|
Economy - overview: |
At independence in September 1991,
Macedonia was the least developed of the Yugoslav republics,
producing a mere 5% of the total federal output of goods and
services. The collapse of Yugoslavia ended transfer payments
from the central government and eliminated advantages from
inclusion in a de facto free trade area. An absence of
infrastructure, UN sanctions on the downsized Yugoslavia, one
of its largest markets, and a Greek economic embargo over a
dispute about the country's constitutional name and flag
hindered economic growth until 1996. GDP subsequently rose
each year through 2000. However, the leadership's commitment
to economic reform, free trade, and regional integration was
undermined by the ethnic Albanian insurgency of 2001. The
economy shrank 4.5% because of decreased trade, intermittent
border closures, increased deficit spending on security needs,
and investor uncertainty. Growth barely recovered in 2002 to
0.9%, then rose by 3.4% in 2003, 4.1% in 2004, and 3.7% in
2005. Macedonia has maintained macroeconomic stability with
low inflation, but it has lagged the region in attracting
foreign investment and job growth has been anemic. Macedonia
has an extensive grey market, estimated to be more than 20
percent of GDP, that falls outside official statistics. |
|
GDP (purchasing power parity): |
$16.03 billion
note: Macedonia has a large informal sector (2005 est.)
|
|
GDP (official exchange rate): |
$5.304 billion (2005 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate: |
3.7% (2005 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita (PPP): |
$7,800 (2005 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 9.7%
industry: 28.8%
services: 61.5% (2005 est.) |
|
Labor force: |
855,000 (2004 est.) |
|
Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA% |
|
Unemployment rate: |
38% (2005 est.) |
|
Population below poverty line: |
29.6% (2004 est.) |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index: |
28.2 (1998) |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
0.5% (2005) |
|
Investment (gross fixed): |
18% of GDP (2005 est.) |
|
Budget: |
revenues: $2.105 billion
expenditures: $2.15 billion; including capital
expenditures of $114 million (2005 est.) |
|
Public debt: |
37.4% of GDP (2005 est.) |
|
Agriculture - products: |
grapes, wine, tobacco, vegetables; milk,
eggs |
|
Industries: |
food processing, beverages, textiles,
chemicals, steel, cement, energy, pharmaceuticals |
|
Industrial production growth rate: |
6% (2005 est.) |
|
Electricity - production: |
6.271 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - consumption: |
7.933 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - exports: |
0 kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - imports: |
1.662 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Oil - production: |
0 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
|
Oil - consumption: |
23,000 bbl/day (2005 est.) |
|
Oil - exports: |
NA bbl/day |
|
Oil - imports: |
NA bbl/day |
|
Natural gas - production: |
0 cu m (2003 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - consumption: |
0 cu m (2003 est.) |
|
Current account balance: |
$-303 million (2005 est.) |
|
Exports: |
$2.047 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) |
|
Exports - commodities: |
food, beverages, tobacco; miscellaneous
manufactures, iron and steel |
|
Exports - partners: |
Serbia and Montenegro 27.7%, Germany
17.5%, Italy 12.1%, Greece 8%, Croatia 6.1%, US 4.3% (2004)
|
|
Imports: |
$3.196 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.) |
|
Imports - commodities: |
machinery and equipment, automobiles,
chemicals, fuels, food products |
|
Imports - partners: |
Greece 14.6%, Germany 12.2%, Serbia and
Montenegro 9.8%, Slovenia 8.1%, Bulgaria 7.6%, Italy 6.5%,
Turkey 5.7%, Romania 4.4% (2004) |
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |
$1.076 billion (2005 est.) |
|
Debt - external: |
$1.939 billion (2005 est.) |
|
Economic aid - recipient: |
$250 million (2003 est.) |
|
Currency (code): |
Macedonian denar (MKD) |
|
Exchange rates: |
Macedonian denars per US dollar - 48.92
(2005), 49.41 (2004), 54.322 (2003), 64.35 (2002), 68.037
(2001) |
|
Fiscal year: |
calendar year |
