North Macedonia, or officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a country in the Balkan
Peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in September 1991 under the name Republic of Macedonia.
A landlocked country, North Macedonia has borders with Kosovo to the northwest, Serbia to
the northeast, Bulgaria to the east, Greece to the south, and Albania to the west. It constitutes approximately the northern third of the larger geographical region of Macedonia.
The majority of the residents are ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people but Albanians compose a significant minority of around 30% followed by Turks, Serbs and other minorities.
The region went through most of the phases as the rest of the Western Balkans, being part of the Roman, Byzantine, Bulgarian and Ottoman Empire. During the First World War (1915–1918) it was ruled by Bulgaria, but after the end of the war, it returned to being under Serbian rule as part of the newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Later, during the Second World War (1941–1944), it was ruled by Bulgaria again, 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 in April 1993, but as a result of a dispute with Greece over the name "Macedonia", it was admitted under the provisional description the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (abbreviated as FYR Macedonia and FYROM). In June 2018, Macedonia and Greece resolved the conflict with an agreement that the country should rename itself Republic of North Macedonia. This renaming came into effect in February 2019.
The country has a population of 2.1 million people, living in a total surface of 25 713 square kilometers. The majority of the population belongs to the Orthodox religion (around 65 %) and the rest are mostly Muslims (around 33%).
Regarding tourism, North Macedonia is becoming each year more popular. The travel guide, Lonely Planet, has included North Macedonia as its third best travel destination for 2020, citing its rich history, the clear waters of Lake Ohrid and the country’s picturesque mountain peaks. “Part Balkan, part Mediterranean and rich in Greek, Roman and Ottoman heritage, North Macedonia has a fascinating past and a complex national identity,” Lonely Planet wrote on its website.