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ROMANI - AN ATTEMPTING OVERVIEW
General: Speakers and Numbers
Realistic estimations report that the number of Romani speakers in Europe is approx. 4.6 million. The table shown summarises these realistic estimations according to Bakker et al. (2000). Percentage (%) shows the approximate percentage of the Romani speaking Roma population in each country.
| country |
speakers |
% |
| Albania |
90.000 |
95% |
| Austria |
20.000 |
80% |
| Belarus |
27.000 |
95% |
| Belgium |
10.000 |
80% |
| Bosnia-Herzegowina |
40.000 |
90% |
| Bulgaria |
600.000 |
80% |
| Croatia |
28.000 |
80% |
| Czech Republic |
140.000 |
50% |
| Denmark |
1.500 |
90% |
| Estonia |
1.100 |
90% |
| Finland |
3.000 |
90% |
| France |
215.000 |
70% |
| Germany |
85.000 |
70% |
| Greece |
160.000 |
90% |
| Hungary |
260.000 |
50% |
| Italy |
42.000 |
90% |
| Latvia |
18.500 |
90% |
| Lithuania |
4.000 |
90% |
| Macedonia |
215.000 |
90% |
| Moldova |
56.000 |
90% |
| Netherlands |
7.000 |
90% |
| Poland |
4.000 |
90% |
| Romania |
1.030.000 |
80% |
| Russia |
405.000 |
80% |
| Serbia and Montenegro |
380.000 |
90% |
| Slovakia |
300.000 |
60% |
| Slovenia |
8.000 |
90% |
| Spain |
1.000 |
1% |
| Sweden |
9.500 |
90% |
| Turkey |
280.000 |
70% |
| Ukraine |
113.000 |
90% |
| United Kingdom |
1.000 |
0,5% |
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Based on these approximate percentages of the Romani speaking Roma population in table 1, the total number of Roma in Europe amounts to 6.6 million people. More generous estimations refer to the total number of European Roma to be about 12 million. As the Roma have always been, and still are, a group which demographically can only be identified with difficulty, all numbers are assumptions and more or less realistic estimations. What is even more problematic is the different basis for these estimations which becomes apparent if we compare the basis for the numbers given for Austria and Spain. The number 25.000 given for the Austrian Roma includes the autochthonous Roma population and migrants who came as so-called guest workers from the middle of the 1960's onwards. Disregarded are the recent migrations from the Balkans and Eastern Europe which were caused by the various conflicts and the consequential bad economic situation. The number given for Spain only includes the autochthonous Roma population, the Calé. The same is valid for the number given for the UK: only the autochthonous Romanichal are included, working migrants of the last decades and recent migrants are not considered. Furthermore Portugal is missing in table 1 which – like most Western European countries – has a Roma population consisting of an autochthonous group which immigrated centuries ago, the Calé, members of Vlax groups who came from the late 19th century on and recent migrants from Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
Despite all problems with numbers, it is a fact, however, that there are some million Roma and some million Romani speakers in Europe.
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Dieter W. Halwachs / Romani-Project
© by the author |
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Letzte Änderung am 06/01/07
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