Beli ( mk, Бели) is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in the

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Kočani Kočani ( mk, Кочани ) is a town in the eastern part of North Macedonia, situated around east from Skopje. It has a population of 28,330 and is the seat of the Kočani Municipality. Geography and population The town spreads across the Nor ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

, near the city of

Geography and location

The village is located foothills of the Osogov Mountains, around 2 kilometers northeast of Kočani. The village is reached via Regional Route 1309 which leads to Ponikva. The road that leads into Beli is also the same road that leads to Nivičani, Pantelej, and

Rajčani Rajčani ( mk, Рајчани) is a village in the Kočani region of North Macedonia. According to the 2002 census, there are 33 inhabitants. Historical Significance On 27 April 1905, near the village, in the area of Svilanovo, Nikola Karev was ...

History

It is believed that the village dates from the middle of the 9th century and that it was founded by

Slavs Slavs are the largest European ethnolinguistic group. They speak the various Slavic languages, belonging to the larger Balto-Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. Slavs are geographically distributed throughout northern Eurasia, main ...

who a few decades later accepted

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

. In the 19th century, Beli was a part of the Kočani

Kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

Demographics

According to the statistician Vasil Kančov, around 400 people lived in Beli around 1900. All were

Bulgarians Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe. Etymology Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely understo ...

. According to the secretary of the

Bulgarian Exarchate The Bulgarian Exarchate ( bg, Българска екзархия, Balgarska ekzarhiya; tr, Bulgar Eksarhlığı) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and th ...

Dimitar Mishev, Beli had 576 Bulgarian residents. According to the last national census of Macedonia in 2002, the village had 466 residents, all Macedonian.Macedonian Census (2002)
''Book 5 - Total population according to the Ethnic Affiliation, Mother Tongue and Religion''
The State Statistical Office, Skopje, 2002, p. 118. The table below shows the population in each census year:

References

{{Kočani Municipality Populated places established in the 9th century Villages in Kočani Municipality