Market Research Companies in Macedonia

Key figures for researchers

Resident population

1,836,713 (2021 census)¹

Non-residents counted

260,606 people living abroad, on top of residents: 2,097,319 enumerated in total (2021 census)²

Ethnic affiliation (residents)

Macedonian 58.44%, Albanian 24.30%, Turkish 3.86%, Roma 2.53%, Serbian 1.30% (2021 census)¹

Mother tongue

Macedonian 61.38%, Albanian 24.34%, Turkish 3.41%, Romani 1.73% (2021 census, enumerated population)¹

Religion

Orthodox 46.14%, Muslim 32.17% (2021 census)¹

City of Skopje

526,502 residents, around 30% of the resident population (2021 census)³

Households

598,632, with 3.06 members on average (2021 census)¹

Aged 65 and over

18.1% of the population (2023)⁴

Internet use

91.2% of people aged 15–74; 90.8% of households have access at home (2024)⁵

GDP per capita

about US$10,490 (2025)⁶

Research guide

Research landscape

North Macedonia is a small market, often covered as part of multi-country studies in the Western Balkans. Local full-service agencies work alongside social and opinion research firms, field networks, telephone centres and online panel providers.

Skopje is the main business centre: the City of Skopje had 526,502 residents at the 2021 census, around 30% of the resident population. Kumanovo, Bitola and Tetovo are other common locations for city samples and focus groups. Ask your agency which professional code it follows, such as the ICC/ESOMAR International Code (fifth edition, published on 29 September 2025), which is mandatory for ESOMAR members.

Languages and fieldwork

Macedonian, written in the Cyrillic alphabet, is the official language nationwide. Albanian is also official, as a language spoken by at least 20% of citizens, and in each municipality a language used by at least 20% of citizens becomes official alongside Macedonian. In the 2021 census, 61.38% gave Macedonian as their mother tongue, 24.34% Albanian, 3.41% Turkish and 1.73% Romani: national studies usually need a Macedonian and an Albanian questionnaire, translated by native speakers and tested before fieldwork, and bilingual interviewers in mixed areas.

Among residents, 58.44% declared Macedonian ethnic affiliation, 24.30% Albanian, 3.86% Turkish, 2.53% Roma and 1.30% Serbian. The 2021 census counted residents (1,836,713 people) separately from 260,606 non-residents living abroad, down from 2,022,547 inhabitants in 2002: use resident figures to set quotas, stratified by region, municipality, ethnic community and urban/rural area.

Which methods work

Connectivity is high: in 2024, 91.2% of people aged 15–74 used the internet, 76.4% several times a day, and 90.8% of households had internet access at home. There were 108 mobile subscriptions per 100 people in 2024. Online surveys using access panels are used for urban consumer targets, and mobile-friendly questionnaires are essential.

The official internet survey covers only people aged 15–74, while 18.1% of the population was aged 65 and over in 2023: online samples can under-represent older people. Telephone (CATI) and face-to-face interviews remain used for national representative samples, rural areas, older people, Roma communities and B2B decision makers.

Timing

National holidays in 2027 are 1 January, 7 January (Orthodox Christmas), 9 March (Ramazan Bajram, Eid al-Fitr), 1 May, 3 May (Orthodox Easter Monday), 24 May, 2 August, 8 September, 11 October, 23 October and 8 December. When a holiday falls on a weekend, the government usually moves the day off. The date of Eid depends on the sighting of the moon and is confirmed close to the date.

Easter follows the Orthodox calendar: in 2027, Easter Monday falls on 3 May, two days after Labour Day. Avoid this period, the New Year and Orthodox Christmas break in early January, and Eid. For studies covering Muslim respondents, also allow for the month of Ramadan before Eid, when daily routines and availability change.

Data protection

Personal data is governed by the Law on Personal Data Protection (Official Gazette No. 42/2020, amended in 2021 by No. 294/21), which entered into force on 24 February 2020 and became fully applicable on 24 August 2021. The law is substantially aligned with the EU GDPR. The supervisory authority is the Personal Data Protection Agency (azlp.mk).

For information society services, children under 14 need the consent of a parent or guardian. Transfers to EU, EEA and NATO countries require a prior notification to the Agency (at least 15 days before); transfers to other countries need an adequacy finding or appropriate safeguards, such as approved standard contractual clauses. Ask your agency how respondents are informed, where the data is hosted and how recordings or video will be shared with you.

Working with a local agency

• Share a clear brief: objectives, target, sample size, regions and municipalities, method, languages and deadline.
• Ask whether Macedonian and Albanian questionnaires and bilingual interviewers are planned, and how Turkish and Roma respondents will be reached if they are in your target.
• Ask which panels or fieldwork suppliers will be used, and how quotas by region, ethnic community, urban/rural area, age and gender are set and weighted.
• Check fieldwork dates against Orthodox Christmas, Orthodox Easter, Eid and the other national holidays.
• Agree in writing who is controller and who is processor of the personal data, how data leaves the country if needed, and the retention period.
• Compare several proposals: you can send one request to up to 5 companies from this page.