Country or area · Southern Europe · Europe · UN WPP 2024

North Macedonia population

North Macedonia population now

1,801,603

A projection read at this second, not a count: the UN's totals for 1 January 2026 and 2027, joined by a straight line. 95% range for 31 December 2026: 1.8–1.8 million.

Mid-2023, UN estimate: 1,831,802

Year: 2026; projection · medium
Population, mid-2026: 1.80407 million; 95% range, 31 Dec: 1.8–1.8 million
Median age: 42.4
Aged 65+: 19.0%

Move through time, 1950–2100

2023 | 2024

male female projection · one cell = 500 people

How to read this: one row for each age, newborns at the bottom; men on the left, women on the right.

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries

MKD · 1950–2100 · in brief

North Macedonia in numbers

North Macedonia had 1,831,802 people in mid-2023, the 152nd-largest population of the 236 countries and areas the UN reports, and 0.02% of the world's people. That is 1.5 times its 1950 population of 1.2 million.

Its population peaked in 2005 at 2.1 million and has been falling since. The UN's medium projection has 863 thousand in 2100. The projection is uncertain: on 1 January 2100 the UN's 95% range runs from 267 thousand to 2.8 million.

Since 2020, more people have died here each year than have been born, and the UN's projection has that holding every year to 2100.

The median age was 21.5 in 1950 and 41.3 in 2023; the projection has 55.6 in 2100. 17.5% of people were 65 or older in 2023, against 37.8% projected for 2100. The working-age population (15–64) peaked in 2006 at 1.4 million; in 2023 it was 1.2 million.

By size it is the 152nd country in 2023; the projection puts it 156th in 2050 and 165th in 2100. In the medium projection it overtakes Latvia in 2038. It is overtaken by Bahrain in 2030, Kosovo in 2038 and Timor-Leste in 2038.

Population, mid-2023: 1,831,802
Rank by population, 2023: 152 of 236
Share of the world, 2023: 0.02%
Change in a year, mid-2022 to mid-2023: −0.46% · −8,431 people
People per km² of land, 2023: 73
Land area, 2023: 25,220 km²
Births, 2023: 16,878
Deaths, 2023: 19,863
Net migration, 2023: −5,597
Children per woman, 2023: 1.47
Median age, 2023: 41.3 years
Life expectancy at birth, 2023: 77.4 years
In a city, 2025: 29 of every 100
Population, mid-1950: 1,248,683
Projected, mid-2050: 1,512,688
Projected, mid-2100: 862,997

MKD · 1950–2100 · total population

Population, 1950–2100

estimates | projections0500 k1 m1.5 m2 m2.5 m3 m1950197520002025205020752100

estimate projection, up to the bottom of the 95% range 95% range medium projection. Every column stands for a single year, counted on 1 January, and the paper rules slice it into cells of equal size.

