Macedonians

(1) The population of ancient Macedonia.

(2) The name for the inhabitants of the historical region of Macedonia, who are of diverse ethnic background.

(3) A South Slavic nationality. They make up most of the population of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia in Yugoslavia. Their total number in Yugoslavia is about 1,194,000 (according to the 1971 census), of whom 1,142,000 are in the republic. They speak Macedonian. Religious Macedonians are mainly Orthodox, although there are also Muslims.