Editing Balkans (section)

==Demographics==
The region is inhabited by [[Albanians]], [[Aromanians]], [[Bulgarians]], [[Bosniaks]], [[Croats]], [[Gorani people|Gorani]], [[Greeks]], [[Istro-Romanians]], [[Macedonians (ethnic group)|Macedonians]], [[Hungarians]], [[Megleno-Romanians]], [[Montenegrins]], [[Serbs]], [[Slovenes]], [[Romanians]], [[Turkish people|Turks]], and other ethnic groups which present minorities in certain countries like the [[Romani People|Romani]] and [[Ashkali]].<ref name="EB">{{cite encyclopedia |title=Balkans |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/50325/Balkans |access-date=2019-08-21 |quote=The Balkans are usually characterized as comprising Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, and Slovenia—with all or part of each of those countries located within the peninsula. Portions of Greece and Turkey are also located within the geographic region generally defined as the Balkan Peninsula, and many descriptions of the Balkans include those countries too. Some define the region in cultural and historical terms and others geographically, though there are even different interpretations among historians and geographers... Generally, the Balkans are bordered on the northwest by Italy, on the north by Hungary, on the north and northeast by Moldova and Ukraine, and on the south by Greece and Turkey or the Aegean Sea (depending on how the region is defined)... For discussion of physical and human geography, along with the history of individual countries in the region, see Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey. Area 257,400 square miles (666,700 square km). Pop. (2002 est.) 59,297,000.}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%"
|-
! State !! Population (2023)<ref name="epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu">{{cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/TPS00001/default/table?lang=en|title=Eurostat – Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table|work=europa.eu}}</ref>!! Density/km2 (2018)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://statisticstimes.com/demographics/countries-by-population-density.php|title=Countries by Population Density 2019 |website=statisticstimes.com}}</ref>!! Life expectancy (2018)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html|work=CIA: The World Factbook|title=Country Comparison: Life Expectancy at Birth|access-date=20 January 2016|archive-date=29 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181229134543/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2102rank.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
|{{flagu|Albania}}
|2,761,785
|100
|78.3 years
|-
|{{flagu|Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
|3,502,550
|69
|77.2 years
|-
|{{flagu|Bulgaria}}
|6,447,710
|64
|79.9 years
|-
|{{flagu|Croatia}}
|3,850,894
|73
|78.2 years
|-
|{{flagu|Greece}}
|10,394,055
|82
|80.1 years
|-
|{{flagu|Kosovo}}
|1,798,188
|165
|77.7 years
|-
|{{flagu|Montenegro}}
|616,695
|45
|76.4 years
|-
|{{flagu|North Macedonia}}
|1,829,954
|81
|76.2 years
|-
|{{flagu|Romania}}
|19,051,562
|82
|76.3 years
|-
|{{flagu|Serbia}}
|6,664,449
|90
|76.5 years
|-
|{{flagu|Slovenia}}
|2,116,792
|102
|80.3 years
|-
|{{flagu|Turkey}}
| 11,929,013<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/turkey/|title=Turkey's Population |access-date=10 December 2020}}</ref>{{ref label|European Turkey|c}}
|101
|78.5 years
|}

===Religion===
[[File:AtlBalkrelig.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|Map showing religious denominations]]
The region is a meeting point of [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox Christianity]], [[Islam]] and [[Roman Catholic]] Christianity.<ref name="okey">{{cite book | first=Robin |last=Okey | title=Taming Balkan Nationalism | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2007}}</ref> Eastern Orthodoxy is the majority religion in both the Balkan Peninsula and the Balkan region, The [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] has played a prominent role in the history and culture of Eastern and [[Southeastern Europe]].{{sfn|Ware|1993|p=8}} A variety of different traditions of each faith are practiced, with each of the Eastern Orthodox countries having its own national church. A part of the population in the Balkans defines itself as irreligious.

