Macedonia (Greece)
Macedonia (; , "Makedonía" ) is a geographic and former administrative region of Greece, in the southern Balkans. Macedonia is the largest and Greek region, with a population of 2.38 million in 2017. The region is highly mountainous, with most major urban centres such as Thessaloniki and Kavala being concentrated on its southern coastline. Together with Thrace, and sometimes also Thessaly and Epirus, it is part of Northern Greece. It also contains Mount Athos, an autonomous monastic region of Greece.
Geography of the Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia, like most countries in Eastern Europe, has a developing economy. Under Yugoslavia, Macedonia saw the establishment of many factories and the significant modernisation of the country, especially after the devastating Skopje earthquake of 1963. Since independence in 1991, Macedonia has suffered the transition to market economy. Greece, which believes that the republic is monopolising the cultural and historical heritage of Macedonia, imposed an embargo in 1993 and has prevented the country's accession to organisations like the European Union and NATO.