Show the numbers: North Macedonia, 1950–2100

North Macedonia: population on 1 January, births, deaths, fertility and life expectancy, 1950–2100
Year	Kind	Population, 1 Jan	95% range	Births	Deaths	Children per woman	Life expectancy
1950	estimate	1,237,197		46,992	24,012	5.14	50.6
1951	estimate	1,260,169		47,130	25,410	4.97	48.5
1952	estimate	1,281,901		47,411	22,142	4.83	52.5
1953	estimate	1,307,159		46,123	21,502	4.55	53.1
1954	estimate	1,331,783		47,421	19,577	4.53	55.7
1955	estimate	1,348,230		45,790	19,620	4.29	55.4
1956	estimate	1,363,121		44,098	17,068	4.04	58.5
1957	estimate	1,378,714		43,589	18,911	3.90	55.7
1958	estimate	1,391,796		43,861	15,614	3.86	60.3
1959	estimate	1,408,435		45,037	16,302	3.92	59.5
1960	estimate	1,425,715		44,473	15,658	3.83	60.5
1961	estimate	1,444,403		42,527	14,681	3.62	61.8
1962	estimate	1,465,940		41,620	16,303	3.50	59.3
1963	estimate	1,477,549		43,118	14,995	3.62	61.4
1964	estimate	1,499,926		42,934	15,044	3.56	61.5
1965	estimate	1,521,874		43,041	14,478	3.52	62.6
1966	estimate	1,545,057		42,750	13,986	3.43	63.5
1967	estimate	1,569,641		42,311	13,910	3.33	63.8
1968	estimate	1,595,343		41,929	13,550	3.22	64.6
1969	estimate	1,622,517		41,610	14,147	3.10	64.0
1970	estimate	1,650,174		41,696	13,675	3.01	65.0
1971	estimate	1,678,242		41,787	13,778	2.93	65.2
1972	estimate	1,704,191		42,016	13,780	2.87	65.6
1973	estimate	1,730,599		40,981	12,950	2.72	67.1
1974	estimate	1,757,034		41,602	13,203	2.70	67.1
1975	estimate	1,784,056		42,392	13,410	2.69	67.3
1976	estimate	1,811,888		42,070	13,272	2.62	67.9
1977	estimate	1,839,772		40,662	13,251	2.49	68.2
1978	estimate	1,866,504		40,074	12,922	2.42	69.0
1979	estimate	1,893,190		40,314	13,217	2.40	69.2
1980	estimate	1,919,856		40,145	13,599	2.36	69.0
1981	estimate	1,946,220		39,329	13,639	2.29	69.4
1982	estimate	1,971,911		39,472	13,663	2.29	69.8
1983	estimate	1,986,000		38,784	14,095	2.25	69.7
1984	estimate	1,997,802		38,479	14,044	2.24	70.2
1985	estimate	2,008,996		38,505	14,339	2.25	70.2
1986	estimate	2,019,665		38,313	14,594	2.25	70.3
1987	estimate	2,029,799		39,195	14,837	2.31	70.4
1988	estimate	2,040,515		39,158	15,094	2.32	70.5
1989	estimate	2,050,960		37,738	14,825	2.25	71.1
1990	estimate	2,060,338		37,901	15,034	2.27	71.3
1991	estimate	2,067,041		38,368	14,980	2.31	71.8
1992	estimate	2,044,947		37,383	15,725	2.28	71.3
1993	estimate	2,020,099		36,466	15,670	2.26	71.7
1994	estimate	1,993,610		35,328	16,225	2.23	71.5
1995	estimate	1,991,722		33,354	16,114	2.13	72.0
1996	estimate	2,005,346		32,330	17,523	2.06	71.8
1997	estimate	2,019,760		30,255	17,788	1.92	71.9
1998	estimate	2,031,751		30,004	17,780	1.89	71.8
1999	estimate	2,043,385		28,247	17,582	1.77	72.3
2000	estimate	2,052,789		29,766	18,009	1.86	72.6
2001	estimate	2,061,716		27,656	17,563	1.73	73.0
2002	estimate	2,070,886		28,591	18,548	1.79	72.7
2003	estimate	2,078,082		28,012	18,461	1.75	73.0
2004	estimate	2,084,740		24,498	18,184	1.52	73.5
2005	estimate	2,088,421		23,641	18,626	1.47	73.6
2006	estimate	2,091,192		24,414	18,705	1.51	73.8
2007	estimate	2,087,274		24,555	19,448	1.53	73.7
2008	estimate	2,076,670		24,707	18,737	1.56	74.4
2009	estimate	2,064,998		25,389	18,730	1.64	74.5
2010	estimate	2,056,199		26,063	18,792	1.71	75.0
2011	estimate	2,046,811		24,390	19,244	1.63	75.1
2012	estimate	2,034,080		25,148	19,645	1.71	75.0
2013	estimate	2,020,497		24,529	18,670	1.71	75.6
2014	estimate	2,006,063		24,809	19,138	1.77	75.6
2015	estimate	1,989,604		24,296	19,763	1.76	75.6
2016	estimate	1,971,128		24,258	19,845	1.79	75.6
2017	estimate	1,951,391		22,977	19,773	1.73	76.2
2018	estimate	1,930,366		22,543	18,938	1.73	76.9
2019	estimate	1,909,091		20,958	19,661	1.65	76.8
2020	estimate	1,886,191		20,045	24,931	1.63	74.5
2021	estimate	1,857,840		19,383	27,373	1.62	73.3
2022	estimate	1,844,375		18,639	21,619	1.59	76.7
2023	estimate	1,836,091		16,878	19,863	1.47	77.4
2024	estimate	1,827,512		16,587	19,871	1.47	77.5
2025	projection	1,818,506	1.8–1.8 million	16,313	20,095	1.47	77.7
2026	projection	1,809,076	1.8–1.8 million	16,027	20,314	1.47	77.8
2027	projection	1,799,049	1.8–1.8 million	15,783	20,527	1.47	78.0
2028	projection	1,789,138	1.7–1.8 million	15,559	20,740	1.48	78.1
2029	projection	1,778,885	1.7–1.9 million	15,328	20,960	1.48	78.2
2030	projection	1,768,213	1.7–1.9 million	15,121	21,177	1.48	78.4
2031	projection	1,756,760	1.6–1.9 million	14,935	21,392	1.48	78.5
2032	projection	1,745,300	1.6–1.9 million	14,773	21,593	1.48	78.7
