“I broke the bars of North Macedonia’s yoke and enabled them to walk with its head held high!”
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.(Leviticus 26:13,NIV)
》 Country Profile
Continent | Europe
Population | 2.13 million
Area | 25,713㎢, Located in the central part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southern Europe.
Capital City | Skopje (600,000 people)
People Groups | Total 22 Groups, Macedonian 62.4%, Albanian 25%, Turks 3.9%, Roma (Gypsies) 2.7%, Serbs 1.8%, others 2.2%
Unreached People Groups | 9 (30.8% of the population)
Official Language(s) | Macedonian
Total Languages | 18
Bible Translations | Completed 12, New Testament 1, Partial 2
Religion | Christianity 62% (Protestant 0.2%, Orthodox 60%), Muslim 36.3%, Non-religious 1.7%, Evangelical 0.2%(3,600 people)
》 About North Macedonia
North Macedonia was once part of Alexander the Great’s ancient Greek kingdom, but its people are South Slavs who settled in the 6th–7th centuries. In 1944, during the final stages of World War II, the anti-fascist parliament declared the People’s Republic of Macedonia, joining the Yugoslav federation. In 1991, while civil war broke out in other republics, Macedonia gained independence peacefully. After a long dispute with Greece over its name, the country officially became “North Macedonia” in 2019, opening the door to join the EU and NATO. North Macedonia is a parliamentary republic, with Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova serving as the country’s first female president since 2024, and Hristijan Mickoski leading the government as prime minister from the same year.
North Macedonia was the poorest of the six Yugoslav republics, but it slowly developed through agriculture and coal. After gaining independence, it worked to shift to a market economy through privatization and foreign investment. However, economic sanctions from Greece in 1992 and ethnic conflict in 2001 caused setbacks. Ongoing political instability and a tough business environment have limited progress, and unemployment has remained high at around 23%. North Macedonia’s GDP per capita is approximately $9,310.
》 Scripture Focus
| Leviticus 26:1–5, 10–13(NIV) 1 “‘Do not make idols or set up an image or a sacred stone for yourselves, and do not place a carved stone in your land to bow down before it. I am the Lord your God. 2 “‘Observe my Sabbaths and have reverence for my sanctuary. I am the Lord. 3 “‘If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, 4 I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. 5 Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land. 10 You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. 11 I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. 12 I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. 13 I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high. |
》 Prayer Points
1. About 62% of North Macedonia’s population identifies as Christian, with 60% belonging to the Orthodox Church. They take pride in religious tradition, rituals, and symbols such as the 66-meter-high Millennium Cross overlooking Skopje. Yet despite this identity, over 1,000 churches remain empty, and many believers live secular or non-religious lives. Evangelicals make up only 0.2% of the population, but they are steadily growing. Fewer than 100 churches are actively ministering across the country. Although they were once labeled as “fanatics” and hindered by government restrictions, churches are now building unity through prayer gatherings, intercessory networks, and united city worship services. Let us pray that the gospel will break the yoke of empty tradition in the Orthodox Church. May the message of the cross be preached boldly and God’s saving grace overflow in this land.
2. Mission organizations such as Worldshare, IMB, Pioneers, Frontiers, the Church of the Nazarene, and Partners International are active in North Macedonia. Despite challenges in sharing the gospel, dozens of missionaries continue their work with wisdom and care. Many house churches are spreading the gospel with passion and sacrifice. These grassroots movements are bearing fruit, and local ministries such as the Macedonian Mission to the Balkans are now reaching neighboring countries as well. Discipleship and leadership training are becoming more vital as the church expands. Let us pray that more churches and believers will obey the call to missions, receive God’s promises, and become a strong gospel witness to Europe and the nations.
3. Albanians, who are mostly Muslim, make up 25% of the population (around 520,000) and have historically had tensions with ethnic Macedonians. Other Muslim populations include Turks (80,000), Bosnians (17,000), and thousands of Arabs, Gorani, and Egyptians who arrived as immigrants or refugees. There are around 66,000 Roma (Gypsies), many of whom are trapped in a mix of Islam and folk religion, suffering from poverty, lack of education, and unemployment. They remain an unreached group in desperate need of hope and transformation. Let us pray that the gospel of the cross will reach these unreached peoples. May the Lord fulfill His promise: “I will be your God, and you will be my people,” even among the most distant and overlooked peoples.
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