norities. The undetermined status of neighboring Kosovo,
implementation of the Framework Agreement, and a weak economy
continue to be challenges for Macedonia.

Geography Macedonia

Location:
Southeastern Europe, north of Greece

Geographic coordinates:
41 50 N, 22 00 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 25,333 sq km
land: 24,856 sq km
water: 477 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Vermont

Land boundaries:
total: 766 km
border countries: Albania 151 km, Bulgaria 148 km, Greece 246 km,
Serbia 221 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

Climate:
warm, dry summers and autumns; relatively cold winters with heavy
snowfall

Terrain:
mountainous territory covered with deep basins and valleys; three
large lakes, each divided by a frontier line; country bisected by
the Vardar River

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Vardar River 50 m
highest point: Golem Korab (Maja e Korabit) 2,764 m

Natural resources:
low-grade iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, chromite, manganese,
nickel, tungsten, gold, silver, asbestos, gypsum, timber, arable land

Land use:
arable land: 22.01%
permanent crops: 1.79%
other: 76.2% (2005)

Irrigated land:
550 sq km (2003)

Natural hazards:
high seismic risks

Environment - current issues:
air pollution from metallurgical plants

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate
Change-Kyoto Protocol, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of
the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Geography - note:
landlocked; major transportation corridor from Western and Central
Europe to Aegean Sea and Southern Europe to Western Europe

People Macedonia

Population:
2,050,554 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 20.1% (male 213,486/female 199,127)
15-64 years: 68.9% (male 711,853/female 701,042)
65 years and over: 11% (male 98,618/female 126,428) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 34.1 years
male: 33.2 years
female: 35.1 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate:
0.26% (2006 est.)

Birth rate:
12.02 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate:
8.77 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate:
-0.65 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
un