This chapter offers an overview of North Macedonia’s economic developments since the Competitiveness Outlook 2021, with a special focus on the economic impact of recent external shocks and economic convergence. The chapter also examines the progress made and challenges encountered in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. It also recaps the progress made towards EU accession, including the financial and development support provided by the EU for North Macedonia’s accession efforts. Altogether, this sets the stage for an in-depth examination across 15 policy dimensions in the subsequent chapters, all necessary for sustaining economic competitiveness.
Western Balkans Competitiveness Outlook 2024: North Macedonia
Competitiveness and Private Sector Development
Abstract
North Macedonia is a small upper-middle-income economy, with a total gross domestic product (GDP) of EUR 14.6 billion in 2023. Its economy is predominantly services-based, with the services sector accounting for 58.8% of its GDP. Industry and agriculture respectively contribute 22.9% and 8.1% to GDP (World Bank, 2024[1]). Meanwhile, 60% of employment is concentrated in services, while industry (including construction) and agriculture comprise 30% and 10% of employment, respectively (ILO, 2024[2]). The informal sector is estimated to account for 13.8% of employment as of 2019 (ILO, 2023[3]).
Over the Competitiveness Outlook assessment period, North Macedonia’s economy has shown some resilience to crises, though recovery has been slower and modest relative to other economies in the Western Balkans. North Macedonia’s economy suffered a decline in GDP of 6.1% in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. GDP growth recovered by 5.5% in 2021 and decelerated to 2.1% in 2022. In 2023, it slowed even further to approximately 2% (European Commission, 2024[4]). North Macedonia’s recovery in GDP growth has been primarily demand-driven by higher private consumption and strong foreign direct investment. On the production side, recent growth has been largely driven by services and domestic trade, while industry has grown more modestly and construction and agriculture sectors have continued to struggle (World Bank, 2023[5]).
While North Macedonia’s inflation rate remained steady over 2020 and 2021, it peaked in 2022 and showed signs of cooling in 2023. Consumer price inflation peaked at 14.1% in 2022 due to rising international food and energy prices (European Commission, 2024[4]). Annual inflation slowed to approximately 5.7% in 2023 as the rise in energy, food and transport prices decreased (IMF, 2023[6]). Interest rates have increased considerably to counter inflationary pressures, rising from a historic low of 1.25% in spring 2022 to 6.15% as of August 2023 (European Commission, 2024[4]).
The economy’s labour market has been consistently improving, with unemployment steadily declining since 2019 and reaching 14.5% in 2022 (European Commission, 2024[4]). Youth unemployment likewise declined to 25.6% in 2022, but remained above the EU average (European Commission, 2024[4]). However, the labour force participation rate among adults between the ages of 15 and 64 has decreased consistently since 2019, falling from 66% in 2019 to 63.8% in 2022 (ILO, 2024[2]). Average salaries and wages have continued to rise, partially owing to a rise of the minimum wage in 2023. These are expected to rise even further, due to a new government agreement that will raise public sector wages by 10% into 2024 (see the employment policy chapter for more details on labour market developments).
Despite an increasing trade deficit and rising external sector imbalances in recent years, North Macedonia’s external sector shows signs of improvement in 2023, with a narrowing current account deficit owing to lower imported energy prices. The trade deficit shrank by more than 6 percentage points to 20.5% of GDP as of 2022, while exports rose to a record of 74.9% of GDP (European Commission, 2024[4]). Amid higher international energy prices resulting from the Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine (see Box 1.1), North Macedonia reduced its energy imports, which helped improve its current account deficit from 6.1% in 2022 to approximately 3.7% in 2023 (IMF, 2023[7]; World Bank, 2023[5]; European Commission, 2024[4]). Remittances increased slightly from EUR 415 million in 2021 to EUR 433 million in 2022, while net foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows reached EUR 810.8 million, or 5% of GDP, covering the current account deficit (World Bank, 2022[8]; World Bank, 2024[1]; European Commission, 2024[4]). Respective to 2022, foreign exchange reserves were higher by 17.4% in 2023, covering about 4.1 months of anticipated imports of goods and services (European Commission, 2024[4]). The exchange of North Macedonia’s dinar in relation to the euro has largely been held stable over the assessment period, owing to the active monetary policy interventions of the National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia (NBRNM).
