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The Roma (Roma in Romani; Romi, Rroma or Ţsigani in Romanian) constitute one of the principal minorities in Romania. The first written evidence of Roma presence on the territory of present-day Romania dates back to 1385. A majority of the Roma lived in servitude until the abolition of slavery in 1856. Nevertheless, they continued to suffer discrimination under the various regimes that governed Rumania in the late nineteenth and twentieth century, and were excluded from the land reforms of 1864, 1923, 1946 and 1991. During the Communist regime, the Roma were subject to a national policy of assimilation, were forcibly settled and enjoyed no right to ethnic representation or to promote their cultural traditions, unlike the Hungarians and the Saxons.

Following the collapse of the Ceausescu government, the Roma minority was officially recognised by the Romanian Constitution and encouraged to freely develop its identity as a people. However, the material situation of the Roma noticeably worsened in the 1990s, as unemployment affected them disproportionately and they faced a recrudescence of violence and discrimination. Since Romania's accession to the European Union in 2007, a significant Roma migratory movement has taken place from Romania to Spain, France, Italy, Germany and Austria.

According to Romania’s 2002 census, 535,140 declared themselves Roma (2.5% of the total population), constituting Rumania’s second-largest ethnic minority after Hungarians (6.6%). However, most researchers believe that this figure is inaccurate, since many Roma did not declare their ethnicity in the census nor do they have an identity card or birth certificate. Researchers and social organizations estimate that the Roma population ranges between 1.5 and 2 million, representing at least 8 to 9 percent of the Romanian population. If these numbers are accurate, the Roma constitute the largest minority in Romania and Romania has the largest Roma population in Europe. According to the 2002 census, 81.9 percent of the Roma are Orthodox Christians, 6.4 percent Pentecostals (resulting from massive conversion in the past few years), and 3.8 percent Roman Catholics.

As in other European countries, the Roma population is defined by heterogeneity. There is no single Roma identity and Roma groups may have very little in common. There are more than 23 groups defined by occupational, geographical and filial origins, and divisions exist between sedentary and nomadic Roma, wealthier and poorer Roma, Romani and non-Romani speakers, and Roma with different religious affiliations. The simple division between Roma and Gadje (non-Roma) must therefore be called into question.

Despite these discrepancies, the Roma are Romania's most socially and economically disadvantaged minority, suffering from limited access to social services and to adequate housing, from high illiteracy and unemployment rates, and from social discrimination and periodic violence. Their vulnerability is also expressed in geographical segregation, low incomes and negative stereotypes in the media.

According to a 2009 report of the European Fundamental Rights Agency, the discrimination perception of the Romani community of Romania is lower than that of the other EU countries covered by the report. The perceived discrimination levels given by the report are: Czech Republic 64%; Hungary 62%; Poland 59%; Greece 55%; Slovakia 41%; Bulgaria 26%; Romania 25%. However, the same report suggested that the favourable responses from Bulgaria and, to a lesser extent, Romania must be regarded with caution, as the low levels of reported discrimination might be a result of the high levels of spatial segregation between Roma and non-Roma: 66% of Roma live in areas predominantly populated by other Roma.

The Romanian state grants each national/ethnic minority, including the Roma, a guaranteed seat in Parliament, public funding for one of its organisations and native language instruction in school for its children, as well as other rights. The Romanian government, with its Sectorial Operational Programme Human Resources Development (SOPHRD), attached to the Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Protection and financed through the European Social Fund, aims at furthering the social inclusion of the Roma population by actively supporting its access to education and to the labour market.

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Romania - Main Page

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