Youth Study Romania Opinions, Fears, and Aspirations of Youth in a Romania of Social Inequalities 2024

Edited by Gabriel Bădescu, Radu Umbreș, Malina Voicu and Claudiu Tufiș About FES Youth Studies What are young people afraid of or ­hopeful about? In a rapidly changing world that is ­challenged by the climate crisis and inequal­ ities, and in many parts aging societies and ­ democratic decline, FES Youth Studies inves­ tigate how young generations perceive the ­development of their societies and their per­ sonal future. Our aim is to foster informed ­debate about young people’s views on politics and democracy against the background of their life circumstances and values. This in­cludes key issues such as education, employment and mobility, family and friends, and their overall attitudes and perceptions. We focus on young people aged 14 to 29 to understand their p­ erspectives on these critical topics. FES has conducted numerous youth studies around the world since 2009. In 2024, young people in Romania were surveyed along with youth in other Southeastern European and Central Eastern European countries.

Executive Summary 4 1. Introduction 5 2. Methodology 8 3. Basic demographic attributes and trends 9 4. Education and use of time 13 5. Employment and mobility 16 6. Family and plans for the future 21 7. General values, attitudes and perceptions 25 8. Political attitudes and participation 36 Conclusions 50 References 51 Endnotes 52 Figures 53 About the Authors 54

Youth Study Romania Executive Summary This study describes and analyses the attitudes and behaviour of young people living in Romania, providing insights into various youth-related matters, including their perspectives on society and politics. The analysis of this heterogeneous and dynamic group also offers a deeper understanding of Romanian society and its potential for change. The research is based on data obtained from a survey conducted by the polling company IPSOS in February–March 2024 on a representative sam­ ple of young people aged 14–29 in Romania. This study is part of extensive comparative research that includes 12 countries in South-Eastern Eu­ rope, an under-researched region with poor data and a lack of systematic analysis: Albania, Bos­ nia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Ser­ bia, Slovenia, Turkey, and Romania. The study helps to explain a seemingly paradox­ ical situation: on one hand, Romania’s economic development over the past two decades has been among the best in Europe, according to various common development indicators; on the other hand, a significant number of young people find themselves in an unusually precarious situation compared with the overall level of development, with modest prospects for improvement unless new public policies and actions are implemented to support them. The analysis focuses on Romania, described in comparison with other countries in the region, as well as with data from a 2018 survey of young people in Romania and nine other countries in the region. The data are structured according to six broad thematic categories: demographic at­ tributes and trends; education; work and mobil­ ity; family and plans for the future; values, atti­ tudes, and general perceptions; and political attitudes and involvement. 4 Executive Summary

1. Youth Study Romania Introduction Understanding young people in Romania is im­ portant for several reasons. First, young people are a social group with specific problems com­ pared with the rest of the population. They are often politically underrepresented, which di­ minishes their influence on the policies that af­ fect them. Understanding what motivates or dis­ courages young people from participating in civic activities can therefore help in designing initia­ tives that encourage their involvement and fos­ ter more active citizenship. Additionally, young people are far from homogeneous. Among oth­ er things, differences in attitudes and behaviours based on factors such as gender, residential back­ ground, income and family status are noticeable and sometimes take on an upward trend. Second, by better understanding today’s young people we can anticipate some of their likely life courses and, by summing up, that of society as a whole in the future. Today’s young people are tomorrow’s citizens , and some of them are fu­ ture politicians, experts, opinion leaders and de­ cision-makers. Third, children and young people tend to adapt faster than the rest of the population when ex­ ternal conditions change. Phenomena such as economic crises, technological developments, wars, the Covid crisis, rapid climate changes and so on can have profound and lasting effects on young people. It is therefore important that neg­ ative effects are quickly identified and mitigated. Fourth, young people are agents of change . Un­ derstanding their attitudes can provide insights into emerging social issues and society’s poten­ tial for transformation. Historically, young people have been at the forefront of social movements and innovation. Young people around the world are increasingly connected to and aware of glob­ al issues. Examining their attitudes can provide a global perspective on key issues such as climate change, human rights and globalisation. At the same time, measurements of pro-democratic orienta­ tions show a global downward trend in recent years, including in Eastern Europe, with more pronounced negative shifts among young people. Fifth, society faces significant democratic risks. Low civic participation and the emergence of ex­ tremist political actors are two of the most visible. Moreover, young people in Romania have poor civic skills even compared with less developed countries in Europe. According to the FES survey conducted in 2019, 1 the proportion of young Ro­ manians interested in politics, engaging in civic and political activities, preferring democratic re­ gimes, and exhibiting high levels of social toler­ ance are among the lowest on the continent(Bă­ descu, Sandu, Angi, Greab 2019). More recently, the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study(ICCS 2024) showed that Romanian eighth graders perform modestly in the assessment of civic knowledge and thinking, with an average score substantially lower than the average of all participating countries, placing Romania six­ teenth out of 20. 2 At the same time, the recent local and European Parliament elections have shown that young people have strong potential to get involved politically. Turnout among 18–35 year-olds increased by a third to 45 % compared with the elections held four years ago. 3 Despite this increase, however, their turnout was still be­ low that of the general population, at 52 %. Nota­ bly, there are significant age-related differences: 18–19 year-olds had a turnout of 51 % in the Euro Parliament elections, 7 % higher than the turnout of 25–35 year-olds. 5 1. Introduction

