Makedonian Turks
Population: 97.500 Principal cities they settled: Uskup, Manastır, Gostivar, Kalkandelen, Ohri, Resne. Turkish groups in the region live in accordance with the administrational structure of the country. Turk Democratic Union represents Turks in Kosova and Sancak.
Short History
There had been lived various tribes in Macedonia throughout history. Some Turk clans such as Huns, Avars, Kumans, Peceneks and Ottoman Turks lived for a long time in this region. Many Turkish immigrants from Anatolia were settled in Macedonia after 1300. While there were 203 thousand Turks in Macedonia in 1953, today this figure decreased to 97 thousand five hundred.
Economy
Turks deal with agriculture, livestock and commerce in Macedonia.
Political Structure
A political party, Turk Democratic Union, has been founded and still active today in Macedonia. It represents Turks living in the region. There are some newspapers and magazines published in Turkish in Macedonia. There are also radio programs in Turkish
Education
Education is in Turkish in Macedonia. Turks have the right of Turkish education for four years in East Macedonia. There are 264 teachers in these schools. There is a lycee in Gostivar and a technical college in Kalkandelen where students are trained in Turkish. Few quota is spared for Turkish students at Uskup and Manastir Universities. There are also private Turkish schools established by Turkish entrepreneurs. Macedonian Turks show great interest in these schools. Besides, the number of Turks reached 2 thousand in Kosova and Sancak. Turks are trained in Turkish here and they were generally settled around Pristina city.