Skopje, November 25, 2022 – Demography and demographic resilience, as well as the importance of dealing with demographic challenges, were some of the topics during the recent visit to Skopje by Michael Herman, UNFPA’s regional advisor for economy and demography, for meetings with representatives of national institutions.

During the visit, several meetings were held with key partners to support the demographic processes in the country, including the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, the Assembly of the Republic of North Macedonia, the State Statistics Office, with representatives of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of North Macedonia, with representatives of the EU Delegation in North Macedonia, and others.

The purpose of the mission is the support provided by UNFPA in partnership with national institutions regarding the assessment of current and planning of future activities related to demographic resilience.

At the meeting with the Minster of Labor and Social Policy, Jovanka Trencevska emphasized the importance of the preparation of the new strategy for the demography of the Republic of North Macedonia, which should be based on real demographic data, such as data on migration, population aging, and natality.

“The information from all ministries will be of great importance during the preparation of the strategy. Because it is a national strategy, and all areas are important. The analysis from the population census and the Analysis on which a consultant hired by the UNFPA Office is working in order to conduct an audit of the implementation of the national Strategy for Demographic Policies 2015-2024, which includes the Department for Analysis, Planning and Development of Demographic Policies of the Ministry, will be a significant input for the preparation of the strategy. It should be aligned with the National Development Strategy and the Strategy for Development of Human Capital,” emphasized Minister Trencevska.