The government’s fiscal position faces ongoing pressures, and public debt levels remain elevated. Public revenues increased over the assessment period and continued to rise into the first months of 2023, supported by elevated inflation and tax increases (European Commission, 2024[4]). Expenditures decreased from 36.4% of GDP in 2020 to 34.7% in 2022 but are expected to remain elevated. The recent increases in public sector wages are estimated to have fiscal implications approximating 0.7–0.8% of GDP on average per year (World Bank, 2023[5]). In order to accommodate the wage increase, the government has undertaken cuts to investments (European Commission, 2024[4]). In 2022, the fiscal deficit narrowed to 4.4% of GDP, remaining above its ceiling of 3% of GDP, and further fiscal consolidation is expected to bring the fiscal deficit in line with the ceiling rate into 2024 (European Commission, 2024[4]; IMF, 2023[7]). Public debt increased by nearly 10 percentage points from 2019 to 2020 alone and has generally risen since, reaching 60.2% of GDP as of 2023. North Macedonia’s sovereign ratings remain stable, although they are below the investment grade. In April 2023, the Fitch Ratings agency affirmed North Macedonia’s long-term issuer default rating at “BB+” and revised its outlook from negative to stable, which it maintained into fall 2023 (Fitch Ratings, 2023[9]).
North Macedonia’s financial sector has been relatively stable, with improved capitalisation and slightly lower liquidity, while tighter financing conditions have led to decreased demand for private credit. The capital adequacy ratio of banks rose to 18% in 2023, while liquidity rates dropped to 19.1% in the same year but remained above requirements (World Bank, 2023[5]). At the same time, private sector credit growth has slowed dramatically, and lending growth turned negative in 2023 among tighter financing conditions, at -4.2% (World Bank, 2023[5]). Nonperforming loans reached a historic low of 2.8% in 2022 (World Bank, 2023[5]).
Notes: G&S = goods and services. “..” indicates data are collected but not available.
Sources: European Commission (2024[4]); World Bank (2021[10]; 2023[5]); EBRD (2023[11]); IMF (2024[12]).; UNCTAD (2024[13]).
The ongoing large-scale aggression of Russia in Ukraine has had negative economic implications for North Macedonia that have slowed its post-pandemic recovery, owing to high energy, commodity and food prices and disruptions in supply chains (European Commission, 2023[14]). Following the conflict’s outbreak, North Macedonia approved the UN resolution condemning the attack on Ukraine and aligned itself with EU sanctions on Russia. As of February 2024, North Macedonia was host to 8 027 Ukrainian refugees (UNHCR, 2024[15]).
North Macedonia’s overall trade volumes have been minimally affected, as trade with Russia and Ukraine accounted for less than 3% of North Macedonia’s total trade volumes prior to the war (UNDP, 2022[16]). From 2020 to 2023, exports of North Macedonia to Russia – its main products being agricultural and packaged medicines (UN, 2024[17]) – decreased from EUR 52.9 million to EUR 44.4 million (UN, 2024[17]). Meanwhile, the value of imports from Russia increased from EUR 129.2 million in 2020 to EUR 245.3 million in 2023 owing to higher energy prices. Russia accounted for about one-fifth of fertilisers imported in 2021, which together with gas and metals comprised most of the imports (UN, 2024[17]). As of 2023, Russia accounted for around 0.53% of North Macedonia’s total trade exports and 2.2% of its imports.
Trade with Ukraine, which represents an even smaller share (less than 0.1%) of total trade, has decreased overall since the start of the conflict. North Macedonia’s exports to Ukraine initially increased from EUR 15.47 million in 2021 to EUR 36.1 million in 2022 and fell to EUR 20.1 million in 2023. North Macedonia’s exports to Ukraine mostly consist of agricultural products, laboratory ceramic ware, textiles and packaged medicines (UN, 2024[17]). Meanwhile, imports from Ukraine, which primarily consist of metals and seed oils, have consistently declined, from EUR 127 million in 2021 to EUR 87.8 million in 2022, and EUR 46.6 million in 2023 (UN, 2024[17]).
