Demographics of North Macedonia


Demographic features of the population of North Macedonia include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

International statistics and estimates

According to statistics from the European Union, the actual population has been reduced by at least 230,000 people who emigrated into European Union member states between 1998 and 2011. Further Albanian news sources estimated at October 2012 that the real population is closer to the sum of 1,744,237 people who are accounted within all of the health funds of the country. According to Bozhidar Dimitrov, the Bulgarian authorities have granted 87,000 to many of those emigrants a Bulgarian passport, as of 2012, which requires that they declare to be ethnic Bulgarians. Since Bulgaria's entry into the European Union, and under pressure from fellow European Union members, Bulgaria imposed more stringent rules and measures for the acquisition of a Bulgarian citizenship and passport.
The provisions of the Ohrid agreement to elevate any minority language if the minority in question is above 20% of the population of any municipality into a co-official language for that municipality has created friction within the government, and between officials of different political and ethnic interests, resulting in the indefinite postponement of the census for almost twenty years until it was finally conducted in 2021.

Vital statistics

Source: State Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia
Population Data for period 2003-2020 was revised by the Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia
Average populationLive birthsDeathsNatural changeCrude birth rate Crude death rate Natural change Total fertility rateFemale fertile population
19501,229,00049,56018,02331,53740.314.725.75.70294,931
19511,262,00045,32920,74724,58235.916.419.55.14301,089
19521,280,00051,05417,97833,07639.914.025.85.64307,247
19531,310,00049,66519,31230,35337.914.723.25.26313,405
19541,338,00050,98416,72234,26238.112.525.65.27317,457
19551,355,00049,09317,91931,17436.213.223.04.95321,509
19561,357,00047,48615,38632,10035.011.323.74.63325,561
19571,364,00046,10717,34128,76633.812.721.14.21341,923
19581,375,00044,61913,91730,70232.510.122.34.27324,023
19591,382,00044,63814,99829,64032.310.921.44.21326,697
19601,391,92744,05914,00730,05231.710.121.64.11330,666
19611,408,30242,18213,14129,04130.09.320.63.87334,636
19621,427,77140,61516,15524,46028.411.317.13.68339,207
19631,449,93241,28413,22928,05528.59.119.33.70346,815
19641,473,99642,89713,28629,61129.19.020.13.79355,915
19651,499,72942,43312,75829,67528.38.519.83.67364,762
19661,525,84141,43412,30729,12727.28.119.13.55374,067
19671,550,45340,76312,52328,24026.38.118.23.44385,649
19681,575,71440,12312,46127,66225.57.917.63.35385,966
19691,602,99340,34213,11127,23125.28.217.03.24407,438
19701,629,06137,86212,43025,43223.27.615.62.98414,466
19711,647,30837,90412,44725,45722.97.515.42.93421,227
19721,679,45638,18713,09625,09122.77.814.92.85433,922
19731,704,60237,47812,21725,26122.07.214.82.72441,858
19741,729,93538,38212,14326,23922.27.015.22.70449,166
19751,756,33539,57912,62926,95022.57.215.32.70459,158
19761,783,51839,80912,37727,43222.36.915.42.68460,430
19771,810,14838,93212,89926,03321.57.114.42.54471,191
19781,836,27038,79012,57726,21321.16.814.32.49477,743
19791,863,72839,40712,65326,75421.16.814.42.49485,717
19801,891,31939,78413,54226,24221.07.213.92.46493,691
19811,909,13639,48813,38326,10520.67.013.62.48491,236
19821,941,91439,78913,51026,27920.57.013.52.45494,342
19831,967,55639,21014,39124,81919.97.312.62.40506,961
19841,992,42438,86114,06624,79519.57.112.42.35510,613
19852,016,94238,72214,40824,31419.27.112.12.32516,226
19862,041,06438,23414,43823,79618.77.111.72.27521,084
19872,065,00538,57214,64423,92818.77.111.62.27529,021
19882,088,65137,87914,56523,31418.17.011.22.22530,321
19892,070,91235,92714,59221,33517.37.010.32.09538,168
19902,053,17235,40114,64320,75817.27.110.12.06547,749
19912,033,96434,83014,78920,04117.17.39.82.30512,254
19922,017,69433,23816,02217,21616.57.98.52.20507,575
19931,999,95532,37415,59116,78316.27.88.42.15502,896
19941,945,93231,42115,64915,77216.18.08.12.09501,788
19951,966,03329,88616,16913,71715.28.27.01.98505,349
19961,983,00928,94615,88213,06414.68.06.61.90511,941
19971,996,86926,83016,37310,45713.48.25.21.75517,392
19982,007,52326,63916,62810,01113.38.35.01.73520,862
19992,017,14224,96416,6228,34212.48.24.11.61523,687
20002,026,35026,16817,0859,08312.98.44.51.68526,563
20012,034,88224,18316,7907,39311.98.33.61.55529,374
20022,022,54724,15417,8666,28812.08.83.11.59522,016
20032,022,72523,59617,8135,78311.78.82.91.55523,044
20042,016,18623,36117,9445,41711.68.92.71.54520,696
20052,005,33022,48218,4064,07611.29.22.01.49516,960
20061,994,28722,58518,6303,95511.39.32.01.51513,243
20071,982,93322,68819,5943,09411.49.91.61.53509,072
20081,971,49322,94518,9823,96311.69.62.01.56504,139
20091,958,78223,68419,0604,62412.19.72.41.63498,130
20101,946,29824,29619,1135,18312.59.82.71.70490,751
20111,937,39822,77019,4653,30511.810.01.71.62483,441
20121,929,82123,56820,1343,43412.210.41.81.71476,635
20131,922,71623,13819,2083,93012.010.02.01.70469,371
20141,917,55723,59619,7183,87812.310.32.01.76461,769
20151,912,43023,07520,4612,61412.110.71.41.76454,398
20161,906,31323,00220,4212,58112.110.71.41.78447,443
20171,898,65721,75420,3181,43611.510.70.81.72440,271
20181,889,05121,33319,7271,60611.310.40.91.73432,640
20191,876,26219,84520,446-60110.610.9-0.31.65424,658
20201,856,12419,03125,755-6,72410.313.9-3.61.62416,741
20211,836,71318,64828,516-9,86810.215.5-5.41.62410,912
20221,830,08318,07322,459-4,3869.912.3-2.41.59407,934
20231,826,63316,73720,187-3,4509.211.0-1.91.48404,624
20241,822,49316,06120,201-4,1408.810.9-2.11.40

