As with the majority of the countries nestling together in the interwoven geographic and cultural tapestry of the Balkans, Macedonia is comprised of various ethnic groups. While most of the population are Macedonians, Albanians make up over a quarter of the country's two million inhabitants.

While Macedonia is widely associated with the realm of Alexander the Great, whose people were related to those of the Ancient Greek states, today's Macedonians are southern Slavs, closer in ethnicity to Bulgarians (although modern Macedonians would dispute the extent to which this is the case.) Albanians account for just over half a million of the overall total Macedonian population.

The Albanian minority are clustered around the north-west, the point where Macedonia borders Albania itself and Kosovo. In Tetovo, immediately adjoining Kosovo, Albanians account for over 70% of the population. This demographic trend is repeated in several of the Macedonian municipalities in the rural areas closest to Albania and Kosovo. In the capital, Skopje, the figure dips to just over 20%.

The 2012 census was boycotted by Macedonia's Albanian political parties, but in the 2008 parliamentary vote, these parties received 22.6% of the vote.