Macedonia naming dispute

Demographic Macedonia
Macedonians      c. 5 million	All inhabitants of the region, irrespective of ethnicity
Macedonians c. 1.3 million plus diaspora	A contemporary ethnic group, also referred to as Slavomacedonians or Macedonian Slavs
Macedonians c. 2.0 million	Citizens of the Republic of Macedonia irrespective of ethnicity
Macedonians c. 2.6 million plus diaspora	An ethnic Greek regional group, also referred to as Greek Macedonians.
Macedonians (unknown population)	A group of antiquity
Macedonians c. 300.000	A Bulgarian regional group; also referred to as Piriners.
Macedo-Romanians c. 0.3 million*	An alternative name for Aromanians, who sometimes call themselves Makedonji

The Macedonia naming dispute is a political dispute regarding the use of the name Macedonia between the Balkan countries of Greece and the Republic of Macedonia, formerly a federal unit of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Pertinent to its background is an early 20th century multifaceted dispute and armed conflict that formed part of the background to the Balkan Wars. The specific naming dispute, although an existing issue in Yugoslav–Greek relations since World War II, was reignited after the breakup of Yugoslavia and the newly gained independence of the former Socialist Republic of Macedonia in 1991. Since then, it has been an ongoing issue in bilateral and international relations.

Citing historical and territorial concerns resulting from the ambiguity between the Republic of Macedonia, the adjacent Greek region of Macedonia and the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon which falls mostly within Greek Macedonia, Greece opposes the use of the name "Macedonia" by the Republic of Macedonia without a geographical qualifier such as "Northern Macedonia" for use by all and for all purposes. As millions of ethnic Greeks identify themselves as Macedonians, unrelated to the Slavic people who are associated with the Republic of Macedonia, Greece further objects to the use of the term "Macedonian" for the neighboring country's largest ethnic group and its language. The Republic of Macedonia is accused of appropriating symbols and figures that are historically considered part of Greek culture such as the Vergina Sun and Alexander the Great, and of promoting the irredentist concept of a United Macedonia, which involves territorial claims on Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, and Serbia.

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