That dollar amount results from a 26.4% increase from $6.9 billion five years earlier in 2018.
Year over year, the overall value of North Macedonian exported goods rose 6.6% compared to $8.2 billion during 2022.
Resolving a dispute with Greece over its name, “Macedonia” was renamed as the Republic of North Macedonia effective February 1, 2019.
Based on the average exchange rate for 2022, the Macedonian denar depreciated by -12.41% against the US dollar since 2018 and fell by -12.42% from 2021 to 2022. North Macedonia’s weaker local currency makes its exports paid for in stronger US dollars relatively less expensive for international buyers.
North Macedonia’s Major Trading Partners
The latest available country-specific data shows that 81.5% of products exported from North Macedonia was bought by importers in: Germany (45.1% of the North Macedonian total), Serbia (9.2%), Bulgaria (5%), Greece (3.9%), Italy (3.5%), Hungary (3.1%), Türkiye (2.5%), Spain (2.02%), United Kingdom (1.95%), Slovakia (1.85%), Netherlands (1.77%) and Czech Republic (1.6%).
From a continental perspective, 94.3% of North Macedonia’s exports by value was delivered to fellow European countries while 3.9% was sold to importers in Asia. North Macedonia shipped another 1.2% worth of goods to North America.
Tinier percentages went to buyers in Africa (0.4%), Oceania (0.13%) mostly Australia, then Latin America (0.1%) excluding Mexico but including the Caribbean.
Given North Macedonia’s population of 2.1 million people, its total $8.7 billion in 2022 exports translates to roughly $4,200 for every resident in the southeastern European nation. That dollar metric falls below the average $4,400 per capita one year earlier during 2021.
North Macedonia’s Top 10 Exports
The following export product groups represent the highest dollar value in North Macedonian global shipments during 2022. Also shown is the percentage share each export category represents in terms of overall exports from North Macedonia.
- Other chemical goods: US$2.6 billion (30.2% of total exports)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: $1.3 billion (14.5%)
- Iron, steel: $712 million (8.2%)
- Vehicles: $408 million (4.7%)
- Mineral fuels including oil: $383.1 million (4.4%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $345.9 million (4%)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $318 million (3.6%)
- Machinery including computers: $303.6 million (3.5%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $248.9 million (2.9%)
- Articles of iron or steel: $243.5 million (2.8%)
North Macedonia’s top 10 exports accounted for 78.6% of the overall value of its global shipments.
Mineral fuels including oil was the fastest grower among the top 10 export categories, up by 155.3% from 2021 to 2022.
In second place for improving export sales was the vehicles category via a 80.1% advance.
North Macedonia’s shipments of miscellaneous chemical goods posted the third-fastest gain in value, up by 39.2%.
The leading decliner among North Macedonia’s top 10 export categories was machinery including computers, pulled down by a -70.4% year-over-year reduction.
At the more granular four-digit Harmonized Tariff System code level, North Macedonia’s most valuable export goods are initiators, accelerators and other catalytic devices (30.1% of North Macedonia’s total), insulated wire and cable (7.2%), seats excluding barber and dentist chairs (3%), automobile parts or accessories (2.9%), hot-rolled iron or non-alloy steel products (2.7%), electrical energy (2.5%), iron ferroalloys (2.1%), electrical or optical circuit boards or panels (1.9%), processed petroleum oils (1.7%), centrifuges, filters and purifiers (also 1.7%).
Products Driving North Macedonia’s Best Trade Surpluses
The following types of North Macedonian product shipments represent positive net exports or a trade balance surplus. Investopedia defines net exports as the value of a country’s total exports minus the value of its total imports.
In a nutshell, net exports represent the amount by which foreign spending on a home country’s goods or services exceeds or lags the home country’s spending on foreign goods or services.
