7. Financing and support
North Macedonia
Last update: September, 2021
Ministry of Culture is the main source of funding for culture
The Ministry of Culture is responsible for distributing public funds for culture on the basis of an annual plan, which is developed by the Ministry at the end of the year for the following year. The allocation of the overall state budget to different sectors is prescribed by law (annual Law on the National Budget).
The Ministry of Culture is the main source of funding for culture. It provides annual funding to the national cultural (and local) institutions (salaries, investments, running costs such as heating, insurance of equipment, buildings, exhibits, etc.) and for specific programmes/projects on the basis of competitions. The amount of money reserved for the salaries of those employed on a full time basis in cultural institutions represented 39% of the total budget for culture in 2000. This figure decreased to 35% in 2002 and raised to 45.12% in 2005. In 2005, the structure of the cultural budget was: 45.12% for salaries; 2.65% for heating; 0.99% for insurance and other services to the institutions; 2.65% for capital investments (reconstructions, equipment etc.) and 44.24 % for programmes and projects.
In 2020, the share for salaries of those employed on a full time basis in cultural institutions represented 38% of the total budget for culture.
There is no data available for cultural funding of local governments.
Indicators
Table 17: Expenditure for culture and % of state budget 2008-2017
| Year | Ministry of Culture (in million MKD) | Financing of cultural activities (in million MKD) | % for culture in the State Budget |
| 2008 | 501 | 2780 | 2.3 |
| 2009 | 633 | 2570 | 2.3 |
| 2010 | 656 | 2359 | 2.1 |
| 2011 | 280 | 3174 | 2.3 |
| 2012 | 315 | 2801 | 2.0 |
| 2013 | 323 | 3288 | 2.3 |
| 2014 | 337 | 3352 | 2.2 |
| 2015 | 332 | 3696 | 2.2 |
| 2016 | 355 | 3460 | 2.1 |
| 2017 | 359 | 4899 | 2.6 |
Source: National Strategy for Cultural Development in the Republic of North Macedonia 2018-2022
Culture's share of the central state budget in 2020 was 0.16% (0.12% in 2019) which represents almost the lowest percentage in the past 20 years. On the other hand, the increase in the cultural budget for 2020 was almost 47% higher than the budget for 2019.
Table 18: Cultural expenses as part of GDP, at current prices (in million MKD), 2005-2017
| Year | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2014 | 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Share of GDP | 6 155 | 7 124 | 7 495 | 10 548 | 13 296 | 13 643 | 14 464 |
Source: State Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia
Last update: September, 2021
There is no data available on the local (municipal) expenditure on culture. The Ministry of Culture is the main source of funding for culture. It provides annual funding to the national cultural (and local) institutions (salaries, investments, running costs such as heating, insurance of equipment, buildings, exhibits, etc.) and for specific programmes/projects on the basis of competitions. However, within the new re-organisation of the network of public cultural institutions and the re-allocation of some responsibilities to the municipalities, it is believed that this figure will change in the near future.
Table 19: Expenditure for culture and % of state budget 2008-2017
| Year | Ministry of Culture (in million MKD) | Financing of cultural activities (in million MKD) | % for culture in the State Budget |
| 2008 | 501 | 2780 | 2.3 |
| 2009 | 633 | 2570 | 2.3 |
| 2010 | 656 | 2359 | 2.1 |
| 2011 | 280 | 3174 | 2.3 |
| 2012 | 315 | 2801 | 2.0 |
| 2013 | 323 | 3288 | 2.3 |
| 2014 | 337 | 3352 | 2.2 |
| 2015 | 332 | 3696 | 2.2 |
| 2016 | 355 | 3460 | 2.1 |
| 2017 | 359 | 4899 | 2.6 |
Source: National Strategy for Cultural Development in the Republic of Macedonia 2018-2022
Culture's share of the central state budget in 2020 was 0.16% (0.12% in 2019) which represents almost the lowest percentage in the past 20 years. On the other hand, the increase in the cultural budget for 2020 was almost 47% higher than the budget for 2019.
