Editing Bitola (section)

==Demographics==
;Ethnic groups
Bitola's population was historically diverse. It numbered some 37,500 at the end of the 19th century. There were around 7,000 [[Aromanians]], most of whom fully embraced the Hellenic culture, although some preferred the Romanian culture. Bitola also had a significant Muslim population - 11,000 (Turks, Roma, and Albanians) as well as a Jewish community of 5,200. The Slavic-speakers were divided between the Bulgarian Exarchate - 8,000, and the Greek Patriarchate - 6,300.<ref>Historical Dictionary of the Republic of Macedonia, Dimitar Bechev, Scarecrow Press, 2009, {{ISBN|0810862956}}, pp. 26-27.</ref> A significant part of the Muslim Albanian population of Bitola was Turkified during Ottoman rule.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Beqiri|first1= Nazmi|journal=Studime Albanologjike|title=QASJE E SHKURTËR MBI TË FOLMEN E KUMANOVËS  |date=2012 |publisher=ITSH|page=108}}</ref>
 
In statistics gathered by Vasil Kanchov in 1900, the city of Bitola was inhabited by 37,000 people, of whom 10,500 were Turks, 10,000 Christian Bulgarians, 7,000 Vlachs, 2,000 Romani, 5,500 Jews, 1,500 Muslim Albanians, 500 inhabitants of various other origins.<ref>Vasil Kanchov (1900). ''[http://www.promacedonia.org/vk/vk_2_39.htm Macedonia: Ethnography and Statistics]''. Sofia. p. 252.</ref> The Bulgarian researcher [[Vasil Kanchov]] wrote in 1900 that many Albanians declared themselves as Turks. In Bitola, the population that declared itself Turkish "was of Albanian blood", but it "had been Turkified after the Ottoman invasion, including Skanderbeg", referring to Islamization.<ref name="ReferenceA">Salajdin SALIHI. "DISA SHËNIME PËR SHQIPTARËT ORTODOKSË TË REKËS SË EPËRME". FILOLOGJIA - International Journal of Human Sciences 19:85-90.</ref>

During Ottoman times, Bitola had a significant Aromanian population, which according to some sources was larger than the [[Bulgarians|Bulgarian]] and [[Jews|Jewish]] ones. In 1901, the Italian consul to the Ottoman Empire in Bitola said that "''Undoubtedly, Koutzo-Vlach [Aromanian] population in Bitola is most significant in this town in terms of number of inhabitants, social status and importance in trade''".<ref>{{cite web| url = https://repository.ukim.mk/bitstream/20.500.12188/6782/1/The_war_of_numbers_and_its_first_victim.pdf| title = The War of Numbers and its First Victim: The Aromanians in Macedonia (End of 19th – Beginning of 20th century)}}</ref>

According to the statistics of the secretary of the Bulgarian Exarchate, Dimitar Mishev (" La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne "), in 1905 the Christian population of Bitola consisted of 8,844 Bulgarian Exarchists, 6,300 Greek Patriarchal Bulgarians, 72 Serboman Patriarchal Bulgarians, 36 Protestant Bulgarians, 100 Greeks, 7,200 Vlachs, 120 Albanians and 120 Gypsies. In the city there are 10 primary and 3 secondary Bulgarian schools, 7 primary and 2 secondary Greek, 2 primary and 2 secondary Romanian and 1 primary and 2 secondary Serbian schools.<ref>D.M.Brancoff (1905). ''La Macédoine et sa Population Chrétienne''. Paris. pp. 118-119.</ref>

