Ashkali Community

The Ashkali population is the youngest community in Kosovo.

The largest Ashkali communities are located in five municipalities: Ferizaj/Uroševac; FushëKosovë/Kosovo Polje; Lipjan/Lipljan; Prizren/Prizren; and, Shtime/Štimlje. Smaller communities can be found throughout the rest of Kosovo, although there are only a small number of Ashkali living in Eastern Kosovo.

Ashkali consider themselves an ethnic group whose ancestry can be traced back to ancient Persia. The Ashkali community started to organise itself into political and civil society organizations in the 1990s. They are concentrated mainly, but not exclusively, in Kosovo, North Macedonia and Albania. They are nominally Sunni Muslim, sedentary and urban. The Ashkali community shares cultural similarities and socio-economic issues with the Roma and Egyptian communities in Kosovo, but considers itself a distinct and separate community. Correspondingly, Kosovo, through its institutions and legislation, recognizes the Ashkali community’s distinct identity and treats them as such. 

The Day of the Ashkali, 15 February, is official recognised as a Kosovo Memorial Day.

Ashkali are native Albanian speakers.

The Ashkali community has one (1) seat guaranteed in the Kosovo Assembly, and one (1) additional seat is awarded to the Roma, the Ashkali or the Egyptian community with the highest overall number of votes. The community also nominates two (2) members of the CCC.