Romani people

For other uses, see Romani (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Romanians or Roman people.
Several terms redirect here. For other uses, see Gypsy (disambiguation).

Romani people
Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress
Total population
2–12 million[1][2][3][4]
United States1,000,000 estimated with Romani ancestry[a][5][6]
Brazil800,000 (0.4%)[7]
Spain750,000–1,500,000 (1.5–3.7%)[8][9][10][11][12][13]
Romania569,500–1,850,000 (3.4–8.32%)[14][15]
Turkey500,000–2,750,000 (0.57%-3.2%)[9][16][17][18][19]
Bulgaria325,343[b]–750,000 (4.9–10.3%)[21][22]
Hungary309,632[c]–870,000 (3.21–9%)[23][24][25]
France300,000–1,200,000 (0.21%)[26][27][28][29]
Argentina300,000[d][30][31]
United Kingdom225,000 (0.4%)[32][9][33]
Russia205,007[e]–825,000 (0.6%)[9]
Serbia147,604[f]–600,000 (2.1–8.2%)[34][35][9]
Italy120,000–180,000 (0.3%)[36][9]
Greece111,000–300,000 (2.7%)[37][38]
Germany105,000 (0.1%)[9][39]
Slovakia105,738[g]–490,000 (2.1–9%)[40][41][42]
Albania100,000-140,000 (3.62%-5.06%)[43]
Iran2,000–110,000[44][45]
North Macedonia46,433 (2.53%)[46]
Sweden50,000–100,000[9][47]
Ukraine47,587[h]–260,000 (0.6%)[9][48]
Portugal52,000 (0.5%)[9][49][50]
Austria40,000–50,000 (0.6%)[51]
Kosovo36,000[i] (2%)[9][52]
Netherlands32,000–40,000 (0.2%)[9]
Poland17,049[e]–32,500 (0.1%)[9][53]
Croatia16,975[e]–35,000 (0.8%)[9][54]
Mexico15,850[55]
Chile15,000–20,000[30]
Moldova12,778[e]–250,000 (3.0%–7.05%)[56]
Finland10,000–12,000 est. (0.2%)[57]
Bosnia and Herzegovina8,864[e]–58,000 (1.5%)[9][58]
Colombia2,649–8,000[30][59]
Belarus7,316[e]–47,500 (0.5%)[60]
Latvia7,193[e]–12,500 (0.6%)[9]
Canada5,255–80,000[61][62]
Montenegro5,251[e]–20,000 (3.7%)[63]
Czech Republic5,199[j]–40,370[e] (Romani speakers)–250,000 (1.9%)[64][65]
Australia5,000–25,000[66]
Slovenia3,246[9]
Lithuania2,571[9]
Denmark5,500[67]
Ireland22,435[9]
Georgia1,200[9]
Belgium30,000[68]
Cyprus1,250[69]
Switzerland25,000–35,000[9]
Languages
Romani, Para-Romani varieties, languages of native regions
Religion
Mostly Christianity[70]
(Catholic · Orthodox · Protestant)
Minorities:
Romani mythology · Islam[70] · Shaktist Hinduism[70] · Buddhism[71][72] · Judaism (conversion through marriage to Jewish spouses)[73]
Related ethnic groups
Ghorbati, Doms, Lom, Ḍoma, Ashkali and Balkan Egyptians; other Indo-Aryans
Part of a series on
Romani people
Flag of the Romani people
Romani people by sub-group
Romani diaspora by country

The Romani people[k] (/ˈroʊməni/ ROH-mə-nee or /ˈrɒməni/ ROM-ə-nee), also known as the Roma (sg.: Rom), are an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin[74][75][76] who traditionally lived a nomadic, itinerant lifestyle. Linguistic and genetic evidence suggests that the Roma originated in the Indian subcontinent, in particular the region of Rajasthan.[77] Their first wave of westward migration is believed to have occurred sometime between the 5th and 11th centuries.[78][79][80][81][82] They are thought to have arrived in Europe around the 13th to 14th century.[83] Although they are widely dispersed, their most concentrated populations are believed to be in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.[84][85][86]

In the English language, Romani people have long been known by the exonym Gypsies or Gipsies,[87] which many Roma consider a racial slur.[88][89] The attendees of the first World Romani Congress in 1971 unanimously voted to reject the use of all exonyms for the Roma, including "Gypsy".[90] However, it is not considered a slur in the UK and Romani people in the United Kingdom commonly refer to themselves as "Gypsies".[91]

The first Roma to come to the United States arrived in Virginia, Georgia, New Jersey and Louisiana during the 1600s.[92] Romani slaves were first shipped to the Americas with Columbus in 1498.[93] Spain sent Romani slaves to their Louisiana colony between 1762 and 1800.[94] An Afro-Romani community exists in St. Martin Parish due to intermarriage between freed African American and Romani slaves.[95] The Romani population in the United States is estimated at more than one million.[l] There are between 800,000 and 1 million Roma in Brazil, most of whose ancestors emigrated in the 19th century from Eastern Europe. Brazilian Roma are mostly descended from German/Italian Sinti (in the South/Southeast regions), and Roma and Calon people. Brazil also includes a notable Romani community descended from Sinti and Roma deportees from the Portuguese Empire during the Portuguese Inquisition.[96] Since the late 19th century, Roma have also migrated to other countries in South America and Canada.

The Romani language is an Indo-Aryan language with strong Balkan and Greek influence.[97] It is divided into several dialects, which together are estimated to have over 2 million speakers.[98] Because the language has traditionally been oral, many Roma are native speakers of the dominant language in their country of residence, or else of mixed languages that combine the dominant language with a dialect of Romani in varieties sometimes called para-Romani.[99]

  1. ^ Lewis, M. Paul, ed. (2009). "Ethnologue: Languages of the World" (online) (16th ed.). Dallas, Texas: SIL. Retrieved 15 September 2010. Ian Hancock's 1987 estimate for 'all Gypsies in the world' was 6 to 11 million.
  2. ^ "EU demands action to tackle Roma poverty". BBC News. 5 April 2011.
  3. ^ "The Roma". Nationalia. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  4. ^ "Rom". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 15 September 2010. ... estimates of the total world Roma population range from two million to five million.
  5. ^ Smith, J. (2008). The marginalization of shadow minorities (Roma) and its impact on opportunities (Doctoral dissertation, Purdue University).
  6. ^ Kayla Webley (13 October 2010). "Hounded in Europe, Roma in the U.S. Keep a Low Profile". Time. Retrieved 3 October 2015. Today, estimates put the number of Roma in the U.S. at about one million.
  7. ^ "Falta de políticas públicas para ciganos é desafio para o governo" [Lack of public policy for Romani is a challenge for the administration] (in Portuguese). R7. 2011. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 22 January 2012. The Special Secretariat for the Promotion of Racial Equality estimates the number of "ciganos" (Romanis) in Brazil at 800,000 (2011). The 2010 IBGE Brazilian National Census encountered Romani camps in 291 of Brazil's 5,565 municipalities.
  8. ^ "Roma integration in Spain". European Commission. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Roma and Travellers Team. Tools and Texts of Reference. Estimates on Roma population in European countries (excel spreadsheet)". rm.coe.int Council of Europe Roma and Travellers Division.
  10. ^ "Estimated by the Society for Threatened Peoples". Society for Threatened Peoples. 17 May 2007. Archived from the original on 16 August 2021.
  11. ^ "The Situation of Roma in Spain" (PDF). Open Society Institute. 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2007. Retrieved 15 September 2010. The Spanish government estimates the number of Gitanos to be a maximum of 650,000.
  12. ^ "Diagnóstico social de la comunidad gitana en España: Un análisis contrastado de la Encuesta del CIS a Hogares de Población Gitana 2007" (PDF). mscbs.gob.es. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019. Tabla 1. La comunidad gitana de España en el contexto de la población romaní de la Unión Europea. Población Romaní: 750.000 [...] Por 100 habitantes: 1.87% [...] se podrían llegar a barajar cifras [...] de 1.100.000 personas
  13. ^ "Spain". romacivilmonitoring.eu. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
  14. ^ "Primele rezultate ale Recensământului 2022: Populația României a scăzut la 19.053.815 locuitori" [The first results of the 2022 Census: Romania's population decreased to 19,053,815 inhabitants]. HotNews (in Romanian). 30 December 2022.
  15. ^ "Romania". commission.europa.eu.
  16. ^ Schleifer, Yigal (22 July 2005). "Roma rights organizations work to ease prejudice in Turkey". Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  17. ^ "Türkiye'deki Kürtlerin sayısı!" [The number of Kurds in Turkey!] (in Turkish). 6 June 2008. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  18. ^ "Türkiye'deki Çingene nüfusu tam bilinmiyor. 2, hatta 5 milyon gibi rakamlar dolaşıyor Çingenelerin arasında". Hurriyet (in Turkish). TR. 8 May 2005. Archived from the original on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 2 January 2016.
  19. ^ Tunay, T. (2022). The Perception of Roma in Turkish Society: A Sentiment Analysis of Tweets. Central European University.
  20. ^ "Критичен доклад относно Преброяването на населението и жилищния фонд, проведено към 1 февруари 2011 година" [Critical report on Population and Housing Census, Conducted as of 1 February 2011] (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian National Statistical Institute. 2011.
  21. ^ Население по местоживеене, възраст и етническа група [Population by place of residence, age and ethnic group] (in Bulgarian). Bulgarian National Statistical Institute. Archived from the original on 2 June 2012. Retrieved 22 June 2015. Self declared
  22. ^ "Roma Integration – 2014 Commission Assessment: Questions and Answers" (Press release). Brussels: European Commission. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2016. EU and Council of Europe estimates
  23. ^ Vukovich, Gabriella (2018). Mikrocenzus 2016 – 12. Nemzetiségi adatok [2016 microcensus – 12. Ethnic data] (PDF) (in Hungarian). Budapest: Hungarian Central Statistical Office. ISBN 978-963-235-542-9. Retrieved 9 January 2019.
  24. ^ János, Pénzes; Patrik, Tátrai; Zoltán, Pásztor István (2018). "A roma népesség területi megoszlásának változása Magyarországon az elmúlt évtizedekben" [Changes in the Spatial Distribution of the Roma Population in Hungary During the Last Decades] (PDF). Területi Statisztika (in Hungarian). 58 (1): 3–26. doi:10.15196/TS580101. ISSN 0018-7828. S2CID 197566729.
  25. ^ Király, Kinga Júlia; Bernáth, Bernáth; Gábor, Jenő (2021). "Roma in Hungary: The Challenges of Discrimination" (PDF). Minority Rights Group.
  26. ^ "Situation of Roma in France at crisis proportions". EurActiv Network. 7 December 2005. Retrieved 21 October 2015. According to the report, the settled Gypsy population in France is officially estimated at around 500,000, although other estimates say that the actual figure is much closer to 1.2 million.
  27. ^ Gorce, Bernard (22 July 2010). "Roms, gens du voyage, deux réalités différentes". La Croix. Retrieved 21 October 2016. [Manual Translation] The ban prevents statistics on ethnicity to give a precise figure of French Roma, but we often quote the number 350,000. For travellers, the administration counted 160,000 circulation titles in 2006 issued to people aged 16 to 80 years. Among the travellers, some have chosen to buy a family plot where they dock their caravans around a local section (authorized since the Besson Act of 1990).
  28. ^ "France - European Commission". Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  29. ^ "Human Rights on the Margins Roma in Europe" (PDF). Retrieved 23 January 2024.
  30. ^ a b c Hazel Marsh. "The Roma Gypsies of Latin America". www.latinolife.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  31. ^ "Emerging Romani Voices from Latin America". European Roma Rights Centre. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  32. ^ "Roma integration in the United Kingdom". European Commission – European Commission.
  33. ^ "RME", Ethnologue
  34. ^ Попис становништва, домаћинстава и станова 2011. у Републици Србији: Национална припадност [Census of population. Households and apartments in 2011 in the Republic of Serbia: Ethnicity] (PDF) (in Serbian). State Statistical Service of the Republic of Serbia. 29 November 2012. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 July 2018. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  35. ^ "Serbia: Country Profile 2011–2012" (PDF). European Roma Rights Centre. p. 7. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
  36. ^ "Giornata Internazionale dei rom e sinti: presentato il Rapporto Annuale 2014 (PDF)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
  37. ^ "Premier Tsipras Hosts Roma Delegation for International Romani Day". greekreporter – place. Nick Kampouris. 9 April 2019.
  38. ^ "Greece NGO". Greek Helsinki Monitor. LV: Minelres.
  39. ^ "Roma in Deutschland", Regionale Dynamik, Berlin-Institut für Bevölkerung und Entwicklung, archived from the original on 29 April 2017, retrieved 21 February 2013
  40. ^ "Roma integration in Slovakia". European Commission – European Commission.
  41. ^ "Population and Housing Census. Resident population by nationality" (PDF). SK: Statistics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 July 2007.
  42. ^ "Po deviatich rokoch spočítali Rómov, na Slovensku ich žije viac ako 400-tisíc". SME (in Slovak). SK: SITA. 25 September 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  43. ^ "Rom d'Albania" (in Italian). 18 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  44. ^ "Gypsy". www.iranian.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2017.
  45. ^ "GYPSY i. Gypsies of Persia". Encyclopædia Iranica. 12 December 2002.
  46. ^ "Total resident population, households and dwellings in the Republic of North Macedonia, census 2021" (PDF). State Statistical Office of the Republic of North Macedonia. pp. 32–33. Retrieved 13 February 2023.
  47. ^ "Sametingen. Information about minorities in Sweden", Minoritet (in Swedish), IMCMS, archived from the original on 26 March 2017, retrieved 30 March 2013
  48. ^ Всеукраїнський перепис населення '2001: Розподіл населення за національністю та рідною мовою [Ukrainian Census, 2001: Distribution of population by nationality and mother tongue] (in Ukrainian). UA: State Statistics Service of Ukraine. 2003. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  49. ^ Roma /Gypsies: A European Minority Archived 15 May 2020 at the Wayback Machine, Minority Rights Group International.
  50. ^ "Comunidade cigana em Portugal". 25 October 2022.
  51. ^ "Etwa 40.000 Roma und Sinti leben in Österreich". Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  52. ^ Kenrick, Donald (2007). Historical Dictionary of the Gypsies (Romanies) (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-8108-6440-5.
  53. ^ "Poland – Gypsies". Country studies. US. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  54. ^ "Population by Ethnicity – Delailed Classification". Census of Population, Households and Dwellings 2011. Zagreb: Croatian Bureau of Statistics. December 2012. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  55. ^ Emilio Godoy (12 October 2010). "Gypsies, or How to Be Invisible in Mexico". Inter Press Service. Retrieved 30 July 2016.
  56. ^ Roma - Minority Rights Group
  57. ^ "Suomen romanit – Finitiko romaseele" (PDF). Government of Finland. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2020. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  58. ^ 1991 census
  59. ^ "Población Gitana o Rrom de Colombia Resultados del Censo Nacional de Población y Vivienda 2018" [Gypsy or Rom Population of Colombia Results of the National Population and Housing Census 2018] (PDF). dane.gov.co (in Spanish). Bogota. 16 October 2019.
  60. ^ "Republic of Belarus, 2009 Census: Population by Ethnicity and Native Language" (PDF) (in Russian). Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2010. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  61. ^ "Roma in Canada fact sheet" (PDF). home.cogeco.ca. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 June 2007.
  62. ^ Statistics Canada (8 May 2013). "2011 National Household Survey: Data tables". Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  63. ^ "Census of Population, Households and Dwellings in Montenegro 2011" (PDF). 12 July 2011. Retrieved 13 July 2011.
  64. ^ "Sčítání lidu, domů a bytů". czso.cz.
  65. ^ "Roma integration in the Czech Republic". European Commission.
  66. ^ Yvonne Slee. "A History of Australian Romanies, now and then". Australia: Open ABC. Archived from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  67. ^ "Denmark". European Commission.
  68. ^ "Belgium". commission.europa.eu.
  69. ^ "Cyprus". commission.europa.eu.
  70. ^ a b c Gall, Timothy L, ed. (1998), Worldmark Encyclopedia of Culture & Daily Life, vol. 4. Europe, Cleveland, OH: Eastword, pp. 316, 318, 'Religion: An underlay of Hinduism with an overlay of either Christianity or Islam (host country religion)'; Roma religious beliefs are rooted in Hinduism. Roma believe in a universal balance, called kuntari. ... Despite a 1,000-year separation from India, Roma still practice 'shaktism', the worship of a god through his female consort...
  71. ^ Vishvapani (29 November 2011). "Hungary's Gypsy Buddhists & Religious Discrimination". www.wiseattention.org. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  72. ^ Bhalesain, Pravin (2011). "Gypsies embracing Buddhism:A step forward for Building a Harmonious Society in Europe" (PDF). Undv.org/Vesak2011/Panel2. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
  73. ^ Hancock, Ian (10 November 2023). Danger! Educated Gypsy: Selected Essays. Univ of Hertfordshire Press. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-902806-99-0.
  74. ^ Ena, Giacomo Francesco; Aizpurua-Iraola, Julen; Font-Porterias, Neus; Calafell, Francesc; Comas, David (8 November 2022). "Population Genetics of the European Roma—A Review". Genes. 13 (11): 2068. doi:10.3390/genes13112068. ISSN 2073-4425. PMC 9690732. PMID 36360305. Based on genome-wide SNP arrays and whole-genome sequences, it has been determined that the Romani people carry approximately 20–35% South Asian ancestry [4,7], and North-West India constitutes the major source of this component [4,7,54] [...] In general, Romani people carry approximately 65–80% West Eurasian (European, Middle Eastern and Caucasian) ancestry, estimated to have been acquired by extensive gene flow.