Table 20: Expenditure of the Ministry of Culture, 2004-2013
| Year | value in МКD | % of total | value in MKD per capita | yearly change % |
| 2004 | 147 102 712 | 0.0 | 73.6 | 0.0 |
| 2005 | 290 266 224 | 0.1 | 145.1 | 97.3 |
| 2006 | 294 195 937 | 0.1 | 147.1 | 1.4 |
| 2007 | 383 395 250 | 0.1 | 191.7 | 30.3 |
| 2008 | 500 904 760 | 0.1 | 250.5 | 30.6 |
| 2009 | 632 956 949 | 0.2 | 316.5 | 26.4 |
| 2010 | 674 902 000 | 0.2 | 337.5 | 6.6 |
| 2011 | 293 390 000 | 0.1 | 146.7 | -56.5 |
| 2012 | 315 250 000 | 0.1 | 157.6 | 12.5 |
| 2013 | 366 466 000 | 0.1 | 183.2 | 16.2 |
Source: Centre for Economic Analyses, http://www.mkdbudget.org.
Table 21: Financing of cultural activities, 2004-2013
| Year | value in МKD | % of total | value in MKD per capita | yearly change % |
| 2004 | 1 418 454 179 | 0.4 | 709.2 | 0.0 |
| 2005 | 1 371 638 021 | 0.4 | 685.8 | -3.3 |
| 2006 | 1 315 776 161 | 0.4 | 657.9 | -4.1 |
| 2007 | 1 600 004 690 | 0.5 | 800.0 | 21.6 |
| 2008 | 2 779 811 936 | 0.8 | 1 389.9 | 73.7 |
| 2009 | 2 570 277 837 | 0.8 | 1 285.1 | -7.5 |
| 2010 | 2 511 410 000 | 0.7 | 1 255.7 | -2.3 |
| 2011 | 3 365 785 000 | 1.0 | 1 682.9 | 34.0 |
| 2012 | 2 888 830 000 | 0.8 | 1 444.4 | -9.0 |
| 2013 | 3 399 355 000 | 1.0 | 1 699.7 | 17.7 |
Source: Centre for Economic Analyses, http://www.mkdbudget.org.
Table 20 includes the expenses of the Ministry alone (salaries - including the salaries for the Cultural Heritage Protection Office, subventions and transfers, capital expenses, the fund for the national artist etc.). Table 21 includes the transfers to the institutions or other subjects for financing of their cultural projects according to the annual programme, the salaries and other expenses of the national institutions etc.
The significant disproportions in the Ministry's budget between 2006-07 and 2010-11 is mostly related to the scheduled activities that were "imposed" on the Ministry of Culture, like the "Skopje 2014" project (the building of numerous memorial monuments), publishing projects, temporary archaeological campaigns etc. In practice, very little funds were left for regular cultural activities.
Table 22: Ministry of Culture, total budget and budget for cultural activities, 2019/2020
| Year | Total budget (in MKD) | Budget for the Ministry of Culture | Budget for cultural activities |
| 2019 | 3 225 879 000 | 204 493 000 | 3 021 386 000 |
| 2020 | 3 462 483 000 | 321 583 000 | 3 140 900 000 |
Source: Rapport of the Ministry of culture (2019 and 2020)
Table 23: Ministry of Culture, expenditure for cultural activities 2020
| Budget for cultural activities 2020 | 3 140 900 000 | % |
| Salaries | 1 338 800 000 | 42.62 |
| Pubic services | 160 000 000 | 5.09 |
| Block-subsidies | 297 000 000 | 9.46 |
| Programmes | 980 100 000 | 31.20 |
| Investments | 365 000 000 | 11.62 |
Source: Rapport of the Ministry of culture, 2020
Table 23 shows that only 31.20% or 1/3 of the funds for financing cultural programmes and activities actually goes to cultural institutions.
