Editing Economy of North Macedonia (section)

==Economic activity==
[[File:Pelagonian fields.jpg|thumbnail|left|[[Pelagonija]], breadbasket region of North Macedonia.]]
North Macedonia is vulnerable to economic developments in Europe - due to strong banking and trade ties - and dependent on regional integration and progress toward EU membership for continued economic growth. At independence in September 1991, North 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 the [[Socialist Federal Republic 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, and a Greek economic embargo over a dispute about the country's constitutional name and flag hindered economic growth until 1996.{{citation needed|date=March 2021}} Since then, North Macedonia has maintained macroeconomic stability with low inflation, but it has so far lagged the region in attracting foreign investment and creating jobs, despite making extensive fiscal and business sector reforms. Official unemployment remains high at 24.6% (2015, Q4), but may be overstated based on the existence of an extensive gray market that is not captured by official statistics. In the wake of the global economic downturn, North Macedonia has experienced decreased foreign direct investment, lowered credit availability, and a large trade deficit. However, as a result of conservative fiscal policies and a sound financial system, in 2010 the country credit rating improved slightly to BB+ and was kept at that level in 2011. Macroeconomic stability has been maintained by a prudent monetary policy, which keeps the domestic currency pegged against the euro. As a result, GDP growth was modest, but positive, in 2010 and 2011, and inflation was under control. Latest data from North Macedonia's State Statistical Office show that overall, output for 2012 dropped by 6.6 percent compared to 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/macedonian-industrial-output-drops-for-entire-year|title=Macedonia's Output Drops for Entire Year|date=February 2013|access-date=3 March 2015}}</ref>

As of 2020, the country had signed free trade agreements with the [[Central European Free Trade Agreement]] (CEFTA), the [[Stabilisation and Association Process|Stabilisation and Association Agreement]] with the [[European Union]], the [[European Free Trade Association]] (EFTA) with [[Switzerland]], [[Norway]], [[Iceland]], and [[Liechtenstein]], and bilateral agreements with [[Turkey]] and [[Ukraine]].<ref name=dtidz/>

===Free Economic Zones===
In a bid to attract more interest from domestic and foreign investors after 2000 the government has pursued a [[Free economic zone]] (FEZ) policy, in which more than a dozen geographically disparate FEZs have sprouted. One benefit is a tax holiday for 10 years. The social contribution rate hovered at approximately 30% for the five-year period to 2019.<ref name="dtidz">{{cite news |title=Republic of North Macedonia Free Zones |url=https://fez.gov.mk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Invest-in-North-Macedonia-4.pdf |publisher=Directorate for Technological Industrial Development Zones |date=10 May 2021 |access-date=10 May 2021 |archive-date=7 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220207113009/https://fez.gov.mk/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Invest-in-North-Macedonia-4.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Agriculture===
{{main|Agriculture in North Macedonia}}
[[File:Грозје - Вранец.jpg|thumbnail|right|Vineyard in North Macedonia]]
North Macedonia produced in 2020:

* 318,000 tons of [[grape]];
* 246,000 tons of [[wheat]];
* 205,000 tons of [[bell pepper]];
* 193,000 tons of [[potato]];
* 168,000 tons of [[cabbage]];
* 155,000 tons of [[tomato]];
* 150,000 tons of [[maize]];
* 148,000 tons of [[barley]];
* 125,000 tons of [[watermelon]];
* 106,000 tons of [[apple]];
* 63,000 tons of [[onion]];
* 49,000 tons of [[cucumber]];

In addition to smaller productions of other agricultural products.<ref>{{Cite web |date=17 February 2022 |title=FAOSTAT - Crops and livestock products |url=https://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/QCL |access-date=2022-10-11 |website=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations}}</ref>

===Energy===
{{see also|List of power stations in North Macedonia|Category:Hydroelectric power stations in North Macedonia}}
In September 2019, it was said that "thermal power plants account for 842 MW of North Macedonia’s total power generation capacity of 1.41 GW, with hydroelectricity and wind accounting for 553.6 MW and 36.8 MW, respectively."<ref>{{Cite web |title=North Macedonian utility embraces solar at expense of coal |url=https://www.focustechnica.com/north-macedonian-utility-embraces-solar-at-expense-of-coal/ |access-date=2022-10-11 |website=FocusTechnica |date=25 September 2019 |language=en-US}}</ref> There are 20 economically-exploitable locations for coal in the country, whose total geological reserves are estimated at 2,5 billion tons.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Thermal Plants – AD ESM |url=https://www.esm.com.mk/?page_id=110&lang=en |access-date=2022-10-11 |website=ЕСМ |language=en-US}}</ref> There exist four hydroelectric reservoirs, located at: [[Pelagonia]], [[Kičevo]], [[Mariovo]] and [[Tikveš]]. The first two produce energy, while the latter two are speculative.<ref name=":0" />

===Mining and metallurgy===
{{main|Geology of North Macedonia}}
The country has been home to mines since at least the [[Roman era]]. Gold, silver, lead, copper, iron, nickel, zinc, gypsum and sulfur have been or are now being economically exploited. Marble has since Ancient Greek days been quarried at [[Sivec]].