Youth Study Romania Finally, in Romania, poverty and inequality are more prevalent among young people than among the general population. Specifically, the number of young people who are‘not in educa­ tion, employment, or training’(NEET) indicates that young Romanians tend to experience one of the most difficult transitions from education to the workforce of all EU Member States. In 2023, the proportion of NEETs aged 15–29 was 19 %, by far the EU’s highest, almost double the average. With the highest proportion of NEETs among young people with a low educational attainment (32 %), Romania also turned out to have the larg­ est gender gap among young people aged 20–24 (13 % for women), and the largest difference be­ tween NEET rates reported in urban and in rural areas(20 %). Moreover, Romania is among the EU countries that has shown the lowest level of im­ provement over the past 10 years. 4 At the same time, young people’s living standards, expressed by the social deprivation index, 5 put Romania at the bottom place in the EU in 2022(the most re­ cent year for which data are available), with 25 % of the population aged 16–29 having a low liv­ ing standard, compared with 6 % in the EU as a whole. 6 This situation seems paradoxical, considering that Romania’s economic development over the past two decades has been among the best in Europe, surpassing the expectations of experts at the time of EU accession. Thus, in terms of gross domestic product(GDP), growth over both the past 15 years(when it more than doubled) and the past 20 years(it grew by four and a half times) place Romania in first place among EU Member States. Furthermore, when Romania joined the EU it ranked second last in terms of this indicator(after Bulgaria), where­ as currently it lies above Bulgaria, Greece, Latvia, Slovakia, Croatia, Hungary, Latvia, Slovakia and Croatia, on a par with Poland and with values close to those of Estonia, Lithuania and Portugal. 7 The actual individual consumption rate(AIC) plac­ es Romania above 13 other EU Member States, in­ cluding Portugal, Spain and Slovenia. 8 What might explain the unusually precarious situ­ ation of young people compared with the gener­ al level of development in Romania? Several phe­ nomena within Romanian society could help to supply some answers. The indicators mentioned provide only a partial view of development in Romania On one hand, in the Romanian context, the rise in average values has almost always been accom­ panied by widening gaps between different so­ cial categories. Thus, the ratio between the up­ per and lower quintiles(S80/S20) is one of the highest in the EU, at 5.83; only Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania have reported higher values. On the other hand, on two of the most important in­ dicators of social development – infant mortali­ ty and life expectancy at birth – Romania ranks last in the EU. 9 6 1. Introduction

Youth Study Romania Demographic dynamics The population has a peculiar demographic struc­ ture, marked by an unusually low proportion of young people, as a consequence of a 1966 law that banned abortion, which doubled the num­ ber of newborns over several years in a row, fol­ lowed by a low birth rate and a high emigration rate after 1990. As a result, according to the 2021 census, the number of 15–19 year-olds is only 60 % of the number of 50–54 year-olds. 10 A cohort with only a small proportion of the total population can lead to a low level of political representation, reflected in policies that overlook this segment of society. Young voter turnout This tends to be lower than that of other age groups, exacerbating the demographic disad­ vantage. Low social solidarity Comparative studies assessing citizens’ levels of solidarity and empathy toward vulnerable groups in their societies show modest values for Roma­ nia(Quandt and Lomazzi 2023). As a result, youth policies are often viewed as less important by most members of other population groups. We aim through this study to try to understand the attitudes and behaviour of young people in Romania in order to try to grasp the difficulties they face and to propose solutions for improve­ ment. Additionally, analysis of this highly hetero­ geneous and dynamic group of citizens provides a better understanding of Romanian society as a whole and of its prospects for change The research is based on data collected from a survey conducted by IPSOS on a representa­ tive sample of young persons aged 14–29 who live in Romania. The survey is part of an exten­ sive comparative research project that includes 12 countries in South-Eastern Europe, an under-re­ searched region with poor data and lacking sys­ tematic analysis: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovi­ na, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Tur­ key. The analysis focuses on Romania, described in comparison with other countries in the region, as well as with data from a 2018 survey of young people in Romania and nine other countries in the region. The data are structured according to six broad thematic categories:(i) demographic at­ tributes and trends;(ii) education;(iii) work and mobility;(iv) family and plans for the future;(v) values, attitudes, and general perceptions; and (vi) political attitudes and involvement. 7 1. Introduction

2. Youth Study Romania Methodology The study is based on data obtained from a sur­ vey conducted in 12 countries by the polling com­ pany IPSOS, commissioned by the Friedrich-EbertStiftung. The target population was residents aged 14–29 years of age in the following coun­ tries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Croatia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Mon­ tenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Greece, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Tur­ key. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croa­ tia, Greece, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, and Turkey, another requirement was that the target group had internet access. In these eight countries, the survey was conducted using computer-assisted web interviews(CAWI). For the CAWI module, the target audience was restricted to persons regis­ tered in an online access panel, who were resi­ dent in one of the Member States and who had access to online services on a digital input device at the time of the survey. The use of online panels for CAWI is a widely ac­ cepted research methodology, increasingly used by survey organisations. The survey covered 8,943 respondents, including 1,150 in Romania. Data collection occurred from 9 February to 25 March 2024. The analysis in the study is based on survey data from Romania. For some of the most important indicators, the study presents comparisons be­ tween Romania and other countries, as well as with a study conducted by Friedrich-EbertStiftung in 2018, which covered ten countries, in­ cluding Romania. Additionally, the analysis incor­ porates statistical data from the last Romanian census in 2021, Eurostat and OECD. Romania 8 2. Methodology

3. Youth Study Romania Basic Demographic attributes and trends According to data from the last census in 2021, 15–29 year olds make up 14.2 % of the total pop­ ulation of Romania. Their proportion is higher in rural areas(16.9 %) than in with urban areas (14.2 %) and varies across development regions: the North-East region has the highest proportion, at 16.8 %, while South-Muntenia has the lowest, at 14.8 %(Table 1). It is also worth noting that the proportion of people aged 0–14 exceeds that of those aged 15–29 in the general population, suggesting that the proportion of young people will not decrease over the next 5–10 years . In rural areas, the trend is going down slightly, while internal migration is expected to amplify the trend. Proportion of young people with voting rights The share of 18–29 year-olds eligible to vote con­ stitutes just 9 % of all eligible Romanian voters, which is less than half the proportion of those over 65(21 %). This difference, amplified by the higher voter turnout rates among older individ­ uals, partially accounts for the underrepresenta­ tion of young people in politics. Level of education In the realm of education, we include some key indicators for which data are available: school dropout rates, the proportion of young people with tertiary education, and standardised test scores from comparative studies. 1. The school dropout rate is the highest in the EU, at 16 %, 11 rising between 2019 and 2023(the latest year for which we have data). The EU av­ erage is 9.5 % and on a downward trend. 12 The differences between urban and rural are huge: in 2021(the most recent year for which data is available), the dropout rate was 31 % in rural ar­ eas compared with 5 % in urban areas. This phe­ nomenon is significant on its own, but it also im­ pacts the interpretation of educational indicators derived from school-based testing: the higher the drop-out rate at the age of testing, the greater the overestimation of the test result when used to describe the whole population of that age. 2. The proportion of young people with tertiary education is the lowest in the EU and on a downward trend. The value for Romania, at 22 %, is about half the EU average(42 %), and in recent years it has decreased by almost 4 %, while the EU average has increased by 7 %(Table 2). The pro­ portion of young people in Romania with tertiary education is lower than the proportions in nonEU European countries, such as Bosnia and Herze­ govina, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Serbia and, by some distance, Turkey. 9 3. Basic Demographic attributes and trends