2033	projection	1,733,715	1.6–1.9 million	14,626	21,789	1.49	78.8
2034	projection	1,722,165	1.6–1.9 million	14,509	21,987	1.49	78.9
2035	projection	1,710,253	1.5–1.9 million	14,413	22,169	1.49	79.1
2036	projection	1,698,134	1.5–1.9 million	14,349	22,336	1.49	79.2
2037	projection	1,685,759	1.5–1.9 million	14,265	22,488	1.49	79.4
2038	projection	1,673,234	1.4–1.9 million	14,209	22,639	1.49	79.5
2039	projection	1,660,900	1.4–1.9 million	14,174	22,773	1.49	79.6
2040	projection	1,648,290	1.4–2.0 million	14,138	22,856	1.50	79.8
2041	projection	1,635,526	1.3–2.0 million	14,067	22,911	1.50	79.9
2042	projection	1,622,741	1.3–2.0 million	13,989	22,953	1.50	80.1
2043	projection	1,609,708	1.3–2.0 million	13,895	22,970	1.50	80.2
2044	projection	1,596,633	1.2–2.0 million	13,765	22,964	1.50	80.4
2045	projection	1,583,848	1.2–2.0 million	13,618	22,945	1.51	80.5
2046	projection	1,570,862	1.2–2.0 million	13,419	22,898	1.51	80.7
2047	projection	1,557,773	1.2–2.1 million	13,201	22,843	1.51	80.8
2048	projection	1,545,056	1.2–2.1 million	12,949	22,740	1.51	81.0
2049	projection	1,532,252	1.1–2.1 million	12,666	22,662	1.51	81.1
2050	projection	1,519,251	1.1–2.1 million	12,389	22,565	1.51	81.3
2051	projection	1,506,125	1.1–2.1 million	12,088	22,468	1.51	81.4
2052	projection	1,492,480	1.1–2.1 million	11,763	22,376	1.51	81.5
2053	projection	1,478,903	1.0–2.1 million	11,457	22,261	1.52	81.7
2054	projection	1,464,738	1.0–2.1 million	11,123	22,156	1.52	81.8
2055	projection	1,450,360	1.0–2.1 million	10,829	22,050	1.52	82.0
2056	projection	1,436,073	1.0–2.1 million	10,551	21,948	1.52	82.1
2057	projection	1,421,638	0.9–2.1 million	10,298	21,848	1.52	82.2
2058	projection	1,407,411	0.9–2.2 million	10,079	21,745	1.52	82.4
2059	projection	1,393,325	0.9–2.2 million	9,882	21,655	1.52	82.5
2060	projection	1,379,187	0.9–2.2 million	9,717	21,567	1.53	82.6
2061	projection	1,364,654	0.8–2.2 million	9,566	21,471	1.53	82.8
2062	projection	1,349,869	0.8–2.2 million	9,433	21,371	1.53	82.9
2063	projection	1,335,111	0.8–2.2 million	9,309	21,263	1.53	83.0
2064	projection	1,320,440	0.8–2.3 million	9,189	21,183	1.53	83.2
2065	projection	1,306,171	0.7–2.3 million	9,111	21,081	1.53	83.3
2066	projection	1,291,668	0.7–2.3 million	9,048	20,992	1.53	83.4
2067	projection	1,277,494	0.7–2.3 million	8,985	20,896	1.53	83.5
2068	projection	1,263,049	0.7–2.3 million	8,944	20,778	1.53	83.7
2069	projection	1,248,563	0.6–2.3 million	8,893	20,639	1.54	83.8
2070	projection	1,234,108	0.6–2.3 million	8,838	20,491	1.54	83.9
2071	projection	1,219,796	0.6–2.3 million	8,784	20,344	1.54	84.1
2072	projection	1,206,096	0.6–2.3 million	8,730	20,189	1.54	84.2
2073	projection	1,192,409	0.6–2.3 million	8,656	20,015	1.54	84.3
2074	projection	1,178,705	0.5–2.4 million	8,576	19,836	1.54	84.5
2075	projection	1,165,091	0.5–2.4 million	8,482	19,658	1.54	84.6
2076	projection	1,151,775	0.5–2.4 million	8,386	19,477	1.54	84.7
2077	projection	1,138,413	0.5–2.3 million	8,274	19,279	1.54	84.8
2078	projection	1,125,340	0.5–2.4 million	8,151	19,083	1.54	85.0
2079	projection	1,112,534	0.5–2.4 million	8,027	18,874	1.55	85.1
2080	projection	1,100,025	0.4–2.4 million	7,899	18,663	1.55	85.2
2081	projection	1,087,700	0.4–2.4 million	7,755	18,466	1.55	85.3
2082	projection	1,075,264	0.4–2.5 million	7,603	18,247	1.55	85.4
2083	projection	1,062,865	0.4–2.5 million	7,447	18,015	1.55	85.5
2084	projection	1,050,689	0.4–2.5 million	7,291	17,802	1.55	85.7
2085	projection	1,038,460	0.4–2.5 million	7,146	17,582	1.55	85.8
2086	projection	1,026,559	0.4–2.5 million	7,005	17,369	1.55	85.9
2087	projection	1,014,582	0.4–2.5 million	6,863	17,157	1.55	86.0
2088	projection	1,002,955	0.4–2.5 million	6,736	16,950	1.55	86.1
2089	projection	991,377	0.3–2.6 million	6,603	16,753	1.55	86.2
2090	projection	979,821	0.3–2.6 million	6,491	16,559	1.55	86.4
2091	projection	968,444	0.3–2.6 million	6,385	16,376	1.55	86.5
2092	projection	956,987	0.3–2.6 million	6,277	16,198	1.55	86.6
2093	projection	945,616	0.3–2.7 million	6,181	16,037	1.55	86.7
2094	projection	934,245	0.3–2.6 million	6,095	15,892	1.55	86.8
2095	projection	923,152	0.3–2.7 million	6,024	15,751	1.55	86.9
2096	projection	912,283	0.3–2.7 million	5,964	15,620	1.55	87.1
2097	projection	901,271	0.3–2.7 million	5,905	15,504	1.55	87.2
2098	projection	890,251	0.3–2.7 million	5,854	15,392	1.55	87.3
2099	projection	879,306	0.3–2.8 million	5,799	15,284	1.55	87.4
2100	projection	868,383	0.3–2.8 million	5,748	15,174	1.55	87.5

