North Macedonia Geography - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Location

Southeastern Europe, north of Greece

Geographic coordinates

41 50 N, 22 00 E

Map references

Europe

Area

total: 25,713 sq km

land: 25,433 sq km

water: 280 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly larger than Vermont; almost four times the size of Delaware

Area comparison map

Land boundaries

total: 838 km

border countries (5): Albania 181 km, Bulgaria 162 km, Greece 234 km, Kosovo 160 km, Serbia 101 km

Coastline

0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims

none (landlocked)

Climate

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

Terrain

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

Elevation

highest point: Golem Korab (Maja e Korabit) 2,764 m

lowest point: Vardar River 50 m

mean elevation: 741 m

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% (2018 est.)

arable land: 16.4% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 1.4% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 26.5% (2018 est.)

forest: 39.8% (2018 est.)

other: 15.9% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

1,280 sq km (2012)

Total renewable water resources

6.4 billion cubic meters (2017 est.)

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 - international agreements

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Heavy Metals, Air Pollution-Multi-effect Protocol, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, 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

NOTE: The information regarding North Macedonia on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of North Macedonia 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about North Macedonia 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.