Vlachs of Serbia in the context of "Istro-Romanians"

Romanians (Romanian: români, pronounced [roˈmɨnʲ]; dated exonym Vlachs) are a Romance-speaking ethnic group and nation native to Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. Romanians share a common culture, history, ancestry and language and live primarily in Romania and Moldova. There is a debate regarding the ethnic categorisation of the Moldovans, concerning whether they constitute a subgroup of the Romanians or a completely different ethnic group. The origin of the Romanians is also fiercely debated, one theory suggests that the ancestors of Romanians are the Daco-Romans, while the other theory suggests that Romanians are mainly the Thraco-Romans and Illyro-Romans from the inner balkans, who later migrated north of the Danube.

In one interpretation of the 1989 census results in Moldova, the majority of Moldovans were counted as ethnic Romanians as well. Romanians also form an ethnic minority in several nearby countries situated in Central, Southeastern, and Eastern Europe, most notably in Hungary, Serbia (including Timok), and Ukraine.

Romanians are a recognized ethnic minority in Serbia. According to data from the 2022 census, the population of ethnic Romanians in Serbia is 23,044, constituting 0.3% of the total population. An additional 21,013 people self-declared as Vlachs; there are differing views whether Vlachs should be regarded as Romanians or as a distinct ethnicity.