Information about Country/City

Living in Europe | Access to the culture of the host country/language courses | former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, the

General Info

The former Jugoslav Republic of Macedonia is a country located in the central Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. It gained its independence from Yugoslavia peacefully in 1991. Bordering Serbia to the north, Greece to the south, Bulgaria to the east, Albania to the west, and Kosovo to the northwest, Macedonia is a landlocked country.

The capital of the country, as well as the biggest city in this small country is Skopje. Out of the 2,072,086 people living on the 25,713 sq km of land, more than a quarter of the population is situated in the capital of Skopje. Other larger cities include Bitola, Kumanovo, Prilpe, Tetvo, Ohrid, Veles, Štip, Kočani, Gostivar and Strumica.

Although the country does not have coastlines, it has some of Europe’s most beautiful and oldest lakes Lake Ohrid. Situated in the southwestern part of the country is the second oldest lake in Europe as well the deepest lake in the Balkans, home to a unique ecosystem with more than 200 endemic species.

The currency of former Jugoslav Republic of Macedonia is the Macedonian denar (MKD). The official language is Macedonian, although Albanian is widely spoken in the west of the country, and in some areas Turkish, Serbian, Romany and Aromanian is also spoken. Macedonia is a multiethnic country that has a diversity of ethnicities as well as religions that make up the vital part of the country’s rich cultural life.