How many people live in North Macedonia right now?
Right now, according to UN estimates
1,800,900
| Today | In 2026 | |
|---|---|---|
| Births | · | · |
| Deaths | · | · |
| Net migration | · | · |
| Growth | · | · |
2026 figures
- Rank by population
- 152 of 237
- Share of world population
- 0.02%
- Median age
- 41.4 years
- Children per woman
- 1.47
- Life expectancy
- 77.8 years
- People per km²
- 72
According to UN estimates, about 1.8 million people live in North Macedonia right now. It ranks 152nd out of 237 countries and territories by population, between Latvia and Bahrain, and it is home to 0.022% of the world's population.
Every day, about 40 people are born there and about 60 die. More people leave than arrive: net migration reduces the population by about 5,700 people a year. Overall, the population shrinks by about 30 people a day (0.56% a year).
In 1950, about 1.2 million people lived there. Since then, the population has grown by 44%. It peaked in 2005, at about 2.1 million, and has been falling since. By 2050 it is projected to have about 1.5 million people (16% fewer than today), and by 2100 about 862,997.
Half of its people are younger than 41 (worldwide, 31). Women have an average of 1.47 children each, below the 2.1 needed for each generation to replace the one before, and life expectancy at birth is 78 years (worldwide, 74). There are 72 people per square kilometer.
UN estimates up to today and projections (medium variant) from today onward.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the population of North Macedonia in 2026?
- North Macedonia has about 1.8 million people right now, according to the UN's World Population Prospects 2024. On July 1, 2026, there were 1,804,062.
- How many people are born each day in North Macedonia?
- About 40 a day (16,000 a year). About 60 people die each day (20,300 a year).
- Is the population of North Macedonia growing?
- No: it shrinks by 0.56% a year, or about 10,000 people.
- What will the population of North Macedonia be in 2050?
- According to the UN projection (medium variant), about 1.5 million.
- Why doesn't this figure match the country's official statistics?
- The UN estimates the population of every country with the same method, based on censuses, surveys and registers, and projects it year by year. Each national statistics office uses its own censuses and registers, which may be more up to date or count foreign residents differently. That is why the figures can differ slightly.
Countries with a similar population
- Slovenia 2,113,614
- Equatorial Guinea 1,999,006
- Latvia 1,831,373
- Bahrain 1,684,261
- Kosovo 1,665,757
- Trinidad and Tobago 1,513,590
More countries in Europe
- Russia 143,283,456
- Germany 83,580,397
- United Kingdom 70,045,945
- France 66,775,469
- Italy 58,850,910
- Spain 47,835,426
- Ukraine 39,443,604
- Poland 37,796,218
- Romania 18,766,014
- Netherlands 18,476,981
- Belgium 11,779,072
- Sweden 10,713,758
All countries and territories →
Where these figures come from
The figures are estimates from the United Nations Population Division, published in World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant): the reference used by international organizations and by most population counters. The UN estimates how many people there are on July 1 of each year and how many are born, die and migrate; between one date and the next, this counter spreads the change continuously, second by second.
It is not a real-time headcount: nobody can count every person in a country at once. It is the best available estimate, and it may differ slightly from the figures of each country's statistics office, which use their own censuses and population registers.