Total population | |
---|---|
891 (2011 census; restricted exclusively to those who declared Romanian ethnicity) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Northern Bulgaria, primarily along the Danube | |
Languages | |
Romanian (native), Bulgarian | |
Religion | |
Eastern Orthodoxy (Bulgarian Orthodox Church and Romanian Orthodox Church) |
The Romanians in Bulgaria (Romanian: români or rumâni; Bulgarian: румънци, rumŭntsi, or власи, vlasi), are a Romanian ethnic minority in Bulgaria. In the country, Romanians live in several northern regions, mostly along the Danube. This includes a region between the city of Vidin and the Timok river; these Romanians form a continuous community with the Romanian community in the Timok Valley of Serbia. Another region with a high density of Romanians is located between the towns of Oryahovo and Svishtov. Another goes from Tutrakan to the Bulgaria–Romania border at Northern Dobruja. There also are scattered groups of Romanians within the interior of Bulgaria, such as in Pleven or around Vratsa. The Romanians in Bulgaria are not recognized as a national minority, and they lack minority rights such as schools or churches in their own Romanian language. Many are subject to assimilation.[1]
In Bulgaria, indigenous Romanians are commonly referred to as "Vlachs". This term is also applied to the Aromanians of the country,[2] as well as to Romanian-speaking Boyash Gypsies.[3]
The Romanians of Bulgaria have several organizations of their own, one of them being the AVE Union of Romanian Ethnicities of Bulgaria (AVE Uniunea Etnicilor Români din Bulgaria), presided by Ivo Gheorghiev, which often organizes cultural events.[4] One example are celebrations for the Romanian Language Day organized in Vidin by this organization.[5]
The following are historical census results showing the presence of Romanians in Bulgaria:
Year |
"Vlachs" | Romanians |
---|---|---|
1881 | 49,063[6]a | |
1905 | 73,773[1] | |
1910 | 79,429 | |
1926 | 69,080 | |
1937 | 16,405 | |
2001 | 10,566 b | 1,088 |
2011 | 3,684[7] | 891 |
^a This number shows those who identified their native language as "Vlach"; the 1881 census did not have a question about ethnicity.
^b The 2001 census recorded 10,566 "Vlachs", most of whom are Romanian-speakers, but the figure includes some Aromanian-speakers as well.
Out of 3,598 self-identified Vlachs, 165 declared their mother tongue as Bulgarian, 1,462 as Vlach, 1,964 as Romanian and 4 as "other" in 2011.[7] Out of 866 self-identified Romanians, 37 declared their mother tongue as Bulgarian, 3 as Vlach, and 822 as Romanian in 2011.[7]
According to a comprehensive demographic study[2] from 2008, number of Romanians per provinces in 2021, was as follows:
Vidin - 37,700
Vratsa - 21,200
Pleven - 15,700
Veliko Tarnovo - 14,200
Silistra - 11,400
Montana - 8,700
Sofia - 8,400
Varna - 7,700
Ruse - 4,700
Rest of Bulgaria - 28,600
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