Last update: September, 2021
The figures in Table 24 represent the direct budgetary transfers from the Ministry of Culture to the cultural institutions. The Ministry of Culture does not finance the press, the media, the archives etc.
Table 24: Sector breakdown in MKD, 2017 and 2018
| Sector | 2017 | 2018 |
|---|---|---|
| Protection of Cultural Heritage | 242 651 143 | 441 400 000 |
| Museums | 398 299 276 | 420 300 000 |
| Visual Arts | 28 803 321 | 37 100 000 |
| Publishing | 162 251 531 | 96 200 000 |
| Libraries | 86 322 362 | 88 000 000 |
| Film | 149 874 562 | 159 863 000 |
| Performing Arts | 2 942 608 819 | 1 629 100 000 |
| International co-operation | 96 561 818 | 121 169 000 |
| Cultural events, festivals, other manifestations | 93 663 098 | 113 331 000 |
| Decentralisation | 234 335 000 | 249 882 000 |
| TOTAL (MKD) | 4 435 370 930 | 3 235 176 000 |
| TOTAL (EUR) | 72 710 998 | 53 035 672 |
Source: Ministry of Finance 2018.
Last update: September, 2021
On the state level, cultural creativity is supported - both directly and indirectly:
- support from the budget through annual public calls in all fields of culture (theatre, film, publishing, music etc.) that encompass all the basic cultural activities (creativity, reproduction, transmission etc.) as well as supplementary cultural activities (support for cultural management education, information technology support etc.);
- direct support for cultural institutions;
- grants that directly support artistic creativity (e.g. writing, visual arts);
- payment of retirement and health contributions for independent artists; and
- ad hoc support from the Ministry's reserve of budgetary funds for projects that have already ensured some of the above-mentioned types of support, or have appeared as new projects outside the competition procedure.
A similar type of support is provided only in few municipalities on the local level.
Last update: September, 2021
Except for the special fund for independent artists, there are no other special artists' funds provided by the government. However, there is ad hoc government support, especially for the film industry, but without any publicly known or approved criteria. This method has been criticized often by some of the public media in the past decade.
Last update: September, 2021
Through public competition, the Ministry of Culture supports the professional development of talented young artists and professionals in the area of film, theatre, music, dance, literature, visual arts, and protection of movable and immovable cultural heritage. The priority is given to studies that do not exist within the Macedonian educational system.
Other examples of direct support include: an annual open competition for artists to spend time at Cité International des Arts in Paris, and several state awards ("11th October" Award which is the most important national award; “St, Kliment Award” etc.) given to artists (by public competition) as a recognition for their life-time achievement.
The Ministry of Culture provides funding for the annual awards given by professional artists’ associations to their members for special achievements.
In 2008, the Ministry of Culture announced the introduction of a new category / the position of "national artist". The title was reserved for the most significant artists as recognition of their contribution to the development and popularisation of Macedonian art and culture. The Law on National Artists was approved in 2011. The title was awarded by the President of the Republic, based on the proposal from the Minister of Culture. The title provides a lifelong monthly payment of 1 000 EUR and a monograph of his / her work to be published by the Ministry of Culture.
Another form of direct support to artists was the "national pension", which was awarded to significant artists and experts in the protection of cultural heritage. The artists and experts who were awarded this lifelong national pension received the difference between their pension and the highest pension in the country.
However, having in mind the actual practice within the last decade, the new Government (2017) determined that these two new categories were a kind of political corruption to the artists and cultural workers enforced by the former government. The Ministry of Culture consequently annulled the laws in 2018.
Last update: September, 2021
The Ministry of Culture and Media provides support for the activities of artists’ associations or unions in the form of grants and subsidies for their regular activities. The Ministry also approves grants for individual members of these associations or unions to spend time at special artists’ centres and various other forms of cooperation - national and international.
Support for professional associations in the audio-visual field is provided through yearly calls by the Film Agency.
There have not been significant changes in recent years.
Last update: September, 2021
There is no data or information available on private cultural funding in North Macedonia.