Show the numbers: North Macedonia, mid-2026, by single year of age

North Macedonia: population by single year of age, mid-2026
Age	Male	Female
0	8,267	7,682
1	8,341	7,741
2	8,444	7,831
3	8,954	8,307
4	9,578	8,884
5	9,816	9,094
6	10,015	9,268
7	10,274	9,549
8	10,490	9,953
9	10,686	10,356
10	10,960	10,622
11	11,250	10,855
12	11,331	10,989
13	11,183	10,792
14	10,968	10,553
15	10,914	10,625
16	11,072	10,757
17	10,898	10,520
18	10,415	10,101
19	10,153	9,878
20	10,030	9,779
21	9,994	9,776
22	10,096	9,916
23	10,389	10,178
24	10,514	10,285
25	10,564	10,382
26	10,615	10,418
27	10,426	10,219
28	10,504	10,298
29	10,933	10,638
30	11,434	10,968
31	11,718	11,184
32	11,782	11,404
33	11,799	11,582
34	11,942	11,785
35	12,177	12,004
36	12,179	11,982
37	12,219	12,086
38	12,424	12,346
39	12,412	12,448
40	12,222	12,420
41	12,256	12,475
42	12,572	12,745
43	12,736	12,915
44	12,709	12,936
45	12,724	13,024
46	12,747	12,932
47	12,656	12,756
48	12,480	12,646
49	12,349	12,710
50	12,369	12,914
51	12,227	12,915
52	11,881	12,766
53	11,779	12,645
54	11,784	12,614
55	11,700	12,459
56	11,638	12,394
57	11,648	12,549
58	11,750	12,698
59	11,836	12,706
60	11,858	12,646
61	11,924	12,962
62	11,740	12,878
63	11,356	12,394
64	11,163	12,186
65	11,034	12,138
66	11,023	12,332
67	10,924	12,272
68	10,489	11,800
69	10,091	11,462
70	9,936	11,304
71	9,741	11,238
72	9,243	11,038
73	8,518	10,569
74	7,682	9,926
75	6,928	9,250
76	6,354	8,768
77	5,749	8,276
78	4,956	7,454
79	4,095	6,338
80	3,440	5,408
81	3,020	4,878
82	2,688	4,528
83	2,372	4,171
84	2,048	3,722
85	1,723	3,248
86	1,404	2,796
87	1,104	2,367
88	875	2,010
89	711	1,716
90	554	1,436
91	403	1,150
92	286	893
93	194	669
94	123	476
95	78	332
96	49	226
97	29	147
98	16	96
99	10	62
100+	10	88

