Czech
AREA and LOCATION
Macedonia, officially the Republic of Macedonia (Република Македонија) is a landlocked country situated in the Balkan peninsula in Southeastern Europe. A former Yugoslav country, Macedonia has been an independent state since 1991. Macedonia’s territory extends over 25,714 square km.
BORDERING COUNTRIES
Kosovo (159 km), Serbia (62 km), Bulgaria (148 km), Greece (228 km), Albania (151 km)
THE CAPITAL CITY and MAJOR CITIES
Skopje is the country’s capital as well as the largest city with approximately 537,478 inhabitants (2012). Other large cities include Bitola (80,000 inhabitants), Kumanovo (71,000 inhabitants) Prilep (68,000 inhabitants) and Tetovo (60,000 inhabitants).
CLIMATE
Macedonia has a variable climate – from Mediterranean to continental, with hot and dry summers and moderatly cold winters. The country has three main climatic zones: temperate Mediterranean, mountainous and midly Continental. The warmest regions are Demir Kapija and Gevgelija (summer temperature exceeds 40 C), even though the majority of Macedonia has moderate Continental climate.
AREA CODE
+389
CURRENCY
Macedonian denar (MKD)
DISTANCES
Skopje is situated 122 km from Pristina, Kosovo; 145 km from Tirane, Albania; 161 km from Thessaloniki, Greece and 197 km from Sofia, Bulgaria.
IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS
General emergency line 112
Police 192
Ambulance 194
Fire Service 193
Toll free numbers begin with 800
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS
Skopje Alexander the Great Airport
http://skp.airports.com.mk/default.aspx?ItemID=345
Ohrid St. Paul the Apostle Airport
http://ohd.airports.com.mk/default.aspx?ItemID=345
LANGUAGE
Macedonian is the official language (Eastern branch of South Slavic language group) and is closely related and mutually intelligible with Standard Bulgarian (it also has similarities with Serbian). Apart from the official language, a variety of languages are spoken in Macedonia due to its ethnic diversity (Albanian, Romani, Turkish, Serbian/Bosnian, Aromanian, Adyghe and Greek speakers).
MOBILE OPERATORS
Mobilkom Macedonia (VIP Mobile) http://www.mobilkom.at/en/mkd
PUBLIC HOLIDAYS (2010)
1 Jan New Year’s Day, 6 Jan – 7 Jan Orthodox Christmas, 8 Mar International Women’s Day, 28 Apr Orthodox Easter Monday, 1 May May Day, 2 Aug Ilinden (National Holiday), 8 Sep Independence Day.
POLITICAL SYSTEM
Parliamentary republic
POPULATION
2,069,162
POWER NETWORK
220 V/50 Hz, Europlug (2-pin), Schuko
PRESIDENT
Stevo Pendarovski
RAIL TRANSPORT
Macedonian Railways
ROAD TRANSPORT
BUS:
Eurolines
RENT A CAR:
Alamo & National Car Rental Macedonia
http://www.carrentalmacedonia.com/
SMOKING
Macedonia adopted the smoking ban in January 2010 (as the last South Eastern European country to do so). The ban is supposed to prohibit smoking in restaurants and cafés. Customers caught smoking will face fines (equivalent of 150 – 300 euros), while restaurants and cafés that breach the law will be fined from 2,000 to 4,000 euros. After protests from the catering industry, a new ammendment has been devised according to which smoking is now allowed on the terraces of hospitality establishments.
TAXIS
Taxis are cheap in Macedonia. Most taxis will usually charge a flat rate of 30 denars (in Skopje 50 denars) with extra kilometres added on subsequently. Negotiating the price beforehand is recommended.
24h Taxi in Skopje +38977731333
12 eur Airport Taxi Service +3897133456
Taxi Macedonia +38970365650
TIME
Central European Time (CET), UTC/GMT + 1 hours, Summer (DST) – CEST (UTC + 2)
