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.
Geography 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.
History In the early 2000s municipal boundaries within Macedonia in some areas were redrawn. 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. 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.2021 census results in English and Macedonian (PDF) Ethnic groups in the municipality include:
20022021Number%Number%TOTAL35,40810038,399100Albanians32,40891.5334,58690.07Bosniaks1,1203.161,0432.72Macedonians1,3773.891,0052.62Roma2730.772550.66Turks450.13280.07Serbs180.05100.03Vlachs40.01Other / Undeclared / Unknown1670.47180.04Persons for whom data are taken from administrative sources1,4503.78
Inhabited places
There are 23 inhabited places in this municipality.
Inhabited Places TotalMacedoniansAlbaniansTurksRomaVlachsSerbsBosniansOthers Saraj Municipality38,3991,00534,58628255--1,0431,466 Arnakija1.16351.086-----71 Bojane2.13212.070-----60 Bukoviḱ1.842-1.769-----73 Čajlane639-6021----37 Dolno Svilare2.172-2.128-----46 Dvorce145-141-----4 Glumovo2.15212.060----3259 Gorno Svilare845-830-----15 Grčec36-3-----33 Kondovo3.626183.3539--266177 Kopanica1.790-1.761-----29 Krušopek2.01741.977----135 Laskarci1.169-1.127-----42 Ljubin2.42651.49351--85964 Matka466156248---1555 Paničari130-107-----23 Raduša1.533-1.447-----86 Raoviḱ79-40-----39 Rašče2.83512.760-----74 Rudnik Raduša179-156-----23 Saraj6.2653075.37911167-473324 Semenište79827549---537 Šiševo3.9585053.29428743261
Twin towns
Twin municipalities
Üsküdar, IstanbulKomuna e Sarajit binjakëzim me komunën turke Uskudar , INA, 2012-06-01 (in Albanian) Kırşehir
References
External links
Official website