Government at a Glance Western Balkans 2020 Country Fact Sheet
North Macedonia
North Macedonia has experienced the largest change in the government revenue mix Between 2013 and 2018, the contribution of taxes to the general government revenues mix has increased by 6 p.p. – from 58.7% to 64.7%. North Macedonia also had a change in the tax mix, with an increased contri- bution of excise and profit taxes, and a decline in the VAT contribution, given the wide range of products that are exempted, such as road tolls. Chapter 2: Public finance and economics 2.9. Structure of general government revenues, 2018 2.10. Change in the structure of general government revenues, 2011 to 2018
North Macedonia considers fewer fiscal risks than most peers in the Western Balkans Macroeconomic shocks, changes in debt interest rates and government guarantees are the fiscal risks consid- ered, measured and disclosed in North Macedonia. While not all other governments in the region measure them and disclose them, other risks such as demographic changes, government litigations, public private partnerships and risks associated to state-owned enterprises are commonly considered as fiscal risks by other governments in the Western Balkans region. Chapter 5: Budgeting practices and procedures 5.3. Identification, measurement and disclosure of sources of fiscal risks, 2019
North Macedonia is the regional frontrunner in supporting favourable environment for businesses According to the World Bank’s ease of doing business index, North Macedonia scored 81 in 2020, which was higher than the OECD and OECD-EU averages of 77 and 78. Among the factors that constitute the index, North Macedonia excels in the area of paying taxes. For businesses in North Macedonia, it takes an average of 119 hours per year to deal with tax forms, whereas the Western Balkan regional average was 244 hours. Chapter 9: Core government results 9.7. Ease of doing business score, 2020 9.9. Number of tax payments and time spent paying taxes, 2020 How to read the figures: Western OECD EU Balkans Values have been Country value in green rounded. (not represented Range of Western Average of Western Average of Average of EU n.a. refers to North if not available) Balkan countries Balkan countries in OECD countries countries in data not available Macedonia values in grey purple in blue orange
Public Finance and Economics
Fiscal balance (2018) Government gross debt (2018) Government investment (2017) % of GDP % of GDP % of total government expenditures
-1.8% 40.5% 100% 6.2% North North North Macedonia Macedonia 0% Macedonia
Western Western Western OECD EU-28 OECD OECD EU-28 Balkans Balkans Balkans -0.3% -2.9% -0.7% 49.4% 108.6% 11.9% 7.9% 6.2% -8% -6% -4% -2% 0% +2% 10% 30% 50% 70% 90% 110% 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Sources: Data for the WB countries: IMF World Economic Outlook (database). Data for Sources: Data for the WB countries: IMF World Economic Outlook (database). Data for Sources: IMF Government Finance Statistics (database). Data for the OECD the OECD and the EU28 averages: OECD National Accounts Statistics (database) the OECD average: OECD National Accounts Statistics (database) and the EU28 averages: OECD National Accounts Statistics (database)
Public Employment
Public sector employment Gender equality in public sector employment (2018) as % of total employment (2018) % of women
22.8% 41.0% North Macedonia North Macedonia
Western Western OECD OECD-EU OECD OECD-EU Balkans 27.2% 21.1% 23.7% Balkans 40.9% 60.2% 61.8%
10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Source: International Labour Organization ILOSTAT database Source: International Labour Organization ILOSTAT database
Budgeting Practices
Formal powers of the legislature to Identification, measure and disclosure of sources of fiscal risks (2019) amend executive budget proposal Macro Change in Public- (2019) economic debt interest Environmental Private State-owned shocks rates degradations Partnerships enterprises * Within total de cit / Considered surplus proposed n.a. n.a. n.a. a risk North North Macedonia Measured / Macedonia by the Executive estimated Disclosed 33.3% Unrestricted Western Balkans 50% Western Within total de cit/surplus Balkans proposed by OECD the Executive
16.7% Mixed * While not directly related to general forecasting parameters there are narrower fiscal risks that arise from specific sources. For example, the possible need to provide fiscal support to state-owned enterprises. Source: OECD (2019) Survey for the Western Balkans on Budget Practices and Procedures Source: OECD (2019) Survey for the Western Balkans on Budget Practices and Procedures Public Procurement
Functionalities provided by the Strategic public procurement by objective e-procurement system (2019) (2019)
Support to Support to Tender E-submission Noti cation green public innovative goods and announcement of bids of award E-invoicing procurement Support to SMEs services
