With a population of just over 2 million people, North Macedonia is a Balkan country located in southeastern Europe. Its capital and largest city is Skopje, housing roughly a quarter of the country’s citizens. The majority of the people are ethnic Macedonians, a South Slavic people, with Albanians forming a significant minority at around 25%.
Macedonia’s temperate climate means it has four distinct seasons, with warm and dry summers and moderately cold and snowy winters. It has a large biodiversity with hundreds of flowering plants, as well as mosses and ferns. The native forest fauna includes the rare lynx, bears, wild boars, wolves, foxes, squirrels, chamois and deer. Forest birds include the blackcap, the grouse, the black grouse, the imperial eagle and the forest owl.