Emblem of North Macedonia

The national emblem of North Macedonia depicts two curved garlands of sheaves of wheat, tobacco leaves and opium poppy fruits, tied by a ribbon decorated with embroidery of traditional Macedonian folk motifs. In the center of the ovoid frame are depicted a mountain, a lake and a sunrise. The features of the national coat of arms contain a rising sun which symbolizes freedom, the Šar Mountains with its peak named Ljuboten or Mount Korab and the river Vardar, with Lake Ohrid. The emblem also contains opium poppy fruits; this poppy was brought to the area during Ottoman times in the first half of the 19th century. This emblem (including the red star) had been in use since 1946, shortly after the republic became part of Yugoslavia.

The emblem is based upon the emblem of Yugoslavia. Along with Belarus and the disputed breakaway state of Transnistria, North Macedonia is one of the few remaining European jurisdictions that continued to employ socialist heraldry in its national emblem, as well as the only one among all NATO member states, though the socialistic five-pointed star at the top was removed in 2009.