The global economic crisis, accompanying recession and prolonged transitional process caused
serious pressures on the national finances in the Western Balkans Region and the social programs
available for the vulnerable groups are usually the first to be contracted. The first part of this study
presents the process of transmission of the global economic crisis in the Republic of Macedonia and
the impact on the government’s budget. In the second part is a detailed analysis of the impact of the
global economic crisis on the social programs for the vulnerable groups in the Republic of Macedonia
(refugees, at-risk children, people with disabilities, those living below the poverty line, unemployed,
and the elderly), and the extent to which individuals in the country have been made newly vulnerable.