MKD · 1950–2100 · every age, every year

North Macedonia, every age in every year

Each column is a year and each row an age; the denser the ink in a cell, the more people. Everyone born in the same year climbs one 45° diagonal, so famines, baby booms and migration show up as streaks. Select a cell to follow its generation.

MKD · ages 15–64

Who does the work in North Macedonia

North Macedonia had the most working-age people it is ever expected to have in 2006: 1,428,820 people aged 15–64, against 1,198,560 in 2023.

100 aged 15–64

26 children

27 aged 65+

aged 15–64 children under 15 aged 65 and over

How to read this: one orange square for each of 100 people aged 15–64 in 2023. Beneath them, teal for the children living alongside those 100 and violet for the people aged 65 or older.

Fewer than 50 dependants live alongside every 100 people aged 15–64 in 20 years: 2000–2019.

fewer than 50 dependants per 100 the same, projected 50 or more

How to read this: the strip runs 1950 to 2100. Coloured years are the ones with under 50 dependants for every 100 people aged 15–64; grey years are the rest, and a hatched year has not happened yet.

How every country compares

MKD · arrivals minus departures

Who arrives in North Macedonia, and who leaves

In 2020–2025 North Macedonia loses 7,332 people a year: everyone who arrives, minus everyone who leaves. The age at which that happens most is 20–24, at 1,373 a year more leaving than arriving.

one square = 200 people a year

020406080+

more arrive than leave more leave than arrive

How to read this: each column is one age, youngest on the left. Above the line, in blue, are the ages gaining people; below it, in orange, the ages losing them. This is the UN's projection for 2020–2025 — the record of migration by age does not go back beyond 2020.

Its best and worst years between 1950 and 2023: a gain of 181 (1969), and a loss of 47,273 (1993).

In 2024, 150,902 people living in North Macedonia had been born in another country, 8 of every 100 people there, against 5 in 1990.

How migration works everywhere

MKD · births by the mother's age · 1950–2100

Who has the babies in North Macedonia

Of every 100 babies born in North Macedonia in 2023, 4 had a mother under 20, 81 a mother aged 20 to 34 and 15 a mother aged 35 or older. In 1950 it was 4 under 20 and 19 aged 35 or older.

1950
4 · 77 · 19

2023
4 · 81 · 15

2050 · projected
2 · 72 · 26

The mother's age: under 20 20 to 34 35 or older projected

How to read this: shrink a year's babies to 100 and colour each one by the age of its mother — that is a block. Under it, the same three groups as numbers, starting with the youngest mothers.

Babies born, 2023: 16,878
Average age when women have a baby: 29.0 years; 30.4 in 1950
Babies a year per 1,000 girls aged 15–19: 13; 28 in 1950

Babies by the mother's age, 1950–2100

Babies born in North Macedonia by the mother's age
Mother's age	1950	1975	2000	2023	2050 projected	2100 projected
10–14	5	17	32	17	6	3
15–19	1,951	4,239	2,629	659	208	107
20–24	13,216	16,115	10,404	3,016	1,200	653
25–29	14,453	13,237	10,300	5,647	3,359	1,695
30–34	8,356	5,459	4,682	4,950	4,419	1,922
35–39	5,824	2,417	1,459	2,114	2,458	1,017
40–44	2,697	820	246	441	649	304
45–49	490	88	14	34	90	47
50–54	0	0	0	0	0	0
All babies	46,992	42,392	29,766	16,878	12,389	5,748

The UN's births for each year, split by the mother's age in the UN's own proportions.

