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Greeks in North Macedonia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Greeks in North Macedonia
Total population
294
Languages
Greek and Macedonian
Religion
Eastern Orthodox Church
Related ethnic groups
Ethnic Greeks

Greeks in North Macedonia (Macedonian: Грци во Северна Македонија [ɡr̩t͡si]) form a small community numbering 294 individuals per 2021 census.[1]

History

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Refugees from the Greek Civil War

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Greeks are mainly settled now in the cities of Gevgelija (Greek: Γευγελή, Gevgelī́) and Bitola (Greek: Μοναστήρι, Monastī́ri).[2] Today this community is a remnant from the times of Communist Yugoslavia. Then many Greek communists fled Greece due to the Greek Civil War as political refugees.[3] Today here live mostly their descendants.[4] Ethnologue cites Greek as an "immigrant language" in North Macedonia.[5] In 2002, 422 individuals declared themselves as Greeks in the census.[6] The 2021 census recorded only 294 individuals declaring their ethnicity as Greek.[1]

Trivia

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There is a historical controversy surrounding a Greek minority within North Macedonia, that stems from the late 19th and early 20th century Ottoman era statistical treatment of Aromanian and Slavic-speaking population groups in the area, which partially used to identify themselves as Greeks as part of the Rum millet.[7] A large number of Aromanians and Slavic-speakers with Greek identity left the region after the Balkan Wars (1912-1913) and First World War (1914-1918) and settled in Greece.[8]

Notable historical personalities

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The following Aromanian and Slavic people were born during Ottoman times in what is today North Macedonia and identified as Greek after the rise of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Samartzis, Nonda. "Macedonia 2021 census" (PDF). Transitions Online. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  2. ^ Cowan, Jane K. (2000). Macedonia: The Politics of Identity and Difference. London; Sterling, Virginia: Pluto Press. p. 118. ISBN 9780745315898. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  3. ^ Pg.440 Minahan, James (2000). One Europe, many nations. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 9780313309847.
  4. ^ Koutsoukalēs, Alekos (1998). To chroniko mias tragōdias, 1945-1949. Iōlkos. ISBN 9789604260935. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  5. ^ Gordon, Raymond G. Jr., ed. (2005). "Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Fifteenth edition". SIL International. Retrieved 2008-11-03.
  6. ^ Stavrova, Biljana; Alagjozovski, Robert (2003-09-12). "Macedonia's census opens new doors". Transitions Online. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  7. ^ Roudometof, Victor (1996). "Nationalism and Identity Politics in the Balkans: Greece and the Macedonian Question". Journal of Modern Greek Studies. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2008-11-08.
  8. ^ Clogg (2002). Minorities in Greece: Aspects of a Plural Society. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 153. ISBN 978-1-85065-705-7. Retrieved 2008-11-08.