8 Billion Lives
Be born

Where you could be born / Europe / Southern Europe

Born in North Macedonia

About 1 in 7,817 people born in 2023 started life in North Macedonia. A boy can expect to live 75 years and a girl 80, up from 50 and 51 in 1950. Most people live in cities, and nearly everyone has basic drinking water.

1 in 7,817
odds of being born here
16,900 births · Ranked 158th of 230
75 / 80
years of life, boys / girls
Was 50 / 51 in 1950
$6,772
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 101st of 203 · extrapolated
62%
live in a city
The rest live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 27 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 211 in every 1,000 births to 5.7.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

0255075100195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth75.1 years for boys, 79.6 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 55.7 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year20,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people2.9World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles73%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV0.1%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year11 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 5.1 children on average in 1950. Now it is 1.5, below the 2.1 it takes to keep a population steady.

Children per woman
0246195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman1.46UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth29.0 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 39 and the poorest fifth 6.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2019
6%Poorest fifth
12%Second
18%Middle
25%Fourth
39%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $6,772 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth39% / 6% (2019)World Bank PIP
Unemployment13.2% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises9.4% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person2.8% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming8% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed17% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment90% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Skopje, with 474,889 people.

62%
live in cities
100%
have electricity at home
98%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Skopje474,889
Kumanovo75,051
Prilep73,814
Bitola69,287
Čair64,773
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Macedonian67%
Albanian25%
Turkish4%
Macedonian, Albanian is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Grad Skopje654,832
Kumanovo75,051
Prilep73,814
Bitola69,287
Tetovo63,176
Veles57,873
Gostivar50,974
Shtip48,279
Centar Zhupa45,412
Ohrid42,033

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

All 31 regions
  • Grad Skopje654,832
  • Kumanovo75,051
  • Prilep73,814
  • Bitola69,287
  • Tetovo63,176
  • Veles57,873
  • Gostivar50,974
  • Shtip48,279
  • Centar Zhupa45,412
  • Ohrid42,033
  • Kavadarci38,799
  • Struga37,387
  • Kochani34,258
  • Strumica33,825
  • Kichevo31,123
  • Bogovinje30,542
  • Lipkovo28,102
  • Zhelino25,422
  • Radovish24,984
  • Tearce23,096
  • Kriva Palanka20,820
  • Gevgelija20,664
  • Negotino19,515
  • Studenichani18,219
  • Vinica18,218
  • Debar18,074
  • Vrapchishte17,518
  • Delchevo17,415
  • Resen16,539
  • Ilinden16,406
  • Brvenica16,267

People on the move

About 29% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are Germany, Switzerland, Italy.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
Germany147,204
Switzerland85,065
Italy67,492
Residents born abroad8.3% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 29.3% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostGermany (147,204), Switzerland (85,065), Italy (67,492)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $467.8 million a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

66% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 4%.

66%
of older people receive a pension (2021)
4%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 20249,978Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 19503; the deadliest, in 1963, killed about 1,070 people (magnitude 6)NOAA NCEI
Deaths in organized violence72 between 2001 and 2001UCDP

Now live it.

Born in North Macedonia, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in North Macedonia

Elsewhere in Europe

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences