Go, but pay attention.
Numbeo's Safety Index puts Skopje at 54/100 for crime — that makes it read sketchier than North Macedonia's national picture overall (72/100 vs 76/100).
City page · part of North Macedonia
The one number a country page can't give you
What people who actually live in Skopje report
Numbeo aggregates thousands of resident-submitted perception surveys into a per-city Crime Index (higher = worse) and its inverse, a Safety Index — the only real city-granularity crime signal feeding this page, alongside North Macedonia's national advisory, political, health, and police-trust data.
Crime Index
45.8
Safety Index
54.2
Sub-scores
Same real inputs as North Macedonia's national page, with crime swapped for Skopje's own Numbeo number above.
Local know-how
Staying safe in Skopje, specifically
- • Skopje, just like the rest of North Macedonia, is a relatively safe place.
- • Like many other parts of Eastern and Central Europe, there are people who will beg around the major tourist sites, they especially target tourist-looking people, and sometimes may engage in pickpocketing.
- • If you don't like the typical touristy slop, avoid the old town and the bazaar — it's over-rated, over-priced, and you expose yourself to potential scams and con men.
Legal status (national law)
Legal since 1996 + UN decl. sign.
Source: Wikipedia — LGBTQ rights by country →Pack this, know this
The little things that trip people up
Plug & voltage
C / F · 230V
Driving side
right
Emergency
police: 192 or 112 / ambulance: 194 or 112 / fire: 193 or 112
SIM / Data
Mobile phones are widely spread and the coverage is excellent. There are four mobile networks (T-mobile A1 [http://www.one.mk/en/, LycaMobile and MTel [https://mtel.mk/, all providing 5G service. You may need to show your ID card or passport when buying a SIM card. For tourists data packages with sufficient GB (e.g. 100GB) are available dirt cheap. Many mobile providers in the Balkans provide free
Cash vs. Card
The official currency of North Macedonia is the denar (plural denari), denoted by the abbreviation "ден" (den) (international code: MKD). This travel guide uses just denar, e.g. 100 denar. Many Macedonians quote prices in euro (€). The new denar replaced the old denar in 1993 at a rate of 100:1.
How this compares to North Macedonia
Numbeo's Safety Index puts Skopje at 54/100 for crime — that makes it read sketchier than North Macedonia's national picture overall (72/100 vs 76/100).
See the full North Macedonia page and all receipts →