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Debar , Cyrillic: Дебaр) is a city in Republic of Macedonia near the city of Gostivar and the border with Albania.

Debar is surrounded by the mountains Desati, Stogovo and Jablanica. It is located 625 meters above sea level, next to Lake Debar, the Black Drin river (Macedonian language: Црн Дрим, Albanian: Drini i Zi) and its smaller break-off river Radika. The municipality has about 50,000 inhabitants, whilst the town's population is nearly 90% ethnic Albanian, with 10% Macedonian Slav and the remainder mostly Turks. Although Skopje has over 150,000 Albanians making it the most populous city in the world for Albanians, it is Debar in which Albanians boast the largest majority (per hundred as opposed to the Slav).

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The first recorded document mentioning Debar is the map of Ptolemy, dating around the middle of the 2nd century, in which it is called i. The Byzantine emperor Basil II knew of its existence, and Felix Petancic referred to it as Dibri in 1502.

The city became part of the Samuil Empire but shortly after (by the beginning of the 11th century) it returned under the Byzantine rule. Byzantines downgraded the Ohrid church into Archbishopric and allowed John of Debar, the first and only Macedonian Slav to be head of the Archbishopric. Bohemond and his Norman army took the city in 1107. In the 13th and 14th century the city changed hands between Despotate of Epirus, Bulgaria, Byzantine Empire and Serbia. At the end of the 14th century it is conquered by the Ottomans.

During the time of the Albanian prince Gjergj Kastriot Skanderbeg, it played a major role in the Albanian-Osman wars. Debar region was the borderline between the Ottomans and the rebels between 1443 and 1465 and became an area of continuous conflict. There were two major battles near Debar April 29, 1444 and September 27, 1446, both ending as Ottoman defeat.

In the early 19th century when Debar rebelled against the Turkish Sultan, the French traveler, publicist, and scientist Ami Bue observed that Debar had 64 shops and 4200 residents.

Debar was significantly involved in the national Albanian movement and on November 1, 1878 the Albanian leaders of the city participated in founding the League of Prizren.

By the end of the century, the town had 15,500 residents, but after World War I, this number started to decline.

From 17 to 19 century woodcarving masters from Debar were recognized for their skill. Their work can be seen in many churches throughout the Balkan Peninsula. One of their masterpieces is the iconostasis in tiny woodcarving in monastery Saint Jovan Bigorski, located 2 km from Debar.

Grigor Prlichev was given the title i . Based on a folk poem, it deals with the exploits and heroic death of Kuzman Kapidan, a famous hero and protector of Christian people in the Debar region in their struggle with the Albanian bandits.

Some of the Albanian oldest and richest epics still exist in the Debar regions and are part of the Albanian mythological heritage.

On July 17, skirmishes that had started earlier in the week in the Afrona coffee bar in the city center turned into heavy mob fighting in which militants from the two rival mafia families Ame and Capa, chased each other shooting throughout the city. The violence lasted until early morning, but no one was killed and only one person was injured. State police besieged Debar equipped with bulletproof vests, patrolling in attempt to quell any future violence.

Both mafia families were involved in bloody confrontations during the 1999 Republic of Macedonia's presidential elections. Ame supports the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA), while Capa supports the Party for Democratic Prosperity’s (PDP).