Youth Study Romania Fig. Young people among the Romanian population by age group, regions and residential environment (in%) On December 0–14 Years 15–29 Years 30–65 Years Urban 15 .6 14 .2 50 .4 North-West 15 .5 15 .4 50 .8 Centre 15 .3 14 .1 49 .3 North-East 18 .3 14 .9 47 .4 South-East 15 .0 13 .1 50 .3 South Muntenia 15 .0 13 .6 50 .9 Bucharest-Ilfov 15 .8 13 .8 51 .9 South-West Oltenia 15 .2 14 .4 52 .4 West 14 .3 14 .3 50 .5 Rural 16 .7 16 .9 47 .1 North-West 17 .3 17 .2 47 .3 Centre 18 .6 17 .4 46 .5 North-East 18 .5 18 .7 45 .2 South-East 16 .3 16 .7 47 .1 South Muntenia 15 .1 16 .0 47 .6 Bucharest-Ilfov 18 .0 15 .4 52 .5 South-West Oltenia 13 .6 15 .8 47 .3 West 16 .2 15 .9 48 .6 Total 16 .1 15 .5 48 .8 > 65 Years 19 .7 18 .4 21 .3 19 .4 21 .5 20 .5 18 .4 18 .1 21 .0 19 .4 18 .2 17 .5 17 .7 20 .0 21 .3 14 .1 23 .3 19 .3 19 .6 10 3. Basic Demographic attributes and trends

Youth Study Romania Fig. Proportion of – year olds with higher education across EU countries (in%) EU 27 Belgium Bulgaria Czech Republic Denmark Germany Estonia Ireland Greece Spain France Croatia Italy Cyprus Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Hungary Malta The Netherlands Austria Poland Portugal Romania Slovenia Slovakia Finland Sweden Iceland Norway Switzerland UK Bosnia and Herzegovina Montenegro North Macedonia Serbia Türkiye 2014 35 .3 44 .7 31 .7 31 .7 39 .7 25 .4 38 .1 51 .8 40 .5 40 .5 45 .0 31 .7 24 .4 55 .3 39 .0 51 .8 53 .2 29 .9 34 .0 43 .8 36 .8 43 .2 31 .6 25 .8 34 .7 33 .0 35 .1 42 .3 34 .8 48 .2 41 .1 43 .9 – 37 .1 31 .2 27 .0 26 .1 2015 35 .5 43 .6 31 .6 32 .0 40 .7 26 .9 34 .5 54 .3 39 .6 41 .0 44 .5 30 .8 25 .0 55 .0 38 .5 51 .8 48 .1 29 .9 34 .6 43 .9 38 .5 43 .0 34 .5 25 .4 37 .7 34 .4 34 .5 43 .1 33 .2 47 .2 43 .6 46 .0 – 32 .8 32 .6 30 .8 29 .4 2016 35 .8 43 .1 31 .7 32 .4 42 .7 27 .9 35 .2 53 .8 38 .9 42 .1 44 .7 36 .6 24 .9 58 .9 41 .3 50 .4 48 .5 27 .8 36 .7 44 .8 39 .2 42 .2 35 .4 24 .0 41 .5 35 .4 35 .1 43 .9 38 .3 48 .3 46 .4 46 .1 – 34 .7 35 .5 33 .0 32 .4 2017 36 .7 45 .6 34 .1 33 .4 43 .0 28 .6 36 .3 55 .0 41 .0 44 .3 44 .7 37 .1 26 .8 58 .2 39 .3 52 .8 49 .7 28 .2 36 .3 45 .4 39 .8 41 .1 34 .7 24 .8 42 .3 35 .9 35 .9 43 .9 41 .9 47 .6 47 .3 46 .2 – 36 .8 35 .5 33 .0 33 .8 2018 37 .9 47 .2 34 .4 32 .9 43 .3 29 .6 37 .5 56 .0 41 .0 46 .4 47 .9 36 .9 27 .7 59 .8 40 .5 53 .0 51 .2 27 .5 45 .0 45 .9 40 .3 41 .1 36 .8 25 .2 38 .4 36 .7 36 .5 43 .7 42 .7 46 .4 47 .2 47 .5 – 36 .0 34 .0 32 .8 35 .6 2019 38 .7 47 .0 33 .0 29 .8 45 .1 30 .8 36 .7 55 .5 41 .6 48 .5 48 .9 38 .1 28 .1 61 .8 41 .6 51 .7 56 .0 27 .9 42 .2 47 .0 40 .8 41 .8 38 .6 25 .2 43 .1 38 .2 36 .8 44 .5 42 .1 47 .6 49 .0 48 .8 – 41 .7 35 .9 33 .3 36 .9 2020 40 .0 49 .2 32 .7 30 .8 44 .6 33 .8 38 .4 58 .7 43 .4 50 .2 50 .2 38 .6 29 .5 55 .9 38 .0 51 .5 58 .9 28 .2 40 .2 50 .6 41 .2 39 .1 43 .5 22 .8 43 .7 38 .3 38 .1 46 .2 37 .6 50 .3 49 .2 – – 42 .2 35 .6 32 .1 39 .4 2021 41 .0 51 .9 34 .8 33 .0 45 .9 34 .5 43 .3 61 .9 44 .1 51 .0 51 .1 38 .1 29 .8 55 .1 42 .6 53 .2 62 .7 30 .3 41 .0 57 .8 41 .8 36 .1 48 .9 21 .4 46 .2 38 .7 35 .3 46 .6 37 .8 54 .4 48 .9 – 25 .3 – – 32 .2 41 .8 2022 41 .1 49 .5 34 .7 32 .3 45 .9 34 .2 41 .5 63 .5 45 .7 51 .9 51 .7 37 .0 31 .2 55 .7 46 .2 53 .6 59 .0 29 .2 42 .2 56 .8 42 .1 34 .6 43 .9 22 .6 45 .4 38 .9 34 .2 48 .9 34 .2 55 .2 48 .7 – 24 .1 – – 31 .4 42 .7 2023 42 .2 49 .7 37 .0 32 .4 45 .4 35 .5 38 .1 61 .6 43 .8 53 .5 52 .3 38 .4 32 .1 57 .1 41 .9 53 .6 58 .3 26 .3 49 .7 54 .7 42 .9 42 .7 42 .6 22 .0 41 .6 38 .1 34 .9 49 .5 35 .8 56 .1 48 .5 – 24 .9 – – 30 .9 43 .6 11 3. Basic Demographic attributes and trends

