Ethnic Politics in Eastern Europe: A Guide to Nationality Policies, Organizations and Parties: A Guide to Nationality Policies, Organizations and Parties by Janusz Bugajski

Author:Janusz Bugajski [Bugajski, Janusz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General, Political Ideologies
ISBN: 9781315287430
Google: KY0YDQAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 32206006
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 1994-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

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Bulgaria

POPULATION

On the basis of the preliminary results of the 1992 census, the total population of Bulgaria reached 8,472,724. However, the statistics remained incomplete, as some internationally recognized minority groups such as Macedonians and Pomaks were either not distinguished, only partially recorded, or simply included in the category of “others.”1 Bulgaria’s largest minority were ethnic Turks, who numbered 822,253, or nearly 10 percent of the population according to official statistics, and over a million according to unofficial Turkish estimates. They were concentrated in fairly compact communities in northeastern and southeastern Bulgaria, and in some towns they formed a relative majority of the population. Census figures disclosed the presence of 1,078,000 (12.72 percent) Muslims in Bulgaria, including Turks, Slav Muslims (Pomaks), and a large percentage of Gypsies, and 7,373,000 (87.02 percent) Christians. An estimated 350,000 Macedonians resided in Bulgaria, although they were not officially recognized as a separate ethnos. Some believed that a total of 1 million Bulgarian citizens could claim ancestors from the Macedonian region, although only a few thousand maintained some form of Macedonian identity. While most of the population was concentrated in the Pirin region of western Bulgaria, smaller communities reportedly flourished in the cities of Plovdiv, Burgas, Varna, Ruse, Dimitrov, and Kyustendil. The formerly derogatory term Pomak referred to Slav Bulgarians who were Muslim. Unofficially estimated at closer to 150,000, the Pomaks dwelt in tight-knit communities in the Rhodope Mountains in southwestern and southern Bulgaria.

The largest under-recorded minority were the Gypsy (Romani) population, which numbered in the region of 250,000 to 400,000; some unofficial estimates exceeded 1 million. Precise figures have proved difficult to assemble, partly because no census data on ethnic groups were published in Bulgaria after the mid-1970s, and partly because many Roma preferred to hide their ethnic identity for fear of discrimination. The Roma were divided between Muslims and Christians, with further sub-groups based on region, occupation, language, dialect, and residential longevity. The Vlachs, speakers of a language derived from Romanian, were traditionally a pastoral people living in scattered communities in several Balkan mountain ranges. Small Vlach settlements were found in Bulgaria, in the Stara Planina range, in the Struma Valley, and in the Dobrudzha region. In 1985, the Vlach population was unofficially reported at near 400,000, but experts believed this number was greatly inflated. There was a general lack of detailed information on the Vlachs; a similar situation prevailed with the small number of Sarakatsani or Karakachani, Greek-speaking pastoral people sharing many cultural traits with the Vlachs, surviving in a handful of communities in the Balkan and Rhodope Mountains. Among the smaller minorities not officially recognized as separate national groups, there were several thousand Gagauzi, or Turkic-speaking Orthodox Christians resident on the Black Sea coast, Lipovans, who speak a language akin to Russian, as well as small communities of Armenians, Russians, Greeks, Tatars, and Jews.

Bulgaria: Population (1992)

Ethnic Groups Number % of Population

Bulgarians (and Macedonians) 7,206,062 85.05

Turks 822,253 9.70

Roma (Gypsies) 287,732 3.40

Pomaks (Bulgarian Muslims) 65,546 0.77

Others 91,131 1.08

Total Minorities 1,266,662 14.95

Total Population 8,472,724 100.00

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