Poll shows Romanians are more concerned with rising corruption than inflation

An INSCOP Research survey, conducted at the request of the New Strategy Centre think tank between January 28 and February 6, 2026, showed that Romanians consider corruption to be the country's biggest problem (32.2% of respondents, up from 21.5% in November 2023), followed by rising prices (23.6%) and the family’s health (13.4%), Mediafax reported.

Corruption was chosen as the main source of concern, especially by the voters of reformist USR and isolationist AUR (both parties seen as challenging the mainstream parties, therefore sharing part of the electoral base), men, people between 45 and 59 years old (more likely to be involved in economic), those with higher education (hence a higher critical thinking capacity), residents of Bucharest (while smaller towns maintain higher tolerance to corruption for various reasons), and public sector employees (who must know best).

Lack of jobs - 9.8%, the war in Ukraine - 6.9%, and the state of infrastructure - 0.7% are also among the top concerns.

Most of the Romanians believe the country is not at all prepared to respond to a Russian military attack (51.4%), but agree with higher military spending (74.4%) and compulsory military service (67.1%).

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