===Trade===
North Macedonia remains committed to pursuing membership in the [[European Union]] (EU) and NATO. It became a full World Trade Organization (WTO) member in April 2003. Following a 1997 cooperation agreement with the EU, North Macedonia signed a Stabilization and Association Agreement with the EU in April 2001, giving North Macedonia duty-free access to European markets. In December 2005, it moved a step forward, obtaining candidate country status for EU accession. North Macedonia has had a foreign trade deficit since 1994, which reached a record high of $2.873 billion in 2008, or 30.2% of GDP. Total trade in 2010 (imports plus exports of goods and services) was $8.752 billion, and the trade deficit amounted to $2.149 billion, or 23.4% of GDP. In the first 8 months of 2011, total trade was $7.470 billion and the trade deficit was $1.778 billion. A significant 56.5% of North Macedonia's total trade was with EU countries. North Macedonia's major trading partners are Germany, Greece, Serbia, Bulgaria, Russia, and Italy. In 2010, total trade between North Macedonia and the United States was $116.6 million, and in the first 8 months of 2011 it was $65 million. U.S. meat, mainly poultry, and electrical machinery and equipment have been particularly attractive to North Macedonia importers. Principal exports from North Macedonia to the United States are tobacco, apparel, iron, and steel.

North Macedonia has bilateral free trade agreements with Ukraine, Turkey, and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA—Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, and Liechtenstein). Bilateral agreements with Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, and Moldova were replaced by membership in the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA). North Macedonia also has concluded an "Agreement for Promotion and Protection of Foreign Direct Investments" with Albania, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Belarus, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Egypt, Iran, Italy, India, Spain, Serbia, Montenegro, People's Republic of China, South Korea, Malaysia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Turkey, Ukraine, Hungary, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Croatia, Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Sweden.

===Unemployment===
{| class="wikitable"
!Unemployed<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/Default_en.aspx|title=State Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia|website=www.stat.gov.mk|language=mk|access-date=2017-07-23}}</ref>
!1995
!2000
!2005
!2010
!2015
!2016
!2017
!2018
!2019
!2020
!2021
|-
|Persons
|N/A
|N/A
|N/A
|311,000
|265,000
|225,000
|218,601
|199,325
|161,242
|156,627
|142,206
|-
|Percent (%)
|30%
|33%
|38%
|32%
|27%
|24%
|22.9%
|19.4%
|16.6%
|16.2%
|15.2%
|}
Unemployment is a continuing problem in the Republic's economy where a large percentage of the Republic's qualified labor force cannot find work. Many people lost their jobs with the collapse of Yugoslavia. As a result, national unemployment was above 35% (37.30% in 2005), but that number has since dropped to 16.6% (2019), with population below the poverty line also dropping from 30.4% (2011) to 21.5% (2015), it is reasonable to assume that based on the trend over the past few years, further declines are likely for both unemployment and poverty.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ieconomics.com/macedonia-unemployment-rate-forecast|title=Macedonia Unemployment Rate &#124; Forecast &#124; Chart|access-date=20 May 2016|archive-date=5 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160405145948/http://ieconomics.com/macedonia-unemployment-rate-forecast|url-status=dead}}</ref> Full-time employment has risen steadily over the last few years,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ieconomics.com/macedonia-full-time-employment|title=Macedonia - Full Time Employment - Actual Data - Historical Charts|access-date=24 August 2016|archive-date=28 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828180828/http://ieconomics.com/macedonia-full-time-employment|url-status=dead}}</ref> with part-time employment trending slightly downward over the same period resulting in an overall increase to employment, wages increased sharply after 2008, with steady increases continuing into 2016<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ieconomics.com/macedonia-wages|title=Macedonia - Wages - Actual Data - Historical Charts|access-date=24 August 2016|archive-date=28 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828180859/http://ieconomics.com/macedonia-wages|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Tourism===
{{main|Tourism in North Macedonia}}
[[File:Lake Ohrid55.jpg|thumbnail|right|[[Ohrid]] is a popular tourist destination in North Macedonia.]]
Tourism is a significant part of the economy.