North North Macedonia Macedonia Western Western Balkans Balkans OECD OECD Policy/strategy both at the central level and at the level of some speci c procuring entities Provided on central e-procurement system Policy / strategy at the central level Only on that of speci c procuring entity(ies) Policy/strategy at the level of some speci c procuring entities No No policy / strategy
Source: OECD Survey on Public Procurement Source: OECD Survey on Public Procurement
Human Resources Management
Level of delegation of HRM in line ministries Separation between regular HRM practices and at the central government level (2019) those for Senior Civil Servants (2019) Composite index from 0 (lowest) to 1 (highest) Composite index from 0 (lowest) to 1 (highest)
Western Western OECD OECD-EU OECD OECD-EU North Balkans North Balkans Macedonia Macedonia 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 0.64 0.56 0.64 0.64 0.05 0.36 0.55 0.53 0.8 0.8 0.8 0.8
0.6 0.6 0.6 0.6
0.4 0.4 0.4 0.4
0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Source: OECD Survey on Strategic HumanSource: Resources IMF Government Management Finance in StatisticsCentral/Federal database. Governments * See Notes Source: OECD Survey on Strategic Human Resources Management in Central/Federal Governments
Institutions Digital Government
Status of the head of Centre of Government Existence of a list with fully digital services (2019) provided in the public sector (2019)
Yes, Political appointee but it is not available online North Macedonia North Macedonia
Political Civil Yes, but it is Yes, and No not available it is available appointee servant online online Western Balkans 67% 33% Western Balkans 50% 33% 17%
OECD 52% 48% OECD 18% 7% 75%
OECD-EU 52% 48% OECD-EU 26% 11% 63%
Source: OECD (2019) Questionnaire for the Western Balkans on Organisation and Functions of the Centre of Government Source: OECD (2019) Survey for the Western Balkans on Digital Government Outcomes
Satisfaction and confidence across public services Ease of doing business (2020) (2019) Composite indicator from 0 (worst) to 100 (best) National government Western Western 27% 34% Balkans OECD OECD-EU 100 North Balkans North Macedonia 80 Average 100 Macedonia 100 60 Range 81 73 78 77 40 80 80
20 Judicial system Health care 60 60 22% 33% 46% 52% 40 40
OECD 20 20 Average Education system 0 0 54% 57% Source: Gallup World Poll Source: World Bank (2019) Doing Business database
Share of top and bottom performers in mathematics in the Programme for International Student Assessment [PISA] (2018)
Western OECD OECD-EU 100% Balkans 100% North Macedonia 1% 2% 11% 11%
Bottom performers are stu- dents who reached a score be- 0% 0% low 2 in the assessment, while top performers are those who reached a score of 5 and 6.
61% 54% 24% 21% 100% 100% Source: OECD, PISA 2018 Database
Notes The public finance and economics data for Western Balkans countries, which are based on the IMF’s World Economic Outlook and the IMF’s Government Financial Statistics databases – harmonised with the System of National Accounts (SNA), were extracted on 19 February, 2020. For the OECD and the EU28 averages – also based on the SNA – data were extracted from the OECD Government at a Glance online database from the last available update: 4 January, 2020 (financial government accounts: 21 January, 2020). The SNA government debt definition differs from the definition of debt applied under the Maastricht Treaty and for this reason the EU average is not presented here. Western Balkans, OECD and EU28 averages for public finance and economics are weighted.
For more information on the data (including full methodology and figure notes) and to consult all other Country Fact Sheets: http://www.oecd.org/gov/government-at-a-glance-western-balkans-a8c72f1b-en.htm The Excel spreadsheets used to create the tables and figures in Government at a Glance: Western Balkans 2020 are available via the StatLinks provided throughout the publication: https://doi.org/10.1787/a8c72f1b-en
Government at a Glance: Western Balkans 2020
Government at a Glance: Western Balkans presents information on public governance in the Western Balkan region – covering Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia, and compares it to OECD and OECD-EU countries. This first regional edition features 40 indicators on public finance, public employment, centre of government, budgeting practices and procedures, human resources management, public procurement, digital government, core government results and serving citizens. Governance indicators provide important benchmarks on public administration systems, practices and performance. Indicators are presented in a user-friendly format using charts, with brief descriptive analyses of the major findings, and a methodological section on the definition of the indicator and any limitations in data comparability.
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1244/99 and the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on Kosovo’s declaration of independence.