Youth Study Romania 3. Romanian students’ results in the latest comparative study PISA(2022) are extremely modest. In Romania, 51 % of students attained at least level 2(out of 6) of proficiency in mathematics, which is significantly lower than the OECD aver­ age(69 %). At the same time, the differences in mathematics performance caused by economic, social and cultural status(ESCS) are among the largest among PISA countries and economies (49 PISA points, ranking 5/79; 2022). Romania has one of the largest differences in mathematics performance between students from the top and bottom quartiles of the eco­ nomic, social and cultural status(ESCS) index(132 PISA score, ranking 2/79; 2022). All these education-related indicators show that the current growth model is not sustainable. Comparative analyses of Eastern Europe show two distinct development models: a model that emphasises low costs and the use of foreign technologies, and a model that emphasises insti­ tutions, knowledge, innovation, quality of edu­ cation, and productivity. Studies show that tran­ sitioning from the first to the second model is difficult, and most societies remain caught in the so-called‘middle income trap’. According to the data, Romania clearly belong to the first model. Main takeaways 1.  The proportion of young people aged 18–29 who are eligible to vote is only 9 % of all eligible Romanian voters, which is less than half the proportion of those aged over 65. 2.  The school dropout rate in Romania is the highest in the EU, at 16 %, and increased from 2019 to 2023. There is a huge disparity between urban and rural areas: 31 % in rural areas and 5 % in urban areas. 3.  The proportion of young people with ­tertiary education is the lowest in the EU and on a downward trend. This proportion is low even compared with non-EU countries. 4.  Romanian students’ results in the PISA comparative study, including the latest edition(2022), are extremely modest. Moreover, the disparities in results based on family socio-economic status are among the highest of all participating countries and economies covered by PISA. 12 3. Basic Demographic attributes and trends

4. Youth Study Romania Education and use of time Some 60 % of young people were enrolled in ed­ ucation at the time of the survey, a significant in­ crease on the proportion found in the 2019 survey (43 %). About 27 % of the total sample attend sec­ ondary education, 15 % university and 10 % oth­ er forms of education and training. Another 10 % are in postgraduate education(with an overrep­ resentation of men), and 35 % are not in any form of education(more common among women). Parental education is a significant predictor of young people’s educational attainment , even taking into account that many young peo­ ple have not yet completed their education. The fathers of 27 % and the mothers of 30 % of re­ spondents have a university first degree or high­ er, while 29 % of fathers and 24 % of mothers of those surveyed have completed a vocational school or less. In association with the social de­ velopment gap, the level of parental education is higher among young people in urban areas , where 38 % of mothers and 28 % of fathers have a university degree, compared with 21 % and 19 %, respectively, in rural areas. Quality and equity in education The quality of education in Romania is rated rather negatively. Two out of five young people say they are totally(19 %) or mostly dissatisfied (22 %) with the quality of education. This which is encountered more frequently among students 19 years old or younger, while 41 % of them re­ port an average level of satisfaction. Only 18 % of young people are satisfied with the quality of education(including only 3 % who are fully sat­ isfied), which is lower than the average for the region(26 %), well below the level in Slovenia or Croatia(54 and 39 %, respectively), but also be­ low Bulgaria or Serbia(22 and 26 %. respectively). Unsurprisingly, satisfaction with education is positively correlated with perceptions of corruption within the education system . While 57 % of respondents rather agree than disagree or agree totally that there is corruption in the ed­ ucation system, only 10 % believe that passing grades are not‘bought’ , while a further 8 % of young people tend not to agree that corruption exists. Some 32 % of respondents believe strongly that pass grades can be bought, which is a signifi­ cant increase on 2019, when 26 % of respond­ ents agreed strongly that the education system was flawed. The perception of young Romanians that there is corruption in education tends to be shared by other young people in the region. It is lower than in Bosnia and Herzegovina or Serbia, where 48 and 42 %, respectively, of young peo­ ple are absolutely convinced that pass grades are traded for money; but higher than in Kosovo or Slovenia, where only 16 and 18 %, respectively, of young people share this opinion. 13 4. Education and use of time

