macedonia

=**Macedonia**=

~the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM)

[[image:579_macedonia_flag.jpg width="176" height="105" align="left"]]F__ast facts__
~Official Name: Republic of Macedonia ~Capital City: Skopje ~Population: 2 114 550 ~Official Languages: Macedonian, Albanian ~Demonym: Macedonian ~Official Currency: Macedonian Denar (MKD) ~Religions: Eastern Orthodox, Muslim ~Land Area: 25 715 sq km ~Government:
 * Water(%) 1.9
 * President- Branko Crvenkovski
 * Prime Minister- Nikola Gruevski

__Location__
~ Referred as a landlocked country (it doesn't have any coastline), it is placed on the Balkan Peninsula in South Eastern Europe. It is also a historical and geographical region of Greece. Macedonia borders four countries, these include Serbia to the North, Albania to the west, Greece to the South and lastly, Bulgaria to the East. The land boundaries total to 766km. Serbia borders Macedonia of 221km, Greece of 246km, Albania of 151km and Bulgaria of 148km. Slightly larger than Vermont, it's geographic coordinates is 4150N and 2200E. Above the Tropic of Cancer it is also located in the Northern Hemisphere.

__Geographical Features__
~ The Republic of Macedonia is a country that is an elevated plateau of large rolling hills and deep valleys that dissect mountains. The three largest lakes in Macedonia are, Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa and the Dojran Lake. They all lie on the southern part of Macedonia that lie on the frontiers of Albania and Greece. Lake Ohrid is one of the oldest lake in the world, it is also the most deepest lake in Macedonia. This region has been going through disastrous earthquakes in the past.

In Macedonia, there are plenty of scenic mountains that belong to two ranges, the Dinarska and the Rodopska. the difference between these two ranges are that the Dinarska range is the oldest with subsequent erosion; and whereas the Rodopska range is younger with rugged, alpine scenery. The highest mountain in Macedonia is the Korab mountain at 2764 m high. Uniquely, the Vardar river divides up the country and other rivers of note are the Bregalnica and the Crna river.

__Climate__
~ The Republic of Macedonia is characteristic of three different climates, a changed Mediterranean, mountainous and the climate is mildly continental. It has a very modified Aegean climate, with hot summers and short, cold winters. Spring and Autumn isn't that noticeable in Macedonia. The mountainous regions are characterized by hot, dry summers and cold winters with heavy snowfall. The valleys and basins record milder temperatures and Skopje receives a large amount of rain. The average annual precipitation for the region around Skopje is about 700 mm (28 in), with much heavier precipitation at the higher elevations.

At Skopje the mean January temperature is -1°C (30°F), and the mean July temperature is 23°C (74°F). Along the valleys of the Vardar and Strumica rivers the climate is temperate Mediterranean. The interior has a moderate continental climate. The temperature range also has wide oscillations. Maximum summer temperatures in the majority of the agricultural areas reach up to 40 C, and the lowest winter temperatures can drop to about -30 C, while the average annual temperatures are above 10 C almost everywhere. The warmest region is Demir Kapija, where temperatures in July and August can exceed to a high temperature of 40 C.

