General Info

macedoniamap.gif (42 Kb)

GENERAL STATISTICS - MACEDONIA

Covers 25,713 sq km with population of 2.02M

Neighboring Countries:

Serbia, Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, Kosovo

Main benefits of Macedonia

Strategic geographical position – crossroad of 2 main European transport corridors
Highly-competitive production and export platform
Highly liberalized foreign trade policy
Local producers have free access to the European and other markets
A stabile monetary environment
Highly qualified workforce and one of the most competitive labor cost in Europe
The highest standards in corporate reporting, corporate governance, product standards
Macedonia enters the white Schengen list as of 1 January 2010

GDP per capita:

2003 – USD 2,279 2004 – USD 2,638 2005 – USD 3,120

2006 – USD 3,709 2007 – USD 3,928

International relations

Member of World Bank and IMF 1993
European Union candidate country 2005
Stabilization and Association agreement with EU 2001
Member of World Trade Organization 2003

Macedonian Legal Framework

Law on Industrial Property (2002 amended and modified 2004);
Tariffs of the State Office of Industrial Property Office (2004);
Regulations for Patent and Trademark (2004)
Regulations for Appellation of Origin and Geographical Indication (2004);
Law on Protection of Topographies of Integrated Circuits (1998);
Law of the Ratification on European Convention Relating to the Formalities required for Patent Applications (1997);
Law of the Ratification of the Convention on Unification of certain of substantive Law on Patents for Invention (1997).
Law for the Ratification of the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks (2002);
Law for the Ratification of the Strasburg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification (2002);

International Conventions and Treaties

Convention establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization;
The Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property;
The Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks;
The Nice Agreement Concerning the International Classification of Goods and Services for the Purposes of the Registration of Marks;
The Locarno Agreement Establishing an International Classification for Industrial Designs;
The Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT);
Hague Agreement concerning the international deposit of Industrial Designs;
Strasburg Agreement Concerning the International Patent Classification;
European Convention Relating to the Formalities required for Patent Applications;
Convention on Unification of certain of substantive Law on Patents for Invention
Trade-Related aspects of Intellectual Property Rights - TRIPS

Other benefits for Dutch/Foreign companies in Macedonia

Foreign entities can directly buy/lease land
Lowest flat tax on profit 10%
Lowest flat tax on income 10%
Tax on reinvested profit 0%
Fast company registration (72 hours)

Competitive labor at €428/month average gross salary

OVERVIEW OF MK-NL TRADE AND INVESTMENTS (1997 - 2008)

GENERAL STATISTICS - KINGDOM OF THE NETHERLANDS

Government, geography and demography

Form of government	Constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy
Head of state	Queen Beatrix
Administrative regions	12 provinces: Drenthe, Flevoland, Friesland, Gelderland, Groningen, Limburg, Noord-Brabant, Noord-Holland, Overijssel, Utrecht, Zeeland, Zuid-Holland
Dependencies	Aruba, Netherlands Antilles
Currency	Euro
Location	Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between Belgium and Germany
Capital	Amsterdam
Largest cities	Amsterdam: 743,393 inhabitants
	Rotterdam: 599,859 inhabitants
	The Hague: 472,087 inhabitants
	Utrecht: 281 011 inhabitants
Area	Total: 41,526 square kilometres
	Land: 33,883 square kilometres
	Water: 7,643 square kilometres
Land boundaries	Total: 1,027 kilometres
	Belgium: 450 kilometres, Germany: 577 kilometres
Coastline	451 kilometres
Climate	Temperate; maritime; cool summers and mild winters
Terrain	Mostly coastal lowland and reclaimed land (polders)
Elevation extremes	Lowest point: Zuidvlaspolder - 7 m below sea level
	Highest point: Vaalserberg - 322 m above sea level
Natural resources	Natural gas; petroleum; peat; limestone; salt; sand and gravel; arable land
Population	16,410,046 (March 2008)
Age structure	0 - 20 years: 24.2%
	20 - 45 years: 34.4%
	45 - 65 years: 26.9%
	65 - 80 years: 10.8%
	80-years and older: 3.7%
Population growth rate	0.28% (46,000 people) (2007)
Migration balance (immigration minus emigration)	Minus 32,000 (2006)
Ethnic groups	Dutch: 81%, other: 19% (of which 10% are non-Western origin; mainly Turks, Moroccans, Antilleans, Surinamese and Indonesians (2007)
Religions	Roman Catholic: 31%, Dutch Reformed: 13%, Calvinist: 7%, Muslim: 5.5%, other: 2.5%, none: 41% (2002)
Languages	Dutch (official), Frisian (official)

Economic performance

GDP	560 billion euro (2007)
GDP per capita	Purchasing power parity:
	$37,300 (2006)
Economic growth	3.5% (2007)
Working population	7,606 million (2007)
Unemployed	344.000 (4.5%) (2007)
European economic growth	2.6% (2007)
Inflation rate	1.6 (2007)
Inflation rate Euro zone	2.1% (2007)
International trade	Exports: 420 billion euro (2007) (goods and services)
	Imports: 377 billion euro (2007) (goods and services)
Export commodities	Machinery and equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs
Import commodities	Machinery and transport equipment, chemicals, fuels, foodstuffs, clothing
Export partners	Germany 24.8%; Belgium 12.5%; UK 8.9%; France 8.2%; Italy 5.0%; US 5.0% (2006)
Import partners	Germany: 19.4%; Belgium: 10.9%; US: 8.3%; China: 8.1%; UK: 6.2%; France: 5.0% (2006)

Source: Statistics Netherlands 2008