Municipality of Centar Zupa
North Macedonia's Turkish-majority enclave on the Albanian border, where linguistic identity survives post-Ottoman disruptions.
Centar Župa exists as North Macedonia's Turkish-majority anomaly on the Albanian border. This municipality of 3,721 residents (2021 census) occupies 107 square kilometers in the southwestern corner of the country, where 80% of inhabitants identify as ethnic Turks—a demographic rarity in a nation where Albanian and Macedonian populations dominate political discourse.
The formation era embedded Centar Župa in Ottoman settlement patterns that left Turkish-speaking Muslim communities scattered across the Balkans. Unlike Albanian-majority municipalities that form contiguous territories in western Macedonia, Centar Župa represents an enclave of Turkish identity that persisted through Yugoslav-era nationality policies and post-independence tensions. The 1991 government ban on Turkish-language education, aimed at preventing "Turkification," catalyzed resistance from communities seeking to maintain linguistic heritage.
Today Centar Župa operates with Turkish as the co-official language alongside Macedonian—a status shared only with Plasnica municipality. The 23 settlements that comprise the municipality maintain traditional economies suited to the terrain bordering Albania. The Turkish-speaking identity differentiates Centar Župa from neighboring Albanian communities, creating distinct cultural and political alignments within North Macedonia's complex ethnic geography.
By 2026, Centar Župa navigates between integration into national structures and preservation of Turkish identity that sets it apart from both Macedonian and Albanian populations. The Ohrid Framework Agreement's minority protections apply here as they do to Albanian communities, but the small population limits political leverage.