Page last updated on February 08, 2019

Location:
Southeastern Europe, north of Greece

Geographic coordinates:
41 50 N, 22 00 E

Map references:
Europe

Area:
total: 25,713 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 25,433 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 280 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 150

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Vermont

Land boundaries:
total: 838 km
[see also: Land boundaries - total country ranks ]
border countries (5): Albania 181 km, Bulgaria 162 km, Greece 234 km, Kosovo 160 km, Serbia 101 km

Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)

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

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

Elevation:
mean elevation: 741 m
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
elevation extremes: 50 m lowest point: Vardar River
2764 highest point: Golem Korab (Maja e Korabit)

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

Land use:
agricultural land: 44.3% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
arable land: 16.4% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - arable land country ranks ]
permanent crops: 1.4% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent crops country ranks ]
permanent pasture: 26.5% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - permanent pasture country ranks ]
forest: 39.8% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 15.9% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
1,280 sq km (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Population distribution:
a fairly even distribution throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations

Natural hazards:
high seismic risks

Environment - current issues:
air pollution from metallurgical plants; Skopje has severe air pollution problems every winter as a result of industrial emissions, smoke from wood-buring stoves, and exhaust fumes from old cars

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, 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