verview:
Macedonia, although the poorest among the six republics of a disintegrated
Yugoslav federation, can meet basic food and energy needs through its own
agricultural and coal resources. As a breakaway republic, however, it will
move down toward a bare subsistence level of life unless economic ties are
reforged or enlarged with its neighbors Serbia, Albania, Greece, and
Bulgaria. The economy depends on outside sources for all of its oil and gas
and its modern machinery and parts. Continued political turmoil, both
internally and in the region as a whole, prevents any swift readjustments of
trade patterns and economic rules of the game. Inflation in early 1992 was
out of control, the result of fracturing trade links, the decline in
economic activity, and general uncertainties about the future status of the
country; prices rose 38% in March 1992 alone. Macedonia's geographical
isolation, technological backwardness, and political instability place it
far down the list of countries of interest to Western investors. Recognition
of Macedonia by the EC and an internal commitment to economic reform would
help to encourage foreign investment over the long run.
GDP:
$7.1 billion, per capita $3,110; real growth rate -18% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
20% (1991 est.)
Exports:
$578 million (1990)
commodities:
manufactured goods 40%, machinery and transport equipment 14%, miscellaneous
manufactured articles 23%, raw materials 7.6%, food (rice) and live animals
5.7%, beverages and tobacco 4.5%, chemicals 4.7%
partners:
principally Serbia and the other former Yugoslav republics, Germany, Greece,
Albania
Imports:
$1,112 million (1990)
commodities:
fuels and lubricants 19%, manufactured goods 18%, machinery and transport
equipment 15%, food and live animals 14%, chemicals 11.4%, raw materials
10%, miscellaneous manufactured articles 8.0%, beverages and tobacco 3.5%
partners:
other former Yugoslav republics, Greece, Albania, Germany, Bulgaria
External debt:
$NA
Industrial production:
growth rate -18% (1991 est.)
Electricity:
1,600,000 kw capacity; 6,300 million kWh produced, 3,103 kWh per capita
(1991)
Industries:
low levels of technology predominate, such as, oil refining by distillation
only; produces basic fuels; mining and manufacturing processes result in the
extraction