Quality of life of Roma community in the Levoča city

The Slovak republic belongs to the most ethnically diverse countries in the central and eastern Europe. Based on the 2001 census it is evident that there are members of 17 different nationalities living in this country. The Romany community is the second largest national minority (preceded by Hungarians); and if the present natality trend continues they could become the majority population by 2060. There is a presumption that the highest number of Romanies, as high as 2 millions, live in Romania. Another most numerous Roma minorities are in Hungary and Bulgaria (about 800 000, MICHAELI a kol. 2002). The Romanies are a specific group of people when considering various aspects including the European origin and absence of a state domicile. The Romany population is a specific ethnic group presenting a community that is distant from the majority community with a different level of integration of individual groups with the majority community. (MATLOVIČ, 2005)