FYROM is a landlocked and a  mountainous country with an area of 25,713 km² and a population of 2.1 million, approximately two-thirds are ethnic Macedonians, a quarter Albanians (concentrated in the north-western parts of the country) and significant minorities of Turks, Serbs and Romanies.

Located in the centre of the Balkan Peninsula, FYROM has borders with Albania in the west, Greece in the south, Bulgaria in the east and Serbia and Montenegro (including Kosovo) in the north.

The climate in FYROM is generally warm, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall.