Republic of Macedonia
Position: South Eastern Europe, at the heart of the Balkan
Peninsula. It borders the Srbia and Montenegro to the north,
the Republic of Bulgaria to the east, the Republic of Greece
to the south and the Republic of Albania to the west. Situated
in this area of Europe and the Balkans, the Republic of Macedonia
has a good geographical position. Such geographical features
give broad opportunities for geographic connections, traffic
communications and economic links. The Republic of Macedonia
belongs to the group of small continental states, because
it occupies an area of 25,713 km2 and has a population of
1,945,932 inhabitants (according to the 1994 Census).
Climatic Specifics
The climate in Macedonia is diverse. In the southern part
of the country it is altered Mediterranean, in the central
and northern areas it is moderate continental and on high
mountains - mountainous. The average annual temperature is
18.5 degrees. The warmest month is July, while the coldest
is January.
The calendar of precipitation in Macedonia, as well as their
type shows significant irregularities. Hence, although the
average precipitation quantity equals 680 mm, the mountainous
region of western Macedonia gets much more precipitation -
over 1,000 mm, while the middle part, especially the middle
of the Povardarie (Vardar Valley) gets under 500 mm precipitation.
The most frequent winds in Macedonia are "Vardarec"
and "Jugo".
Macedonia is a mountainous country with many lowlands. Around
80% of the territory is mountainous and hilly and 20% is plain
terrain. The average altitude of the whole territory is 850
meters.
The Vardar is the longest and the most significant river in
Macedonia. Its total length is 388 km, of which 301 km. belong
to our country. 37 bigger tributes flow into the Vardar in
our Republic - 15 from the right and 22 - from the left side.
The most significant river in the Adriatic river basin is
the Crn Drim with it tribute Radika, while in the area of
the Black Sea Basin the springwell of the Binechka Morava
is located.
The natural lakes in Macedonia are mainly of tectonic origin
- the Ohrid Lake, the Prespa Lake and the Dojran Lake. There
also are other lakes that are of glacial origin. The Ohrid
Lake is located in the far South-Eastern part of the state,
in the lowland of Ohrid. The lake is 287 meters deep, while
the transparency of the water is 21,5 m. The medium temperature
at the surface of the lake in August is 23 C.
The Prespa Lake is situated in the lowland of Prespa. The
border between the Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of
Albania and the Republic of Greece is on the lake and it is
divided to these three states. The surface of the lake is
at 853 meters above sea level. It is 28.6 km long, 16.9 km
wide and 54 meters deep. The water is warmest in August -
24.30 C on the surface and its transparency is 7.20 m. It
loses its water sinking into the limestone of Galichica into
the lower Ohrid Lake.
The Dojran Lake is situated in the south-eastern part of Macedonia,
at an elevation of 148 m above sea level. Because the lake
is not very deep, its water warms up easily, so that its temperature
in August reaches 280 C, but it can also freeze in winter.
There are artificial lakes in almost all parts of Macedonia.
The bigger among them are: Mavrovo Lake on the river Mavrovska
Reka, Globotchica and the Debar Lake in the flow of the river
Crn Drim, Matka on the Treska river, the Tikvesh Lake on the
river Crna, Kalimanci on the flow of Bregalnica, Strezhevo
on the river Shemnica, Glazhnje and Lipkovo Lake on the river
Lipkovska Reka, Mantovo on the river Kriva Lakavica, etc.
The oldest is Lake Matka, constructed in 1938, The biggest
is Tikvesh Lake. The most famous tourist resort is Mavrovo
Lake.
Language
The official language in the Republic of Macedonia is the
Macedonian language. The alphabet is Cyrillic. The phonetic
principle has been applied in the writing. The Macedonian
alphabet has 31 letters:
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
POPULATION
In the Republic of Macedonia, the Macedonian population has
been dominant for a number of centuries. During the Turkish
conquest of Macedonia, the Turkish authorities settled a significant
number of Turks and thus the Turkish population was greater.
Fleeing from the Spanish inquisition, Jews settled in Macedonia,
particularly in Skopje, Bitola, and Stip. After the destruction
of a large town in southern Albania, by the name of Moskopole,
a number of Vlachs settled in the towns and were engaged in
trading and handcraft. Since the 17th century, particularly
in the 18thcentury, Albanians immigrated to Macedonia, mainly
in its western part.
The population in Macedonia, divided by the national and ethnic
affiliation, is seen in the official census data which was
done in 1994.
Figures are shown on the following Table:
Census 1994
______________________
Macedonians 1,295,964
Albanians 441,194
Turks 78,019
Romas 43,707
Vlachs 8,691
Serbs 40,228
Others 38,129
______________________
Total: 1,945,932
______________________
Transportattion: There are two international airports, Skopje
and Ohrid. The country has about 10.000 km. od roads including
a modern motorway running fromt the northern to southern borders
(Kumanovo - Gevgelija). To enter in Macedonia, you need registration
dokument, an International Motor Insurance Card (green card).
Money: The macedonian currency is DENAR. Upon entering the
state you should declare the amount of money you are carrying.
Foreign currency should be exchanged at banks and authorized
exchange offices.
1 Euro - 61.5 Denars
You can also use any credit cards (Amerikan express, Visa,
Diners, MasterCard/EuroCard).
Time zone: Central European Time (GMT+1). Daylight saving
time (one hour anead) is used in spring and summer.
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