| Type: | v |
| Official Name: | Cerje |
| Other Name: | Церје |
| County: | Korçë |
| Municipality: | Pustec |
| Municunit: | Pustec |
| Coordinates: | 40.7494°N 20.9756°W |
| Population As Of: | 2000 |
| Population Total: | 252 |
Cerje (Albanian: Cerja, Macedonian: Церје) is a village at the southeastern end of Pustec Municipality which is officially recognised as a Macedonian minority zone[1] located in the Korçë County of Albania,[2] near the border with Greece. The village is composed of ethnic Macedonians,[3] which form part of the larger Macedonian minority in Albania.[4] According to Bulgarian sources, including researches by a Bulgarian scientist from Albania, the local inhabitants are Bulgarians.[5] [6]
In 1900, Vasil Kanchov gathered and compiled statistics on demographics in the area and reported that the village of Cerja (Церя) was inhabited by about 120 Bulgarian Christians.[7] In 1904, following the Ilinden Uprising, Cerje came under the Bulgarian Exarchate.
In 1911, the village was recorded by Georgi Trajčev as a Bulgarian village having six houses and 54 inhabitants.[8]
In 1939, on behalf of 15 Bulgarian houses in Cerje Fote Fotev signed a request by the local Bulgarians to the Bulgarian tsaritsa Giovanna requesting her intervention for the protection of the Bulgarian people in Albania - at that time an Italian protectorate.[9]
According to a 2007 source, Cerje is the least populous village in Pustec Municipality, having only a small amount of elderly residents.[10]
| Year | Population[11] |
|---|---|
| 1900 | 120 |
| 1926 | 98 |
| 1945 | 175 |
| 1960 | 250 |
| 1969 | 308 |
| 1979 | 308 |
| 1989 | 297 |
| 2000 | 252 |