The constitutional order separates legislative, executive and judicial powers and protects fundamental rights, the rule of law and local self-government. The Sobranie adopts laws, the Constitution, the national budget, spatial plans and international agreements; it also decides on war and peace, borders and referendums, appoints certain officials and exercises political oversight. It has between 120 and 140 members. The Government is elected by the Sobranie and implements laws through ministries and affiliated authorities. The President is elected directly for five years and has representative, defence, diplomatic, appointment and clemency powers. The Constitutional Court stands outside the ordinary court system and reviews constitutionality and legality, selected rights and freedoms, competence disputes and presidential responsibility. North Macedonia has one national level and one local self-government level. Each municipality has a mayor and a municipal council responsible for local public services and its budget. The City of Skopje is a separate local government unit. The eight planning and statistical regions coordinate development and funding but do not have their own parliament or government. Access to a local service usually depends on the responsible Opština or the City of Skopje, the person's residence or the place connected with the matter, the applicable language, local capacity and any lawful fee. State administration decides within its legal authority and must observe competence, equal treatment, reasons for decisions, records and data-protection duties. The National e-Services Portal, uslugi.gov.mk, provides citizen and business services, electronic identification, online applications and status tracking where the service supports them; paper or counter service remains available for services that require it or do not yet support the digital channel. Each service sets its own documents, deadlines, appeal procedure and fees. Macedonian is official throughout the country, and Albanian has official use in accordance with constitutional and legal rules, including locally where the relevant threshold and rules apply. Public finance covers the national budget, taxes, customs, public procurement, borrowing and transfers to municipalities. The Sobranie adopts the Republic Budget and the final account, while the Ministry of Finance prepares and executes the budget through the Treasury and related systems. The 2026 budget provides for MKD 374.9 billion in revenue, MKD 414.2 billion in expenditure, a deficit of MKD 39.2 billion, equal to 3.5% of GDP, and MKD 40.1 billion in capital investment. Municipalities finance services through own revenue, shared revenue, transfers and block grants, with borrowing governed by law. Taxes, local charges and administrative or service fees require a legal basis, and the budget cycle is annual while debt and fiscal strategies can cover several years. Several bodies have different oversight roles. The State Audit Office audits national and local budgets, public bodies, state-owned enterprises, European Union funds and political parties, then reports to the Sobranie and the public and may conduct follow-up audits. The Naroden pravobranitel is an independent Ombudsman for complaints about state administration and other public powers. The State Commission for Prevention of Corruption, known as DKSK or SCPC, addresses corruption prevention, conflicts of interest, integrity and whistleblower and anti-corruption measures. The Agency for Free Access to Public Information handles the access-to-information system, while the Agency for Personal Data Protection supervises data processing and related rights such as access, correction, erasure, restriction, portability and objection. These institutions have different mandates and do not replace one another. Public power also includes freedom of thought and expression, association and access to public information. Public bodies should publish information about services, legal bases, access conditions and appeals, but data protection and classified information can limit disclosure. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, including the Bureau for Public Security, handles police, residence documents, border policing and public order; the police emergency number is 192. The Ministry of Defence and the Army protect sovereignty and territorial integrity, and North Macedonia has been a NATO member since 2020. The National Security Agency handles domestic security, counter-espionage, terrorism and threats to the constitutional order, while the Intelligence Agency covers foreign intelligence related to security, defence or foreign-policy and economic interests.
State in Macedonia
North Macedonia is a sovereign, independent, democratic and social unitary state governed by the 1991 Constitution and its amendments. The Sobranie is the unicameral Assembly, the Government exercises executive power, and the directly elected President represents the state and serves as commander-in-chief. Local self-government operates through 80 municipalities and the City of Skopje, while eight planning regions coordinate development without forming an autonomous government level.
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