!!!Macedonia: Economy
Since its independence in 1991, Macedonia has made progress in liberalizing its economy and improving its business environment, but has lagged the Balkan region in attracting foreign investment. Corruption and weak rule of law remain significant problems. Some businesses complain of opaque regulations and unequal enforcement of the law. \\  \\ Macedonia’s economy is closely linked to Europe as a customer for exports and source of investment, and has suffered as a result of prolonged weakness in the euro zone. Unemployment has remained consistently high at about 30% since 2008, but may be overstated based on the existence of an extensive gray market, estimated to be between 20% and 45% of GDP, which is not captured by official statistics. \\  \\ Macedonia maintained macroeconomic stability through the global financial crisis by conducting prudent monetary policy, which keeps the domestic currency pegged against the euro, and by limiting fiscal deficits. The government has been loosening fiscal policy, however, and the budget deficit was 4.2% of GDP in both 2013 and 2014, gradually falling to 3.7% in 2015. By yearend 2015, public debt was 40.3%, which although low by regional comparison, is significant for a small economy.
!!Economic Facts
||GDP (purchasing power parity)|$30.13 billion (2016 est.) \\ $29.48 billion (2015 est.) \\ $28.44 billion (2014 est.) \\ ''__note__'': data are in 2016 dollars; Macedonia has a large informal sector that may not be reflected in these data \\ 
||GDP (official exchange rate)|$10.49 billion (2015 est.)
||GDP - real growth rate|2.2% (2016 est.) \\ 3.7% (2015 est.) \\ 3.5% (2014 est.)
||GDP - per capita (PPP)|$14,500 (2016 est.) \\ $14,200 (2015 est.) \\ $13,700 (2014 est.) \\ ''__note__'': data are in 2016 dollars \\ 
||Gross national saving|30.6% of GDP (2016 est.) \\ 30.5% of GDP (2015 est.) \\ 29.7% of GDP (2014 est.)
||GDP - composition, by end use|''household consumption'': 68% \\ ''government consumption'': 16.8% \\ ''investment in fixed capital'': 17.6% \\ ''investment in inventories'': 12.8% \\ ''exports of goods and services'': 50% \\ ''imports of goods and services'': -65.2% (2016 est.) \\ 
||GDP - composition, by sector of origin|''agriculture'': 11.2% \\ ''industry'': 26.3% \\ ''services'': 62.5% (2016 est.) \\ 
||Agriculture - products|grapes, tobacco, vegetables, fruits; milk, eggs
||Industries|food processing, beverages, textiles, chemicals, iron, steel, cement, energy, pharmaceuticals, automotive parts
||Industrial production growth rate|3.1% (2016 est.)
||Labor force|957,400 (2016 est.)
||Labor force - by occupation|''agriculture'': 18.3% \\ ''industry'': 29.1% \\ ''services'': 52.6% (2014 est.) \\ 
||Unemployment rate|24.9% (2016 est.) \\ 26.1% (2015 est.)
||Population below poverty line|30.4% (2011 est.)
||Household income or consumption by percentage share|''lowest 10%'': 2.2% \\ ''highest 10%'': 34.5% (2009 est.) \\ 
||Distribution of family income - Gini index|43.6 (2013) \\ 39.2 (2011)
||Budget|''revenues'': $3.063 billion \\ ''expenditures'': $3.44 billion (2016 est.) \\ 
||Taxes and other revenues|29.2% of GDP (2016 est.)
||Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)|-3.6% of GDP (2016 est.)
||Public debt|50.5% of GDP (2016 est.) \\ 46.5% of GDP (2015 est.) \\ ''__note__'': official data from Ministry of Finance; data cover central government debt; this data exclude debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; include treasury debt held by foreign entitites; exclude debt issued by sub-na \\ 
||Fiscal year|calendar year
||Inflation rate (consumer prices)|-0.1% (2016 est.) \\ -0.2% (2015 est.)
||Central bank discount rate|3.25% (31 December 2014) \\ 3.25% (31 December 2013) \\ ''__note__'': series discontinued in January 2010; the discount rate has been replaced by a referent rate for calculating the penalty rate \\ 
||Commercial bank prime lending rate|7.1% (31 December 2016 est.) \\ 7.08% (31 December 2015 est.)
||Stock of narrow money|$1.899 billion (31 December 2016 est.) \\ $1.797 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
||Stock of broad money|$6.129 billion (31 December 2014 est.) \\ $6.282 billion (31 December 2013 est.)
||Stock of domestic credit|$5.534 billion (31 December 2016 est.) \\ $5.308 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
||Market value of publicly traded shares|$2.084 billion (31 December 2014) \\ $2.302 billion (31 December 2013) \\ $2.423 billion (31 December 2012)
||Current account balance|-$194 million (2016 est.) \\ -$141 million (2015 est.)
||Exports|$3.166 billion (2016 est.) \\ $3.372 billion (2015 est.)
||Exports - commodities|foodstuffs, beverages, tobacco; textiles, miscellaneous manufactures, iron, steel; automotive parts
||Exports - partners|Germany 33.2%, Kosovo 11.5%, Bulgaria 5.1%, Greece 4.5% (2015)
||Imports|$5.011 billion (2016 est.) \\ $5.393 billion (2015 est.)
||Imports - commodities|machinery and equipment, automobiles, chemicals, fuels, food products
||Imports - partners|Germany 15.9%, UK 13.6%, Greece 10.9%, Serbia 8.7%, Bulgaria 6.7%, Turkey 5.5%, Italy 4.7% (2015)
||Reserves of foreign exchange and gold|$2.576 billion (31 December 2016 est.) \\ $2.471 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
||Debt - external|$7.68 billion (31 December 2016 est.) \\ $7.029 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
||Stock of direct foreign investment - at home|$6.373 billion (31 December 2016 est.) \\ $6.123 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
||Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad|$749.6 million (31 December 2016 est.) \\ $599.6 million (31 December 2015 est.)
||Exchange rates|Macedonian denars (MKD) per US dollar - \\ 56.82 (2016 est.) \\ 55.537 (2015 est.) \\ 55.537 (2014 est.) \\ 46.437 (31 December 2013 est.) \\ 47.89 (2012 est.)