North Macedonia

**No major new official releases on youth (or male-specific) unemployment rates in the last 60 days (mid-June to mid-August 2026).** The most recent modeled ILO/World Bank estimates remain at 28.75% total youth unemployment (ages 15-24) for 2025, consistent with the 28.9% male baseline figure.[[1]](https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/macedonia/youth_unemployment/)[[2]](https://www.statista.com/statistics/812208/youth-unemployment-rate-in-macedonia/?srsltid=AfmBOoo9RbuoK1DusY-PIZCqU1quO1AQsdoIBvr2OvY30g6zV1l75Utd) National statistical sources report overall unemployment at 11.3% for Q1 2026 but lack fresh youth breakdowns.[[3]](https://www.stat.mk/en/) One outlier reference suggested ~34.9% youth unemployment by end-2026, but this appears inconsistent with primary sources and unverified.[[4]](https://centaronline.org/en/is-there-any-progress-in-western-balkan-economies-in-implementing-the-youth-guarantee-programme/) No ILO or World Bank updates shifting the baseline were identified.

**Significant political/ethnic events affecting young men (18-35):** Ongoing 2026 Albanian student protests, which began April 6, 2026, in Skopje and continued with a major demonstration on May 18, 2026. These involve law students (primarily young ethnic Albanians, including from universities in Tetovo and elsewhere) demanding the right to take the judicial/bar exam in Albanian alongside Macedonian, citing constitutional and language law violations. Protests featured chants, marches to the Ministry of Justice, nationalist elements, clashes leading to three arrests, and involvement/support from parties like DUI, external actors from Albania/Kosovo, and opposition figures. The government has framed some participation as politically motivated destabilization attempts; the issue remains unresolved and ongoing.[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Albanian_student_protests_in_North_Macedonia)[[5]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Albanian_student_protests_in_North_Macedonia) This represents ethnic mobilization among youth, potentially elevating interethnic tensions and instability risks beyond the baseline fuse score of 54.6/100, especially given historical patterns of ethnic political mobilization. Earlier 2025 youth-led protests (e.g., over corruption and preventable deaths) had subsided but highlighted economic-political grievances among young people.[[6]](https://lens.civicus.org/interview/north-macedonia-a-new-generation-of-activists-now-exists-where-none-existed-before/)

**NGO/academic reports on youth situation (2025 publications or 2026 releases referencing recent data):** 
- BTI 2026 North Macedonia Country Report (released ~2026): Notes persistently high historical youth unemployment (above 50% until ~2015, now lower but still a challenge), ethnic cleavages in politics, limited CSO impact, and risks of interethnic mobilization.[[7]](https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/MKD)[[7]](https://bti-project.org/en/reports/country-report/MKD)
- Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) analysis (published March 4, 2026) on 2025 local elections: Young people (18–29) remain significantly underrepresented in local politics.[[8]](https://www.wfd.org/what-we-do/resources/youth-representation-2025-local-elections-north-macedonia)
- People in Need report/interview (January 26, 2026): Captures young people's views on major challenges, emphasizing need for fundamental change amid economic and institutional issues.[[9]](https://www.peopleinneed.net/the-country-needs-a-fundamental-change-what-do-young-people-consider-the-biggest-challenges-in-north-macedonia-13224gp)

These align with baseline concerns but do not introduce dramatic new quantitative shifts.

**Internet/mobile infrastructure:** No government-directed shutdowns. However, multiple detected connectivity anomalies/outages occurred within the period, including incidents around June 8, June 16, and a notable one on June 23, 2026 (critical severity, ~25% anomaly rate in monitoring).[[10]](https://voidly.ai/incident/MK-2026-0034)[[11]](https://voidly.ai/incident/MK-2026-0030)[[12]](https://voidly.ai/incident/MK-2026-0022) Broader coverage remains strong (near-98-100% 4G access, ongoing 5G rollout in urban areas like Skopje), with minor rural limitations.[[13]](https://esimprime.com/da/blogs/best-network-esim/best-mobile-network-esim-in-north-macedonia-2026-coverage-speed-cost-guide?srsltid=AfmBOor9GCqOLYCZgFegrX5GddUYttOC05zHFbb4ZP_HrE-uph4kkvhp)[[14]](https://thingstodoinnorthmacedonia.com/connectivity/) These outages are technical rather than systemic policy actions and unlikely to broadly affect instability indicators.

