Roma situation in EU: 2011 survey results

On May 23, 2011, the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) published the results of two surveys on the socio-economic situation of Roma and non-Roma living nearby in 11 EU Member States and in neighbouring European countries.

The report shows that in the 11 EU Member States surveyed, where the overwhelming majority of Roma EU citizens live, the situation of Roma in the areas of employment, education, housing and health is on average worse than the situation of non-Roma living close by. Roma continue to experience discrimination and are not sufficiently aware of their rights guaranteed by EU law.

Some key findings:

• only 15 % of young Roma adults surveyed have completed upper-secondary general or vocational education, compared with more than 70 % of the majority population living nearby;
• on average, less than 30 % of Roma surveyed are in paid employment;
• about 45 % of the Roma surveyed live in households lacking at least one of the following: an indoor kitchen, toilet, shower or bath, or electricity;
• on average, about 40 % of Roma surveyed live in households where somebody went to bed hungry at least once in the last month because they could not afford to buy food.

Find the full report here: ‘ The situation of Roma in 11 EU Member States – Survey results at a glance‘