Macedonia

The landlocked country of Macedonia was a part of Yugoslavia until it gained independence in 1991 (recognized 1993), and has a population of 2.1 million. It has a birth rate of 12 per 1,000, and an infant mortality rate of 9.8 per 1,000 live births. The latter figure has been greatly reduced in recent years following an improvement in the health care system—prior to that, the rate was 15 per 1,000 live births for infants, and 17 per 1,000 for children under the age of 5. Although these figures are good by regional standards, the Roma (gypsy) population have much higher mortality rates than the general population.

Abortion is available upon request during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy in Macedonia; after that time, a medical ...