__Economy__
~ Today the Republic of Macedonia is considered to be an intermediary-developed industry, with continuing growth, albeit slow, of the industrial production. Macedonia was the least developed of the Yugoslav republics, producing 5% of the total Federal output of goods and services. Macedonia has an open economy that is blending into international trade, with a total trade-to-GDP ratio of 79.5%. The most important sectors are agriculture of 9% and industry of 32.6%, but the service sector 45.7% also grew stronger in the past few years. Agriculture products include grapes, wine, tobacco, vegetables; milk and eggs. Whereas industry includes, food processing, beverages, textiles, chemicals, iron, steel, cement, energy and pharmaceuticals. The GDP (official exchange rate) is $5.601billion and the GDP (purchasing power parity) is $16.9 billion. It's GDP per Capita is $8 300 and of a high unemployment rate of 36%, 30% of the population is under the poverty line. It is a very small economy and at the moment, problems will persist, a largely industrial infrastructure has not seen much investment during the transition period. Macedonia earns $2.341 billion in export, exporting products such as food, beverages, tobacco; textiles, miscellaneous manufactures, iron and steel. Macedonia's main exporting partners are Serbia and Montenegro 23.2%, Germany 15.6%, Greece 15.1%, Italy 9.9%, Bulgaria 5.4% and Croatia 5.2% This country imports machinery and equipment, automobiles, chemicals, fuels and food products and altogether totaling up to $3.631. Import partners consists of Russia 15.1%, Germany 9.8%, Greece 8.5%, Serbia and Montenegro 7.5%, Bulgaria 6.7% and Italy 6%.

__Government__
~ The politics of the Republic of Macedonia occurs withing a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic republic, whereby the Prime Minister which is Nikola Gruevski is head of government. The government also has separation of powers, with an executive government composed of a coalition of parties from the unicameral legislature and an independent judicial branch with a constitutional court.Members of the assembly are elected every four years with a total of 120 seats in total. The role of the president of Macedonia is ceremonial and he can only be elected twice at most.

At the moment, the president of Macedonia is Branko Crvenkovski and he is the commander chief of state armed forces and the president of the state security council. The government is elected by the majority vote of all the deputies in the assembly. With the passage of a new law and elections held in 2005, local government functions are divided between 78 municipalities and Skopje is surprisingly governed as a group of ten municipalities and is collectively referred as the 'city of Skopje' The municipalities of the Republic of Macedonia are units of local self government and neighboring municipalities may also establish cooperative arrangements.

Macedonian Government compared to Australia at national level
~ Australia's difference to Macedonia, is that they're both different types of government. Australia is a constitutional monarchy and Macedonia is a parliamentary democratic. Although they have different types of government, they both have a separation of powers, the executive, judiciary and the legislative. Australia's Prime Minister holds office from the governor general, whereas Macedonia, the Prime Minister is the highest head of government that doesn't follow a Queen. All the municipalities of Macedonia are all self-governing, but only 3 territories out of the Commonwealth are self-governing.

__History__
~The Republic of Macedonia dominates the western half of the ancient Kingdom of Macedonia. Historic Macedonia was defeated by Rome and became a Roman province in 148 B.C. After the Roman Empire was divided in A.D. 395, Macedonia was then ruled by the Byzantine Empire until Turkey took possession of the land in 1371. The Ottoman Turks dominated Macedonia for the next five centuries, until 1913. During the 19th and 20th centuries, there was a constant struggle by the Balkan powers to dominate Macedonia for its economic wealth and its military corridors. The Treaty of San Stefano in 1878, gave the largest part of Macedonia to Bulgaria. Bulgaria lost much of its Macedonian territory when it was defeated by the Greeks and Serbs in the Second Balkan War of 1913. Most of Macedonia went to Serbia and the remainder was divided among Greece and Bulgaria.In 1918, Serbia (which included most of Macedonia) joined in union with Croatia, Slovenia, and Montenegro to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, which was later renamed as Yugoslavia in 1929.

Bulgaria joined the Axis powers in World War II and took over parts of Yugoslavia, including Macedonia, in 1941. During the occupation of their country, Macedonian resistance fighters fought a guerrilla war against the invading troops.The Yugoslavian federation was re-established and in 1946, the government removed the Vardar territory of Macedonia from Serbian control and made it an autonomous Yugoslavian republic. Later, when President Tito recognized the Macedonian people as a separate nation, Macedonia's unique culture and language were able to be used again, no longer under other countries rule.On Sept. 8, 1991, Macedonia declared its independence from Yugoslavia and asked for recognition from the European Union nations. It became a member of the UN in 1993 under the provisional name of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM).