Po redaktohet Skopje (paragraf)

==Demographics==
{{Historical populations
| percentages = pagr
| source =<ref name="stats1"/><ref name="jasna"/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.stat.gov.mk/pdf/2022/2.1.22.10-mk-en.pdf |title=Попис на населението, домаќинствата и становите во Република Северна Македонија, 2021 - прв сет на податоци |website=stat.gov.mk |access-date=22 July 2022}}</ref>
| 1921|41,000
| 1931|68,880
| 1948|88,355
| 1953|120,130
| 1961|166,870
| 1971|314,552
| 1981|448,200
| 1991|444,760
| 2002|506,926
| 2021|526,502
}}

===Population===
[[File:Ulica Makedonija.JPG|thumb|People on Macedonia street, the main pedestrian axis of the city.]]
According to the results of the 2002 census, the City of Skopje itself had 428,988 in its urban area and 506,926 inhabitants within administrative limits that encompass many villages and other settlements, including [[Dračevo, Skopje|Dračevo]], [[Bardovci]], [[Kondovo, Saraj|Kondovo]], [[Radišani]], [[Gorno Nerezi]] etc.<ref name="stats1"/> Skopje's employment area covers a large part of the country, including [[Veles (city)|Veles]], [[Kumanovo]] and [[Tetovo]], and totaling more than one million inhabitants.<ref name="trace">{{cite web |url=http://siteresources.worldbank.org/INTMACEDONIA/Resources/SkopjeTRACEReport.pdf |title=Improving Energy Sufficiency in Skopje, TRACE Study |publisher=World Bank |year=2012 |access-date=25 October 2012}}</ref>

Skopje contains roughly a quarter of North Macedonia's population. The second most populous municipality, [[Kumanovo]], had 107,632 inhabitants in 2011,<ref name="stats">{{cite web |year=2012 |title=Estimations of the Population by Sex and Age, by Municipalities and by Statistical Regions, 30.06. 2011 and 31.12. 2011, 2011 |url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/Publikacii/2.4.12.08.pdf |access-date=15 October 2012 |publisher=State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia}}</ref> and an [[urban unit]] of 76,272 inhabitants in 2002.<ref name="stats1"/>

Before the [[Ottoman–Habsburg wars|Austro-Turkish war]] and the [[Fire of Skopje 1689|1698 Great Fire]], Skopje was one of the biggest cities in the [[Balkans]], with a population estimated between 30,000 and 60,000 inhabitants.<ref name="history"/> After the fire, it experienced a long period of decline and only had 10,000 inhabitants in 1836.<ref name="population1"/> However, the population started to rise again after 1850 and reached 32,000 inhabitants in 1905.<ref name="britannica"/> In the 20th century, Skopje was one of the fastest-growing cities in [[Yugoslavia]], and it had 448,200 inhabitants in 1971. Since then, the demographic growth has continued at a steady pace.<ref name="jasna">{{Cite book |title=Urban planning and transitional development issues: The case of Skopje, Macedonia |publisher=Urbani izziv |year=2012 |page=94 |author=Jasna Stefanovska et Janez Koželj}}</ref>

===Ethnic groups===

Ethnic groups in the Greater Skopje include:

{| class="wikitable"
| 
| colspan="2" |2002
| colspan="2" |2021
|-
|
|<small>Number</small>
|<small>%</small>
|Number
|%
|-
|'''TOTAL'''
|506,926
|100
|526,502
|100
|-
|[[Macedonians (ethnic group)|Macedonians]]
|338,358
|66.75
|309,107
|58.71
|-
|[[Albanians]]
|103,891
|20.49
|120,293
|22.85
|-
|[[Turkish people|Turks]]
|8,595
|1.70
|8,524
|1.62
|-
|[[Romani people|Roma]]
|23,475
|4.63
|18.498
|3.51
|-
|[[Vlachs]]
|2,557
|0.50
|2,778
|0.53
|-
|[[Serbs]]
|14,298
|2.82
|9,478
|1.80
|-
|[[Bosniaks]]
|7,585
|1.50
|7,365
|1.50
|-
|others
|8,167
|1.61
|6,284
|1.19
|-
|Persons for whom data are taken from administrative sources
|n/a
|n/a
|44,175
|8.39
|}