The conflict provoked an ensuing energy crisis, as the cost of household electricity rose continually from the start of 2020 into the first semester of 2023 at a rate of 45% while the cost of gas for household consumers rose by 90% over the same period (Eurostat, 2024[18]). While prior to the conflict North Macedonia had been almost entirely dependent on imports of natural gas from Russia, it has placed the focus on building infrastructure to diversify its energy sources. Plans are under way to develop a natural gas interconnection pipeline with Greece, which would supply North Macedonia with gas through the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline and liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals in Greece, and also provide the possibility of supplying neighbouring Serbia (EBRD, 2024[19]). At the same time, interconnection projects with Serbia and Kosovo are under way through the Western Balkans Investment Facility (WBIF, 2023[20]).
In response to the social and economic impact of the energy crisis spurred by the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the EU allocated EUR 80 million to North Macedonia under the 2023 Energy Support Package, which aims to assist vulnerable families and small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in managing the increased energy costs, and to support policies that accelerate the energy transition (European Commission, 2023[21]).
Source: United Nations (2024[17]).
North Macedonia’s progress towards achieving the targets of the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has been modest at best (Sachs et al., 2023[22]) (Table 1.2). As of 2023, North Macedonia has achieved or is on track to achieve 46.2% of its target indicators and has made limited progress in 36.9%, while performance is worsening across 16.9%. This in part can be attributed to the absence of any formal document at the national level referencing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is compounded by the absence of a set of indicators to measure progress towards achievement of the SDGs (UNECE, 2021[23]). These gaps indicate that integration of the SDG Agenda into North Macedonia’s national policy practices requires improvement, even though the first and only state-led Voluntary National Review providing an overview of the country’s progress toward achieving the SDGs took place in 2020 (Sachs et al., 2023[22]). While North Macedonia has a designated unit nominally responsible for the co-ordination and implementation of the SDGs across ministries, the National Council for Sustainable Development does not meet on a consistent basis (UNECE, 2021[23]). North Macedonia’s progress is further challenged by the fact that personal investment in the SDGs is low, as is awareness among local government authorities (UNECE, 2021[23]).
Note: The order of progress (from greatest to least) is as follows: SDG achieved; challenges remain; significant challenges; major challenges.
Source: Sachs et al. (2023[22]).
While North Macedonia has not yet achieved any of the SDGs to date, it is nearing achievement in poverty (SDG 1), quality education (SDG 4) and partnerships for the goals (SDG 17) relative to other goals. However, compared to 2021, it has backtracked on its SDG attainment for education (SDG 4). Performance likewise decreased in the areas of affordable and clean energy (SDG 7) and climate action (SDG 13). The declining performance in these respective areas is mostly attributable to the increase in carbon intensity (CO2 emissions) of energy production and exports, respectively.
Progress has been mostly positive in the areas of clean water and sanitation (SDG 6) and reduced inequalities (SDG 10), with further room to improve. While access to basic sanitation services has increased across the population, wastewater treatment rates remain low. Meanwhile, the Gini coefficient for inequality remains relatively high but has been on a declining trend since 2015, reaching 34.5% in 2020 and nearing the target value of 27.5% (Sachs et al., 2023[22]).
Significant challenges remain for North Macedonia across most performance areas of the Sustainable Development Goals; the most substantial gaps remain in the areas of sustainable urban development (SDG 11) and marine life (SDG 14). Impediments to progress in SDG 11 lie in high pollution rates and citizen dissatisfaction with public transport (Sachs et al., 2023[22]). Meanwhile, no data is available on its performance in the area of marine life (SDG 14). Moderate progress has been made in the areas of nutrition (SDG 2); health and well-being (SDG 3); gender equality (SDG 5); economic growth (SDG 8); protection of terrestrial ecosystems (SDG 15); and institutional integrity (SDG 16). Progress has stalled in the area of education (SDG 4), with notably lower rates of secondary school completion (Sachs et al., 2023[22]). Progress has likewise stagnated in the area of clean energy (SDG 7) due to a declining share of renewable energy in final energy consumption. Low expenditure on research and development hinders performance in the area of industry, innovation and infrastructure (SDG 9).