**Overall assessment:** Unemployment data shows stability with no upward shift from the 28.9% baseline. The most notable development is the persistent Albanian student protests (April–ongoing), which could incrementally raise ethnic youth tensions and the instability fuse score. Minor internet anomalies noted but not transformative. No evidence of coups, militia recruitment, currency crises, or major economic shocks in the window.

**Here is a targeted list of accessible, non-inference data sources for North Macedonia (focusing on youth-relevant indicators like unemployment/labor, economic conditions, poverty, and related instability factors).** These complement the sources you already use (World Bank, ACLED, etc.). Details are based on official sites and documentation; all emphasize free/public access where possible.[[1]](https://www.stat.mk/en/about-us/policies-and-strategies/open-data/)[[2]](https://www.nbrm.mk/statistika-en.nspx)

- **State Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia (MakStat/PXWeb database)**: https://makstat.stat.gov.mk/PXWeb/pxweb/en/MakStat/ (or https://www.stat.mk/en/); **API: yes** (PXWeb API for queries/downloads in JSON, CSV, Excel, etc.); **update frequency: quarterly** (labor force/unemployment data, including youth breakdowns); **auth: none/free**. Primary source for official unemployment, labor force survey, employment rates, and wages.[[1]](https://www.stat.mk/en/about-us/policies-and-strategies/open-data/)[[3]](https://www.stat.gov.mk/PoslednoObjavenoVoMakstat_en.aspx)

- **National Bank of the Republic of North Macedonia (NBRM) Statistics Portal**: https://www.nbrm.mk/statistika-en.nspx; **API: no/partial** (web portal with filtering, time-series downloads, SDMX-ML exports); **update frequency: monthly/quarterly** (economic/financial indicators, some labor-market context); **auth: none/free**. Covers monetary, banking, and macroeconomic data relevant to youth employment/economic stability.[[2]](https://www.nbrm.mk/statistika-en.nspx)

- **ILOSTAT (Europe & Central Asia regional database)**: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/ (country profile: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/country-profiles/mkd/); **API: yes** (bulk/download tools and structured access); **update frequency: annual/periodic** (labor statistics, youth employment/NEET/unemployment by age/sex); **auth: none/free**. Strong regional coverage with North Macedonia breakdowns.[[4]](https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/)

- **Eurostat (for candidate countries including North Macedonia)**: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/ (or SDMX REST API); **API: yes** (SDMX); **update frequency: varies (quarterly/annual)** (youth employment, unemployment, NEET rates); **auth: none/free**. Includes harmonized data for MK as an EU candidate.[[5]](https://www.stat.gov.mk/EuroStatData_en.aspx)

- **Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) – North Macedonia group**: https://data.humdata.org/group/mkd; **API: yes** (CKAN API); **update frequency: varies** (humanitarian, crisis, poverty, and displacement datasets from multiple orgs); **auth: none/free**. Useful for crisis/poverty tracking relevant to youth instability.[[6]](https://data.humdata.org/group/mkd?page=8&force_layout=desktop)

- **NewsAPI.org (global with local coverage)**: https://newsapi.org/; **API: yes** (REST/JSON); **update frequency: real-time** (aggregates sources covering North Macedonia); **auth: free tier (limited) or paid**. Reliable for monitoring local/regional news on youth/economic issues; supports country-specific searches.[[7]](https://newsapi.org/)

- **Finance Think (Economic Research and Policy Institute) data links**: https://www.financethink.mk/en/data-links/; **API: no** (curated links to domestic/cross-country data and their analyses); **update frequency: irregular** (economic/poverty/policy indicators); **auth: none/free**. Think-tank compilation focused on North Macedonia economic and social trends.[[8]](https://www.financethink.mk/en/data-links/)

Additional notes: PXWeb and similar statistical portals often support machine-readable bulk or custom exports even without a full custom API. Check individual portals for youth-specific filters (e.g., ages 15-24 unemployment). Regional sources like ILOSTAT/Eurostat provide standardized ECA breakdowns. For news, supplement with country-specific RSS where available via aggregators. Verify current terms, as frequencies and access can evolve.