- Other chemical goods: US$2.5 billion (Up by 45.9% since 2021)
- Clothing, accessories (not knit or crochet): $243.7 million (Up by 7.1%)
- Furniture, bedding, lighting, signs, prefabricated buildings: $211.7 million (Up by 13%)
- Ores, slag, ash: $190.1 million (Up by 29.4%)
- Tobacco, manufactured substitutes: $81 million (Down by -29.2%)
- Vegetables: $56.6 million (Up by 9.6%)
- Salt, sulphur, stone, cement: $53.5 million (Down by -4.3%)
- Knit or crochet clothing, accessories: $39 million (Down by -18.7%)
- Vegetable/fruit/nut preparations: $35.9 million (Up by 2.3%)
- Miscellaneous textiles, worn clothing: $24 million (Up by 119.3%)
North Macedonia has highly positive net exports in the international trade of miscellaneous chemical products. In turn, these cashflows indicate North Macedonia’s strong competitive advantages under the category named other chemical goods.
Products Causing North Macedonia’s Worst Trade Deficits
North Macedonia incurred an overall -US$4 billion trade deficit for 2022, expanding by 25.7% from -$3.2 billion in red ink one year earlier in 2021.
Below are exports from North Macedonia that result in negative net exports or product trade balance deficits. These negative net exports reveal product categories where foreign spending on home country North Macedonia’s goods trail North Macedonian importer spending on foreign products.
- Mineral fuels including oil: -US$1.9 billion (Up by 77.9% since 2021)
- Gems, precious metals: -$1.4 billion (Up by 2.5%)
- Inorganic chemicals: -$632.9 million (Down by -3.1%)
- Ceramic products: -$424.8 million (Down by -10.4%)
- Machinery including computers: -$361.8 million (Reversing a $291.4 million surplus)
- Plastics, plastic articles: -$301.1 million (Up by 4.8%)
- Meat: -$136.3 million (Up by 15.7%)
- Aluminum: -$132.3 million (Up by 48.4%)
- Paper, paper items: -$129.7 million (Up by 21.8%)
- Electrical machinery, equipment: -$129.4 million (Reversing a $48.3 million surplus)
Notably, North Macedonia has highly negative net exports and therefore deep international trade deficits for refined petroleum oils, petroleum gases and electrical energy under the mineral fuels-related product category.
North Macedonian Export Companies
Not one North Macedonian corporation ranks among the companies on the Forbes Global 2000.
Wikipedia lists export-related businesses from North Macedonia. Selected examples are shown below.
- Aktiva (steel)
- Alkaloid (pharmaceuticals)
- FAS Sanos (commercial vehicles, trucks)
- Makpetrol (oil, gas)
- OKTA (oil, gas)
- ONE.VIP (mobile telecommunications)
- Teteks (textiles, clothing)
- Tutunski kombinat Prilep (tobacco)
In macroeconomic terms, North Macedonia’s total exported goods represent 21% of its overall Gross Domestic Product for 2022 ($41.5 billion valued in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars). That 21% for exports to overall GDP in PPP for 2022 compares to 24.6% one year earlier. Those percentages indicate an decreasing reliance on products sold on international markets for North Macedonia’s total economic performance, albeit based on a short timeframe.
Another key indicator of an economy’s health is the unemployment rate. North Macedonia’s unemployment rate averaged 14.5% for 2022, down from an average 15.7% jobless rate in 2021.
North Macedonia’s capital city is Skopje, the birthplace for Mother Teresa.
See also Bulgaria’s Top Trading Partners, United Kingdom’s Top Trading Partners and Greece’s Top 10 Exports
Research Sources:
Central Intelligence Agency, Country Profiles, The World Factbook. Accessed on June 25, 2023
Forbes Global 2000 rankings, The World’s Biggest Public Companies. Accessed on June 25, 2023
International Monetary Fund, Exchange Rates selected indicators (Domestic Currency per U.S. dollar, period average). Accessed on June 25, 2023
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database (GDP based on Purchasing Power Parity). Accessed on June 25, 2023
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on June 25, 2023
Investopedia, Net Exports Definition. Accessed on June 25, 2023
Wikipedia, Gross domestic product. Accessed on June 25, 2023
Wikipedia, List of Companies of North Macedonia. Accessed on June 25, 2023
Wikipedia, North Macedonia. Accessed on June 25, 2023
Wikipedia, Purchasing power parity. Accessed on June 25, 2023