Greeks in the Republic of Macedonia

Greeks (in Macedonian: Грци, Grci) form an ethnic minority in the Republic of Macedonia, with official figures from the most recent census (2002) citing 422 individuals declaring their ethnicity as Greek.^[1] The Greek right wing party Popular Orthodox Rally, claims via questions presented in the Greek Parliament, that there are more than 100,000 (up to 280,000) Greeks that now live in the country.^[2] This number is not supported officially by the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They are a remnant of the formerly much larger Greek community of the part of Macedonia that fell within the borders of the Kingdom of Serbia after the Balkan Wars.^{[3][4][5][6][7][8][9]} Greeks are mainly settled in the cities of Gevgelija (Greek: Γευγελή, Gevgelī́) and Bitola (Greek: Μοναστήρι, Monastī́ri),^[10] capital of the historical region of Pelagonia. Today, most Greeks in the country are political refugees who fled Greece due to the Greek Civil War,^[11] and their descendants.^[12]

The controversy surrounding a Greek minority within the Republic of Macedonia stems from the statistical treatment of Aromanian (Vlach) population groups, who in their majority have historically identified themselves as Greeks.^[13] A large number of Greek-identifying Vlachs left the region after the Balkan Wars, with Florina in Greece witnessing the arrival of a large Greek-speaking commercial population from Monastiri (Bitola).^[14] Ethnologue however cites Greek as a "immigrant language" in the Republic of Macedonia.^[15]

See also

• Human rights in the Republic of Macedonia

References