North MacedoniaNorth Macedonia (ˌmæsəˈdoʊniə ), officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land 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 northern third of the larger geographical region of Macedonia. Skopje, the capital and largest city, is home to a quarter of the country's 1.83 million people. The majority of the residents are ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people.
BitolaBitola (ˈbiːtoʊlə,_-tələ; Битола ˈbitɔɫa) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki border crossing with Greece. The city stands at an important junction connecting the south of the Adriatic Sea region with the Aegean Sea and Central Europe, and it is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre.
Macedonia (region)Macedonia (ˌmæsɪˈdoʊniə ) is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeast Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time; however, it came to be defined as the modern geographical region by the mid-19th century. Today the region is considered to include parts of six Balkan countries: all of North Macedonia, large parts of Greece and Bulgaria, and smaller parts of Albania, Serbia, and Kosovo. It covers approximately and has a population of around five million.
KosovoKosovo (Kosova kɔˈsɔva; Косово kôsoʋo), officially the Republic of Kosovo (Republika e Kosovës; Republika Kosovo), is a country in Southeast Europe with partial diplomatic recognition. Kosovo lies landlocked in the centre of the Balkans, bordered by Serbia to the north and east, North Macedonia to the southeast, Albania to the southwest, and Montenegro to the west. Most of central Kosovo is dominated by the vast plains and fields of Metohija and the Kosovo field.
Macedonian languageMacedonian (ˌmæsᵻˈdoʊniən ; македонски јазик, , maˈkɛdɔnski ˈjazik) is an Eastern South Slavic language. It is part of the Indo-European language family, and is one of the Slavic languages, which are part of a larger Balto-Slavic branch. Spoken as a first language by around two million people, it serves as the official language of North Macedonia. Most speakers can be found in the country and its diaspora, with a smaller number of speakers throughout the transnational region of Macedonia.
YugoslaviaYugoslavia (ˌjuːɡoʊˈslɑːviə; Југославија juɡǒslaːʋija; Jugoslavija juɡɔˈslàːʋija; Југославија juɡɔˈsɫavija; Land of the South Slavs) was a country in Southeast and Central Europe which existed from 1918 to 1992. It came into existence in 1918 following World War I, under the name of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes from the merger of the Kingdom of Serbia with the provisional State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs (which was formed from territories of the former Austria-Hungary), and constituted the first union of South Slavic peoples as a sovereign state, following centuries of foreign rule over the region under the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary.
Macedonians (ethnic group)Macedonians (Makedonci) are a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group native to the region of Macedonia in Southeast Europe. They speak Macedonian, a South Slavic language. The large majority of Macedonians identify as Eastern Orthodox Christians, who speak a South Slavic language, and share a cultural and historical "Orthodox Byzantine–Slavic heritage" with their neighbours. About two-thirds of all ethnic Macedonians live in North Macedonia and there are also communities in a number of other countries.
AlbaniansThe Albanians (ælˈbɛɪniənz; Shqiptarët ʃcipˈtaɾət) are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia as well as in Croatia, Greece, Italy and Turkey. They also constitute a large diaspora with several communities established across Europe, the Americas and Oceania. Albanians have Paleo-Balkanic origins.
PristinaPristina (UKˈpriːʃtɪnə,_prɪʃˈtiːnə , USˈprɪʃtɪnə ) is the capital and largest city of Kosovo. It is the administrative center of the eponymous municipality and district. In antiquity, the area of Pristina was part of the Dardanian kingdom. The heritage of the classical era is represented by the settlement of Ulpiana. After the Roman Empire was divided into a western and an eastern half, the area remained within the Byzantine Empire between the 5th and 9th centuries.
Balkan WarsThe Balkan Wars were a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defeated it, in the process stripping the Ottomans of their European provinces, leaving only Eastern Thrace under the Ottoman Empire's control. In the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria fought against the other four original combatants of the first war. It also faced an attack from Romania from the north.