According to a 1911 Ottoman census, there were 350,000 [[Rum Millet|Greeks]], 246,000 [[Bulgarian Exarchate|Bulgarians]] and 456,000 [[Muslims]] in the vilayet of Manastır,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.univ.trieste.it/~storia/corsi/Dogo/tabelle/popolaz-ottomana1911.jpg |title=1911 Ottoman census|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060527053759/http://www.univ.trieste.it/~storia/corsi/Dogo/tabelle/popolaz-ottomana1911.jpg |archive-date=27 May 2006 }}</ref> however the basis of the Ottoman censuses was the millet system where people were assigned an ethnicity according to their religion. Therefore, all Sunni Muslims were categorised as "Turks" even though many of them were [[Albanians]], while all members of the Greek Orthodox church were listed as "Greeks" although this group was composed of [[Aromanians]], Slavs, and [[Tosk Albanian]]s, in addition to the Greeks which were numbered at ~100,000.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rostovski|first=A.|date=26 July 1899|title=Jedna statistika iz srednje Maćedonije|journal=Nova Iskra|issue=15–16|pages=251}}</ref> The Slavic-speakers were divided between the Bulgarian majority and a small Serbian minority.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/9/6/6/19669/19669.txt |last=Durham M. |first=Edith |title= Twenty Years Of Balkan Tangle |publisher=Gutenberg.org}}</ref><ref>"Serbian propaganda in Monastir was, however, then only in its infancy, and nothing but very elementary school books were to be had. The Bulgarians had a big school and church. If anyone had suggested that Monastir was Serb or ever likely to be Serb, people would have thought him mad—or drunk. The pull was between Greek and Bulgarian, there was no mention of the Serbs. There was a large "Greek" population, both in town and country, but of these a very large proportion were Vlachs. Many were South Albanians, others were Slavs. Few probably were genuine Greeks. But they belonged to the Greek branch of the Orthodox Church, and were categorized as Greek in the census. Those Slavs who called themselves Serbs, and the Serb schoolmasters who had come for propaganda purposes, all went to the Greek churches."</ref><ref name = "Ortayli 2006 89-8">Ortaylı, İlber. ''"Son İmparatorluk Osmanlı (The Last Empire: Ottoman Empire)"'', İstanbul, Timaş Yayınları (Timaş Press), 2006. pp. 87–89. {{ISBN|975-263-490-7}} {{in lang|tr}}.</ref>

Bulgarian ethnographer Jordan Ivanov, professor at the [[Sofia University|University of Sofia]], wrote in 1915 that Albanians, since they did not have their own alphabet, lacked a consolidated national consciousness and were influenced by foreign propaganda, declared themselves as Turks, Greeks and Bulgarians, depending on which religion they belonged to. Ivan further stated that Albanians were losing their mother tongue in Bitola.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> German linguist [[Gustav Weigand]] describes the process of [[Turkification]] of the Albanian urban population in his 1923 work ''Ethnographie Makedoniens'' (Ethnography of Macedonia). He writes that in the cities, especially noting Bitola, many of the Turkish inhabitants are in fact Albanians, being distinguished by the difference in articulation of certain Turkish words, as well as their clothing and tool use. They speak Albanian at home, however use Turkish when in public. They refer to themselves as ''Turks'', the term at the time also being a [[Millet (Ottoman Empire)|synonym]] for ''Muslim'', with ethnic Turks referring to them as ''Turkoshak'', a derogatory term for someone portraying themselves as Turkish.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=BELLO |first1=DHIMITRI | journal=Studime Albanologjike|title=GUSTAV VAJGAND SI BALLKANIST DHE VEPRA E TIJ "ETNOGRAFI E MAQEDONISË"|date=2012 |quote= "Here I want to emphasize once again the fact that in cities, many so-called Turks, especially in Bitola and Skopje, are Albanians, which is also noticed by the emphasis they give to the articulation of Turkish words, such as. kàve instead of kave, mànda instead of mandà etc. In public they speak Turkish, while in families - Albanian; they call themselves "Turks", but in fact they mean Muhammadan, while the real Turks call them "Turkish ushak" (Turkish chimney). In the villages they are easily distinguished by the clothes, by the agricultural tools they use, by the carts (to the Anatolians the wheels are made of wooden washers). In all cases, the importance of Albanians in Northern Macedonia is greatly underestimated. It is difficult to give an accurate figure for their number due to the mix of population, so rightly many well-known countries, which are interested in this, express distrust of statistics. Since I have a trustworthy statistic like Cartes ethnographiques des vilayets de Selonique, Kossovo et Monastir, litographiées par i’Institut cartographique de Sofia, 1907, with some recent elaborations by Prof. Mladenov, as well as the corrections and additions, made under the care of Mr. Mit'hat bej Frashëri, will not hesitate to publish this material. "Of course, recent changes have not been reflected."|publisher=ITSH|pages=107–108}}</ref>

According to the 1948 census Bitola had 30,761 inhabitants. 77.2% (or 23,734 inhabitants) were Macedonians, 11.5% (or 3,543 inhabitants) were Turks, 4.3% (or 1,327 inhabitants) were Albanians, 3% (or 912 inhabitants) were Serbs and 1.3% (or 402 inhabitants) were Aromanians. As of 2021, the city of Bitola has 69,287 inhabitants and the ethnic composition is the following:<ref name="попис">{{cite web |url=http://makstat.stat.gov.mk/PXWeb/pxweb/en/MakStat/MakStat__Popisi__Popis2021__NaselenieVkupno__PodatociNaselenie/T1503P21.px/table/tableViewLayout2/?rxid=46ee0f64-2992-4b45-a2d9-cb4e5f7ec5ef |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100401081238/http://www.stat.gov.mk/publikacii/knigaX.pdf |archive-date=2010-04-01 |url-status=live|title=Попис на Македонија|year=2002|publisher=Завод за статистика на Македонија|language=mk|access-date=2012-05-26}}</ref>