  75. ^ Hernández-Arrieta, Stefany (7 August 2023). "The definition of being Romani". Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) - El·lipse. Retrieved 16 February 2024. This population [...] migrated from northern India to Europe over 1,500 years ago [...] The Romani community are genetically diverse, and Romani groups established in different locations are highly varied.
  76. ^ Beňo, Matúš (5 November 2022). "Romani disappearing from Roma communities". The Slovak Spectator. Retrieved 16 February 2024. What is the current state of the language? It is used less and less today in Romani communities. The young generation in some localities, such as Humenné, Michalovce, or Trebišov in eastern Slovakia, no longer speak the language at all.
  77. ^
  78. ^ Hancock 2002, p. 9: '...the separation from India took place no earlier than the year 1000'
  79. ^ Matras, Yaron (2005). "Romani" (PDF). In Brown, Keith (ed.). Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics (2 ed.). Oxford: Elsevier. p. 2. ISBN 978-0-08-054784-8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 November 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2023.
  80. ^ Mendizabal, Isabel; Valente, Cristina; Gusmão, Alfredo; Alves, Cíntia; Gomes, Verónica; Goios, Ana; Parson, Walther; Calafell, Francesc; Alvarez, Luis; Amorim, António; Gusmão, Leonor; Comas, David; Prata, Maria João (10 January 2011). "Reconstructing the Indian Origin and Dispersal of the European Roma: A Maternal Genetic Perspective". PLOS ONE. 6 (1): e15988. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0015988. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3018485. PMID 21264345.
  81. ^ Pappas, Stephanie (6 December 2012). "Origin of the Romani people pinned down - it's India". NBC News. Retrieved 16 September 2024.
  82. ^ Cole, Jeffrey (2011). "Roma". Ethnic Groups of Europe: An Encyclopedia. United Kingdom: ABC-CLIO. p. 297. ISBN 978-1-59884-303-3.
  83. ^ Kenrick, Donald (5 July 2007). Historical Dictionary of the Gypsies (Romanies) (2nd ed.). Scarecrow Press. p. xxxvii. ISBN 978-0-8108-6440-5.
  84. ^ Selander, Morgan; Walter, Emily (2020). "Lack of Educational Opportunities for the Roma People in Eastern Europe". Ballard Brief. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  85. ^ "EU and the Roma". Migration Watch UK. 31 October 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  86. ^ "The demographic characteristics of Roma/Gypsies in selected countries of Central and Eastern Europe". Council of Europe. 1999.
  87. ^ Gaster, Moses (1911). "Gipsies" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 37–43.
  88. ^ Randall, Kay. "What's in a Name? Professor take on roles of Romani activist and spokesperson to improve plight of their ethnic group". Archived from the original on 5 February 2005. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  89. ^ Bambauer, Nikki (2 August 2018). "The Plight of the Romani People-Europe's Most Persecuted Minority". JFCS Holocaust Center. Archived from the original on 20 May 2024. The Romani people are frequently referred to as "gypsies," but many of them consider this exonym a derogatory term.
  90. ^ Pickering (2010). "The Romani" (PDF). Northern Michigan University. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 May 2021. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
  91. ^ House of Commons Women & Equalities Committee (5 April 2019). "Tackling inequalities faced by Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities". UK Parliament. Retrieved 13 May 2021.
  92. ^ Schaefer, Richard T.; Zellner, William W. (22 October 2015). Extraordinary Groups: An Examination of Unconventional Lifestyles, Ninth Edition. Waveland Press. ISBN 9781478631835.
  93. ^ Peter Boyd-Bowman (ed.), Indice geobiográfico de cuarenta mil pobladores españoles de América en el siglo XVI, vol. 1: 1493–1519 (Bogota: Instituto Caro y Cuervo, 1964), 171.
  94. ^ The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery, Volume 1; Volume 7 By Junius P. Rodriguez
  95. ^ We are the Romani People. p. 27.
  96. ^ Corrêa Teixeira, Rodrigo. "A história dos ciganos no Brasil" (PDF). Dhnet.org.br. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2011. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  97. ^ Matras 2002, p. 240.
  98. ^ Matras 2002, p. 239.
  99. ^ "Romani" (PDF). Encyclopedia of Language and Linguistics. Oxford: Elsevier. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 30 August 2009. In some regions of Europe, especially the western margins (Britain, the Iberian peninsula), Romani-speaking communities have given up their language in favor of the majority language, but have retained Romani-derived vocabulary as an in-group code. Such codes, for instance Angloromani (Britain), Caló (Spain), or Rommani (Scandinavia) are usually referred to as Para-Romani varieties.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).