Youth Study Romania Fig. Views on corruption in the education system among youth in Romania (in%) Do you agree that there are cases where grades and exams are‘bought’ in institutes/universities in Romania? Strongly disagree Tend to Neither agree, disagree nor disagree . Gender → Total . Male . Female .. .. .. . Age → – . – . – .. .. .. . Education → Rural .. ... Urban Tend to agree . . . . . . . . Totally agree . . . . . . . . Young people studying in high school and college are more likely to believe that pass grades can be bought ; those in postgraduate education, by contrast, report less corruption. This suggests either that informal payments are concentrated mainly at the secondary level, or that those pur­ suing longer educational pathways did not have to resort to means, or attended better managed educational institutions. Urban young people tend to believe that there is more corruption in education: 36 % of them strongly convinced of it compared with 26 % of rural young people. The difference can be ex­ plained by both the more intense educational competition among urban youngsters to obtain high or pass grades, and the perverse incen­ tives arising from the lower purchasing power of teachers, who have to cope with the cost of liv­ ing in urban areas. Use of time Young people in high school and university spend the most time in learning activities: 25 % of them spend more than three hours a day on it, while 44 % of high school and university students spend less than one hour. Study time decreases at post­ graduate level at which only 15 % spend more than three hours studying, probably because of the occupational activities to which they dedicate more hours than people in other forms of educa­ tion. Confirming the scenario of competition and educational investment, which is more intense in urban areas, urban students spend slightly more time studying than their rural counterparts, but also dedicate more hours to paid jobs, especially those living in Bucharest. Time spent reading the press or searching for information on the inter­ net is the shortest of the four areas under scruti­ ny, with 73 % of respondents spending less than 30 minutes and only 8 % spending more than two hours doing online research. 14 4. Education and use of time

Youth Study Romania Fig. How youth in Romania spend their time online (in%) Time spent on online activities on an average working day 14.4 46.2 17.3 3.3 58.2 24.6 72.1 18.5 28.1 Study Paid activities Personal research Social networks 39.3 24.5 Less than minutes minutes to hours 53.5 More than hours Some 28 % of young people spend less than 30 minutes on social networks(especially those in­ volved in postgraduate studies, at 38 %). Around 35 % of young people spend more than two hours on social networks, especially undergradu­ ates(44 %), while 31 % of postgraduate students spend time on social networks. In addition to the differences among the cohorts of digital natives, young people start from relative proficiency in using social networks before they reach adult­ hood, which improves during their student and/ or working years as they meet new people with whom they can interact both on- and offline. So­ cial networks are used less after the age of 25, as young people move on to postgraduate special­ isations and jobs, all the more so as this gener­ ation came of age before the digital platforms started expanding(for example, the TikTok boom in 2017–2019). Main takeaways 1.  Young people’s educational attainment is strongly and positively correlated with the educational attainment of their parents. 2.  Nearly half of young people are dissatisfied with the quality of education in Romania, and this dissatisfaction is linked to the belief that grades can be bought. Perceptions of corruption in the education system are higher among urban and female respondents, but lower among young postgraduate students. 3.  The amount of time spent studying is relatively equal between secondary and university levels, but decreases for postgraduate students, who allocate more of their time to paid work. Urban young people spend more time on virtual socialising than rural young people, which is possibly explained by the larger extent of the per­ sonal sphere in cities, but also by preferences for face-to-face interaction or ease of interaction in rural areas. Also, the wider social sphere and the facilities offered by digital socialising may explain a significant gender difference , with 40 % of women admitting they spend more than two hours on social networks, compared with 31 % of men. The latter may spend more time engaged in other digital activities, however, such as comput­ er games or streaming. 4.  The time spent on social media and social networks is comparable to the time spent on educational and work activities, and significantly surpasses the time dedicated to gathering information from online sources. 5.  Virtual socialising is more common among urban women and young people, indicating that men and young people in rural areas either engage in more in-person interactions or use their time in other activities. 6.  Personal effort and perceptions of edu­ cation suggest there is more intensive social competition in urban than in rural areas. 15 4. Education and use of time

5. 48 % Employment and mobility Some 48 % of young people have paid jobs , which is a significant increase on the 2019 survey. Most are employed on indefinite full-time con­ tracts(31 %). The proportion is significantly high­ er than the average in of the young people in Romania have paid jobs the other countries in the survey(22 %) and is the second highest in the region, after young Bulgarians with 32 %. Young Kosovars are at the other end of the classification, on only 8 %. The high level of indefinite full-time employment is especially characteristic of young people living in urban areas, particularly in Bucharest. The high employment trend can also be seen from the small proportion of young Romanians (only 12 %) who are neither employed nor looking for a job(especially in Moldova), which is signif­ icantly lower than the figures found in the 2019 study, according to which 25 % of young people were in this situation. As a likely effect of more in­ tense demand on the labour market, which also showed itself in higher(by 15 %) average salaries in 2024 compared with the previous year, 13 Ro­ mania has now the lowest percentage of inactive young people of all the studied countries, where the average is 21 %, with very high values report­ ed in Kosovo(42 %) and Montenegro(35 %). Youth Study Romania Rural young people are overrepresented among those with part-time contracts(8 % of the re­ spondents). Some 19 % of young people are look­ ing for work, mainly young people from rural ar­ eas and Moldova, women and those aged 20–24. Around 8 % of young people take vocational courses, which is significantly higher than the av­ erage found in the other countries(5 %), most of them living in the central region and Bucharest. Young Romanians’ jobs are remarkably in tune with their professional and educational backgrounds. Some 38 % of young workers have jobs that are in line with their education, 23 % have jobs in a related field, while 32 % have a job that is unrelated to their education. Romania ranks third in the region in terms of the proportion of young people working in their own occupa­ tion, following Turkey at 50 %, and Montene­ gro at 40 %, and it ranks first in terms of young people holding jobs in line with their education, compared with a regional average of 18 %. Young people in urban areas tend to find jobs for which they are qualified more frequently than their ru­ ral counterparts: 65 % of young people are in positions corresponding to their education(the highest percentage in the region, where the av­ erage is 55 %), especially women. Men are slight­ ly overrepresented among the 14 % who work in positions requiring a higher education, but also among the 19 % who have a higher educational attainment than the job requires. Employment and unionisation The most important factors perceived to influ­ ence job finding are, almost equally, occupation­ al skills and personal relationships, with scores of 2.97 and 3.01, respectively, on a scale of 1 to 5. Both are seen as slightly more important by ur­ ban young people who face a more competitive labour market than those in rural areas. The im­ portance attached to working abroad(as an ex­ perience) and to political relations is significantly lower, with average scores of 2.59 and 2.26, re­ spectively. 16 5. Employment and mobility

