The sad reality: Fewer Hungarians but more Roma in Slovakia

The number of ethnic Hungarians living in Slovakia has fallen by almost 109,000 to approximately 460,000 over the past 20 years, Czech daily Pravo writes.

Citing the figures from the 1991 and 2011 population censuses, a report on the position and rights of ethnic minorities says there were 567,296 ethnic Hungarians in Slovakia in 1991, but the figure fell to 458,467 by 2011. In 1991, ethnic Hungarians made up 10.8 percent of all inhabitants of Slovakia, but the proportion fell to 8.5, as recorded by the census taken in 2011, Pravo writes in August.

The May 2011 census recorded 5,397,036 permanent residents in Slovakia. Interestingly, the number of members of other ethnic minorities such as Roma and Ruthenians has increased, Pravo writes. In 1991, there were 24,294 Roma and 2,307 Ruthenians in Slovakia, but the figures rose to 105,738 and 9,281, respectively, according to the censuses. However, the real number of Roma is widely believed to be still much bigger than in the neighbouring Czech Republic.

According to Pravo, ethnic Hungarians live alongside the Slovak-Hungarian border. The biggest number of Hungarians, 17,000, is in the southern town of Dunajska Streda, where Hungarians account for 74.7 percent of the total population, Pravo writes. The average age of ethnic Hungarians is one of the oldest, while Roma are the youngest, it adds.

Daily News Hungary: The Slovak prime minister, Robert Fico several times attacked the Hungarian minority, who are slovak resident citizens and they have also hungarian  citizenship. Three years ago, the Slovak parliament voted a law which prohibits dual citizenship, since hundreds of Hungarians were deprived of their slovakian nationality in Slovakia. Sadly, also the Hungarian minority can not use their own mother language in official places.

Source: http://www.thedaily.sk/fewer-hungarians-but-more-roma-in-slovakia/