North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the north. It constitutes approximately the northern third of the larger geographical region of Macedonia. Skopje, the capital and largest city, is home to a quarter of the country's population of over 1.83 million. The majority of the residents are ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people. Albanians form a significant minority at around 25%, followed by Turks, Roma, Serbs, Bosniaks, Aromanians and a few other minorities.
In classical antiquity most of present-day North Macedonia corresponded to the ancient regions of Paeonia and Pelagonia. In the late-6th century BC, most of the area was subjugated by the Persian Empire, and then incorporated into the kingdom of Macedonia by the mid-4th century BC. Rome conquered the region by the mid-2nd century BC and made it part of its larger province of Macedonia. The area remained part of the Byzantine Empire, but was often raided and settled by Slavic tribes beginning in the 6th century CE. Following centuries of contention between the Byzantine and Bulgarian empires, it became part of the Serbian Empire in the mid-14th century, and then it was part of the Ottoman Empire from the late-14th century until the Balkan Wars (1912-1913), when it came under Serbian rule.
During the First World War, the territory was ruled by Bulgaria. After the end of the war, it returned to Serbian rule as part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. During the Second World War, it was again ruled by Bulgaria; and in 1945 it was established as a constituent state of communist Yugoslavia, which it remained until its peaceful secession in 1991. The country became a member of the United Nations (UN) in 1993.
North Macedonia is a member of NATO, the Council of Europe, the World Bank, OSCE, CEFTA, BSEC and the WTO. Since 2005, it has also been a candidate for joining the European Union. North Macedonia is an upper-middle-income country by the World Bank's definitions and has undergone considerable economic reform since its independence in developing an open economy. It is a developing country, ranking 68th on the Human Development Index, with low income inequality. The country provides social security, a universal health care system as well as free primary and secondary education to its citizens.
The state's name derives from the Greek word Μακεδονία (Makedonía), a kingdom (later, region) named after the ancient Macedonians. Their name, Μακεδόνες (Makedónes), ultimately derives from the ancient Greek adjective μακεδνός (makednós), meaning 'tall' or 'taper', which shares the same root as the adjective μακρός (makrós, 'long, tall, high') in ancient Greek. The name is believed to have originally meant either 'highlanders' or 'the tall ones', possibly descriptive of the people. According to the linguist Robert S. P. Beekes, both terms are of pre-Greek substrate origin and cannot be explained in terms of Indo-European morphology. According to linguist Filip De Decker, Beekes's arguments are insufficiently supported.
Apart from the Byzantine theme of Macedonia, the name "Macedonia" was largely forgotten as a geographical denomination through the Byzantine and Ottoman eras but was revived by Bulgarian and Greek nationalist movements from the early 19th century onwards. It was revived only in middle of the century, with the rise of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire. In the early 20th century the region was already a national cause, contested among Bulgarian, Greek, and Serbian nationalists. During the interwar period the use of the name "Macedonia" was prohibited in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, due to the implemented policy of Serbianisation of the local Slavic-speakers. The name "Macedonia" was adopted officially for the first time at the end of the Second World War by the new Socialist Republic of Macedonia, which became one of the six constituent countries of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
After the breakup of Yugoslavia, this federal entity declared independence and proclaimed as its official name the "Republic of Macedonia" in 1991.
The Prespa agreement of June 2018 saw the country change its name to the "Republic of North Macedonia" eight months later. A non-binding national referendum on the matter passed with 90% approval but did not reach the required 50% turnout amidst a boycott, leaving the final decision with parliament to ratify the result. Parliament approved of the name change on 19 October, reaching the required two-thirds majority needed to enact constitutional changes. The vote to amend the constitution and change the name of the country passed on 11 January 2019 in favour of the amendment. The amendment entered into force on 12 February, following the ratification of the Prespa agreement and the Protocol on the Accession of North Macedonia to NATO by the Greek Parliament. Many of the country's citizens and local media outlets unofficially refer to the country as "Macedonia".
North Macedonia geographically roughly corresponds to the ancient kingdom of Paeonia, which was located immediately north of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia. In early times, the chief town and seat of the Paeonian kings was Bylazora (in modern Sveti Nikole municipality in North Macedonia) on the Vardar; later, the seat of the kings was moved to Stobi (near modern Gradsko). Paeonia was inhabited by the Paeonians, whilst the northwest was inhabited by the Illyrian Dardani and southwest by the Enchelae (also an Illyrian tribe), as well as Pelagones and Lyncestae of Upper Macedonia (generally regarded as Molossian tribes of the northwestern Greek group).
In the late 6th century BC, the Achaemenid Persians under Darius the Great conquered Paeonia, incorporating the area within their vast territories. Following their defeat in the Second Persian invasion of Greece in 479 BC, the Persians eventually withdrew from their European territories.
Philip II of Macedon absorbed the regions of Lynkestis, Pelagonia and the southern part of Paeonia (Deuriopus) into the kingdom of Macedon in 356 BC. After the death of Agis, the kingdom of Paeonia then led by Lycceius, became vassal to Philip II in 356 BC. A Paeonian cavalry contingent, led by Ariston, possibly brother of King Patraus and father of the later king Audoleon, was attached to Alexander the Great's army. Alexander wished to bestow the hand of his sister Cynane upon Langarus, king of the Agrianians, who had shown himself loyal to Philip II. Scupi and the surrounding area remained part of Dardania.
In 310 BC, Celtic armies attacked the area, but were defeated by Cassander. In 279, the Gauls defeated Ptolemy Ceraunus and got as far as Delphi and it is certain that Paeonia was overrun and held for a time by their chieftain Brennus, but in the wake of the Celtic invasion, Leon reestablished the Paeonian kingdom. In 230 BC the Dardani under Longarus captured Bylazora. In 227 BC, Antigonus Doson reconquered the southern part of Paeonia and founded the city of Antigoneia, and ten years after Philip V of Macedon captured Bylazora; after this Perseis and Astraion were founded.
The Romans established the province of Macedonia in 146 BC. By the time of Diocletian, the province was subdivided between Macedonia Prima ("first Macedonia") in the south, encompassing most of the kingdom of Macedon, and Macedonia Salutaris (meaning "wholesome Macedonia"), known also as Macedonia Secunda ("second Macedonia") in the north. Macedonia Salutaris encompassed the whole of Paeonia and Pelagonia, comprising most of the territory of the modern North Macedonia, with the city of Stobi as its capital. Roman expansion brought the Scupi area, which was part of Dardania, under Roman rule in the time of Domitian (81–96 AD), and it fell within the Province of Moesia. Whilst Greek remained the dominant language in the eastern part of the Roman empire, especially south of the Jireček Line, Latin spread to Macedonia to some extent.