Youth Study Romania Men give moderately but recurrently higher scores than women when assessing the impor­ tance of all factors, due either to higher competi­ tion in male-dominated sectors or overestimation of its intensity. Young people under 19 are slight­ ly more likely to rate both personal and political connections as important, a possible effect of the public representations of clientelism, although this tends to be reduced by personal experienc­ es in the workplace. Nearly 8 % of young people in Romania are trade union members . This is among the high­ est percentages in the region, along with young people in Turkey, Montenegro and Bulgaria, com­ pared with 2 and 3 % of young people, respective­ ly, in Albania and Kosovo. Urban young people have gone abroad for studies less often and either plan to do so in the future(33 % compared with 25 % in rural areas) or have no plans to migrate for education(40 % compared with 31 % in rural areas). Educational opportunities in Romania may be relatively more attractive in cities compared with the alternative of going abroad, considering the quality of ed­ ucation, but also the living conditions that stu­ dents experience during their studies. The eco­ nomic migration of parents from rural areas could also lead to the relocation of children, in other words, they could enrol in secondary schools or take vocational training courses abroad, followed by either the return of the entire family or longterm settlement in another country. The percentage of young Romanians who are union members is higher in mixed rural-urban localities(with unionisation rates between 15 % and 20 %) than in rural or large urban areas(3 % and 6 %, respectively), and the same trend is ob­ served when it comes to their intention to join a trade union. Rural areas are dominated by ag­ riculture and related industries, where unionisa­ tion is very low, while in the cities unions tend to be rare in the service and small business sectors. Manufacturing, by contrast, is located in areas in which the rural and the urban coexist. Unionisa­ tion increases with age, is slightly higher among men than women, and is highest among those working under fixed-term and part-time perma­ nent contracts. External mobility Some 27 % of young people have lived abroad for more than six months, more commonly for men and – especially – for rural young people, and the experience of circular migration increases with the age of the respondent. Trends are also main­ tained in the case of outbound travelling for ed­ ucation or training purposes. Some 10 % of young people have taken university courses, and a sim­ ilar number have travelled to take vocational training courses; in both cases men outnumbered women nearly two to one. Rural young people are over-represented among the 8 % of respond­ ents who are graduates of secondary education and vocational training courses. The most common situation for women is a lack of both experience and a desire to travel for educational purposes. This characterises 43 % of young women compared with 30 % of young men. The intention to study abroad decreases with age(from 35 % reported for persons aged 19 to 21 % found in persons aged 25 or more). High­ er risk tolerance may enable men to expose them­ selves to more experiences and develop a strong­ er desire to study abroad than women. Another possible explanation lies in men’s life strategies; they try to accumulate as much cultural capital as possible, on which their performance in the la­ bour market and their attractiveness in the mar­ riage market will ultimately depend. 17 5. Employment and mobility

Youth Study Romania Fig. Views on important factors for nding a job among youth in Romania (in%) Share of‘important’ and‘very important’ answers Skills Connections with people in power Political party membership International experience . Gender → Total . Male . Female . Age → – . – . – . Region → Rural . Urban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. .. 33 % Some 33 % of young people in Romania report a moderate desire to emigrate(move abroad for more than six months), while one in five would like to leave Romania a lot(11 %) or very much (8 %). Their intention to emigrate is among the lowest in the region. The level is relatively simi­ lar to that of young people in Bulgaria and Croa­ tia, and is well below the values reported in Alba­ nia and North Macedonia, where around 40 % of young people wish to emigrate strongly or very strongly. About half of young people in Romania want to leave the country (48 %) of young Ro­ manians do not in­ tend to leave(27 %) or have little desire to leave(21 %). Some 25 % of those who have some desire to leave do not know when they will leave, and a similar proportion do not know how much time they would spend abroad. Most young people who plan to leave the country expect to do so within the next two years(17 %) or five years(26 %). Only 8 % of young people plan to emigrate within the next six months, slightly higher among men living in rural areas , while women and respondents in urban areas are more likely to say they do not know when they will leave. Urban young people also more frequently talk about their plans to emigrate in the next ten years or later, which could be explained by both the aforementioned plans to complete their stud­ ies in the country or possibly a vaguer representa­ tion of migration as a possibility which they con­ template for the more distant future. A desire to emigrate permanently is expressed by 15 % of young people, somewhat more among young women and young people in urban areas, while 10 % of young people would like to spend at least 10 years abroad. Some 49 % of young people plan to spend ten years or less abroad, and are relatively evenly distributed between other estimated durations(<1 year, 1–5 years, 5–10 years). 18 5. Employment and mobility

Youth Study Romania Fig. Reasons to emigrate for young people in Romania (in%) Better living conditions Better wages Better employment opportunities Better education Corruption and clientelism in my home country Don’t know To experience a different culture Better business opportunities To escape an unfavourable situation Social and political stability in the host country To be closer to loved ones Greater cultural diversity . . . . . . . . . . . . Temporary migration prospects are more com­ mon among males and young people from ru­ ral areas, suggesting a strategy to accumulate fi­ nancial and social resources during the migration years, and then return home to Romania. This as­ sumption is also supported by the concrete ac­ tions taken by those with migration plans. Rural young people and males appear more often in the two relatively equal sub-groups (around 15 % of the sample) of young people who have contacted potential employers, con­ tacted educational institutions or obtained schol­ arships abroad. By comparison, women and urban young people are more likely to be among those who have not done anything about going abroad , either because their interest in this life option is lower or because they project the possibility of emigrating into the more distant fu­ ture. The most common action, taken by one in five young people, is to contact friends who live abroad; those over 25 are more likely to have con­ tacts abroad. The main reasons reported for emigration are economic , and are invoked by young people liv­ ing in urban areas slightly more than those liv­ ing in rural areas, who tend to have more varied reasons. Some 25 % of the sub-sample of those planning to leave want to improve their living standards; 24 % are motivated by the higher sal­ aries they expect to earn abroad; while 10 % are looking for a labour market with more job offers. Educational opportunities are especially appeal­ ing to young people under 19. Men cite signifi­ cantly more reasons than women for wanting to emigrate because of unfavourable living condi­ tions, ranging from personal circumstances to so­ cial and political instability, and corruption in Ro­ mania. 19 5. Employment and mobility

