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

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

, the capital of the

Republic of North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

. * '' 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 to the southwest, * Sopište Municipality to the south, *

Karpoš Municipality Karpoš Municipality () 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, * Čučer-S ...

and Ǵorče Petrov Municipality to the east, and *

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

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 social, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achieving social equality. In modern practice, s ...

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

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

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 2021 North Macedonia census, Saraj municipality has 38,399 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the municipality include:

Inhabited places

There are 23 inhabited places in this municipality.

Twin towns

Twin municipalities

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 35 km2, and its population is 524,452 (2022). It is a large and densely populated district on the Anatolian (Asian) shore of the Bosphorus. It is border ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

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

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Municipalities of North Macedonia Municipalities of Skopje