People of Skopje - © Sarnia/Shutterstock
After twenty years of waiting, North Macedonia has finally managed to complete the population census. The controversies that had slowed down the process, however, have not subsided even after the presentation of the results
After 20 years, North Macedonia eventually managed to conduct a population census, a process which turned out to be extremely controversial. In a country with multiple ethnic communities held together – or separate – by a delicate political balance also based on their perceived demographic weight in the country, the census has raised stormy reactions before and after its execution.
Some consider it a great achievement that the country finally got an updated statistical picture that will inform social, demographic, and economic policies for at least the next 10 years. Others complain that the largely incomplete data collected will create a distorted picture of the country's demographic map, hence they do not recognise the census.
The media report that the general population is aging, more and more young people are moving out of the country, and only capital Skopje is growing, while more and more cities are shrinking and villages are swiftly becoming depopulated.
The public is drowned with ethnic figures and percentages because the constitution provides for certain civil collective rights for ethnic communities when they make up over 20% of the population: mostly those rights benefit the Albanian ethnic community, the second largest in the country after the Macedonians.
After those held in 1991 and 2001, this is the third census in North Macedonia after its independence and was carried out during the Covid-19 pandemic, also using online registration.
The figures
The 2021 census showed that, compared to 2001, the total population in the country has decreased by 185,834 people (9.2%). The total population is 2,097,319 people – 1,836,713 residents and 260,606 non-residents. Macedonian citizens living and residing abroad for more than a year were able to register through a web application that was available on the Census website.
According to the statement of ethnicity, 58.44% of the population identified themselves as Macedonians, 24.30% as Albanians, 3.86% as Turks, 2.53% as Roma, 0.47% as Vlachs, 1.30% as Serbs, and 0.87% as Bosniaks and others. On the other hand, 61.38% of the enumerated population stated that their mother tongue is Macedonian, 24.34% Albanian, 3.41% Turkish, 1.73% Romani, 0.17%, Vlach, 0.61% Serbian, and 0.85% Bosnian.
However, 132,269 citizens did not declare their ethnicity, and many of them boycotted the census, which they claimed was rigged to meet political needs. This trend appeared even before the census, when ethnic communities like Albanians and Turks made statements that they would not accept the census if they did not reach a certain percentage.
Positive reactions...
The European Commission has welcomed the census in North Macedonia: following the announcement of the results, European Commission spokeswoman Ana Pisonero told MIA that it was a great achievement since updated population data are essential for planning and implementing appropriate social, demographic, and economic policies .
According to the government, the census was successfully conducted and provides reliable, credible, valid, and useful information for policy planning.
The ruling SDSM believes that the census, conducted in accordance with the law and all Eurostat rules, is a great success for the citizens and the state in general, while DUI President Ali Ahmeti praises the clearer insight into the overall population and the percentage of communities in the country. Albanians are 29.5% of the general population and 24.3% in the resident population, while in the city of Skopje the Albanian community makes up 22.8% of residents (20.04% in 2002).
...and negative ones
For VMRO-DPMNE president Hristijan Mickoski, though, the census is incomplete. He announced that a new, realistic process will be carried out immediately after a future change of government,. Mickoski stressed that 7.2 percent of the citizens were not counted, and significant data were taken from databases, without defining the ethnicity of the involved citizens.
Following the announcement of the census results, the Alliance for Albanians (AA) said it was in the process of reviewing the published results and would soon release its own detailed analysis. The party expressed reservations about the credibility of the process. According to AA, “over 132,000 citizens boycotted the census,while the number of 260,000 citizens living abroad does not correspond to reality and the data published so far by international organisations”.
For the Democratic Union, too, the census was unsuccessful because of a number of factors: the call for a boycott by some parties, poor preparation and methodology, partisanship, poor training, lack of control, and so on. The party proposed to cross-check the data and conduct an additional census for the non-resident population.
The results of the census were also disputed by the Levica party, which also stigmatised their communication in the presence of the diplomatic corps as "an attempt to seek legitimacy from the outside". Levica stressed that the party will not recognise this “fake census”, that the whole case will be thoroughly investigated, and that "criminal charges will follow", which will be a condition for the party to enter a future government.
According to Levica one of the biggest issues for the census is the diaspora, as the unilateral lobbying of the DUI ministers led to a mixing of the resident and non-resident population. The results, according to them, show that 300,000 citizens are in fact unregistered.
Roma, Serb, and Turkish parties have also expressed dissatisfaction with the census figures and announced that they will organise their own census of their ethnic community.
Other significant data
In terms of religious affiliation, 46.14% of resident respondents identified themselves as Orthodox, 32.17% as Muslims, 0.37% as Catholics, and 13.21% were included in special group as "Christians".
The census registered 598,632 households (3.06 members on average) and 839,174 apartments. The number of households increased by 34,336 or 6.1 percent. The population density per square kilometre is 72.2, and the average age of the population is 40.08, with 984.3 men per 1,000 women.
Almost a third of the Macedonian population (526,502) lives in capital Skopje, a figure that has increased by 3.9 percent compared to the 2002 census. Skopje also registered an increase in the number of households (171,171, +16.8 percent compared to 2002) and apartments.
