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A predominately mountainous and landlocked country with deep river valleys, Macedonia is drained by the Vadar River, which runs through the center of the country, and its tributaries, including the Bregalnica, the Crna Reka, and the Treska rivers. Almost 40% of the country is forested, with a concentration of wooded areas in its western section. The climate is generally cold and snowy in the winter and hot and dry in the summer. Many earthquakes have been recorded in Macedonia.
Ethnic Macedonians constitute about two thirds of the population. The largest minority is Albanian, representing between 20% and 30% of the population and living largely in W Macedonia. There are smaller groups of Serbs, Turks, Greeks, Bulgarians, and other groups. About 65% of the people belong to the Eastern Orthodox Church, while 30% are Muslims and about 5% are non-Orthodox Christians. The predominant language is Macedonian, which is related to Bulgarian; Albanian is widely spoken by that minority.
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