Turks in the Republic of Macedonia
 On municipal level  On settlement level |
|
| Total population | |
|---|---|
|
(77,959 (2002 census) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Languages | |
| Religion | |
| Sunni Islam Bektashism |
(77,959 (2002 census)
Turks in the Republic of Macedonia, also known as Macedonian Turks, (Macedonian: Македонски Турци, Makedonski Turci; Turkish: Makedonya Türkleri) are the ethnic Turks who constitute the third largest ethnic group in the Republic of Macedonia. According to the 2002 census, there were 77,959 Turks living in the country, forming a minority of some 3.8% of the population. The community form a majority in Centar Župa and Plasnica.
The Turkish community claim higher numbers than the census shows, somewhere between 170,000 and 200,000. There are additionally roughly 100,000 Torbeš and some of them still maintain a strong affiliation to Turkish identity.
Macedonia came under the rule of the Ottoman Turks in 1392, remaining part of the Ottoman Empire for more than 500 years up to 1912 and the Balkan wars.
Once the Ottoman Empire fell at the beginning of the 20th century, many of the Turks fled to Turkey. Many left under Yugoslav rule, and more left after World War II. Others intermarried or simply identified themselves as Macedonians or Albanians to avoid stigma and persecution.
³ 143,615 gave Turkish, 32,392 gave Macedonian and 27,086 gave Albanian as their mothertongue.
After 1953, a large emigration of Turks based on an agreement between the Republic of Turkey and Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia took place— around 80,000 according to Yugoslav data and over 150,000 according to Turkish sources.
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