North Macedonia applied for EU membership in March 2004, and its Stabilisation and Association Agreement entered in force the following month. North Macedonia was granted candidate status in December 2005, and accession negotiations formally began in July 2022, which launched the screening process. Accession negotiation with North Macedonia is conducted in line with the revised enlargement methodology set out by the EU in February 2020, which focuses even more strongly on the fundamentals of the accession process proposed by the EU. The emphasis is particularly on credible fundamental reforms, stronger political steer, increased dynamism and predictability of the process (European Commission, 2021[24]). As of September 2023, explanatory screening meetings had been conducted across the six thematic clusters, including (i) fundamentals, (ii) internal market, (iii) competitiveness and inclusive growth, (iv) green agenda and sustainable connectivity, (v) resources, agriculture, and cohesion, and (vi) external relations.
According to the latest enlargement report, North Macedonia faces considerable challenges regarding political criteria for accession, while political polarisation has delayed the adoption of many reform laws and key appointments. North Macedonia is moderately prepared to apply the EU acquis and European standards in the areas of public administration reform, while its judicial system is between some and moderate levels of preparation. No progress was achieved in justice reform over the period, which remains affected by issues of independence and undue political influence (European Commission, 2023[14]).
On the economic criteria, North Macedonia is at a decent level of preparation but has made limited progress in developing a functioning market economy (European Commission, 2023[14]). The prior recommendations of the European Commission were addressed to a limited extent, with further efforts needed in the areas of fiscal consolidation and accountability, SOE reform, and reduction of the informal economy. The economy’s capacity to cope with competitive pressures and market forces within the EU is also at a moderate level of preparation, with some progress made in education, attraction of private investors, the green transition and the digital tranformation, and performance in key sectors such as metallurgy and tourism. However, further efforts are needed to address shortcomings in its education system, infrastructure gaps, diversification of the economic base, and increasing the productivity and competitiveness of firms.
On 8 November 2023, the European Commission adopted a new Growth Plan for the Western Balkans to improve the level and speed of their convergence toward the EU (European Commission, 2023[25]). Backed by EUR 6 billion in non-repayable support and loan support, the Growth Plan has the potential to boost socio-economic convergence and bring the WB6 closer to the EU single market (Gomez Ortiz, Zarate Vasquez and Taglioni, 2023[26]). The new Growth Plan is based on four pillars, aimed at:
1. “Enhancing economic integration with the European Union’s single market, subject to the Western Balkans aligning with single market rules and opening the relevant sectors and areas to all their neighbours at the same time, in line with the Common Regional Market;
2. Boosting economic integration within the Western Balkans through the Common Regional Market;
3. Accelerating fundamental reforms, including on the fundamentals cluster1 supporting the Western Balkans' path towards EU membership, improving sustainable economic growth including through attracting foreign investments and strengthening regional stability; and
4. Increasing financial assistance to support the reforms through a Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans” (European Commission, 2023[25]).
The new Growth Plan builds on the existing enlargement methodology and creates a package of mutually reinforcing measures, providing incentives to economies to accelerate the adoption and implementation of the EU acquis, while narrowing the gap between the Western Balkans and EU Member States. In that context, the OECD has recently released the Economic Convergence Scoreboard for the Western Balkans 2023 to track the region’s performance in achieving economic convergence toward the EU and OECD area, and highlight policy bottlenecks that hinder faster economic growth in a sustainable and inclusive way (OECD, 2023[27]) (Box 1.2).
As part of the new Growth Plan, the Western Balkans have been asked to submit to the European Commission economy-specific Reform Agendas listing a number of structural reforms that would need to be implemented in order to access part of the Plan’s funding. All Reform Agendas are structured along the same four policy areas: 1) business environment and private sector development, 2) green and digital transformation, 3) human capital development and 4) fundamentals (of the EU accession process). They replace Economic Reform Programmes’ chapter IV on structural challenges, as, going forward, the Economic Reform Programmes will only cover macrofiscal aspects.
