A frightened Romania: How do Romanians perceive their country?

Romanians don’t have a good opinion about their country. They see Romania as an insecure country, still facing many problems. Almost a third of Romanians believe that Romania’s main problem is corruption, while 28% say poverty is the biggest problem, according to a recent IRES study. These problems are followed by the poor state of the economy (8%), the unemployment rate (7%) and the state of the pension system (6%). Respondents also mentioned the governmental crisis, the transport infrastructure, the state of the agriculture, the lack of jobs, drugs consumption and trafficking and fuel prices. Most respondents, namely 70%, are concerned about the environmental degradation. 65% have concerns related to poverty and social exclusion, 64% - insecurity, 63% - food risks and traffic accidents, 57% - unemployment, 56% - climate changes, and 51% - chemical risks. Less than half of respondents are concerned about addictions, terrorism, nuclear risks, the effects of globalization and AIDS. Half of the respondents tend to trust Romanian authorities when it comes to their actions to protect citizens involved in road accidents, and 50% are confident that the state will protect its citizens when it comes to terrorism. Respondents also have confidence in Romanian authorities’ protection actions when it comes to the transport of hazardous materials (48%), war (48%), nuclear power plants (48%), forestry accidents (46%) and plane accidents (45%). A lower number of respondents have confidence in the authorities’ actions when it comes to smoking among young people (28%), alcoholism (30%), drugs (32%), genetically modified organisms (32%) and air pollution (32%). As for the risks Romania is currently facing, three quarters mentioned drug trafficking, 70% - human trafficking, 66% - the loss of artistic heritage values, 65% - massive environmental pollution, and 62% - the risk of military aggression from a great power. A third believe that Romania’s Central Bank BNR risks going bankrupt while 37% think that Romania faces the risk of a nuclear explosion. On a short-term, 19% of Romanians believe that Romania risks facing a war, 7% think that the country can also face an economic crisis, and 5% believe the unemployment rate might increase. For medium term risks, the responses are similar: 8% - economic crisis, 6% - war, 5% - higher unemployment rate and the lack of jobs, 3% - poverty. On a long term, Romania faces the same risks: an economic crisis or a war (8%), higher unemployment rate and the lack of jobs (4%), poverty (3%). The study was conducted on a sample of over 1,500 respondents aged 18 and over 18, between April 17 and April 22, 2015. Find the entire study here(in Romanian). Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com