Survey: Romanians have sympathy for Spain and Italy, less so for China and Russia

Spain and Italy are the countries Romanians have the greatest sympathy for, while few feel the same toward China or Russia, according to a survey conducted by INSCOP Research.

The survey, commissioned by News.ro, shows that the ranking of countries liked by Romanians has changed over the years. A decade ago, the countries most favored by Romanians were the UK and Germany, now ranking fifth and third, respectively. Positive sentiments towards the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine have also increased over the past decade.

The countries Romanians have the greatest sympathy for are Spain and Italy, with 82.8% of respondents expressing predominantly positive feelings for Spain (compared to 72.9% in 2013) and 81.4% for Italy (compared to 70.5% in 2013), according to the INSCOP survey. Germany follows with 77.6% expressing predominantly positive feelings (compared to 74.3% in 2013), France with 75.4% (compared to 73% in 2013), and the United Kingdom with 75.4% (compared to 75.5% in 2013).

69.2% of survey participants declare predominantly positive feelings towards the Republic of Moldova (compared to 65.7% in 2013), and 67.5% towards the USA (compared to 70.3% in 2013). Ukraine enjoys predominantly positive feelings from 43.3% of Romanians (compared to 41.8% in 2013), while Hungary is favored by 39.7% (compared to 29.3% in 2013).

The ranking concludes with China at 36.3% (compared to 56.5% in 2013) and Russia at 18.3% (compared to 36.8% in 2013).

"A significant regression is observed, particularly regarding Russia, where the proportion of positive sentiments has halved in 2023 compared to 2013, dropping from nearly 37% a decade ago to 18%. These data correlate with the decline in trust in Russia. The obvious explanation for this sharp decline is the war Russia initiated against Ukraine. On the other hand, compared to 2013, we note an increase in 2023 in the proportion of positive sentiments towards most Western European countries and the Republic of Moldova," said Remus Ştefureac, director of INSCOP Research.

The opinion poll was conducted by INSCOP Research and commissioned by News.ro. Data was collected from October 23 to November 2, via telephone interviews.

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