North Macedonia’s GDP per capita has increased by 66% from 2003 to 2022 in comparison to the EU’s and OECD area’s comparatively modest increases of 27% and 25%, respectively. From 2003 to 2022, North Macedonia steadily decreased the disparity in GDP per capita with the EU and OECD area, reducing the percentage difference from 250% in 2003 to 168% in 2022. However, compared to its Western Balkan neighbours, North Macedonia experienced the slowest growth during the observed period. The economy’s 2022 GDP per capita stood at USD (PPP international $) 17 128 (EUR 16 271)1, whereas the EU and OECD figures were notably higher at USD 45 978 (EUR 43 679) and USD 46 208 (EUR 43 897), respectively (Figure 1.1). While North Macedonia is making strides in narrowing this gap, achieving convergence requires more robust and comprehensive policy development and implementation.
In Purchasing Power Parity 2017 USD (thousands)
Source: World Bank (2022[28]).
In this context, the OECD developed the Economic Convergence Scoreboard for the first time in 2023, marking the establishment of a recurring monitoring mechanism and dedicated tool for evaluating the extent of economic convergence of the Western Balkans with the EU and the OECD area. Prepared to inform discussions at the Berlin Process Western Balkans Leaders’ Summit 2023 and grounded in a decade-long series of policy assessments, the Scoreboard offers a thorough analysis of the region's progress across five key policy areas, or clusters, crucial for attaining sustainable and inclusive economic growth. These clusters are the business environment, skills, infrastructure and connectivity, greening, and digital transformation.
Since 2008, North Macedonia has produced noteworthy advancements across the five policy clusters, but there were also considerable regressions, underscoring the necessity not only of adopting policies in alignment with the EU acquis and OECD standards but also of ensuring their effective and long-term implementation. North Macedonia exhibited notable progress in both the skills and digitalisation clusters. In the context of skills, North Macedonia consistently increased the employment rate since 2008. It also demonstrated advancement within education, as the economy produced a higher Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) average score and tertiary education achievement. As for digitalisation, North Macedonia is performing near parity with the EU in digital payments and mobile cellular penetration, although the latter has decreased over the observed periods. The economy is also experiencing positive improvements in the total employment of information and communications technology (ICT) specialists, indicating that investments in a digital transformation are being reflected in the workforce.
By contrast, the business environment and infrastructure and connectivity clusters require more rigorous efforts. North Macedonia is showing positive progress with trade openness and FDI net inflows, yet SMEs in total exports, new business density and informal employment are trending negatively. Informal employment is consistently increasing over the observed periods, and new business density is equally declining, suggesting that fostering formal employment in the small business sector presents an opportunity for growth. As for infrastructure and connectivity, transport infrastructure (road and rail) is showing minor or no progress. North Macedonia’s performance relative to the EU in these areas is already less than 50%, reflecting a necessity for economy-wide advancement in transport.
In terms of aligning with OECD area standards, North Macedonia has demonstrated inconsistent progress in the adoption of OECD good policy practices, standards, and tools, emphasising the necessity of improving policy making to foster a more competitive economy. North Macedonia produced noteworthy gains in the CO 2021 in employment, energy, and environment policy. However, North Macedonia equally regressed in the OECD Services Trade Restrictiveness Index and Digital Services Trade Restrictiveness Index, and CO anti-corruption and transport policy and digital society.
1. The 2022 market exchange rate has been used to convert PPP constant 2017 international $ into EUR.
Source: OECD (2023[27]).
North Macedonia continues to receive significant support from the European Union, helping the economy realise its reform processes and endeavours that bring it closer to the EU acquis. The European Union’s financial support to the economy and the region has been provided through both temporary support, such as COVID-19 assistance packages, and long-term investment programmes and funds through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA), European Investment Bank (EIB) loans, Western Balkans Investment Framework grants and more.
Over 2007-20, the EU allocated EUR 608.7 million under the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance I and II. IPA II introduced priority sectors for assistance, which included democracy and governance, rule of law and fundamental rights, environment and climate action, transport, competitiveness and innovation, transport, education, employment and social policies, agriculture and rural development, and regional and territorial co-operation (European Commission, 2024[29]).
The European Union has been crucial in financially supporting North Macedonia in the wake of COVID-19. The cumulative sum of economic support packages totalled approximately EUR 1 billion for both short- and long-term fiscal measures to maintain the liquidity of companies and jobs and support the financial sustainability of the economy and municipalities. The European Investment Bank has invested EUR 100 million to support North Macedonian companies since the start of the pandemic and invested an additional EUR 50 million at the end of 2021 to support the faster recovery of the local economy from COVID-19 and help accelerate the green transition and climate adaptation of SMEs (EIB, 2023[30]).
