Claim: Mother Teresa lived in Europe.

Macedonia -LRB- Република Македонија , tr . Republika Makedonija -RRB- , is a country in the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe . It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia , from which it declared independence in 1991 . It became a member of the United Nations in 1993 , but , as a result of an ongoing dispute with Greece over the use of the name `` Macedonia '' , was admitted under the provisional description the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia -LRB- sometimes abbreviated as FYROM and FYR Macedonia -RRB- , a term that is also used by international organizations such as the European Union , the Council of Europe and NATO .   A landlocked country , the Republic of Macedonia has borders with Kosovo to the northwest , Serbia to the north , Bulgaria to the east , Greece to the south , and Albania to the west . It constitutes approximately the northwestern third of the larger geographical region of Macedonia , which also comprises the neighbouring parts of northern Greece and smaller portions of southwestern Bulgaria and southeastern Albania . The country 's geography is defined primarily by mountains , valleys , and rivers . The capital and largest city , Skopje , is home to roughly a quarter of the nation 's 2.06 million inhabitants . The majority of the residents are ethnic Macedonians , a South Slavic people . Albanians form a significant minority at around 25 percent , followed by Turks , Romani , Serbs , and others .   Macedonia 's history dates back to antiquity , beginning with the kingdom of Paeonia , a Thracian polity . In the late sixth century BCE the area was incorporated into the Persian Achaemenid Empire , then annexed by the Kingdom of Macedonia in the fourth century BCE . The Romans conquered the region in the second century BCE and made it part of the much larger province of Macedonia . Macedonia remained part of the Byzantine -LRB- Eastern Roman -RRB- Empire , and was often raided and settled by Slavic peoples beginning in the sixth century CE . Following centuries of contention between the Bulgarian and Byzantine empires , it gradually came under Ottoman dominion from the 14th century . Between the late 19th and early 20th century , a distinct Macedonian identity emerged , although following the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 , the modern territory of Macedonia came under Serbian rule . In the aftermath of the First World War -LRB- 1914 -- 1918 -RRB- it became incorporated into the Serb-dominated Kingdom of Yugoslavia , which after the Second World War was re-established as a republic -LRB- 1945 -RRB- and which became the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1963 . Macedonia remained a constituent socialist republic within Yugoslavia until its peaceful secession in 1991 .   Macedonia is a member of the UN and of the Council of Europe . Since 2005 it has also been a candidate for joining the European Union and has applied for NATO membership . Although one of the poorest countries in Europe , Macedonia has made significant progress in developing an open , market based economy .