COVID-19 pandemic in North Macedonia in the context of COVID-19 pandemic in Italy

The 2021 North Macedonia census, officially known as the Census of Population, Households and Dwellings, 2021, was the third census held in North Macedonia since independence, and the first since 2002. The census recorded a resident population of 1,836,713, a decrease of 9.2 percent, or 185,834, over the preceding 19 years. The census was taken during the COVID-19 pandemic, which affected its administration. It was also considered controversial by some Macedonian groups; the opposition party The Left openly led a boycott. 132,260 individuals (7.2% of the population) did not participate in the census and are officially labelled as "persons for whom data are taken from administrative sources"; no ethnic, language, or religious information is available for these individuals. Nonetheless, the head of the State Statistical Office, Apostol Simovski, stated that the census was successful. The ruling government and the European Commission also welcomed the results.

Early parliamentary elections were held in North Macedonia on 15 July 2020. It was originally scheduled for November 2020, but Prime Minister Zoran Zaev called early elections after the European Council failed to come to an agreement on starting talks with North Macedonia on joining the European Union in October 2019. The election date was set for 12 April, but was postponed until July due to the COVID-19 pandemic in North Macedonia.