World Directory of Minorities and Indigenous Peoples

In the 2002 census, 53,879 people self-identified as Roma. This figure is almost certainly well below the real figure, with other sources, including the Roma community, European Roma Rights Centre and the World Bank, estimating the Roma population between 80,000 and 135,000. Most Roma speak Romani as their first language and practice Islam. Some Roma speak Albanian. Roma are dispersed, with a large concentration in Shuto Orizari in Skopje.

Roma continue to face discrimination and exclusion in all spheres of life, including access to basic services such as education, electricity and health care. The community suffers extreme poverty, and Roma are excluded from the labour market for a range of reasons including discrimination. Many Roma children do not complete primary education. Roma are discriminated against by officials within a range of state institutions and many have problems obtaining personal documents and citizenship. Police abuse of Roma is common, and the government has been lax in investigating reports of abuse. Roma women face multiple discrimination and particular problems; for example, there are high rates of domestic violence and the police often fail to respond when incidents are reported. Politics are dominated by ethnic Albanian-Macedonian relations, and Roma barely participate; with two representatives in the 120-seat national parliament, they are vastly under-represented there. They are likewise almost unrepresented in employment in state institutions. A National Strategy for the Roma was adopted in 2005, but has not been implemented.

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