Independence Day in 2025

When is North Macedonian Independence Day?

Independence day in North Macedonia is celebrated on 8th September. If 8th September falls on a weekend, a different day is usually proclaimed to observe the holiday.

This holiday is North Macedonia's National Day and is known in Macedonian as 'Den na nezavisnosta'. This holiday marks the date of the 1991 Referendum for Independence.

History of North Macedonian Independence Day

In 1913, after the Balkan wars, 500 years of Ottoman control came to an end and the region traditionally known as Macedonia was partitioned between Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, with the area now known as the Republic of Macedonia being incorporated into Serbia.

At the outbreak of the First World War, Macedonia was occupied by Bulgaria before returning to Serbian control at the end of the war. The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was founded in 1918, which was renamed as Yugoslavia in 1929.

During the Second World War, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was occupied by Axis powers consisting of Bulgarian, German, Italian, and Albanian forces.

After the end of the war, there was reaction to the fascist occupation, resulting in an overwhelming victory for the communists in the elections of 1945. This led to the creation of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1946, with Macedonia as a federal state within Yugoslavia.

Yugoslavia started to break apart in June 1991, when Croatia and Slovenia declared their independence. Macedonia avoided the conflicts that affected the other federal states, when on 8 September 1991 the Referendum for Independence in Macedonia that took place. Over 95.5% of the voters in the Referendum voted for Independence.

The results were announced on 18 September 1991 and on 25 September 1991, the independence of the Republic of Macedonia was declared with a new constitution adopted in November 1991.

The international recognition of Macedonia's Declaration of independence was slow as Greece objected to the use of the name Macedonia, which is the same as one of its own provinces. This is why the country changed its name to North Macedonia in June 2018.

This day has been a public holiday since 1991.