Only 18.3% of the Romanians aged 16 and over visited a cultural site such as a historical monument, a museum, an art gallery or an archaeological site at least once in 2015.

This is one of the lowest shares in the European Union, according to data from EU’s statistical office Eurostat. Only Bulgaria (14.6%) and Greece (16.9%) registered lower rates than Romania.

On the other hand, two-thirds of people aged 16 and over in Sweden (67.2%) visited a cultural site in 2015, and about six in ten in Denmark, the Netherlands and Finland (all 61.4%). Luxembourg came next with a share of 55.6%, followed by the United Kingdom with 54.7%, France - 53.7%, and the Czech Republic - 52.1%.

At EU level, 43.4% of the population aged 16 and over visited a cultural site in 2015. According to Eurostat, the participation rate declines with age, with the highest levels recorded for the age groups of 25-34 (48.5%) and 16-24 years (47.5%).

Eurostat data released in early August also showed that Romania was last among the EU Member States in 2015 in terms of culture expenditure per inhabitant. Expenditure per inhabitant on ‘recreation, culture and religion’ stood at only EUR 97 in Romania in 2015. Bulgaria was second to last with an expenditure of EUR 106, lower than that registered in Greece – EUR 113, Lithuania – EUR 120, Poland – EUR 126, and Portugal – EUR 130.

Eurostat: Romania registers lowest cultural and sports attendance rate in EU

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com