Saraj ( mk, , sq, Saraj) is one of the ten municipalities that make up the city of

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...

, the capital of the

Republic of North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

. * '' 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.

Geography

Saraj borders * Jegunovce Municipality to the northwest, *

Želino Municipality Želino ( mk, , sq, Zhelinë) is a municipality in the northwestern part of North Macedonia. '' Želino'' is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found. This municipality is part of the Polog Statistical Region. Geography T ...

to the southwest, *

Sopište Municipality Sopište ( mk, , sq, Sopisht) is a municipality in the northern part of North Macedonia. '' Sopište'' is also the name of the village where the municipal seat is found. It is located in the Skopje Statistical Region. Geography The municipalit ...

to the south, *

Karpoš Municipality Karpoš Municipality ( mk, ) is one of the ten municipalities that make up the city of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of North Macedonia. Geography Karpoš borders * Saraj Municipality and Ǵorče Petrov Municipality to the west, * Čuč ...

and Ǵorče Petrov Municipality to the east, and *

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a international recognition of Kosovo, partiall ...

to the north.

History

In the early 2000s municipal boundaries within Macedonia in some areas were redrawn. During difficult negotiations the governing Macedonian

Social Democrats Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

(SDSM) gave in to the request of its Albanian coalition partner that wanted

Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Ser ...

within

to surpass the 20% population mark by attaching two rural Albanian inhabited municipalities, Saraj and Kondovo. The municipalities attachment to the capital city raised the Albanian population from 15.30% to 20.49%. 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.

Demographics

According to the last national census from 2021, Saraj has 38,399 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the municipality include: *Albanians = 34,586 (90.1%) *Macedonians = 1,005 (2.6%) *Bosniaks = 1,043 (2.6%) *others.

Inhabited places

There are 23 inhabited places in this municipality.

Twin towns

Twin municipalities

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; ...

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Komuna e Sarajit binjakëzim me komunën turke Uskudar
, INA, 2012-06-01 (in Albanian) *

Kırşehir Kırşehir, formerly Mocissus ( grc, Μωκισσός) and Justinianopolis (Ἰουστινιανούπολις), is a city in Turkey. It is the capital district of the Kırşehir Province. According to the 2000 census, the population of the distr ...

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Municipalities of North Macedonia Municipalities of Skopje Albanian communities in North Macedonia