Municipality of Tearce
Albanian-majority Polog municipality historically the richest in the Tetovo region, with Kosovo border connections and flour mill heritage.
Tearce exists in Lower Polog as one of the Albanian-majority municipalities that define northwestern North Macedonia's ethnic geography. This municipality of 22,454 residents occupies 137 square kilometers between Tetovo to the south and the Kosovo border to the northwest, where Albanian language holds co-official status alongside Macedonian.
The formation era established Tearce as one of the Tetovo region's richest villages—fruit forests, ten flour mills on the river serving the entire region, and agricultural abundance that attracted settlers from surrounding areas. The wealth persisted through Ottoman, Yugoslav, and independence periods, though the 2001 conflict and subsequent Ohrid Framework Agreement reshaped political relationships between Albanian and Macedonian communities.
Today Tearce operates through cultivation of cereals, garden crops, and fruit growing within the broader Polog regional economy. Wholesale and retail trade dominate the region (22% of business entities), followed by manufacturing (12.4%) and construction (8.9%). The municipalities of Bogovinje, Brvenica, Gostivar, Tearce, Tetovo, Vrapčište, and Želino share large Albanian majorities with varying Macedonian and Turkish minorities.
By 2026, Tearce's trajectory follows the patterns established by the Ohrid Framework: Albanian political representation, language rights, and economic integration within the Macedonian state. The Kosovo border connection enables cross-border economic and family relationships. Tourism potential exists but remains undeveloped despite natural assets in the Šar Mountain valley.