Albanians in NM

Albanians are the largest ethnic minority in the Republic of Macedonia. Of the 2,022,547 citizens of Macedonia, 509,083, or 25%, are Albanian according to the latest national census in 2002. The Albanian minority lives mostly in the north-western part of the country. The largest Albanian communities are in the areas of Tetovo (70% of the total population), Gostivar (67%), Debar (58%), Struga (56%), Kičevo (31%), Kumanovo (25%) and Skopje (20%).

According to the official census data (held every 10 years), Albanians made up 19% of the total population in 1953. The population fell to 13% in 1961, but grew again in 1971 to 17%. The group formed 19.7% in 1981 and 21% in 1991.[2] At the last census in 2002, the Albanian population was at 25.2%. Ethnologue in 2002 estimated some 500,000 people speaking the Albanian language in Republic of Macedonia.[3] In the decade since the republic declared independence from Yugoslavia, some Albanians have claimed to account for 30% of the population and demanded an appropriate share of power. On the other side, ethnic Macedonians said Albanians were barely 20%.[4] However, the widely accepted number of Albanians in the Republic of Macedonia is according to the internationally monitored[5] 2002 census. The census data estimated that Albanians account for about 25% of the total population. In the 2008 Macedonian parliamentary elections, Albanian political parties received 22.61% of the total vote, receiving 29 of 120 seats. Wikipedia