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.
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