Macedonia is geographically located in the middle of the Balkans. It is bounded in the north by the hills north of Skopje and by the Shar Mountains; in the east by the Rila and Rhodope mountains; in the south by the Aegean coast around Thessaloniki, by Mount Olympus, and by the Pindus Mountains; in the west by the lakes Prespa and Ohrid. Its total area is about 67,000 square kilometres. The three parts of Macedonia, as partitioned in 1913, are as follows:

1. Aegean Macedonia (Greek Macedonia): It includes northern Greece from Lake Prespa near the Albanian border to the Nestos River, which is the natural boundary between Western Thrace and Aegean Macedonia. It includes the "Kampania" of Thessaloniki, the plains lying along the Stryman (Struma) River and the Kavala region. The ethnic Macedonians in the Aegean part of Macedonia are concentrated in Kastoria (Kostur in Macedonian), Florina (Lerin), and Edesso (Pelo) provinces, in the Plolemaida district of Kozana province, and in and around Thessaloniki, the "pearl of Macedonia".

2. The Republic of Macedonia (Vardar Macedonia): It is geographically divided from Aegean Macedonia by the Kozuv and Nidze mountain ranges. Vardar Macedonia is a high plateau which is 610-915 metres above sea level.

3. Pirin Macedonia (Bulgarian Macedonia): It is the smallest of the three parts. It includes the administrative region of Cumai Bala-Old Goma Cumaya (Blagoevgrad). The Pirin mountain range constitutes a natural boundary between the Aegean and Pirin parts of Macedonia. The Malashevaka and Osogovaka mountain chains, on the other side, similarly constitute the natural demarcation line between the Pirin and Vardar parts of Macedonia.

A small part of Macedonia, about 900 square kilometres, was given to Albania in 1918. This part is known as Mala Prespa.

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