The Romani people, also known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group who traditionally lived a nomadic, itinerant lifestyle. Linguistic and genetic evidence suggests that the Roma originated in the Indian subcontinent, in particular the region of Rajasthan. Their first wave of westward migration is believed to have occurred sometime between the 5th and 11th centuries. They are thought to have arrived in Europe around the 13th to 14th centuries. Although they are widely dispersed, their most concentrated populations are believed to be in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.
Demographic features of the population of the Czech Republic include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, and religious affiliations.
The Romanichal are a Romani subgroup within the United Kingdom and other parts of the English-speaking world. Most Romanichal speak Angloromani, a mixed language that blends Romani vocabulary with English syntax. Romanichal residing in England, Scotland, and Wales are part of the Gypsy, Roma, and Traveller community.
Gurbeti are a sub-group of the Romani people living in Cyprus and North Cyprus, Turkey, Crimea, Albania, Kosovo, Serbia and the former Yugoslavia whose members are Eastern Orthodox and predominantly Muslim Roma. The Gurbeti make up approximately two thirds of the population of Roma in Mačva, many of whom work in agriculture. In Kosovo, other Romani groups viewed the Gurbeti negatively.
Romani people in Romania, locally and pejoratively referred to as the Țigani, constitute the second largest ethnic minority in the country. According to the 2021 census, their number was 569,477 people and 3.4% of the total population. The size of the total population of people with Romani ancestry in Romania is even more, with different estimates varying from 4.6 percent to over 10 percent of the population, because many people of Romani descent do not declare themselves Roma. For example, in 2007 the Council of Europe estimated that approximately 1.85 million Roma lived in Romania, based on an average between the lowest estimate and the highest estimate available at the time. This figure is equivalent to 8.32% of the population. On the other hand, less than half are native speakers of the Romani language.
The two main official languages of Finland are Finnish and Swedish. There are also several official minority languages: three variants of Sami, as well as Romani, Finnish Sign Language, Finland-Swedish Sign Language and Karelian.
Romani culture is the culture of the Romani people, an Indo-Aryan ethnic group originating in northwest India. They constitute the largest ethnic minority in Europe, where they are believed to have lived since the 9th century. There is also a significant Romani population in the Americas, stemming from later migrations from Europe.
Swedish is the official language of Sweden and is spoken by the vast majority of the 10.23 million inhabitants of the country. It is a North Germanic language and quite similar to its sister Scandinavian languages, Danish and Norwegian, with which it maintains partial mutual intelligibility and forms a dialect continuum. A number of regional Swedish dialects are spoken across the country. In total, more than 200 languages are estimated to be spoken across the country, including regional languages, indigenous Sámi languages, and immigrant languages.
The Romanisael, are a Romani subgroup who have been resident in Norway and Sweden for some 500 years. The estimated number of Romanisael in Sweden is 65,000, while in Norway, the number is probably about 10,000.
The official language of Greece is Greek, spoken by 99% of the population. In addition, a number of non-official, minority languages and some Greek dialects are spoken as well. The most common foreign languages learned by Greeks are English, German, French and Italian.
The Kaale are a Romani subgroup who live primarily in Finland but also in Sweden. Their main languages are Finnish, Swedish and Finnish Kalo
The Romani diaspora refers to the presence and dispersion of Romani people across various parts of the world. Their migration out of the Indian subcontinent occurred in waves, with the first estimated to have taken place in the 6th century. They are believed to have first arrived in Europe in the 12th century, via the Balkans. They settled in the areas of present-day Turkey, Greece, Serbia, Romania, Croatia, Moldova, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Hungary, Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Czech Republic, Slovenia and Slovakia, by order of volume, and Spain. From the Balkans, they migrated throughout Europe and, in the 19th and later centuries, to the Americas. The Roma population in the United States is estimated at more than one million.
Scottish Romani are the Romani people of Scotland. This includes Romanichal and Lowland Roma.
Finnish Kalo is a language of the Romani language family spoken by Finnish Kale. The language is related to but not mutually intelligible with Scandoromani or Angloromani.
The Kale are a Romani subgroup predominantly found in northwestern Wales, specifically in the Welsh-speaking areas. Roma have been present in Wales since the 16th century. Many Kale claim to be descendants of Abram Wood, who settled in Wales in the early 18th century.
There are a number of traditionally itinerant or travelling groups in Europe who are known as Travellers or Gypsies.
The Romani people in Poland are an ethnic minority group of Indo-Aryan origins in Poland. The Council of Europe regards the endonym "Roma" as more appropriate when referencing the people, and "Romani" when referencing cultural characteristics. The term Cyganie is considered an exonym in Poland.
A variety of ethnic groups have long existed in Finland. Prominent examples include the Swedish speaking minority within the country and the Sámi peoples in the north. With modern international migration to Finland, different ethnolinguistics groups populate the country, most prominently in Helsinki.
Romani people have been recorded in the United Kingdom since at least the early 16th century. There are estimated to be around 225,000 Romani residing in the UK. This includes the Romanichal, Kale, Scottish Lowland Roma and a sizeable population of Roma from Continental Europe, who immigrated into the UK in the late 1990s/early 2000s and after EU expansion in 2004. They are considered part of the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) community.
Romani people in Latvia represent one of the country's oldest ethnic minorities. These include the Loftitke and Xaladytka subgroups, which have lived in Latvia since ancient times. According to the Office for Citizenship and Migration Affairs, there were 7,456 Romani people living in Latvia as of 2017, comprising 0.3% of the total population. However, they continue to suffer from discrimination by ethnic Latvians.
