A European Commission report found that the Macedonian economy grew by an insignificant 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2020, which includes the opening stage of the coronavirus epidemic.

This is the worst growth rate in the region, except for Albania, which contracted by 2.5 percent. Other Balkan countries actually grew – Serbia by 5 percent, Turkey by 4.5 and Montenegro by 2.7.

The overall 2020 projection for Macedonia points to an economic decline of 3.9 percent.