Youth Study Romania Internal mobility Some 31 % of young people say it is likely(22 %) or almost certain(9 %) that they will move to anoth­ er place in Romania within the next year. Around twice as many young people do not intend to re­ locate and are more certain that they will remain in their home communities, while 10 % of re­ spondents do not know what they will do. There are no significant gender differences, but there is a growing trend of those intending to migrate within the country as people grew older. Young people under 19 are more likely to say they definitely won’t leave, as they are often still living with their families and are anchored in the educa­ tion system, but among 19–24 year-olds the per­ centage of those intending to move to another location is significantly higher, as they are explor­ ing educational and professional opportunities in urban centres. The intention of those aged 25 and over to migrate continues to grow, but to a somewhat lesser extent, which can be explained by their graduation from university and postgrad­ uate educational cycles, which are clustered in the cities, and the transition to the labour market. Main takeaways 1.  About half of young people have paid jobs, most of them under full-time contracts signed indefinitely. Women, rural young people, as well as those in Romania’s North-East and South-West regions are more often unemployed, but in search of work. 2.  Professional skills and personal relationships, in the respondents’ perception, are the most important factors in finding a job. Young people under 18 years of age tend to value political or personal relationships more, while young adults attach greater importance to all the factors under consideration. 3.  Fewer than one in ten young people are members of a trade union, and they are more likely to be employed on fixedterm contracts, to be slightly older and to live in mixed rural/urban areas. 4.  More than 25 % of young respondents have lived abroad for more than six months, mainly men and rural young people. Rural young people are more likely to say that they will relocate to another locality, indicating continuing population flows, fuelling urbanisa­ tion. The intention to migrate internally is high­ er in Northern Transylvania, with 38 % of young people saying that they will definitely or probably leave, possibly encouraged by the development of Cluj Napoca and other cities in the area. Inter­ nal mobility intentions are lower in Bucharest and the West, but these are two urbanised, affluent and fast-growing economic areas, where almost 70 % of young people say they will definitely or probably stay where they currently live. 5.  About half of young people express a desire to emigrate; for 20 % of young people, this is strong or very strong. The intention to emigrate is among the lowest in the region. 6.  The predominant motivation for emigration is economic. 7.  One-third of young people have plans to relocate within Romania, mainly those from rural areas, with a significantly lower percentage among those living in economically developed regions. 20 5. Employment and mobility

6. Youth Study Romania Family and plans for the future Some 10 % of young people live alone. Males are five times more likely to be living alone than fe­ males, and there is also a higher percentage among 19–24 year olds studying at university or starting their careers, but before starting a fam­ ily. The gender distribution may be explained by women’s lower financial possibilities or by cultur­ al and social considerations that make it more at­ tractive or affordable for males to live alone(such as safety or a preference for independence). A total of 47 % of young people live with their mothers and 41 % live with their fathers. Fewer women live with their mothers , one possi­ ble explanation for which is that many mothers are working abroad while one of their daughters takes over her domestic role. The same explana­ tion based on external migration can be given for the slightly lower percentage of rural young men living with their fathers, although another expla­ nation may be the higher male mortality rate. Some 55 % of the young people who live with their parents say they do so because it is the most convenient solution, but 34 % say they would leave if they could afford it. Convenience is more often mentioned by urban young people, while financial constraints are more often invoked in ru­ ral areas, reflecting the high gap in living stand­ ards dividing the two environments. This is confirmed by the assessment of the rela­ tionship with parents, which is twice as likely to be reported as conflictual in rural areas(8 %) than in urban areas. A total of 25 % of young people live in a household with their siblings, especially in rural areas, where families are larger and more extended, and a larger number of young peo­ ple still live with their grandparents(8 %). Young men in particular would leave their parents’ home if they could afford to do so , which corre­ lates with the abovementioned intention to live independently as a phase of socio-economic ful­ filment. In accordance with the previous expla­ nations, men more frequently report a poor relationship with their parents than women do. Similarly, those in the 19–24 age group who report more problems with their parents than those aged under 19 and over 25. Only 3 % of young people say that their parents refuse to al­ low them to leave home, especially in the case of women, whose parents are more likely to fear what might happen to them and that they need more protection than men do. Starting a family: present and future Many respondents have already started a fami­ ly: 38 % of young people live with their partners, which is the highest rate in the region(average of 26 %), while 20 % live with their own children, which is again 40 % above the regional average (14 %). There is a very wide gender gap: 48 % of women live with their partner, which is almost double the percentage of men(27 %). Asymme­ try is also to be seen in marital status: 33 % of young women are married, while 27 % live with their children, while the corresponding percent­ ages for men are 17 and 14 %, respectively. Ro­ mania ranks second after Turkey in terms of the percentage of young married people(25 % com­ pared with an average of 17 %). 21 6. Family and plans for the future

