The Profile of Female Entrepreneurs in the Republic of Macedonia

The purpose of this chapter is to share our findings about female entrepreneurs in the Republic of Macedonia. The Republic of Macedonia is a small country located in Southeast Europe, that is, the Central Balkan Peninsula, and is one of the successor states of former Yugoslavia. The Republic of Macedonia declared its independence on September 8, 1991, and became a member of the United Nations on April 8, 1993. As a result of a dispute with the southern neighbor, Greece, regarding the name issue, it was admitted under the provisional reference of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, abbreviated as FYROM (United Nations, 1993). It covers 25,713 km2 (9,928 square miles), bordering Albania, Kosovo, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece. Its capital is Skopje, which is the largest city of the Republic of Macedonia and inhabited by 30% of the total population. According to State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia (2005), based on the data from the last Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in 2002, the Republic of Macedonia had 2,022,547 inhabitants, which is 3.9% more when compared with the census taken in 1994, and 43% more when compared with the census of 1948. The population of the Republic of Macedonia, according to ethnicity, based on Census 2002, consists of 1,297,981 Macedonians (64.2%); 509,083 Albanians (25.2%); 77,959 Turks (3.9%); 53,879 Romani (2.7%); 35,939 Serbs (1.8%); 19,571 Bosnians/Muslims (0.9%); and 30,688 under the heading of “others” (1.4%). The gross domestic product (GDP) in 2011 was 461,730 million denars (the currency of the Republic of Macedonia) and had increased by 6.4%, in nominal terms, in comparison to 2010. The real GDP growth rate in comparison with 2010 was 2.8% (State Statistical Office of Republic of Macedonia, 2012).