Saraj Municipality
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Saraj (Macedonian: Сарајⓘ, Albanian: Saraj) is one of the ten municipalities that make up the city of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of North Macedonia.
- Saraj, which means "palace" in Turkish, is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found.
- It is a rural municipality and it is not part of the urban core of Skopje proper.
Municipality of Saraj Општина Сарај | |
|---|---|
Rural municipality | |
|
Flag
Coat of arms | |
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| Country |  North Macedonia |
| Region |  Skopje |
| Municipal seat | Skopje |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Blerim Bexheti (DUI) |
| Area | |
| • Total | 229.06 km2 (88.44 sq mi) |
| Population | |
| • Total | 38,399 |
| Official Language(s) | |
| • primary | Macedonian, Albanian |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| Website | Official Website |
Saraj borders
- Jegunovce Municipality to the northwest,
- Želino Municipality to the southwest,
- Sopište Municipality to the south,
- Karpoš Municipality and Ǵorče Petrov Municipality to the east, and
- Kosovo to the north.
In the early 2000s municipal boundaries within Macedonia in some areas were redrawn.[1] During difficult negotiations the governing Macedonian Social Democrats (SDSM) gave in to the request of its Albanian coalition partner that wanted Albanians within Skopje to surpass the 20% population mark by attaching two rural Albanian inhabited municipalities, Saraj and Kondovo.[1] The municipalities attachment to the capital city raised the Albanian population from 15.30% to 20.49%.[1] The change was seen as an important win among Albanians, while Macedonians were concerned with a more visible Albanian presence in Skopje and the increasing fragmentation of the urban population based on ethnicity.[1]
According to the 2021 North Macedonia census, Saraj municipality has 38,399 inhabitants.[2][3] Ethnic groups in the municipality include:
| 2002 | 2021 | |||
| Number | % | Number | % | |
| TOTAL | 35,408 | 100 | 38,399 | 100 |
| Albanians | 32,408 | 91.53 | 34,586 | 90.07 |
| Bosniaks | 1,120 | 3.16 | 1,043 | 2.72 |
| Macedonians | 1,377 | 3.89 | 1,005 | 2.62 |
| Roma | 273 | 0.77 | 255 | 0.66 |
| Turks | 45 | 0.13 | 28 | 0.07 |
| Serbs | 18 | 0.05 | 10 | 0.03 |
| Vlachs | 4 | 0.01 | ||
| Other / Undeclared / Unknown | 167 | 0.47 | 18 | 0.04 |
| Persons for whom data are taken from administrative sources | 1,450 | 3.78 | ||
There are 23 inhabited places in this municipality.
| Inhabited Places | Total | Macedonians | Albanians | Turks | Roma | Vlachs | Serbs | Bosnians | Others |
| Saraj Municipality | 38,399 | 1,005 | 34,586 | 28 | 255 | - | - | 1,043 | 1,466 |
| Arnakija | 1.163 | 5 | 1.086 | - | - | - | - | - | 71 |
| Bojane | 2.132 | 1 | 2.070 | - | - | - | - | - | 60 |
| Bukoviḱ | 1.842 | - | 1.769 | - | - | - | - | - | 73 |
| Čajlane | 639 | - | 602 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 37 |
| Dolno Svilare | 2.172 | - | 2.128 | - | - | - | - | - | 46 |
| Dvorce | 145 | - | 141 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| Glumovo | 2.152 | 1 | 2.060 | - | - | - | - | 32 | 59 |
| Gorno Svilare | 845 | - | 830 | - | - | - | - | - | 15 |
| Grčec | 36 | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 33 |
| Kondovo | 3.626 | 18 | 3.353 | 9 | - | - | 2 | 66 | 177 |
| Kopanica | 1.790 | - | 1.761 | - | - | - | - | - | 29 |
| Krušopek | 2.017 | 4 | 1.977 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 35 |
| Laskarci | 1.169 | - | 1.127 | - | - | - | - | - | 42 |
| Ljubin | 2.426 | 5 | 1.493 | 5 | 1 | - | - | 859 | 64 |
| Matka | 466 | 156 | 248 | - | - | - | 1 | 5 | 55 |
| Paničari | 130 | - | 107 | - | - | - | - | - | 23 |
| Raduša | 1.533 | - | 1.447 | - | - | - | - | - | 86 |
| Raoviḱ | 79 | - | 40 | - | - | - | - | - | 39 |
| Rašče | 2.835 | 1 | 2.760 | - | - | - | - | - | 74 |
| Rudnik Raduša | 179 | - | 156 | - | - | - | - | - | 23 |
| Saraj | 6.265 | 307 | 5.379 | 11 | 167 | - | 4 | 73 | 324 |
| Semenište | 798 | 2 | 754 | 9 | - | - | - | 5 | 37 |
| Šiševo | 3.958 | 505 | 3.294 | 2 | 87 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 61 |
- ^ a b c d Ragaru, Nadege (2008). "The Political Uses and Social Lives of "National Heroes": Controversies over Skanderbeg's Statue in Skopje". Südosteuropa. 56 (4): 535.
- ^ 2021 census results in English and Macedonian (PDF)
- ^ "Попис на населението, домаќинствата и становите во Република Северна Македонија, 2021 - прв сет на податоци" (PDF). stat.gov.mk. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
- ^ Komuna e Sarajit binjakëzim me komunën turke Uskudar Archived 2012-06-04 at the Wayback Machine, INA, 2012-06-01 (in Albanian)