Minorities of Albania

This article is about the minority groups of the population of Albania, which constitute a minor part of the country's total population.

Overview

Issues of ethnicity are a delicate topic and subject to debate. Contrary to official statistics that show an over 97 per cent Albanian majority in the country, minority groups (such as Greeks, Macedonians, Montenegrins, Roma and Aromanians) have frequently disputed the official numbers, asserting a higher percentage of the country's population. According to the disputed 2011 census, ethnic affiliation was as follows: Albanians 2,312,356 (82.6% of the total), Greeks 24,243 (0.9%), Macedonians 5,512 (0.2%), Montenegrins 366 (0.01%), Aromanians 8,266 (0.30%), Romani 8,301 (0.3%), Balkan Egyptians 3,368 (0.1%), other ethnicities 2,644 (0.1%), no declared ethnicity 390,938 (14.0%), and not relevant 44,144 (1.6%).[1] On the quality of the specific data the Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities stated that "the results of the census should be viewed with the utmost caution and calls on the authorities not to rely exclusively on the data on nationality collected during the census in determining its policy on the protection of national minorities.".[2]

Albania recognises nine national or cultural minorities: Aromanian, Greek, Macedonian, Montenegrin, Serb, Roma, Egyptian, Bosnian and Bulgarian peoples.[3] Other Albanian minorities are the Gorani people and Jews.[4] Regarding the Greeks, "it is difficult to know how many Greeks there are in Albania". The estimates vary between 60,000 and 300,000 ethnic Greeks in Albania. According to Ian Jeffries, most of Western sources put the number at around 200,000. The 300,000 mark is supported by Greek government as well.[5][6][7][8][9] The CIA World Factbook estimates the Greek minority to constitute 0.9%[10] of the total population. The US State Department estimates that Greeks make up 1.17%, and other minorities 0.23%, of the population.[11] The latter questions the validity of the census data about the Greek minority, due to the fact that measurements have been affected by boycott.[12]

Macedonian and some Greek minority groups have sharply criticized Article 20 of the Census law, according to which a $1,000 fine will be imposed on anyone who will declare an ethnicity other than what is stated on his or her birth certificate. This is claimed to be an attempt to intimidate minorities into declaring Albanian ethnicity, according to them the Albanian government has stated that it will jail anyone who does not participate in the census or refuse to declare his or her ethnicity.[13] Genc Pollo, the minister in charge has declared that: "Albanian citizens will be able to freely express their ethnic and religious affiliation and mother tongue. However, they are not forced to answer these sensitive questions".[14] The amendments criticized do not include jailing or forced declaration of ethnicity or religion; only a fine is envisioned which can be overthrown by court.[15][16]

Greek representatives form part of the Albanian parliament and the government has invited Albanian Greeks to register, as the only way to improve their status.[17] On the other hand, nationalists, various organizations and political parties in Albania have expressed their concern that the census might artificially increase the numbers of the Greek minority, which might be then exploited by Greece to threaten Albania's territorial integrity.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23]

Statistics

Maps
Regions with a traditional presence of ethnic groups other than Albanian.
Distribution of ethnic groups within Albania, as of the 2011 census. Districts colored gray are those where a majority of people did not declare an ethnicity (the question was optional). The census was criticized and boycotted by minorities in Albania.
Traditional locations of linguistic and religious communities in Albania.

References
  1. "Population and Housing Census 2011". INSTAT (Albanian Institute of Statistics). Archived from the original on 3 August 2017.
  2. "Third Opinion on Albania adopted on 23 November 2011". Advisory Committee on the Framework for the Protection of National Minorities. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  3. staff (12 October 2017). "Albania has Recognized the Bulgarian Minority in the Country". novinite.com. Sofia News Agency. Retrieved 4 December 2017.
  4. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (11 May 2005). "World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples – Albania : Overview". United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Retrieved 5 May 2013.
  5. RFE/RL Research Report: Weekly Analyses from the RFE/RL Research Institute. Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Incorporated. 1993. Albanian officials alleged that the priest was promoting irredentist sentiments among Albania's Greek minority – estimated at between 60,000 and 300,000.
  6. Robert Bideleux; Ian Jeffries (2006). The Balkans: A Post-Communist History. Routledge. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-203-96911-3. The Albanian government claimed that there were only 60,000, based on the biased 1989 census, whereas the Greek government claimed that there were upwards of 300,000. Most Western estimates were around the 200,000 mark ...
  7. Sabrina P. Ramet (1998). Nihil Obstat: Religion, Politics, and Social Change in East-Central Europe and Russia. Duke University Press. p. 222. ISBN 978-0-8223-2070-8. that between 250,000 and 300,000 Orthodox Greeks reside in Albania
  8. Ian Jeffries (2002). Eastern Europe at the Turn of the Twenty-first Century: A Guide to the Economies in Transition. Routledge. p. 69. ISBN 978-0-415-23671-3. It is difficult to know how many ethnic Greeks there are in Albania. The Greek government, it is typically claimed, says that there are around 300,000 ethnic Greeks in Albania, but most Western estimates are around 200,000.
  9. Europa Publications (2008). The Europa World Year Book 2008. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-1-85743-452-1. and Greece formally annulled claims to North Epirus (southern Albania), where there is a sizeable Greek minority. ... strained by concerns relating to the treatment of ethnic Greeks residing in Albania (numbering an estimated 300,000) ...
  10. "Albania". CIA. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  11. "Albania". U.S. Department of State. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
  12. "International Religious Freedom Report for 2014: Albania" (PDF). state.gov. United States Department of State. p. 5. Retrieved 20 October 2015. Ethnic Greek minority groups had encouraged their members to boycott the census, affecting measurements of the Greek ethnic minority and membership in the Greek Orthodox Church.
  13. "Macedonians and Greeks Join Forces against Albanian Census". balkanchronicle. Archived from the original on 12 January 2012. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  14. "Albania passes census law". MINA. Archived from the original on 31 October 2012. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  15. "census.al". census.al.
  16. "ÿþMicrosoft Word – Law Nr 10442 date 07.07.2011.doc" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 May 2013. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
  17. "The politics of numbers and identity in Albania". EUDO Observatory on Citizenship. Archived from the original on 24 February 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2012.
  18. Maria Karathanos; Constantine Callaghan. "Ethnic tensions in Albania". Athensnews. Archived from the original on 8 February 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2013. in line with Albanian nationalist sentiment alleging that the census poses a threat to Albanian territorial integrity
  19. Likmeta, Besar. "Albania Nationalist Leader Resigns from Top Justice Job". Balkannsight. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
  20. "Census stirs Balkan melting pot". 20 October 2011. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2013. nationalist critics are up in arms at efforts to provide an accurate picture of Albania's ethnic breakdown, seeing a plot to weaken the state ... The group has denounced the ethnicity section of the national census, and Spahiu warns the results could upset Albania's "good model" of ethnic and religious tolerance ...
  21. "Some Albanians consider changing nationality for profit". Southeast European Times.
  22. "Courts in Albania suspend changing nationality to Greek". Southeast European Times.
  23. "Greek Consul Statement Angers Albanian MPs". BalkanInsight.
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