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| The '''Republic of Macedonia''', known internationally and diplomatically as '''"The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"''' (FYROM), is an independent state on the ] in southeastern ], with an area of 25,713 sq km and a population of just over two million. Its capital and principal city is ] (population 600,000). | |||
| #REDIRECT ] | |||
| Some 1.4 million of the republic's inhabitants speak ], a south ] language and related to ]. Prior to the ] of ], ] and ] were each spoken by about 250,000. There are an estimated 120,000 ] speakers. | |||
| The republic contains roughly 38% of the area and nearly 44% of the population of the geographical region known as ], the remainder of which is divided between neighbouring ] (with about half of the total) and ] (with under a tenth). | |||
| <table border=1 cellpadding=2 cellspacing=0 align=right style="margin-left:0.5em;" width="300px"> | |||
| <caption><font size="+1">'''Republika Makedonija '''</font></caption> | |||
| <tr><td style="background:#efefef;" align="center" colspan="2"> | |||
| <table border="0" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0"> | |||
| <tr><td align="center" width="140px">] | |||
| <td align="center" width="140px">coat of arms | |||
| <tr><td align="center" width="140px">(]) | |||
| <td align="center" width="140px">(Full size)</table> | |||
| <tr><td align="center" colspan=2 style="border-bottom:3px solid gray;"><font size="-1">'']: .. ''</font> | |||
| <tr><td>] <td>Macedonian | |||
| <tr><td>] <td>] | |||
| <tr><td>] <td>] | |||
| <tr><td>] <td>] | |||
| <tr><td>]<br> - Total <br> - % water <td>]<br>]<br>1.9% | |||
| <tr><td>] | |||
| <br> - Total (2003 est.) | |||
| <br> - ]<td>] | |||
| <br> 2'063'122 | |||
| <br> 81/km² | |||
| <tr><td>] | |||
| <!-- <br> - Declared | |||
| <br> - Recognised --><td>] ] | |||
| <tr><td>] <td>Macedonian ] (MKD) | |||
| <tr><td>] <td>] +1 (]) | |||
| <tr><td>] <td>] | |||
| <tr><td>] <td>.MK | |||
| <tr><td>]<td>389 | |||
| </table> | |||
| It is one of several areas which comprised ] until the latter's breakup in the wake of the dissolution of the ]. After 45 years as a republic of the ] federation, Macedonia was proclaimed independent on ], ]. The Greek government, however, raised objections concerning: | |||
| * The name: Macedonia was claimed by ] to be a ] name, already in use for the Greek ]. | |||
| * The flag "]": the sixteen-ray star that was to appear on the flag was a symbol of the ancient state of ], to which Greece claimed to be the sole heir. (For more on this, see ].) | |||
| * A reference in the constitution about reuniting the three parts of the historical province of Macedonia which today belong to the FYROM, Greece, and ]. | |||
| As a result the ] recognised the state in 1993 under the temporary reference of ''"the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia"''. The country's flag now represents an eight-ray sun and not the former star; and the reference in its constitution was changed so as not to reflect any territorial claims. | |||
| The state's name remains a source of local and international controversy. Internationally, the republic is known in political and cultural organisations, notably the ], the ], the ], the ] among others, exclusively as FYROM. Most diplomats are accredited to the republic using the FYROM designation. The usage of each name remains controversial to supporters of the other. A permanent agreement on how the Macedonian republic should be referred to internationally has not yet been reached. | |||
| Macedonia remained at peace through the violent nationality conflicts which convulsed the former Yugoslavia's western republics of ] and ] in 1991-], but the influx of an estimated 360,000 ethnic ]n refugees from neighbouring ] in 1999 threatened to destabilise the republic. | |||
| A brief civil war in March ] involving Albanian rebels in the west of the country ended with the intervention of a small ] ceasefire monitoring force and government undertakings to concede greater rights to the Albanian minority. | |||
| <div style="float: right">]</div> | |||
| <i>From the ] 2000 / 2001. Some Wikification.</i> | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| * ] | |||
| == External links == | |||
| * | |||
| * | |||
| <hr align=center noshade size=4 width=100%> | |||
| <center>] | ] | ]</center> | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
| ] | |||
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Revision as of 20:56, 14 November 2003
The Republic of Macedonia, known internationally and diplomatically as "The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" (FYROM), is an independent state on the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe, with an area of 25,713 sq km and a population of just over two million. Its capital and principal city is Skopje (population 600,000).
Some 1.4 million of the republic's inhabitants speak Macedonian, a south Slavic language and related to Old Slavonic. Prior to the Kosovo war of 1999, Albanian and Turkish were each spoken by about 250,000. There are an estimated 120,000 Romany speakers.
The republic contains roughly 38% of the area and nearly 44% of the population of the geographical region known as Macedonia, the remainder of which is divided between neighbouring Greece (with about half of the total) and Bulgaria (with under a tenth).
| |||||
| National motto: .. | |||||
| Official language | Macedonian | ||||
| Capital | Skopje | ||||
| President | Boris Trajkovski | ||||
| Prime Minister | Branko Crvenkovski | ||||
| Area - Total - % water | Ranked 145th 25'333 km² 1.9% | ||||
| Population
- Density | Ranked 140th
| ||||
| Independence | 8 September 1991 | ||||
| Currency | Macedonian denar (MKD) | ||||
| Time zone | UTC +1 (DST, yes) | ||||
| National anthem | Today Over Macedonia | ||||
| Internet TLD | .MK | ||||
| Calling Code | 389 | ||||
It is one of several areas which comprised Yugoslavia until the latter's breakup in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. After 45 years as a republic of the Yugoslav federation, Macedonia was proclaimed independent on September 17, 1991. The Greek government, however, raised objections concerning:
- The name: Macedonia was claimed by Greece to be a Greek name, already in use for the Greek region of Macedonia.
- The flag "Vergina Sun": the sixteen-ray star that was to appear on the flag was a symbol of the ancient state of Macedon, to which Greece claimed to be the sole heir. (For more on this, see Vergina.)
- A reference in the constitution about reuniting the three parts of the historical province of Macedonia which today belong to the FYROM, Greece, and Bulgaria.
As a result the United Nations recognised the state in 1993 under the temporary reference of "the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia". The country's flag now represents an eight-ray sun and not the former star; and the reference in its constitution was changed so as not to reflect any territorial claims.
The state's name remains a source of local and international controversy. Internationally, the republic is known in political and cultural organisations, notably the United Nations, the European Union, the European Broadcasting Union, the International Olympic Committee among others, exclusively as FYROM. Most diplomats are accredited to the republic using the FYROM designation. The usage of each name remains controversial to supporters of the other. A permanent agreement on how the Macedonian republic should be referred to internationally has not yet been reached.
Macedonia remained at peace through the violent nationality conflicts which convulsed the former Yugoslavia's western republics of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia in 1991-1995, but the influx of an estimated 360,000 ethnic Albanian refugees from neighbouring Kosovo in 1999 threatened to destabilise the republic.
A brief civil war in March 2001 involving Albanian rebels in the west of the country ended with the intervention of a small NATO ceasefire monitoring force and government undertakings to concede greater rights to the Albanian minority.
Map of the Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)
From the CIA World Factbook 2000 / 2001. Some Wikification.
- History of the Republic of Macedonia
- Geography of the Republic of Macedonia
- Demographics of the Republic of Macedonia
- Politics of the Republic of Macedonia
- Economy of the Republic of Macedonia
- Communications in the Republic of Macedonia
- Transportation in the Republic of Macedonia
- Military of the Republic of Macedonia
- Foreign relations of the Republic of Macedonia