Islam has a significant history in the region where Muslims make up a large percentage of the population. A 2013 estimate placed the total Muslim population of the Balkans at around eight million.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last1=Clayer |first1=Nathalie |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qSlBjwEACAAJ |title=Europe's Balkan Muslims: A New History |last2=Bougarel |first2=Xavier |date=2017 |publisher=[[Hurst Publishers]] |isbn=978-1-84904-659-6 |pages=2–4}}</ref> Islam is the largest religion in nations like Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Kosovo with significant minorities in Bulgaria, North Macedonia and Montenegro. Smaller populations of Muslims are also found in Romania, Serbia and Greece.<ref name=":0" />
[[File:Albania confessional map with regions circa 1900.PNG|thumb|Approximate distribution of religions in [[Albania]]]]

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
|-
!Territories in which the principal religion is [[Eastern Orthodoxy]] (with national churches in parentheses)<ref name=religion>{{cite web|title=Field Listing: Religions|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/fields/401.html|publisher=CIA|access-date=23 February 2019|archive-date=16 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201016203251/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/fields/401.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
! Religious minorities of these territories<ref name=religion />
|-
| Bulgaria: 59% ([[Bulgarian Orthodox Church]])
| [[Islam in Bulgaria|Islam]] (8%) and undeclared (27%)
|-
| Greece: 81–90% ([[Greek Orthodox Church]])
| [[Islam in Greece|Islam]] (2%), [[Roman Catholicism in Greece|Catholicism]], other and undeclared
|-
| Montenegro: 72% ([[Serbian Orthodox Church]])
| [[Islam in Montenegro|Islam]] (19%), [[Roman Catholicism in Montenegro|Catholicism]] (3%), other and undeclared (5%)
|-
| North Macedonia: 64% ([[Macedonian Orthodox Church]])
| [[Islam in North Macedonia|Islam]] (33%), [[Roman Catholicism in North Macedonia|Catholicism]]
|-
| Romania: 81% ([[Romanian Orthodox Church]])
| Protestantism (6%), [[Catholic Church in Romania|Catholicism]] (5%), other and undeclared (8%)
|-
| Serbia: 84% ([[Serbian Orthodox Church]])
| [[Roman Catholicism in Serbia|Catholicism]] (5%), [[Islam in Serbia|Islam]] (3%), [[Protestantism in Serbia|Protestantism]] (1%), other and undeclared (6%)
|-
! Territories in which the principal religion is [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]]<ref name=religion />
! Religious minorities of these territories<ref name=religion />
|-
| [[Roman Catholicism in Croatia|Croatia]] (86%)
| [[Orthodoxy in Croatia|Eastern Orthodoxy]] (4%), [[Islam in Croatia|Islam]] (1%), other and undeclared (7%)
|-
| [[Roman Catholicism in Slovenia|Slovenia]] (57%)
| [[Islam in Slovenia|Islam]] (2%), Orthodox (2%), other and undeclared (36%)
|-
! Territories in which the principal religion is [[Islam]]<ref name=religion />
! Religious minorities of these territories<ref name=religion />
|-
| [[Islam in Albania|Albania]] (58%)
| [[Roman Catholicism in Albania|Catholicism]] (10%), [[Orthodoxy in Albania|Orthodoxy]] (7%), other and undeclared (24%)
|-
| [[Islam in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia and Herzegovina]] (51%)
| [[Orthodoxy in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Orthodoxy]] (31%), [[Roman Catholicism in Bosnia and Herzegovina|Catholicism]] (15%), other and undeclared (4%)
|-
| [[Islam in Kosovo|Kosovo]] (95%)
| [[Roman Catholicism in Kosovo|Catholicism]] (2%), Orthodoxy (2%), other and undeclared (1%)
|-
| [[Islam in Turkey|Turkey]] (90–99%<ref name="religion" />)
| [[Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople|Orthodoxy]], [[Irreligion in Turkey|Irreligious (5%–10%)]]
|-
|}

