Kocani the City of Rice is only 120 km away from Skopje, situated in the Eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia.
More precisely it spreads across the Northern side of the Kocani valley, along the banks of the Kocani river, right where it leaves the mountain slopes and flows through the valley. North of the town there is the Osogovo mountain (2252 m) and 8 km away to the south the valley is closed by the mountain Plackovica (1754 m). The town is 350 - 450 m above sea level. Kocani spreads over an area of 18,6 kmē and has population of 26,364 inhabitants which makes it the third regional center in the Eastern part of the country. 1948 - 6657 inhabitants; 1994 - 26364 inhabitants.
Nationality structure:
Macedonian 90,3%
Gypsy 5,0%
Turk 3,0%
Vlach 0,5%
Serb 0,2%
Other 1,0%
The climate is mild-continental, influenced by altered Mediterranean climate which penetrates along the river Bregalnica. The average temperature is 12.9 C with 538 mm rainfall.
The town green, especially along the river bed and the banks of the Kocani river are the pride of the local people. The town is very clean and neat, for which Kocani proudly holds the prestigious title "The Cleanest Town in Macedonia".
Before WWII Kocani was just a small provincial town known only for the production of high quality rice. The houses were mainly muddy huts with only very few streets paved with cobblestones. The population, mainly farmers lived in poverty. Today Kocani is a modern town with planned infrastructure, avenues, many modern buildings and blocks of flats, a shopping center, a park and a newly built industrial zone. All this is carefully planned and structured, according to modern standards of living and esthetics. New suburbs are mainly built to the east where the town almost reaches the first houses of Orizari and to the West spreading over the industrial zone.
Foundation Europe Development Center - Kocani, Macedonia
Goverment Of The City Of Kocani, Macedonia
RUEN Automotive Products Industry - Kocani, Macedonia
