Policy implications of the vagaries in population estimates on the accuracy of sociographical mapping of contemporary Slovak Roma communities

This paper presents the results of the latest sociographical research into the contemporary Roma community in Slovakia. The introduction provides an overview of Roma in Slovakian territory in the past and the various attempts by the government to calculate their numbers and ethnicity. The second part presents the 2013 in-depth and innovative field methodology used to tabulate Roma numbers and map major social characteristics of the Roma population. The information focuses on key social and economic characteristics. Maps reveal the spatial distribution of Roma in Slovakia, including subethnic groups, together with a classification of their settlements and infrastructures, and data on their education and employment structure which are useful in social policy planning. Given that few similar detailed studies on the Roma have yet been carried out in other European countries, this contribution highlights methodology and mapping efforts that could be adopted elsewhere.