The [[Jewish]] communities of the Balkans were some of the oldest in Europe and date back to ancient times. These communities were [[Sephardi Jews]], except in [[Croatia]] and [[Slovenia]], where the Jewish communities were mainly [[Ashkenazi Jews]]. In [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], the small and close-knit Jewish community is 90% [[Sephardic]], and [[Judeo-Spanish|Ladino]] is still spoken among the elderly. The Sephardi Jewish cemetery in [[Sarajevo]] has tombstones of a unique shape and inscribed in ancient Ladino.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090126185330/http://www.eurojewcong.org/ejc/news.php?id_article=59 European Jewish Congress – Bosnia-Herzegovina], Accessed 15 July 2008.</ref> Sephardi Jews used to have a large presence in the city of [[Thessaloniki]], and by 1900, some 80,000, or more than half of the population, were Jews.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jul/30/thessalonikis-jews-we-cant-let-this-be-forgotten-if-its-forgotten-it-will-die|title=Thessaloniki's Jews: 'We can't let this be forgotten; if it's forgotten, it will die'|last=Jones|first=Sam|date=30 July 2020|work=The Guardian}}</ref> The Jewish communities in the Balkans suffered immensely during [[World War II]], and the vast majority were killed during the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]]. An exception were the [[Bulgarian Jews]] who [[Boris III of Bulgaria]] sent to forced labor camps instead of Nazi concentration camps. Almost all of the few survivors have emigrated to the (then) newly founded state of Israel and elsewhere.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bulgaria |url=https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/bulgaria |website=Holocaust Encyclopedia |access-date=13 July 2023}}</ref> Almost no Balkan country today has a significant Jewish minority.

===Languages===
{{Main|Languages of the Balkans}}
{{Further|Balkan sprachbund}}

[[File:Ernst-Ravenstein-Balkans-Ethnic-Map-1880.jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Ethnic map of the Balkans (1880)]]
[[File:Balkans ethnic map (1992).jpg|thumb|upright=0.9|Ethnic map of the Balkans (1992)]]
[[File:Transhumance ways of the Vlachs.jpeg|thumb|upright=0.9|[[Transhumance]] ways of the Romance-speaking [[Vlachs|Vlach]] shepherds in the past]]
The Balkan region today is a very diverse ethnolinguistic region, being home to multiple [[Slavic languages|Slavic]] and [[Romance languages]], as well as [[Albanian language|Albanian]], [[Greek language|Greek]], [[Turkic languages|Turkish]], [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] and others. [[Romani language|Romani]] is spoken by a large portion of the [[Romani people|Romanis]] living throughout the Balkan countries. Throughout history, many other ethnic groups with their own languages lived in the area, among them [[Thracians]], [[Illyrians]], [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], [[Celts]] and various [[Germanic peoples|Germanic tribes]]. All of the aforementioned languages from the present and from the past belong to the wider [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] language family, with the exception of the Turkic languages (e.g., [[Turkish language|Turkish]] and [[Gagauz language|Gagauz]]) and Hungarian.