MKD · healthy years · 2021

Years in good health in North Macedonia

A baby born in North Macedonia in 2021 could expect 73.0 years of life, 63.7 of them in full health (95% range 63.0–64.6). That leaves 9.3 years in less than full health, close to the world's 9.5.

Women

64.6 in full health, 10.6 not: 75.2 years

Men

62.9 in full health, 7.9 not: 70.8 years

a year in full health a year in less than full health

How to read this: each square is a year of life, each row ten years; filled squares are years in full health, rounded to whole years.

Women: 64.6 healthy years of 75.2. Men: 62.9 of 70.8. In 2019, before the pandemic, the healthy years were 66.7.

MKD · forced from home · end of 2025

Displacement in North Macedonia

At the end of 2025, North Macedonia was hosting 20,860 people who had crossed a border into it, about 12 of every 1,000 people living there.

hosted from abroad20,860
North Macedonia nationals abroad3,218

stayed inside their own country crossed a border

How to read this: count the squares — 500 people each, so the rows can be compared with one another. The last row is people from North Macedonia living in another country, wherever they are.

In 2025, 169 people asked for asylum in North Macedonia for the first time; 1,026 people from North Macedonia asked for asylum in another country. Of every 100 people from North Macedonia whose claims were decided that year, 2 were given protection. Who asks for asylum, and who is given it

How the world's displacement is counted

MKD · of every 100 people

How people live in North Macedonia

Of every 100 people in North Macedonia in 2025, 29 lived in a city, 42 in a town or suburb and 29 in the countryside.

cities towns and suburbs rural areas

Nearly everyone has electricity at home (2024). 6.4 of every 100 do not use the internet (2024).

How to read this: one square for every hundredth person, coloured as the key shows. Because the rule behind the colours is the same everywhere, two countries' squares can be compared directly.

How the world's people live

MKD · adults 25 and over · 2020

How far people in North Macedonia went in school

Of every 100 adults in North Macedonia in 2020, 2 never went to school and 64 finished upper secondary or went further.

2 never went to school 7 some primary 7 finished primary 20 finished lower secondary 50 finished upper secondary 14 studied after school

The young went further: 0.7 of every 100 women aged 25–29 never went to school, against 2.7 of every 100 aged 60–64 (men: 0.6 against 1.1).

Its people aged 15 to 64 were most numerous in 2020, the first year counted, and are never as many again in the middle projection; the ones who finished upper secondary are most numerous later, in 2045.

How to read this: every adult here as one of 100 squares. The stronger the colour, the further that person went in school (the Wittgenstein Centre, 2020).

How far the world's people went in school

MKD · cities · 2025

Cities in North Macedonia

North Macedonia had 4 cities in 2025, home to 523,840 people. The largest, Skopje, holds 19 of every 100 people in North Macedonia.

Skopje352,624
Kumanovo62,033
Tetovo57,160
Bitola52,023

How to read this: one bar for each of the 4 largest cities, 2025, all on the same scale. "City" here means the built-up area the UN measures, not the boundary the city draws itself.

All the world's cities

Apparatus

Sources and method

Every figure on this page comes from the UN's World Population Prospects 2024: the annual country tables (estimates to 2023, projections with 95% intervals from 2024), and the population by single year of age and sex for the pyramid.

The censuses, surveys and registers behind the UN's estimates for North Macedonia are listed, source by source, on the UN's own data sources page.

Sources: UN WPP 2024 · World Bank · UNHCR · country code lists · UN WUP 2025 · Wittgenstein Centre · WHO GHO · flag-icons · Natural Earth. Every source, its licence and how to cite it →

Checked before it was drawn

Verified 2026-09-30 · 73 canaries The pyramid for every year was checked against the published total. What that stamp counts, and what every page here has to pass before it can be built: how this site checks its figures.