanovo | 73 200 |
| Bitola | 72 100 |
| Prilep | 65,000 |
| Tetovo | 56,000 |
Tourism
According to bridgat, the Dessaretian Lakes area in southwest Macedonia (the city and lake of Ohrid World Heritage Site by UNESCO since 1979) had developed into an important destination for domestic and, to a lesser extent, international tourism in socialist Yugoslavia. In 2016 Macedonia counted 510,000 foreign visitors. The majority of foreign visitors come from the neighboring countries of Serbia, Turkey and Greece. In addition to the lake area, Macedonia also has important tourist attractions with its high mountains and culturally and historically valuable Orthodox monasteries and cities.
Transportation
Macedonia is a transit country from Central and Western Europe to Greece; The north-south traffic axis through the Vardar corridor is of the greatest importance. The railway lines have a length of 699 km; the road network covers around 14,200 km (of which 242 km are motorways). Much of the foreign trade is handled through the Greek port of Thessaloniki. There are international airports at Skopje (Petrovec) and Ohrid.
Tetovo
Tetovo, Albanian Tetova, city in the Republic of North Macedonia, 463 m above sea level in the fertile Polog, the basin of the upper Vardar, at the southeast foot of the Šar Mountains, 56,000 residents, of which around 55% Albanians and 35% Macedonians; University (Albanian-speaking; founded in 1994, state), »Southeast European University« (founded in 2002, private), museum; Center of a productive agricultural area; Wool, tobacco, chrome and ferrosilicone industries; Tourism, winter sports; Cable car to Titov Vrv (2,748 m above sea level).
Prilep
Prilep, city in the Republic of Macedonia, 610 m above sea level, on the eastern edge of Pelagonia, 65,000 residents; Commercial center; Tobacco processing, metalworking, electrotechnical, wood, textile and food industries; nearby marble quarries.
Small churches in the Byzantine style in the oriental-style old town, including the Nikolauskirche (12th century) and the Demetriuskirche (2nd half of the 13th century; later rebuilt). At Prilep ruins of the Markoburg on a mountain, below the Archangel monastery (both 14th century).
Prilep, mentioned for the first time in 1014, was an important trading center and temporarily residence of the Serbian kings in the 13th and 14th centuries; From 1395–1912 it belonged to the Ottoman Empire as a pearl.
Bitola
Bitola, Serbian Bitolj, Turkish and Albanian Monastir, third largest city in the Republic of Macedonia, in Pelagonia (basin landscape in the south of the Republic), 72,100 residents; University (founded 1979), historical archive; Energy, textile and food industries.
Bitola, newly founded on the site of the ancient Herakleia Lynkestis destroyed by the Ostrogoths, was the seat of a bishopric in the Middle Ages. Since 1395 under Turkish rule (Monastir), it experienced as the center of Sunni Islam on the Balkan Peninsula in the 15th – 17th centuries. Century a heyday. Numerous mosques from this period have been preserved in the old town. However, the clock tower is considered to be Bitola’s landmark, the time of which is unknown.
Kumanovo
Kumanovo, city in the north of the Republic of North Macedonia, second largest city in the country, 73,200 residents, around a quarter of whom are Albanians; Metal, tobacco, leather, textile and food industries.
Skopje
Skopje (Turkish: Üsküp), capital of the Republic of North Macedonia, on Vardar, with (2017) 507 500 residents. Skopje is the cultural center of Macedonia with a university, research institutes, museums and national theater. The economy is determined by trade, banks and a diverse industry. Skopje is a traffic junction on the transit route from Central Europe to Greece.
In the old town, which was destroyed in an earthquake in 1969 and then rebuilt, are among others. a Turkish bath and a caravanserai (around 1550) and the Church of the Redeemer from the 17th / 18th centuries. Century preserved.
