Foreign affiliates in North Macedonia employ 24.2% of workers and produce 37% of GVA in 2024

In 2024, North Macedonia counted 3,280 foreign affiliates — domestic companies controlled by foreign owners — representing 4.7 percent of all business entities, official statistics show. Despite their small share in number, these firms have an outsized economic footprint: they employ 24.2 percent of all workers in the business sector and produce 37 percent of the country’s gross value added (GVA).

Sectoral concentration and leading contributors

The manufacturing sector is the largest single contributor to value added among foreign-controlled domestic companies, accounting for 35.3 percent of their GVA. The information and communication sector follows with a 16.7 percent share, while wholesale and retail trade together with repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles contribute 11.5 percent.

Most foreign affiliates are controlled from Europe: 92.8 percent of them have European ownership. Members of the European Union account for 44.6 percent of these subsidiaries; within those EU-controlled firms work 62.8 percent of the employees employed by foreign affiliates and they generate 61.9 percent of the affiliates’ value added.

Looking at individual countries, affiliates controlled from Austria have the largest share of value added at 17.4 percent. They are followed by the Netherlands with 11 percent, Germany with 9.7 percent and the United Kingdom with 9 percent.

The figures underline the significant role of foreign investment in the domestic economy: a limited number of foreign-controlled companies are major employers and principal creators of added value across several key sectors.

Photo: SDK.MK)