Macedonia

Macedonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, until 1991 afederal republic of the Yugoslav Federation, in the South-east of Europe. In the north it borders on Servia (Yugoslavia), in the east on Bulgaria, in the south on Greece, and in the west on Albania. The capital is Skopje.

Land and climate

Macedonia is very mountainous. It is struck by earthquakes on a regular basis. The climate is largely continental. Approximately 30% of the country is covered with forests.

People

Apart from Macedonians (67%), Albanians are the largest minority (23%). The orthodox Church has the most followers. Official languages are Macedonian and Serbo-Croatian.

Economy

Macedonia is, when it comes to agriculture, just about self-sufficient. The machinery is out of date. Next to the metallurgic industry, the chemical industry and the textile industry are important. The country has several natural resources, such as coal, chrome, and nickel.

History

Macedonia as a region is mountainous, extending from the northwestern Aegean coast into the central Balkan peninsula. Divided among Greece, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria, it covers 25,636 sq mi (66,397 sq km). Ethnically mixed, Macedonia is inhabited mainly by Slavs in the north and Greeks in the south. The region is primarily agricultural, with tobacco, grains and cotton the chief crops. One of the great powers of the ancient world under Alexander the Great, Macedonia was later ruled by Romans, Byzantines, Bulgars, and Serbs. From 1389 to 1912 it was part of the Ottoman Empire. With the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1991 Yugoslavian Macedonia became an independent country, named Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (F.Y.R. Macedonia).

See also: Alexander the Great; Greece, Ancient; Yugoslavia.