Studies and Analyses

Innovation Potential and Dominant Emerging Industries: Skopje Planning Region

 Skopje Planning Region is a leading economic performer and innovator at national level; however, despite these findings, the regional performance and innovation capacities lag behind EU regional average.

-  More than 50% of the national GDP is generated in the Skopje Planning region. The region had 0.5% average annual growth of the GDP per capita in the period 2010-2016
-  The population is aging.- The unemployment rate decreased from 36% in 2010 to 22.3% in 2017. Majority of the new employment was generated in manufacturing,
    construction and services, and the public administration.
-  Skopje planning region is an administrative and business centre, attracting the most educated labour force. 
-  The business entities operating in the Skopje planning region generate more than half of national exports and more than half of national imports.
 - In the period 2010-2016 the number of small enterprises (number of employees between 10-50) along with the number of large enterprises (more than 250 employees), increased. Although the absolute numbers are not impressive, the trend marks the beginning of an important change in the structure of the  private sector. It is a move towards SMEs and large enterprises, which are more efficient  in the use of the available resources compared to the microenterprises.

The Report on the Innovation Potential and Dominant Emerging Industries: Skopje Planning Region can be downloaded here.