page_title: Geography of North Macedonia
section_title: Characteristics and advantages
hierarchical_section_title: Geography of North Macedonia / Economic geography / Characteristics and advantages
caption_attribution_description: Prečudovito jezero ki ločuje Makedonijo in Albanijo, dom ribe, iz katere luskin izdelujejo zelo znane ohridske bisere. English: Lake Ohrid straddles the mountainous border between the southwestern region of the Republic of Macedonia and eastern Albania.
context_page_description: North Macedonia is a country situated in southeastern Europe with geographic coordinates 41°50′N 22°00′E, bordering Kosovo and Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south and Albania to the west. The country is part of the wider region of Macedonia and makes up most of Vardar Macedonia. The country is a major transportation corridor from Western and Central Europe to Southern Europe and the Aegean Sea. North Macedonia is a landlocked country but has three major natural lakes: Lake Ohrid, Lake Prespa and Lake Dojran. It has a water area of 857 km², while its land area is 24,856 km².
  Phytogeographically, Macedonia belongs to the Illyrian province of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom. According to the WWF and Digital Map of European Ecological Regions by the European Environment Agency, North Macedonia's territory can be subdivided into four ecoregions: the Pindus Mountains mixed forests, Balkan mixed forests, Rhodopes mixed forests and Aegean sclerophyllous and mixed forests.
context_section_description: North Macedonia's geographical positioning provides it with many advantages. One advantage is the geographical position of the country. It is the center of the Balkans, between Belgrade and Athens, Tirana and Sofia, between the Adriatic and Black Sea. The Vardar valley forms a natural corridor, which connects Greece to the rest of Europe. This corridor is crossed by the highway E75, which crosses in Europe and connects Scandinavia with Attica. This highway has also been renovated in North Macedonia with the European Agency for Reconstruction, and the communication channels that connect the Adriatic to the Black Sea, called the Corridor VIII, were also upgraded and maintained through international assistance including the Italian one.
  North Macedonia is also rich with minerals. The country in fact has substantial deposits of chromium and other nonferrous metals like copper, zinc, manganese and nickel. The country also has gypsum mines, marble and granite, located in Pelagonia. Lignite, provides 80% of the electricity in North Macedonia. In addition to mines and quarries, the country has large cement plants and large complexes of metal, created by the communist regime.
  Agriculture is encouraged by the significant water resources, managed by dams and canals. The presence of hot springs of volcanic origin can heat the greenhouses in winter, particularly in the Strumica region, whose products include tomatoes and cucumbers in the month of February. Different climates provide opportunities for various productions in the geographical area, so the vine and tobacco are operated in the south, the rice in the region of Kočani which is largely irrigated, and the wood industry is concentrated around Štip. Agriculture contributes a significant share of exports, especially with the wine and tobacco. The low cost of labor also helps the textile industry.
  North Macedonia receives about 1,000,000 tourists annually and experiences a constant increase of visitors. The number of domestic tourists in the period from January to March 2008 compared to the same period of the previous year, increased 23.5%. While the number of foreign tourists in March 2008 compared to March 2007 increased 44.7%. In 2007, Lake Ohrid had received about 250,000 domestic and foreign tourists. In February 2009, nearly 28,000 tourists, or 3.2% more than the same month last year, visited North Macedonia. There was also an 8% increase in the number of foreign visitors to the country. The summer of 2009 was the city of Dojran's best tourist season with 135,000 overnight visitors, an increase of 12.5% compared to the previous year.
  The tourist capital of North Macedonia, Ohrid, has been listed as an UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.
caption: Church of St. John at Kaneo with a view of the Ohrid Lake, the most popular destination for tourists in North Macedonia
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