# Saraj Municipality

Saraj (Macedonian: Сарај, Albanian: Saraj) is one of the ten municipalities that make up the city of Skopje, the capital of the Republic of North Macedonia.

## Geography

Saraj borders
* Jegunovce Municipality to the northwest,
* Želino Municipality to the southwest,
* Sopište Municipality to the south,
* Karpoš Municipality and Ǵorče Petrov Municipality to the east, and
* Kosovo to the north.

## History

In the early 2000s municipal boundaries within Macedonia in some areas were redrawn. During difficult negotiations the governing Macedonian Social Democrats (SDSM) gave in to the request of its Albanian coalition partner that wanted Albanians within Skopje to surpass the 20% population mark by attaching two rural Albanian inhabited municipalities, Saraj and Kondovo. The municipalities attachment to the capital city raised the Albanian population from 15.30% to 20.49%. The change was seen as an important win among Albanians, while Macedonians were concerned with a more visible Albanian presence in Skopje and the increasing fragmentation of the urban population based on ethnicity.

## Demographics

According to the 2021 North Macedonia census, Saraj municipality has 38,399 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the municipality include:
| | 2002 | 2002 | 2021 | 2021 |
| | Number | % | Number | % |
| TOTAL | 35,408 | 100 | 38,399 | 100 |
| Albanians | 32,408 | 91.53 | 34,586 | 90.07 |
| Bosniaks | 1,120 | 3.16 | 1,043 | 2.72 |
| Macedonians | 1,377 | 3.89 | 1,005 | 2.62 |
| Roma | 273 | 0.77 | 255 | 0.66 |
| Turks | 45 | 0.13 | 28 | 0.07 |
| Serbs | 18 | 0.05 | 10 | 0.03 |
| Vlachs | | | 4 | 0.01 |
| Other / Undeclared / Unknown | 167 | 0.47 | 18 | 0.04 |
| Persons for whom data are taken from administrative sources | | | 1,450 | 3.78 |

## Inhabited places

There are 23 inhabited places in this municipality.
| Inhabited Places | Total | Macedonians | Albanians | Turks | Roma | Vlachs | Serbs | Bosnians | Others |
| Saraj Municipality | 38,399 | 1,005 | 34,586 | 28 | 255 | - | - | 1,043 | 1,466 |
| Arnakija | 1.163 | 5 | 1.086 | - | - | - | - | - | 71 |
| Bojane | 2.132 | 1 | 2.070 | - | - | - | - | - | 60 |
| Bukoviḱ | 1.842 | - | 1.769 | - | - | - | - | - | 73 |
| Čajlane | 639 | - | 602 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 37 |
| Dolno Svilare | 2.172 | - | 2.128 | - | - | - | - | - | 46 |
| Dvorce | 145 | - | 141 | - | - | - | - | - | 4 |
| Glumovo | 2.152 | 1 | 2.060 | - | - | - | - | 32 | 59 |
| Gorno Svilare | 845 | - | 830 | - | - | - | - | - | 15 |
| Grčec | 36 | - | 3 | - | - | - | - | - | 33 |
| Kondovo | 3.626 | 18 | 3.353 | 9 | - | - | 2 | 66 | 177 |
| Kopanica | 1.790 | - | 1.761 | - | - | - | - | - | 29 |
| Krušopek | 2.017 | 4 | 1.977 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 35 |
| Laskarci | 1.169 | - | 1.127 | - | - | - | - | - | 42 |
| Ljubin | 2.426 | 5 | 1.493 | 5 | 1 | - | - | 859 | 64 |
| Matka | 466 | 156 | 248 | - | - | - | 1 | 5 | 55 |
| Paničari | 130 | - | 107 | - | - | - | - | - | 23 |
| Raduša | 1.533 | - | 1.447 | - | - | - | - | - | 86 |
| Raoviḱ | 79 | - | 40 | - | - | - | - | - | 39 |
| Rašče | 2.835 | 1 | 2.760 | - | - | - | - | - | 74 |
| Rudnik Raduša | 179 | - | 156 | - | - | - | - | - | 23 |
| Saraj | 6.265 | 307 | 5.379 | 11 | 167 | - | 4 | 73 | 324 |
| Semenište | 798 | 2 | 754 | 9 | - | - | - | 5 | 37 |
| Šiševo | 3.958 | 505 | 3.294 | 2 | 87 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 61 |

## Twin towns
### Twin municipalities

* Üsküdar, Istanbul
* Kırşehir