Romanization of Macedonian

Macedonians (Macedonian: Македонци, romanized: Makedonci [maˈkɛdɔnt͡si]) are a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group native to the region of Macedonia in Southeast Europe. They speak Macedonian, a South Slavic language. The large majority of Macedonians identify as Eastern Orthodox Christians, who share a cultural and historical "Orthodox Byzantine–Slavic heritage" with their neighbours. About two-thirds of all ethnic Macedonians live in North Macedonia; there are also communities in a number of other countries.

The concept of a Macedonian ethnicity, distinct from their Orthodox Balkan neighbours, is seen to be a comparatively newly emergent one. The earliest manifestations of an incipient Macedonian identity emerged during the second half of the 19th century among limited circles of Slavic-speaking intellectuals, predominantly outside the region of Macedonia. They arose after the First World War and especially during the 1930s, and thus were consolidated by Communist Yugoslavia's governmental policy after the Second World War.The formation of the ethnic Macedonians as a separate community has been shaped by population displacement as well as by language shift, both the result of the political developments in the region of Macedonia during the 20th century. Following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, the decisive point in the ethnogenesis of the South Slavic ethnic group was the creation of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia after World War II, a state in the framework of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. This was followed by the development of a separate Macedonian language and national literature, and the foundation of a distinct Macedonian Orthodox Church and national historiography.

Albanians in North Macedonia (Albanian: Shqiptarët në Maqedoninë e Veriut, Macedonian: Албанци од Северна Македонија, romanized: Albanci od Severna Makedonija) are ethnic Albanians who constitute the second largest ethnic group in North Macedonia, forming 446,245 individuals or 24.3% of the resident population. Of the 2,097,319 total population in the 2021 census (including self-enumerated diaspora), 619,187 or 29.52% are Albanians.

Turks in North Macedonia, also known as Turkish Macedonians and Macedonian Turks, (Macedonian: Македонски Турци, romanized: Makedonski Turci, Turkish: Makedonya Türkleri) are the ethnic Turks who constitute the third largest ethnic group in the Republic of North Macedonia. According to the 2021 census, there were 70,961 Turks living in the country, forming a minority of some 3.86% of the population. The community forms a majority in Centar Župa and Plasnica.

Romani people in North Macedonia (Macedonian: Македонски Роми, romanized: Makedonski Romi) are one of the constitutional peoples of the country.

According to the last census from 2021, there were 46,433 people counted as Romani, or 2.53% of the population. The majority are Muslim Romani people. Another 3,843 people have been counted as "Egyptians" (0.2%).

The Aromanians in North Macedonia (Aromanian: Armãnji; Macedonian: Аромани, romanized: Aromani), also known as the Vlachs (Aromanian: Vlãhi; Macedonian: Власи, romanized: Vlasi), are an officially recognised minority group of North Macedonia numbering some 8,714 people according to the 2021 census. They are concentrated in Kruševo, Štip, Bitola and Skopje.

Macedonian (/ˌmæsɪˈdoʊniən/ MASS-ih-DOH-nee-ən; македонски јазик, translit. makedonski jazik, pronounced [maˈkɛdɔnski ˈjazik] ) is an Eastern South Slavic language. It is part of the Indo-European language family, and is one of the Slavic languages, which are part of a larger Balto-Slavic branch. Spoken as a first language by around 1.7 million people, it serves as the official language of North Macedonia. Most speakers can be found in the country and its diaspora, with a smaller number of speakers throughout the transnational region of Macedonia. Macedonian is also a recognized minority language in parts of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, and Serbia and it is spoken by expatriate communities predominantly in Australia, Canada, and the United States.

Macedonian developed out of the western dialects of the Eastern South Slavic dialect continuum, whose earliest recorded form is Old Church Slavonic. During much of its history, this dialect continuum was called "Bulgarian", although in the late 19th century, its western dialects came to be known separately as "Macedonian". Standard Macedonian was codified in 1945 and has developed modern literature since. As it is part of a dialect continuum with other South Slavic languages, Macedonian has a high degree of mutual intelligibility with Bulgarian and varieties of Serbo-Croatian.

Korab (Albanian: Maja e Korabit or Mali i Korabit; Macedonian: Голем Кораб, romanized: Golem Korab, lit. 'Great Korab') is the highest peak of the eponymous mountain range and the fourth-highest mountain located entirely in the Balkan Peninsula, standing at 2,764 metres (9,068 feet).

Situated on the border between the two countries, Korab is the highest peak of both Albania and North Macedonia and is also one of only two summits in Europe to be the highest point for more than one country. It is also the 18th most prominent mountain peak in Europe and the third on the Balkan Peninsula.

The Black Drin or Black Drim (Albanian: Drini i Zi; Macedonian: Црн Дрим, romanized: Crn Drim), is a river in North Macedonia and Albania. It flows out of lake Ohrid in Struga, North Macedonia. It is 149 km (93 mi) long and its drainage basin is 3,504 km (1,353 sq mi). Its average discharge is 118 m/s (4,200 cu ft/s). After flowing through North Macedonia for 56 km (35 mi), the Black Drin crosses the border to Albania, west of Debar. It merges with the White Drin in Kukës to form the Drin, which flows into the Adriatic Sea. It drains most of the eastern border region of Albania.

The Šar Mountains (Macedonian: Шар Планина, romanized: Šar Planina; Serbian: Шар-планина / Šar-planina; colloquially also Šara, Cyrillic: Шара) or Sharr Mountains (Albanian: Malet e Sharrit) is a mountain range in Southeast Europe, extending into several countries from southern Kosovo, to northwestern North Macedonia, to northeastern Albania. The sections in Kosovo (Sharr Mountains National Park) and North Macedonia (Šar Planina National Park) are national parks. Rugged and barren, the mountains are among the highest in the Balkans, with 30 peaks higher than 2,500 m (8,202 ft).