Southwest Region: population and official figures

Southwest Region is a statistical region of North Macedonia, number 4 of 8 by population. The Southwest Region had an estimated 175,487 residents on 30 June 2025, down 1.2% from 177,682 on 30 June 2021; that is 9.6% of North Macedonia's 1,820,509 people.

In depth

Economy, jobs and prices in Southwest Region: The Southwest Region produced 79,466 million denars of gross domestic product in 2024, 8.2% of the national total of 964,087 million denars.
Health in Southwest Region: The Southwest Region recorded 4.3 infant deaths per 1,000 live births in 2025, against 3.9 for North Macedonia and 4.9 in the region in 2024.
Education in Southwest Region: The Southwest Region had 123 primary schools in the 2023/24 school year, 1 fewer than in 2021/22, out of 955 in the country.
Poverty and living standards in Southwest Region: 20.9 households per 1,000 residents in the Southwest Region received guaranteed minimum assistance in 2023, 3rd lowest of 8 regions; the national rate was 24.2 and the region's rate in 2022 was 22.0.

How old is the population of the Southwest Region?

In mid-2023 15.6% of people in the Southwest Region were aged 0-14 and 17.8% were 65 or older, against 16.7% and 17.9% nationally.

Source: State Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia · saved copy

How densely populated is the Southwest Region?

The Southwest Region had 52.8 people per square kilometre in 2023, 4th least densely populated of 8 regions (national average 73.4).

Source: State Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia · saved copy

Other statistical regions of North Macedonia

Up a level: North Macedonia · government and power in North Macedonia

Sources

State Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia: Total estimated resident population, by region, 30 June 2021-2025 (MakStat table 30062021_Reg_Za_PX), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 94fe6c4e2fe6…)
State Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia: Social cash benefit recipients by regions and by year (MakStat table 175_SocZas_reg_KorSocParPom_ML), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 32a045fbb5e1…)
State Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia: Regions of the Republic of North Macedonia, 2024, read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 80909f4d17cd…)
State Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia: Gross Domestic Product, by year and regions (MakStat table 675_NacSmA_Reg_BDPreg_ml), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 98512569b7e3…)
State Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia: Infant mortality rate, by region, by year (MakStat table 625_VitStat_Reg_StUmrDoen_ml), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 7abaf66cdf91…)
State Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia: Activity rates of the population aged 15 years and over by regions, annual (MakStat table 090_PazTrud_Reg_StapAkt_ml), read 24 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 34ac0a750a0f…)

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