2/9/2007 - Republic of Macedonia

REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

The Republic of Macedonia (Macedonian: Република Македонија Republika Makedonija listen (help·info), Albanian: Republika e Maqedonisλ), often referred to as Macedonia, is a landlocked country on the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Serbia to the north, Albania to the west, Greece to the south, and Bulgaria to the east. As the result of a naming dispute with Greece, in 1993 it was admitted to the United Nations under the provisional reference the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), pending resolution of the dispute.

The capital is Skopje, with 500,000 inhabitants, and there are a number of smaller cities, notably Bitola, Prilep, Tetovo, Kumanovo, Ohrid, Veles, Štip, Kočani, Gostivar and Strumica. It has more than 50 natural and artificial lakes and sixteen mountains higher than 2,000 meters (6,550 ft) above sea level.

The country is a member of the UN and the Council of Europe and a member of La Francophonie, the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Since December 2005 it is also a candidate for joining the European Union and has applied for NATO membership.