North Macedonia Cultural Groups

According to the census of 1994 there are 2 million Macedonians. Ethnic Macedonians comprise 67% of the population. The Macedonians are a southern Slav people closely related to Bulgarians. The Albanian minority comprises 23%. The Albanian population may be larger because many Albanians for political reasons failed to participate in the census. Most Albanians are concentrated in the west of the country, particularly the northwest. Other ethnic minorities include Turks 4%, Gypsies 2%, Serbs 2%, and Pomaks (Slavic Muslims) 2%. Most of the Slavs are Macedonian Orthodox. The Albanians and Turks are primarily Muslims though there are some Roman Catholic Albanians in Skopje, the capital. The capital has a population of a half million. All other towns have a population of less than a hundred thousand.