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PoliticsBulgaria

Bulgaria, North Macedonia clash over Albania census

June 14, 2024

In the village of Pustec in southeastern Albania, Bulgaria and North Macedonia, which have historical disputes over identity and language, allegedly fought over what ethnicity locals entered in the census.

https://p.dw.com/p/4h1oB

For years, Bulgaria and North Macedonia have been at loggerheads on a number of issues relating to history, language and identity. 

Now, it would appear that this tension has spilled over into Albania. Macedonians have been officially recognized as a minority in Albania since 1945; Bulgarians since 2017. 

Some in a municipality in southeastern Albania now claim Bulgaria intervened in Albania's census process last year in an attempt to persuade ethnic Macedonians to self-declare as ethnic Bulgarians on the census form. Both the local authorities and Bulgaria have denied the claim.