|8 to 10 million| |Regions with significant populations|
|Romani, languages of native region| The Roma people (singular
Rom; sometimes Rroma, Rrom), often referred to as gypsies, are a
heterogeneous ethnic group who live primarily in Southern and
Eastern Europe, Western Asia, Latin America, the southern part
of the United States and the Middle East. They are believed to
have originated mostly from the Rajasthan region of India. They
began their migration to Europe and North Africa via the Iranian
plateau about 1,000 years ago. Traditionally most Roma spoke
Romani language, an Indo-Aryan language. Today, however, most
Roma speak the dominant language of their region of residence.
The history of the Roma has been one of continued persecution
and difficulty as they have been identified as "outsiders" to
the societal norms of the areas that they migrated to. They were
enslaved for five centuries and scattered across continents.
Despite this, their culture has remained nearly unchanged
throughout the centuries, wh