Macedonia is a small country in Southeast Europe—the Balkans, to be exact—that is just slightly larger than Vermont’s area. Despite having a population of only 2.07 million and a rich and ancient past akin to Greece’s, powerful international powers frequently ignore Macedonia. A substantial minority of Romani people, often known as Roma or Gypsies, make up Macedonia’s population. Roma people typically experience underrepresentation, segregation, and being deemed unsuited for jobs in public areas. Four grade schools recalled the Roma language for their curriculum in 1996, while the Macedonian government remembered the language for its registration in 1994. From 2000 to 2010, the government’s representation of Roma increased by 0.1 to 0.6 percent. Following a demonstration in the country’s main city of Skopje, there are presently more than 500 Roma students enrolled in universities and 50–60 young adults with advanced degrees.
About 15% of the people of Macedonia, who are primarily Roman, do not have proper housing, which suggests that they do not apply for basic services like power or water or even formal identification. These people are unable to receive vaccinations, social security, or protection without identification. Nearby organizations, like Roma SOS, collaborate with nonprofit organizations, like Habitat for Humanity, to help people understand the authorization procedure and obtain small advances.
The use of the name Macedonia has been a topic of debate with Greece ever since Macedonia gained independence in 1991. The Macedonian parliament approved the name change to North Macedonia in January 2019, and the Greek parliament is still debating whether to formally adopt the name. The country will get closer to joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) with its new moniker. As a member of NATO, Macedonia would have access to more resources to enhance the quality of life for its citizens, as well as security guarantees.
Of Macedonian children, 5% do not attend elementary school, while 32% do not attend supplemental school. Destitution frequently has an impact on youth involvement in school. In the quintile with the lowest income, 13% of children do not attend elementary school, but in the quintile with the highest income, there are essentially none of these cases. The gap widens for after-school programs, as, compared to just 7% of children in the wealthiest quintile, 64% of children in the least fortunate quintile do not attend them. Nevertheless, 74 percent of primary school graduates complete their studies, and a 98 percent advancement rate is required to close the auxiliary school.
Macedonia introduced continuous medical education (CME) in 1996, which establishes guidelines for medical services and referral offices. Every person currently gets vital consideration from the state. However, people who live illegally would not be able to get a state-issued ID and, hence, would not be eligible for state health care. The public health care system, which collects taxes from all residents and workers in Macedonia, provides free clinical services for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. This includes being admitted to the hospital and consulting with experts. Although the private medical services framework can provide more clinical options and better or faster care, it is typically too expensive for the average inhabitant.
The primary causes of mortality in Macedonia are cardiovascular diseases, accounting for 57% of all deaths in 2004; other common causes include malignant neoplasms, wounds/ harming, respiratory infections, and endocrine system illnesses. Macedonia’s stable future is just around eight years behind Greece’s, and its regular all-out future is five years less than that of EU members. These disparities stem from uncontrolled hypertension and hypercholesterolemia, as well as a greater rate of cardiovascular infections brought on by heavy tobacco use.
Macedonia’s unemployment rate has reached a historic low, falling from 21.1 percent in June 2018 to 20.8 percent at the end of the year. Correspondingly, in April 2018, the unemployment rate in Greece was 20.20 percent. A Macedonian worker’s typical monthly salary is $667.55. Even though Macedonia lags behind several U.N. countries, the country has made progress in this area since the highest monthly wage decrease ever recorded was $370.96.
According to the World Bank, 21.5 percent of Macedonians were living below the poverty line in 2015, placing the country 80th out of 139 countries. Neediness often affects families consisting of five or more members, or around 48.5% of Macedonians. However, Macedonia’s market economy has grown, and as the unemployment rate declined, so did the neediness level, which dropped from around 31% in 2011 to its current level.
In Macedonia, food and water are typically seen as well managed; just 4% of the population suffers from undernourishment, and 83% of the drinking water is deemed to be safely managed. The majority of fields and farms belong to the public authority, which also maintains and improves them through the Law on Pastures, which governs watering restrictions, drinking pools, the creation of sanctuaries devoid of flora, and much more.
12.4 percent of children were overweight in 2011, 4.9 percent were under the ideal height for their age, and 1.8 percent of children were carrying too much weight for their stature. According to the Global Nutrition Report, obesity and sickness are the two main forms of poor health that Macedonia faces. Paleness is the result of insufficient red platelets in the body, and it affects about 23% of women. Despite these problems, Macedonia has made progress in reducing the overall rate of undernourishment from 8% to 4% of the population.
