Macedonians in Albania

The Macedonians in Albania (Makedonci vo Albanija; Maqedonasit në Shqipëri) are an officially recognized ethnic minority. According to the 2011 census, 5,512 ethnic Macedonians live in Albania. In the 1989 census, 4,697 people had declared themselves Macedonian. The condition of the Macedonian population living in the Prespa area is described in positive terms, and particular praise is given since all the villages of the area are allowed schooling in their mother tongue. Macedonian organizations allege that the government undercounts their number and that they are politically under-represented, arguing there are no Macedonians in the Albanian parliament, until Vasil Sterjovski was elected in 2019 representing the Macedonian Party. Past Helsinki reports stated, "Albania recognizes [...] a Macedonian minority, but only in the Southern regions. Those who identify as Macedonians [...] outside these minority regions are denied the minority rights granted in the south, including minority classes at state schools." In some circumstances, ethnic identity can be fluid among Albania's Slavophonic population, who may identify as Macedonian or Bulgarian, depending on the circumstances. Albanian Slavs are targeted by "Bulgarian cross-border nationalism" and, as an EU member, Bulgaria offers more benefits to this minority than Macedonia does. According to Edmond Temelko, former mayor of the Pustec Municipality, "[...] Bulgaria uses heavy economic situation of Macedonians in Albania to offer them Bulgarian citizenship, passports and employment opportunity". In the middle of the 19th century the national affiliation of the Orthodox Slavs of Macedonia became the locus of a contest between Greeks and Bulgarians, who intensified their national educational activity in the region, along with Serbia. According to Encyclopædia Britannica 1911 Edition, at the beginning of the 20th century the Slavs constituted the majority of the population in Macedonia. Per Britannica itself the bulk of the Slavs was regarded by almost all independent authorities as "Bulgarians".