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;"
|-
! State !!Most spoken language<ref name=languages>{{cite web|title=Field Listings: Languages|url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/402.html|publisher=CIA|access-date=30 November 2020|archive-date=20 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420180739/https://www.cia.gov/Library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/402.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
! Linguistic minorities<ref name=languages />
|-
|{{flagu|Albania}}
| 98% [[Albanian language|Albanian]]
| 2% other
|-
|{{flagu|Bosnia and Herzegovina}}
| 53% [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]]
| 31% Serbian (official), 15% Croatian (official), 2% other
|-
|{{flagu|Bulgaria}}
| 86% [[Bulgarian language|Bulgarian]]
| 8% Turkish, 4% Romani, 1% other, 1% unspecified
|-
|{{flagu|Croatia}}
| 96% [[Croatian language|Croatian]]
| 1% Serbian, 3% other
|-
|{{flagu|Greece}}
| 99% [[Greek language|Greek]]
| 1% other
|-
|{{flagu|Kosovo}}
| 94% Albanian
| 2% Bosnian, 2% Serbian (official), 1% Turkish, 1% other
|-
|{{flagu|Montenegro}}
| 43% [[Serbian language|Serbian]]
| 37% [[Montenegrin language|Montenegrin]] (official), 5% Albanian, 5% Bosnian, 5% other, 4% unspecified
|-
|{{flagu|North Macedonia}}
| 67% [[Macedonian language|Macedonian]]
| 25% Albanian (official), 4% Turkish, 2% Romani, 1% Serbian, 2% other
|-
|{{flagu|Romania}}
| 85% [[Romanian language|Romanian]]
| 6% [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]], 1% [[Romani language|Romani]]
|-
|{{flagu|Serbia}}
| 88% Serbian
| 3% Hungarian, 2% Bosnian, 1% Romani, 3% other, 2% unspecified
|-
|{{flagu|Slovenia}}
| 91% [[Slovene language|Slovene]]
| 5% Serbo-Croatian, 4% other
|-
|{{flagu|Turkey}}
| 85% [[Turkish language|Turkish]]<ref name=milliyet-languages>{{cite web|url=http://www.milliyet.com.tr/2007/03/22/guncel/agun.html |title=Türkiye'nin yüzde 85'i 'anadilim Türkçe' diyor|publisher=Milliyet.com.tr|access-date=25 June 2021}}</ref>
| 12% [[Kurdish language|Kurdish]], 3% other and unspecified<ref name="milliyet-languages" />
|-
|}

===Urbanization===
Most of the states in the Balkans are predominantly urbanized, with the lowest number of urban population as % of the total population found in Bosnia and Herzegovina at 49%, Kosovo at 50% and Slovenia at 55%.<ref>{{Cite web |title=World Bank Open Data |url=https://data.worldbank.org/ |access-date=2023-06-17 |website=World Bank Open Data}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Urbanization in Kosovo: Building inclusive & sustainable cities |url=https://unhabitat.org/kosovo#:~:text=The%20percentage%20of%20the%20total,for%20Spatial%20Planning,%202018). |access-date=2023-06-17 |website=unhabitat.org}}</ref>

{{wide image|Istanbul panorama and skyline.jpg|750px|Panoramic view of Istanbul}}

