MACEDONIA, region, SE Europe, situated in the S central portion of the Balkan Peninsula, NW of the Aegean Sea, between Epirus on the W and Thrace on the E. It is divided politically between the Republic of Macedonia (until 1992 a constituent republic of Yugoslavia) and portions of Greece and Bulgaria. The region is largely mountainous and includes the valleys of the Vardar, Mesta, and Struma rivers, all of which drain into the Aegean Sea. Agriculture is important; tobacco, cereal grains, cotton, and fruit are the leading crops, and sheep and goats are raised. Lumbering is carried on in the SW.Republic of Macedonia. Seceded from Yugoslavia in September 1991, Macedonia formally attained independence in April 1992. It is bounded on the N by Serbia, on the E by Bulgaria, on the S by Greece, and on the W by Albania. The Vardar R. bisects Macedonia from NW to SE. Much of the terrain is upland, rising in the S to the Kozuf and Nidze mountain ranges. The people are ethnically similar to the Serbs and the Bulgars, and the Macedonian language is closely related to Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian. The capital and chief city is Skopje; other important cities are Bitola (formerly Monastir) and Prilep. The country was admitted to the United Nations as the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia in April 1993. For a map of this area, see YUGOSLAVIA.

Farming and livestock raising are the chief occupations. The main crops are cereals, cotton, rice, tobacco, and fruit. Macedonia's abundant mineral resources of copper, lead, zinc, and chromite have been mined since World War II. Area, 25,713 sq km (9928 sq mi); pop. (1984 est.) 2,025,000.Greek Macedonia. A geographical division including all of N Greece except Thrace, it is bounded on the N by independent Macedonia and Bulgaria, on the S by Thessalía and Epirus, and on the NW by Albania. Administratively, Macedonia is divided into 14 nomoi, or prefectures. The capital is Thessaloníki; other cities are Kaválla, Sérrai, and Dráma. Population is mostly Greek due to exchanges with Turkey after World War I; the official language is Greek. Area, 34,348 sq km (13,262 sq mi); pop. (1981) 2,121,953.Bulgarian Macedonia. A region in SW Bulgaria, it is between the Mesta and Struma rivers. Approximately coextensive with the Blagoyevgrad District (formerly Gorna Dzhumaya), it is bounded on the S by Greece, and on the W by independent Macedonia. Blagoyevgrad is the capital of the district and the largest city.

For history of the modern region of Macedonia see BALKAN WARS; GREECE; MACEDONIA (kingdom).