Between 2021 and 2023, North Macedonia was allocated IPA III funding amounting to EUR 265 million. This includes the aforementioned EUR 80 million from the 2023 Energy Support Package immediate measures (European Commission, 2023[21]) and EUR 100 million of macro-financial assistance from the EU accompanied by a 24-month support programme concluded with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) amounting up to EUR 530 million. Additionally, the new Growth Plan launched in 2020 foresees infrastructural funding for flagship projects with North Macedonia in the areas of sustainable transport, clean energy, and environment and climate. Under the Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) for North Macedonia, the EU has already mobilised EUR 1.6 billion in investments, out of which EUR 566 million were in grants (European Commission, 2023[21]). In December 2023, the European Union, along with the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), announced a support package totalling EUR 560 million for a key railway project aimed at finalising North Macedonia's connection to the Bulgarian border. This assistance, provided under the Global Gateway initiative through Team Europe, marks the largest EU grant ever allocated for North Macedonia under the Western Balkans Investment Framework (EIB, 2023[31]).
References
[19] EBRD (2024), Regional Gasification Project, https://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/projects/psd/51747.html (accessed on 16 April 2024).
[11] EBRD (2023), Transition Report 2023-24, https://www.ebrd.com/news/publications/transition-report/transition-report-202324.html (accessed on 12 April 2024).
[31] EIB (2023), North Macedonia: EU Supports Railway Network to Complete Corridor VIII Connection to Bulgarian Border, https://www.eib.org/en/press/all/2023-532-north-macedonia-eu-supports-railway-network-to-complete-corridor-viii-connection-to-bulgarian-border (accessed on 16 April 2024).
[30] EIB (2023), North Macedonia: Team Europe - The EIB Supports the Recovery of North Macedonian Small Businesses from COVID-19, https://www.eib.org/en/press/all/2021-208-team-europe-the-eib-supports-the-recovery-of-north-macedonian-small-businesses-from-covid-19 (accessed on 16 April 2024).
[4] European Commission (2024), “EU candidate countries’ and potential candidates’ economic quarterly (CEEQ) Q4 2023”, https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/document/download/00bb7307-1694-4c7e-99de-5c3e662b2172_en?filename=tp070_en.pdf (accessed on 8 April 2024).
[29] European Commission (2024), North Macedonia - Financial Assistance under IPA, https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/enlargement-policy/overview-instrument-pre-accession-assistance/north-macedonia-financial-assistance-under-ipa_en (accessed on 16 April 2024).
[25] European Commission (2023), Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, The Council, The European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: New growth plan for the Western Balkan, https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-11/COM_2023_691_New%20Growth%20Plan%20Western%20Balkans.pdf (accessed on 5 April 2024).
[21] European Commission (2023), North Macedonia 2023 Enlargement Package Factsheet, https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/north-macedonia-2023-enlargement-package-factsheet_en.
[14] European Commission (2023), North Macedonia 2023 Report, https://neighbourhood-enlargement.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-11/SWD_2023_693%20North%20Macedonia%20report.pdf (accessed on 16 April 2024).
[24] European Commission (2021), Application of the Revised Enlargement Methodology to the Accession Negotiations with Montenegro and Serbia, https://data.consilium.europa.eu/doc/document/ST-8536-2021-INIT/en/pdf (accessed on 12 April 2024).
[18] Eurostat (2024), Electricity Prices for Household Consumers - Bi-annual Data (from 2007 onwards), https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/nrg_pc_204/default/table?lang=en&category=nrg.nrg_price.nrg_pc (accessed on 12 April 2024).
[9] Fitch Ratings (2023), Fitch Affirms North Macedonia at ’BB+’; Outlook Stable, https://www.fitchratings.com/research/sovereigns/fitch-affirms-north-macedonia-at-bb-outlook-stable-05-04-2024#:~:text=Fitch%20Ratings%20%2D%20London%20%2D%2005%20Apr,of%20this%20rating%20action%20commentary. (accessed on 16 April 2024).
[26] Gomez Ortiz, M., R. Zarate Vasquez and D. Taglioni (2023), “The economic effects of market integration in the Western Balkans”, The World Bank Policy Research Working Paper Series, Vol. 10491, https://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/wbrwps/10491.html (accessed on 8 April 2024).
[2] ILO (2024), ILO Modelled Estimates Database, https://ilostat.ilo.org/ (accessed on 12 April 2024).
[3] ILO (2023), Overview of the Informal Economy in North Macedonia, https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---europe/---ro-geneva/---sro-budapest/documents/genericdocument/wcms_751316.pdf (accessed on 16 April 2024).
[12] IMF (2024), International Financial Statistics (IFS), https://data.imf.org/regular.aspx?key=61545855 (accessed on 8 April 2024).
[6] IMF (2023), Data Mapper: Inflation rate, Average Consumer Prices - North Macedonia, https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/PCPIPCH@WEO/SRB?zoom=SRB&highlight=SRB (accessed on 16 April 2024).
[7] IMF (2023), IMF Country Report No. 24/26: 2023 Article IV Consultation and First Review under the Precautionary and Liquidity Line — Press Release: Staff Report and Statement by the Executive Director for Republic of North Macedonia, https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/CR/Issues/2024/01/25/Republic-of-North-Macedonia-2023-Article-IV-Consultation-and-First-Review-Under-the-544112 (accessed on 16 April 2024).
[27] OECD (2023), Economic Convergence Scoreboard for the Western Balkans 2023, OECD, Paris, https://www.oecd.org/south-east-europe/ECS-Policy-Paper-2%20web-1.pdf (accessed on 5 April 2024).
[22] Sachs, J. et al. (2023), Implementing the SDG Stimulus. Sustainable Development Report 2023., Paris: SDSN, Dublin: Dublin University Press, https://doi.org/10.25546/102924.
[17] UN (2024), UN Comtrade Database, https://comtradeplus.un.org/ (accessed on 8 April 2024).
[13] UNCTAD (2024), Data Centre, https://unctadstat.unctad.org/datacentre/ (accessed on 8 April 2024).
[16] UNDP (2022), Impact Assessment of the Ukraine Crisis on the Energy and Agriculture Sectors in North Macedonia, https://www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2022-11/Executive%20Summary_Energy_Agriculture_01_NEW_za%20pregled-1.pdf (accessed on 16 April 2024).
[23] UNECE (2021), North Macedonia: Environmental Performance Reviews, https://unece.org/sites/default/files/2021-04/Highlights3rdEPR_North%20Macedonia.pdf (accessed on 16 April 2024).
[15] UNHCR (2024), North Macedonia Bi-Annual Fact Sheet, https://Reporting.Unhcr.Org/North-Macedonia-Bi-Annual-Factsheet (accessed on 16 April 2024).
[20] WBIF (2023), New Investments Approved under the Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans, https://www.wbif.eu/news-details/new-investments-approved-under-economic-and-investment-plan-western-balkans (accessed on 12 April 2024).
[1] World Bank (2024), World Development Indicators, https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators (accessed on 12 April 2024).
[5] World Bank (2023), World Bank Western Balkans Regular Economic Report, https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/eca/publication/western-balkans-regular-economic-report (accessed on 8 April 2024).
[28] World Bank (2022), GDP per Capita, PPP (Constant 2017 International $), https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.KD, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.PP.KD (accessed on 5 April 2024).
[8] World Bank (2022), Personal Remittances, Received (Current US$) - North Macedonia, https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/BX.TRF.PWKR.CD.DT?locations=MK (accessed on 17 April 2024).
[10] World Bank (2021), World Development Indicators, https://databank.worldbank.org/source/world-development-indicators. (accessed on 8 April 2024).
← 1. In line with Communication on “Enhancing the accession process – A credible EU perspective for the Western Balkans” COM(2020)57, the fundamentals cluster includes: chapter 23 – Judiciary and fundamental rights; chapter 24 – Justice, freedom and security, the economic criteria, the functioning of democratic institutions, public administration reform; chapter 5 – Public procurement; chapter 18 – Statistics; and chapter 32 – Financial control (European Commission, 2023[25]).