According to the 2002 census, Romani people (Roma) account for approximately 2.7 percent of the total population of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia(FYROM). Unofficially, however, the Roma population in
the FYROM is estimated to amount to between 60,000 and 260,000, due to the social diversity of the Romani people. In the western part of the republic it is not unusual for someone of Romani descent to declare themselves ethnically Albanian, thus not only reducing the severity of ethnic stigma but also possibly increasing their employment and educational opportunities.
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the political position of Romani people in the FYROM from a postindependence political context. The multi-ethnic FYROM has been considered as the model state for minority rights in the region. It is the only country that recognizes Roma as citizens in its original constitution. Romani people live
in 64 municipalities across the country, and approximately 43 percent of them are concentrated in the municipality Šuto Orizari, north of central Skopje. Šuto Orizari is the only municipality where both Romani and Macedonian are recognized as official languages, and whose mayor is an ethnic Roma. This paper discusses the political activities of Romani citizens since Macedonia’s declaration of independence, in 1991, and their social situation since the beginning of the Decade of Roma Inclusion (2005-2015), a multinational initiative funded by the Soros Foundation and the World Bank.