Ethnic groups

The process of industrialization and urbanization after the Second World War that caused the population growth to decrease involved the ethnic Macedonians to a greater extent than Muslims. Rates of increase were very high among rural Muslims: Turks and Torbesh had rates 2.5 times those of the Macedonian majority, while Roma had rates 3 times as high. In 1994, Macedonians had a TFR of 2.07, while the TFR of others were: Albanian, Turkish, Roma, Serb, Vlachs and Others. The TFR by religions was: Christian, Islam and others.
However, it is unlikely that this high minority TFR has continued since then in North Macedonia, as Balkan fertility elsewhere has dropped sharply toward the European average. A more recent survey pegs Muslim fertility in North Macedonia at 1.7, versus 1.5 for non-Muslims.
In 2017, 21,754 children were born in North Macedonia. The ethnic affiliation of these newborns was: 11,260 Macedonian; 7,404 Albanian; 940 Turkish; 1,276 Roma; 40 Vlach; 129 Serbian; 213 Bosniaks; 492 other ethnic affiliation and unknown. In the school year 2016/2017 there were 192 715 students in elementary schools from which 104,756 were Macedonian, and 60,971 were Albanian, and in High schools there were 72 482 students from which 43,658 were Macedonian and 22 419 were Albanians. Furthermore, in 1999 Albanians accounted for 34.6% of newborns and 26.1% of students who finished high school in 2016, which was regulated by the Ministry of Education.

Migration

YearImmigrantsEmigrantsNet migration
200596718191
20061,02935466
200786116987
20085571125
20091,00023467
20101,35684652
20111,747147806
20122,072851,053
20131,940961,390
20142,273991,699
20153,6172492,860
20162,4811902,134
20172,3222832,201
20182,5572332,549
20192,8111862,349
20201,643145766
20212,6291821,532
20223,3844691,381
20232,654343799
20246,9462355,747

Languages

Source:
Language, census 2021Number%
Total 1,836,713100.00%
Macedonian 1,127,39461.38%
Albanian 447,00124.34%
Turkish 62,7233.41%
Romani 31,7211.73%
Vlach 3,1510.17%
Serbian 11,2520.61%
Bosnian 15,6150.85%
Bulgarian 1,5190.08%
Croatian 9580.05%
Other languages 2,7170.15%
Unknown 4020.02%
Persons for whom data are taken from administrative sources 132,2607.20%

Religion

Source:
Religion, census 2021Number%
Total Christians1,109,90860.43%
Orthodox847,39046.14%
Christians 242,57913.21%
Evangelical Protestant Christians8,7640.48%
Catholics6,7460.37%
Protestants1,3130.07%
Jehovah's Witnesses1,1370.06%
Evangelical Methodists8890.05%
Evangelists6780.04%
Adventists3710.02%
Baptists700.00%
Reformists500.00%
Islam590,87832.17%
Buddhists8940.05%
Hare Krishna960.01%
Members of the Jewish community740.00%
Members of an unlisted religion1130.01%
Non-believers 8,7640.48%
Undeclared160.00%
Unknown760.00%
Agnostics1,9640.11%
Persons for whom data are taken from administrative sources132,2607.20%
Total population1,836,713100.00%

''CIA World Factbook'' demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Age structure

  • 0–14 years: 19.5%
  • 15–64 years: 67.8%
  • 65 years and over: 12.7%

Sex ratio

  • at birth: 1.08 male/female
  • under 15 years: 1.08 male/female
  • 15–64 years: 1.02 male/female
  • 65 years and over: 0.78 male/female
  • total population: 1 male/female

Infant mortality rate

  • total: 11.74 deaths/1,000 live births
  • female: 10.73 deaths/1,000 live births
  • male: 12.67 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth

  • total population: 74.73 years
  • male: 72.45 years
  • female: 77.2 years

Total fertility rate

  • 1.50 children born/woman

HIV/AIDS

  • adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1%
  • people living with HIV/AIDS: less than 100
  • deaths: less than 100

Nationality

  • noun: Macedonian/citizen of the Republic of North Macedonia
  • adjective: Macedonian / of North Macedonia