A list of largest cities:
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! City !! Country !!data-sort-type="number"| Agglomeration !!data-sort-type="number"| City proper !! Year
|-
| [[Istanbul]]{{ref label|reference name B|b|b}} || {{TUR}} || 10,097,862 || 10,097,862 || 2019<ref name="Istanbul">{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/turkey/istanbul/|title=Istanbul Population |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref>
|-
| [[Athens]] || {{GRE}} || 3,753,783 || 664,046 || 2018<ref name="Greek">{{cite web |url=http://www.citypopulation.de/Greece-Agglo.html|title=Greece: Regions and Agglomerations |access-date=9 November 2015}}</ref>
|-
| [[Bucharest]] || {{ROU}} ||2,272,163 || 1,887,485 || 2018<ref name="Romanian">{{cite web |url=http://www.citypopulation.de/Romania.html|title=Romania: Counties and Major Cities |access-date=9 November 2015}}</ref>
|-
| [[Sofia]] || {{BUL}} || 1,995,950 || 1,313,595 || 2018<ref name="Bulgarian">{{cite web |url=http://www.citypopulation.de/Bulgaria-Cities.html|title=Bulgaria: Major Cities|access-date=9 November 2015}}</ref>
|-
| [[Belgrade]] || {{SRB}} || 1,659,440 || 1,119,696 || 2018<ref>[http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Knjiga20.pdf Statistical Officeof the Republic of Serbia] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714191241/http://pod2.stat.gov.rs/ObjavljenePublikacije/Popis2011/Knjiga20.pdf |date=14 July 2014 }} p. 32</ref>
|-
| [[Zagreb]] || {{CRO}} || 1,217,150 || 767,131 || 2021<ref name=":1">{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/croatia/cities/ |title=Croatia: Counties and Major Cities |access-date=7 November 2023}}</ref>
|-
|[[Tekirdağ]]
|{{TUR}}
|1,055,412
|1,055,412
|2019<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/turkey/tekirdag/|title=Tekirdağ Population |access-date=30 November 2020}}</ref>
|-
| [[Thessaloniki]] || {{GRE}} ||1,012,297 || 325,182 || 2018<ref name="Greek" />
|-
| [[Tirana]] || {{ALB}} || 912,000 || 418,495 || 2018<ref>{{cite web|url=https://citypopulation.de/Albania-Cities.html|title=Albania: Prefectures and Major Cities – Population Statistics in Maps and Charts|website=citypopulation.de}}</ref>
|-
| [[Ljubljana]] || {{SLO}} || 537,712 || 292,988 || 2018<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rralur.si/sl/regija/osebna-izkaznica|title=Osebna izkaznica – RRA LUR|work=rralur.si|date=24 February 2020 }}</ref>
|-
| [[Skopje]] || {{NMK}} || 506,926 || 444,800 || 2018<ref name="Macedonian">{{cite web |url=http://www.citypopulation.de/Macedonia.html|title=Macedonia|access-date=9 November 2015}}</ref>
|-
| [[Constanța]] || {{ROU}} || 425,916 || 283,872 || 2018<ref name="Romanian" />
|-
| [[Craiova]] || {{ROU}} || 420,000 ||269,506 || 2018<ref name="Romanian" />
|-
|[[Edirne]]
|{{TUR}}
|413,903
|306,464
|2019<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/turkey/edirne/|title=Edirne Population |access-date=30 November 2020}}</ref>
|-
| [[Sarajevo]] || {{BIH}} || 413,593 || 275,524 || 2018
|-
| [[Cluj-Napoca]] || {{ROU}} || 411,379 || 324,576 || 2018<ref name="Romanian" />
|-
| [[Plovdiv]] || {{BUL}} || 396,092 || 411,567 || 2018<ref name="Bulgarian" />
|-
| [[Varna, Bulgaria|Varna]] || {{BUL}} || 383,075 || 395,949 || 2018<ref name="Bulgarian" />
|-
| [[Iași]] || {{ROU}} || 382,484 || 290,422 || 2018<ref name="Romanian" />
|-
| [[Brașov]] || {{ROU}} || 369,896 ||253,200 || 2018<ref name="Romanian" />
|-
|[[Kırklareli]]
|{{TUR}}
|361,836
|259,302
|2019<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/turkey/admin/TR213__k%C4%B1rklareli/|title=Kırklareli Population |access-date=1 December 2020}}</ref>
|-
| [[Timișoara]] || {{ROU}} || 356,443 || 319,279 || 2018<ref name="Romanian" />
|-
| [[Novi Sad]] || {{SRB}} || 341,625 || 277,522 || 2018<ref name="Serbian">{{cite web|url=http://www.citypopulation.de/Serbia-Cities.html |title=Serbia: Regions, Districts and Major Cities |access-date=9 November 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151108005723/http://www.citypopulation.de/Serbia-Cities.html |archive-date=8 November 2015}}</ref>
|-
|[[Split, Croatia|Split]]
|{{CRO}}
|325,600
|161,312
|2021<ref name=":1" />
|}

{{note label|reference name B|b|b}}Only the European part of Istanbul is a part of the Balkans.<ref name="Crampton">{{cite book|last1=Crampton|title=The Balkans Since the Second World War|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z9AFBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT14|isbn=978-1317891161|year=2014|publisher=Routledge }}</ref> It is home to two-thirds of the city's 15,519,267 inhabitants.<ref name="Istanbul" />