In the 1953 census, large portions of Albanians declared themselves as ethnic Turks. In the municipality of [[Bitola Municipality|Bitola]], 13,166 Albanians were registered in 1948 and 4,014 in 1953, with the Turkish community going from 14,050 members in 1948, to numbering 29,151 in 1953.<ref>{{cite journal |last1= Lita|first1= Qerim|journal=Studime Albanologjike|title=SHPËRNGULJA E SHQIPTARËVE NGA MAQEDONIA NË TURQI (1953-1959) |date=2009 |publisher=ITSH|page=90}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|+
'''City of Bitola population according to ethnic group 1948–2002<ref name="Censuses of population 1948 - 2002">{{Cite web|url=http://makstat.stat.gov.mk/pxweb2007bazi/Database/Censuses/Censuses%20of%20population%201948-2002/Censuses%20of%20population%201948-2002.asp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014071758/http://makstat.stat.gov.mk/pxweb2007bazi/Database/Censuses/Censuses%20of%20population%201948-2002/Censuses%20of%20population%201948-2002.asp|url-status=dead|title=Censuses of population 1948 – 2002|archive-date=14 October 2013}}</ref>'''
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! rowspan="2" | Ethnic<br />group
! colspan="2" | census 1948
! colspan="2" | census 1953
! colspan="2" | census 1961
! colspan="2" | census 1971
! colspan="2" | census 1981
! colspan="2" | census 1994
! colspan="2" | census 2002
! colspan="2" | census 2021
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! Number
! %
! Number
! %
! Number
! %
! Number
! %
! Number
! %
! Number
! %
! Number
! %
! Number
! %
|-
| [[Macedonians (ethnic group)|Macedonians]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 23,734
| style="text-align:right;"| 77.2
| style="text-align:right;"| 28,912
| style="text-align:right;"| 77.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 43,108
| style="text-align:right;"| 88.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 57,282
| style="text-align:right;"| 88.1
| style="text-align:right;"| 68,897
| style="text-align:right;"| 87.8
| style="text-align:right;"| 70,528
| style="text-align:right;"| 91.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 66,038
| style="text-align:right;"| 88.6
| style="text-align:right;"| 55,995
| style="text-align:right;"| 80.8
|-
| [[Romani language|Romani]]
| style="text-align:right;"| ..
| style="text-align:right;"| ..
| style="text-align:right;"| 3
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.0
| style="text-align:right;"| ..
| style="text-align:right;"| ..
| style="text-align:right;"| 28
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 535
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.7
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,676
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.2
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,577
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,862
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.1
|-
| [[Albanians]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,327
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 484
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 378
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.8
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,317
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,347
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,967
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,360
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.2
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,441
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.5
|-
| [[Turkish people|Turks]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,543
| style="text-align:right;"| 11.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 6,189
| style="text-align:right;"| 16.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,265
| style="text-align:right;"| 6.7
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,061
| style="text-align:right;"| 4.7
| style="text-align:right;"| 3,068
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.9
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,547
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,562
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.1
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,115
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.6
|-
| [[Aromanians]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 420
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.4
| style="text-align:right;"| 482
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.3
| style="text-align:right;"| ..
| style="text-align:right;"| ..
| style="text-align:right;"| ..
| style="text-align:right;"| ..
| style="text-align:right;"| 543
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.7
| style="text-align:right;"| 696
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.9
| style="text-align:right;"| 997
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,003
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.4
|-
| [[Serbs]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 912
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 834
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.2
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,035
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.1
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,143
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.8
| style="text-align:right;"| 843
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.1
| style="text-align:right;"| 556
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.7
| style="text-align:right;"| 499
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.7
| style="text-align:right;"| 321
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.5
|-
| [[Bosniaks]]
| style="text-align:right;"| 0
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 0
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 0
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 0
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 0
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 0
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 20
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.3
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.0
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.1
|-
| Others
| style="text-align:right;"| 825
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.7
| style="text-align:right;"| 660
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.8
| style="text-align:right;"| 1,215
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.5
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,204
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.4
| style="text-align:right;"| 2,274
| style="text-align:right;"| 2.9
| style="text-align:right;"| 494
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.6
| style="text-align:right;"| 497
| style="text-align:right;"| 0.7
| style="text-align:right;"| 729
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.1
|-
| PWDTFAS*
| colspan="14" |
| style="text-align:right;"| 4,774
| style="text-align:right;"| 6.9
|- style="background:#e0e0e0;"
! style="text-align:left;"| Total
! colspan="2" | 30,761
! colspan="2" | 37,564
! colspan="2" | 49,001
! colspan="2" | 65,035
! colspan="2" | 78,507
! colspan="2" | 77,464
! colspan="2" | 74,550
! colspan="2" | 69,287
|-
| colspan="15" | <small></small> 
|}
*PWDTFAS-Persons for whom data are taken