Skopje, just like North Macedonia as a whole, is characterized by a large ethnic diversity. The city is in a region where Macedonians and Albanians meet, and it welcomed Romani, Turks, Jews and Serbs throughout its history. Skopje was mainly a Muslim city until the 19th century, when large numbers of Christians started to settle there. According to the 2021 census, Macedonians were the largest ethnic group in Skopje, with 309,107 inhabitants, or 58.71% of the population. Then came Albanians with 120,293 inhabitants (22.85%), Roma people with 18,498 (3.51%), Serbs (9,478 inhabitants), Turks (8,524), Bosniaks (7,365) and [[Aromanians]] (also known as "Vlachs", 2,778). 6,284 people did not belong to any of these groups.<ref name="stats1"/>

Macedonians form an overwhelming majority of the population in the municipalities of [[Aerodrom Municipality (Skopje)|Aerodrom]], [[Centar Municipality (Skopje)|Centar]], [[Ǵorče Petrov municipality|Ǵorče Petrov]], [[Karpoš municipality|Karpoš]] and [[Kisela Voda municipality|Kisela Voda]], which are all south of the [[Vardar]].<ref name="Ragaru536">{{harvnb|Ragaru|2008|p=536.}}</ref> They also form a majority in [[Butel municipality|Butel]]<ref name="Ragaru536537"/> and [[Gazi Baba municipality|Gazi Baba]] which are north of the river. Albanians form a majority in [[Čair municipality|Čair]] which roughly corresponds to the [[Old Bazaar, Skopje|Old Bazaar]], and in [[Saraj municipality|Saraj]].<ref name="Ragaru535537">{{cite journal |last=Ragaru |first=Nadege |title=The Political Uses and Social Lives of "National Heroes": Controversies over Skanderbeg's Statue in Skopje |url=https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00682663/document |journal=Südosteuropa |volume=56 |issue=4 |year=2008 |pages=535–537 |access-date=22 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190222210307/https://halshs.archives-ouvertes.fr/halshs-00682663/document |archive-date=22 February 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> They form a large minority in Butel<ref name="Ragaru536537">{{harvnb|Ragaru|2008|pp=536–537.}}</ref> and Gazi Baba. [[Šuto Orizari municipality|Šuto Orizari]], on the northern edge of the city, is predominantly Roma.<ref name="stats1"/> When an ethnic minority forms at least 20% of the population in a municipality, its language can become official on the local level. Thus, in Čair and Saraj schools and administration use Albanian, and Romani in Šuto Orizari.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fes.org.mk/pdf/SVETOMIR%20SKARIC%20-%20OHRID%20AGREEMENT%20AND%20MINORITY%20COMMUNITIES.pdf |title=Ohrid Agreement and Minority Communities in Macedonia |publisher=Friedrich Ebert Stiftung in Macedonia |author=Svetomir Skaric |access-date=29 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101226145850/http://www.fes.org.mk/pdf/SVETOMIR%20SKARIC%20-%20OHRID%20AGREEMENT%20AND%20MINORITY%20COMMUNITIES.pdf |archive-date=26 December 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The latter is the only municipality in the world where Romani is an official language.<ref name="roma"/>

