In UNCR’s opinion, the official statistics reflect the failure of strategies and programs for Roma carried out in the last 20 years by Romanian authorities and non-government organizations to solve the difficulties faced by Roma communities.
UNCR president Florin Motoi argues that many traditional Roma communities were not counted in the census, while others felt pressure to not declare their actual ethnicity, because of stigmatization or manipulation by the census workers.
The organization asks the authorities to consider estimated data on the Roma population, which they claim is closer to reality, so that any strategies and programs are developed for more than the 619,000 official Roma.
“If the authorities take into account only the official figure, our serious problems will continue: the lack of education because of poor school attendance, lack of jobs, low access to social services and marginalization,” Motoi says, cited in a press release.
Hungarians and Roma are the largest ethnic minorities in Romania, making up 6.5% and 3.2%, respectively, of the country’s stable population, according to the preliminary results of the 2011 census. Most Roma live in counties Mures (8.8%), Calarasi (8.1%), Salaj (6.9%) and Bihor (6.1%).