City in North Macedonia

North Macedonia Economic Forecast

North Macedonia Economic Outlook

Annual economic growth slowed in Q4, and available data for Q1 paints a mixed picture. Retail sales growth rebounded in annual terms from Q4’s downturn, as price pressures receded somewhat. Moreover, industrial output flatlined during the quarter, improving from Q4’s contraction. That said, higher interest rates likely weighed on investment. Additionally, external demand seemingly weakened, as signaled by a slowdown in tourist arrivals and merchandise exports growth. Shifting to Q2, April data points to fading momentum: Both industrial output and retail sales swung into contraction. In other news, in early May, Prime Minister Kovachevski met with U.S. Secretary of State Blinken. The latter reaffirmed U.S. support for North Macedonia’s EU accession.

North Macedonia Inflation

Inflation fell for the sixth consecutive month in April, coming in at 13.0% from March’s 14.7%. The slowdown was driven by softer price pressures for food and housing and utilities. That said, the ongoing downtrend in inflation did not stop the Central Bank from once again tightening monetary policy; it hiked to 5.75% from 5.50% on 10 May.

This chart displays Economic Growth (GDP, annual variation in %) for North Macedonia from 2013 to 2022.

North Macedonia Economic Data

2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Population (million) 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1 2.1
GDP (USD bn) 11.3 12.7 12.6 12.1 13.8
GDP per capita (USD) 5,466 6,108 6,081 5,864 6,681
GDP (EUR bn) 10.1 10.8 11.3 10.6 11.7
GDP per capita (EUR) 4,848 5,177 5,433 5,144 5,651
GDP (MKD bn) 618 661 693 656 720
Economic Growth (Nominal GDP, ann. var. %) 3.9 6.9 4.8 -5.3 9.8
Economic Growth (GDP, ann. var. %) 1.1 2.9 3.9 -6.1 5.5
Domestic Demand (ann. var. %) 0.3 2.9 4.9 -6.8 6.9
Private Consumption (ann. var. %) 2.1 3.7 3.5 -4.6 9.5
Government Consumption (ann. var. %) -2.6 1.5 2.5 6.4 2.7
Total Investment (ann. var. %) -2.2 1.7 8.7 -16.1 2.8
Exports (G&S, ann. var. %) 8.3 12.8 8.9 -10.9 11.7
Imports (G&S, ann. var. %) 5.2 10.7 10.1 -10.9 11.9
Industrial Production (ann. var. %) 0.2 5.4 3.7 -9.6 1.4
Unemployment (% of active population, aop) 22.4 20.7 17.3 16.4 15.7
Fiscal Balance (% of GDP) -2.7 -1.8 -2.0 -8.2 -5.4
Public Debt (% of GDP) 39.4 40.4 40.5 51.9 51.8
Money (ann. var. of M2 %) 3.8 11.8 9.9 11.2 10.3
Inflation (CPI, ann. var. %, aop) 1.4 1.4 0.8 1.2 3.2
28-Day Central Bank Bills (%, eop) 3.25 2.50 2.25 1.50 1.25
Exchange Rate (MKD per USD, eop) 51.3 53.8 54.9 50.3 54.5
Exchange Rate (MKD per USD, aop) 54.50 52.09 54.87 54.06 52.12
Exchange Rate (MKD per EUR, eop) 61.6 61.5 61.6 61.5 61.9
Exchange Rate (MKD per EUR, aop) 61.45 61.46 61.42 61.63 61.61
Current Account Balance (EUR bn) -0.1 0.0 -0.3 -0.3 -0.4
Current Account Balance (% of GDP) -0.8 0.2 -3.0 -3.0 -3.1
Merchandise Trade Balance (EUR bn) -1.8 -1.7 -1.9 -1.8 -2.4
Merchandise Exports (EUR bn) 4.1 4.9 5.3 4.8 6.0
Merchandise Imports (EUR bn) 5.9 6.6 7.3 6.6 8.4
Merchandise Exports (ann. var. %) 15.4 19.8 9.5 -9.9 24.5
Merchandise Imports (ann. var. %) 9.7 12.9 10.2 -9.2 26.4
Foreign Direct Investment (EUR bn) 0.2 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.5
International Reserves (EUR bn) 2.3 2.9 3.3 3.4 3.6
International Reserves (months of imports) 4.8 5.2 5.4 6.1 5.2
External Debt (EUR bn) 7.4 7.8 8.1 8.6 9.5
External Debt (% of GDP) 73.2 73.0 72.2 80.4 81.5

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