Relations between the two largest groups, Macedonians and Albanians, are sometimes difficult, as in the rest of the country. Each group tolerate the other but they tend to avoid each other and live in what can appear as two parallel worlds.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.balcanicaucaso.org/eng/Regions-and-countries/Macedonia/Skopje-the-carsija-of-the-Albanians-85910 |title=Skopje, the čaršija of the Albanians |date=12 January 2011 |publisher=[[Osservatorio Balcani e Caucaso]] |author=Marjola Rukaj |access-date=26 October 2012}}</ref> Both Macedonians and Albanians view themselves each as the original population of Skopje and the other as newcomers.<ref name="StefoskaStojanov363">{{cite journal |last1=Stefoska |first1=Irena |last2=Stojanov |first2=Darko |title=A tale in stone and bronze: old/new strategies for political mobilization in the Republic of Macedonia |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/29F560037E1931D083C10F7B56D96893/S0090599200032141a.pdf/tale_in_stone_and_bronze_oldnew_strategies_for_political_mobilization_in_the_republic_of_macedonia.pdf |journal=Nationalities Papers |volume=45 |issue=3 |year=2017 |pages=363 |doi=10.1080/00905992.2017.1308346 |s2cid=157988163 |doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Ragaru535">{{harvnb|Ragaru|2008|p=535.}}</ref><ref name="Neofotistos893">{{cite journal |last=Neofotistos |first=Vasiliki P. |title=Postsocialism, Social Value, and Identity Politics among Albanians in Macedonia |journal=Slavic Review |volume=69 |issue=4 |year=2010 |pages=893 |jstor=27896141 |doi=10.1017/S003767790000989X |s2cid=165104213}}</ref> The Roma minority is on its side very deprived. Its exact size is not known because many Macedonian Roma declare themselves as belonging to other ethnic groups or simply avoid censuses. However, even if official figures are underestimated, Skopje is the city in the world with the largest Roma population.<ref name="roma"/>

===Religion===
[[File:Presveta Bogordica od Skopje 4.JPG|thumb|The church of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary.]]
Religious affiliation is diverse: Macedonians, Serbs, and Aromanians are mainly Orthodox, with the majority affiliated to the [[Macedonian Orthodox Church – Ohrid Archbishopric|Macedonian Orthodox Church]]; Turks are almost entirely Muslim; those of Albanian ethnicity are largely Muslim, although Skopje also has a sizeable [[Roman Catholic]] Albanian minority, into which [[Mother Teresa]] was born; the Roma (Gypsies) represent a mixture (in almost equal numbers) of Muslim and Orthodox religious heritage.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Hugh Poulton |title=Who are the Macedonians? |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers Ltd |year=2000 |isbn=978-1850655343 |page=130}}</ref>

According to the 2002 census, 68.5% of the population of Skopje belonged to the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], while 28.6% belonged to [[Islam]]. The city also had Catholic (0.5%) and [[Protestant]] (0.04%) minorities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.stat.gov.mk/Publikacii/knigaX.pdf |title=Census |year=2002 |publisher=State Statistical Office of the Republic of Macedonia |access-date=26 October 2012}}</ref> The Catholics are served by the Latin [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Skopje|bishopric of Skopje]], in which is also vested the [[Byzantine Catholic Apostolic Exarchate of Macedonia]].

Until [[World War II]], Skopje had a significant Jewish minority which mainly descended from Spanish [[Sephardi Jews|Sephardis]] who had escaped the [[Inquisition]]. The community comprised 2,424 members in 1939 (representing about 3% of the city population), but most of them were deported and killed by [[Nazis]]. After the war, most of the survivors settled in Israel.<ref name="Mark Avrum Ehrlich 2009 980"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.europeanjewishfund.org/index.php?/communities/macedonia/ |title=Jewish Community in Macedonia |publisher=European Jewish Fund |access-date=28 February 2011}}</ref> Today the city has around 200 Jewish inhabitants (about 0.04% of the population).

Because of its 520-year Ottoman past, and the fact that many of its inhabitants today are Muslims, Skopje has more mosques than churches. Religious communities often complain about the lack of infrastructure and new places of worship are often built.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=92612947288&id=14&setIzdanie=22689 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228024309/http://www.novamakedonija.com.mk/NewsDetal.asp?vest=92612947288&id=14&setIzdanie=22689 |url-status=dead |archive-date=28 December 2013 |title=Во Скопје има 27 џамии и 15 цркви |date=26 September 2012 |publisher=Nova Makedonija |author=Sanja Jancevska |access-date=26 October 2012}}</ref> Skopje is the seat of many Macedonian religious organizations, such as the [[Macedonian Orthodox Church]] and the Islamic Religious Union of Macedonia. It has an Orthodox cathedral and seminary, several [[madrasah]]s, a Roman Catholic cathedral and a synagogue.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mcms.powweb.com/MSM/eng/pdf/adresar-na-verski-zaednici-ENGL.pdf |title=Address Book of the Religious Communities |publisher=Macedonian Centre for International Cooperation |access-date=26 October 2012}}</ref>