;Language
According to the 2002 census the most common languages in the city are the following:<ref name="попис"/>
{{bar box
|float=right
|title=Languages<ref name="попис"/>
|barwidth=200px
|bars=
{{bar percent|Macedonian|red|92.9}}
{{bar percent|Albanian|black|3.2}}
{{bar percent|Turkish|orange|1.9}}
{{bar percent|Aromanian|yellow|0.7}}
{{bar percent|Serbian|blue|0.5}}
{{bar percent|Romani|cyan|0.4}}
{{bar percent|Bosnian|green|0.01}}
{{bar percent|Others|grey|0.4}}
}}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%;"
|-
! style="width:100px;"|Language!! style="width:100px;"| Total number!! style="width:100px;"|% from total population
|-
| '''[[Macedonian language|Macedonian]]'''
| '''69.255'''
|  92.9
|-
| [[Albanian language|Albanian]]
| 2.399
| 3.2
|-
| [[Turkish language|Turkish]]
| 1.392
| 1.9
|-
| [[Aromanian language|Aromanian]] 
| 548
| 0.7
|-
| [[Serbian language|Serbian]]
| 390 
| 0.5
|-
| [[Romani language|Romani]]
| 287
| 0.4
|-
| [[Bosnian language|Bosnian]]
| 10
| 0.01
|-
|Others
|269
|0.4
|}

;Religion[[File:Седиште на Преспанско-пелагониската православна епархија се наоѓа во градот Битола.jpg|thumb|right|The seat of Prespa- Pelagonia diocese of the [[Macedonian Orthodox Church - Ohrid Archbishopric]] in Bitola]] 
Bitola is a bishopric city and the seat of the Diocese of Prespa- Pelagonia. In [[World War II]] the diocese was named Ohrid - Bitola. With the restoration of the autocephaly of the [[Macedonian Orthodox Church - Ohrid Archbishopric|Macedonian Orthodox Church]] in 1967, it got its present name Prespa- Pelagonia diocese which covers the following regions and cities: Bitola, [[Resen Municipality|Resen]], [[Prilep]], [[Krusevo]] and [[Demir Hisar municipality|Demir Hisar]].

The diocese's first bishop (1958 - 1979) was Mr. Kliment. The second and current bishop and administrator of the diocese, who has been bishop since 1981 is Mr. Petar. The Prespa- Pelagonia diocese has about 500 churches and monasteries. In the last ten years in the diocese have been built or are being built about 40 churches and 140 church buildings. The diocese has two church museums- the cathedral "St. Martyr Demetrius" in Bitola and at the Church "St. John" in Krusevo and permanent exhibition of icons and libraries in the building of the seat of the diocese. The seat building was built between 1901 and 1902 and is an example of baroque architecture. Besides the dominant Macedonian Orthodox Church in Bitola there are other major religious groups such as the [[Islam in North Macedonia|Islamic community]], the [[Macedonian Greek Catholic Church|Roman Catholic Church]] and others.

According to the 2002 census the religious composition of the city is the following:<ref name="попис"/>
{{bar box
|float=right
|title=Religion<ref name="попис"/>
|barwidth=200px
|bars=
{{bar percent|Orthodox|red|89.2}}
{{bar percent|Islam|green|9.2}}
{{bar percent|Catholicism|orange|0.2}}
{{bar percent|Protestantism|yellow|0.01}}
{{bar percent|Others|grey|1.4}}
}}

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:95%;"
|-
! style="width:100px;"|Religion!! style="width:100px;"| Total number!! style="width:100px;"|% from total population
|-
| '''[[Eastern Orthodox Church|Orthodox]]'''
| '''66.492'''
|  89.2
|-
| [[Muslim]]s
| 6.843
| 9.2
|-
| [[Catholic Church|Catholics]]
| 140
| 0.2
|-
| [[Protestant Church|Protestants]]
| 9
| 0.01
|-
|Others
|1.066
|1.4
|}

* Bitola's Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is the co-cathedral of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Skopje]].