# North Macedonia and Serbia compared North Macedonia and Serbia side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 2 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/mkd-vs-srb Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - North Macedonia: 1991 — North Macedonia becomes independent in the breakup of Yugoslavia - Serbia: 1166 — Stefan Nemanja founds the dynasty that becomes the Serbian state ## Economy | Metric | North Macedonia | Observed | Serbia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $17 B | 2024 | $90 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $9,292 | 2024 | $13,679 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 3.0% | 2024 | 3.9% | 2024 | | Inflation | 3.5% | 2024 | 4.7% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 136.3% | 2024 | 111.7% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | North Macedonia | Observed | Serbia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 1.8 m | 2024 | 6.6 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 76.6 yrs | 2024 | 76.0 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 62.6% | 2024 | 62.4% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 1.4 | 2024 | 1.6 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | North Macedonia | Observed | Serbia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 58.1 | 2024 | 48.7 | 2024 | | Political stability | 68.6 | 2024 | 63.0 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 50.7 | 2024 | 53.3 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 59.1 | 2024 | 56.1 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 53.1 | 2024 | 53.5 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 41.2 | 2024 | 36.5 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | North Macedonia | Observed | Serbia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 7.4% | 2023 | 8.0% | 2023 | | Physicians | 2.94 | 2022 | 3.10 | 2022 | | Under-5 mortality | 2.8 | 2024 | 5.4 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 73.0% | 2024 | 84.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 80.8% | 2024 | 75.0% | 2024 | ## Education | Metric | North Macedonia | Observed | Serbia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 96.1% | 2002 | 99.3% | 2022 | | Education spending | 3.3% | 2002 | 3.4% | 2023 | | Primary enrolment | 96.3% | 2023 | 96.0% | 2024 | | Secondary enrolment | 90.1% | 2023 | 89.8% | 2024 | | Tertiary enrolment | 55.0% | 2023 | 70.6% | 2024 | ## Technology | Metric | North Macedonia | Observed | Serbia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 0.4% | 2024 | 0.9% | 2024 | | Researchers (per million) | 888 | 2024 | 2,688 | 2024 | | Internet users | 93.1% | 2025 | 87.7% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 108 | 2024 | 124 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 6.4% | 2024 | 4.5% | 2007 | ## Geography | Metric | North Macedonia | Observed | Serbia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 25,220 km² | 2023 | 84,090 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 39.7% | 2023 | 32.4% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 49.6% | 2023 | 40.4% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 4.0 | 2024 | — | — | | Renewable energy | 19.5% | 2021 | 27.2% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | North Macedonia | Observed | Serbia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 1.7% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.4% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.7% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 0.1% | 2021 | 0.3% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 | ## Military | Metric | North Macedonia | Observed | Serbia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 2.1% | 2024 | 2.6% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $354 M | 2024 | $2.3 B | 2024 | | Armed forces | 16,000 | 2020 | 32,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/MKD.md and https://terralore.co/country/SRB.md. ## Entangled histories (2 events) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - 1912–1913: **The Balkan Wars and the partition of Macedonia** — The Balkan Wars ended Ottoman rule and divided historic Macedonia among Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria; the northern Vardar region passed to Serbia, becoming the core of the future republic. (from the North Macedonia chronicle; sources: Macedonia (region, Europe): Map, History & Facts; North Macedonia: History (Ancient, Ottoman, Yugoslav)) - 1918: **Vardar Macedonia within Yugoslavia** — After the First World War the Vardar region was incorporated into the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia), where it was administered as part of Serbia and its Slavic identity discouraged. (from the North Macedonia chronicle; sources: North Macedonia: History (Ancient, Ottoman, Yugoslav)) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/MKD/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/SRB/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "North Macedonia and Serbia compared", terralore.co/compare/mkd-vs-srb, retrieved .