Abstract

Presently, there are 380 000 Romas living in the territory of Slovakia. Their reproductive behaviour differs from the reproductive behaviour of the non-Roma population. As a consequence of the different reproductive behaviour there are differences in the development of number and structure of Roma and non-Roma population.

The number of members of the Roma ethnic group is lingeringly increasing and this tendency will be maintained approximately 4 decades. However, the annual increases of Roma population will have a declining tendency roughly since 2015. In 2025, which is the last year of the projection, more than 500 000 Romas will be living in Slovakia. While the development of non-Roma population will be opposite, the share of Romas in the Slovak population will grow. From current 7%, it will increase to almost 10% in 2025.

Significant differences between Roma and non-Roma population are also in the age structure. Roma population is substantially younger with the remarkably higher share of pre-productive population and a significantly lower share of post-productive population. The process of ageing, which will be the most serious demographic feature of the Slovak population, will accelerate also in Roma population. However, the intensity of these processes will be essentially weaker as compared to the non-Roma population.

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