Roma Community in Slovakia

Exact data on the number of Roma living in individual European countries and in Europe as whole are not available. The number of Roma has been measured in official censuses in many countries, particularly in Eastern Europe, these data, however, do not match the estimates of experts.

On the basis of several estimates, 6.5 to 8.5 na lived in Europe in the 1990s. The highest number, in both absolute terms to the rest of the country's population, lived in Central and Eastern Europe, creating a region with significant Romany minority concentrations from the Czech Republic and Slovakia through Hungary, Romania to Macedonia and Greece.

The best-known estimate of Roma numbers was the Liegeois projection presented by the Council of Europe in the mid-1990s.

The Liegeois figures may thus in general have been overestimated, and the number of Roma living in Europe actually at the lower limit of this projection or below. Nevertheless, Slovakia ranks among those countries with the highest number, and especially the highest population share, of Roma in Europe, along with Macedonia, Romania and Bulgaria.

Roma population in Slovakia (according The Liégeois projection, 1995): 480,000 - 520,000, Share of total population (%) 9.4

(According A Global Report on Roma in Slovakia)

"Dancing and singing is thus one of the traditional jobs of the Roma community. By travelling all over Europe, they had a significant influence on local folklore," ethnologist Arne Mann tells in Radio Slovak International. RSI reporter Martina Grenova adds: "One of the best export goods from the Slovak Republic has become Roma or Gypsy music. It has been highly valued also among the major population despite its commonly negative attitude towards the Roma minority. Roma singers have made it into Slovak charts and folk ensembles are still being invited to perform at wedding parties."