===Health===
Skopje has several public and private hospitals and specialized medical institutions, such as the [[Filip II Hospital, Skopje|Filip II Hospital]], a psychiatric hospital, two obstetric hospitals, a gerontology hospital and institutes for respiratory and ocular diseases.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iph.mk/images/stories/PDF%20statistika/IZVESTAJ%202011.pdf |title=Здрабјето и здравствената заштита на населенето во Република Македонија |year=2011 |publisher=Public Health Institute of the Republic of Macedonia |access-date=18 November 2012}}</ref> In 2012, Skopje had a ratio of one physician per 251.6 inhabitants, a figure higher than the national ratio (one per 370.9). The ratio of medical specialists was also higher than in the rest of the country. However, the ratio of hospital beds, pharmacists and dentists was lower in Skopje.<ref name="health">{{cite web |url=http://www.iph.mk/images/stories/PDF%20statistika/PDF2010/zk%20en%20prv%20del%202010.pdf |publisher=Public Health Institute of the Republic of Macedonia |year=2012 |title=Health Map of the Republic of Macedonia, Part I |access-date=18 November 2012}}</ref> The population in Skopje enjoys better health standards than other Macedonians. In 2010, the mortality rate was at 8.6‰ in Skopje and 9.3‰ on the national level. The infant mortality rate was at 6.8‰ in Skopje and 7.6‰ in North Macedonia.<ref name="health"/>

===Education===
[[File:НУБСК-Поглед.jpg|thumb|[[National and University Library "St. Kliment of Ohrid"|St Clement of Ohrid National and University Library]].]]
Skopje's citizenry is generally more educated than the rest of the country. For one, 16% of Skopjans have graduated from university in contrast to 10% for the rest of the country. The number of people with a complete lack of education or ones who received a partial education is lower in Skopje at 9% compared to the provincial average of 17%. 80% of Macedonian citizens who hold a PhD take up residence in Skopje.<ref name="strategija">{{cite web |url=http://www.skopje.gov.mk/en/images/File/Strategijata%20za%20LER%20na%20angliski.pdf |title=Strategy for Local Economic Development of the City of Skopje for the period 2006 – 2009 |year=2006 |publisher=City of Skopje |access-date=12 July 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414235529/http://www.skopje.gov.mk/en/images/File/Strategijata%20za%20LER%20na%20angliski.pdf |archive-date=14 April 2010 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Skopje has 21 secondary schools; 5 of which serve as general high-school gymnasiums and 16 vocational schools.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.skopje.gov.mk/EN/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=31 |title=Средни училишта |year=2009 |publisher=City of Skopje |access-date=18 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090512232454/http://www.skopje.gov.mk/EN/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabindex=0&tabid=31 |archive-date=12 May 2009 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The city is also host to several higher education institutions, the most notable of which is [[Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje|Ss. Cyril and Methodius University]], founded in 1949. The university has 23 departments, 10 research institutes and is attended by an average of 50,000 students.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ukim.edu.mk/en_content.php?meni=10&glavno=10 |title=Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje |publisher=Ss. Cyril and Methodius University of Skopje |year=2008 |access-date=18 November 2012}}</ref> After the country's declaration of independence in 1991, several private universities were brought to existence. The largest private universities in Skopje are [[European University Skopje]] with 7 departments<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eurm.edu.mk/faculties.html |title=Faculties |year=2009 |publisher=European University |access-date=18 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130318232150/http://www.eurm.edu.mk/faculties.html |archive-date=18 March 2013}}</ref> and [[FON University]] with 9 departments respectively.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fon.edu.mk/?ln=en |title=FON University |publisher=FON University |year=2012 |access-date=18 November 2012}}</ref>