Youth Study Romania The differences are linked to the younger age at which women tend to start a family. This is also reflected in the 15 % of women who live with their partner without being married, compared with only 10 % of men in the same situation. Men are slightly more likely to be in a non-cohabiting relationship, especially in urban areas, where we also find more young people living with friends, especially those aged 19–24. The percentage of those divorced or widowed is very low(1.3 and 0.3 %, respectively). Romania has by far the highest percentage of young people in the region planning to have only one child(16.5 % compared with an average of 8.4 %, while Bulgaria ranks second with 12.1 %). More women(18.3 %) than men(14.5 %) plan to have only one child, and this option is more com­ mon in urban areas(17.9 %) than in rural areas (14 %). More men(57 %) than women(49 %) ex­ pect to have two children, and the variability in men’s responses is greater, confirming gender asymmetric reproductive strategies(Buss 1999). Some 25 % of young people did not mention the number of children they expected during their lifetime, while 20 % said they were likely to have no children, twice as many as in the 2019 survey. There is a difference between genders, with more men(24 %) than women(17 %) believing they will not have any children. Gender differences can also be observed in the expected number of children, as well as differ­ ent trends between urban and rural. The proportion of rural young people who expect to have three or more children is almost double the proportion of their urban counterparts (24 versus 13 %), and the average number of children expected by rural young people is 2.2, significant­ ly higher than the urban average(1.8). The average number of children expected by women in the total sample is 1.95, which is below the fertility rate necessary for natural replacement and does not include young women who do not expect to have any children. The data thus confirm the trend of demographic decline in the Romanian population, which is aggravated by the very high preference for one-child families, especially among women. The low predicted fertility rate is also correlated with the advanced age that spouses have when they first start considering having children, espe­ cially in urban areas where the estimated age re­ ported by young people when their first child is born is 15 months higher than in rural areas. Fig. Estimated number of children and average age of rst-time parents among youth in Romania (in%) None 1 Child 2 Children 3 Children 4 or more Children Don’t know Average age of rst-time parents (unplanned or planned) Total 20 .6 16 .5 30 .7 7 .4 3 .2 21 . 5 25 years, 10 months Rural 21 .7 14 .0 28 . 9 8 .8 5 .3 20 .5 25 years, 1 month Urban 19 .5 17 .9 31 .6 6 .0 1 .6 21 .4 26 years, 6 months Male 23 .7 14 .5 33 .1 7 .0 3 .0 2 2 .7 26 years, 3 months Female 13 .7 18 .3 28 .5 7 .7 3 .2 20 .4 25 years, 7 months 22 6. Family and plans for the future

Youth Study Romania Women reported that they want to have their first child nine months earlier than men, which can be explained by a narrower reproductive win­ dow and higher biological costs associated with pregnancy and childcare. Representations of the future Young people are much more optimistic about their own medium-term prospects than with the future of Romanian society in general, although pessimism and optimism about their own lives are closely correlated with opinions about the gener­ al state of the country. Some 69 % of young peo­ ple believe that they will have a better person­ al life in ten years’ time, especially urban young people(73 % compared with 61 % of rural young people) and those aged 19–24(76 % compared with 65 % of those under 19, but also of those over 25). Around 18 % of respondents, especially rural young people or those over 25, believe that ten years from now the future will not be differ­ ent from the present, while 25 % of the latter see no change in the future. Young people under 19 are more pessimistic about their personal trajec­ tory, as 20 % of them think they will be worse off in ten years’ time, while only 9 % of young people over 20 see a negative development in their own lives. Young Romanians are slightly more pessi­ mistic than their average counterparts in the re­ gion about their personal future and that of their home society. More than 40 % of respondents are pessimistic about Romania’s future, while only 27 % believe things will get better. Young people living in rural areas are more inclined than those in urban areas to think that things will get better in Romania(35 versus 29 %), while young people living in urban areas are more confident that the country’s out­ look will get better(29 % compared with 23 % in rural areas). Social pessimism is more pronounced among young people under 19 years(48 % think it will be worse compared with 36–40 % of old­ er people), while optimism is more characteristic of young people aged 20–24: 33 % of them be­ lieve that the future of society will be better com­ pared with only 24 % of young people under 19 and over 25 who believe the same. It also shows that the percentage of young people who expect no change increases with age. Urban young people are more optimistic than others about both their own future and the de­ velopment of society overall, while rural young people are more likely to foresee stagnation or particularly negative developments in society, al­ though 61 % believe that their personal lives will improve over the next ten years. A possible expla­ nation could be their strategy of migrating to ar­ eas where living standards are higher(in urban communities or abroad) or the view that they are in a good position to improve their lives even if things stay the same or get worse. Teenagers are noticeably pessimistic about their own lives and social changes in contrast to the optimism of persons aged 20–24 or the scepti­ cism of those over 25. As one matures one is likely to encounter greater hardships(objective or sub­ jective) during the teenage years, but also favour­ able opportunities as young people enter the la­ bour market or start their tertiary education. At this time, opinions stabilise and become less di­ verse, as life experience mitigates both the unjus­ tified fears and the unrealistic hopes about one­ self, and the dynamics of society change. Criteria for choosing a partner The criteria for choosing a partner among genders, ages and residential environments(urban/rural) indicate a number of significant differences. The stereotypical opinion that rural inhabitants are more conservative when it comes to their openness to cultural differences does not seem to be confirmed by the data, and there is even a tendency among the urban young people to attach slightly more importance to religious, nationality and family approval (plus 0.2–0.3 points com­ pared with rural areas on a scale of 1 to 5). The re­ ligious criterion is more often mentioned in the North of Romania and in Bucharest, while the fi­ nancial and nationality criteria are more often mentioned in the central region and Bucharest. Moreover, urban young people, on average, at­ tach higher importance to potential partners’ fi­ nancial status and education, which indicates that the marriage market in urban areas is a more competitive and selective than in rural areas. 23 6. Family and plans for the future

Youth Study Romania Fig. Views on important factors for choosing a partner among youth in Romania (in%) When choosing a partner, how important are: Not important at all Unimportant Somehow important Pretty important . Religion . Economic standing . Family approval . Virginity . Education . Nationality . . ... ... .. ... .. ... Very important . . . . . . Financial resources and education are signifi­ cantly more relevant to females when choosing a partner, while males in Romania are relatively more interested in their partner’s virginity. This asymmetry would appear to confirm the evolu­ tionary psychology models describing the adap­ tive preferences of the two genders regarding pa­ rental investment and the certainty of biological parentage(Buss 1999), reflected in similar trends observed in the 2019 survey. Older respondents present lower scores for all tested criteria, sug­ gesting either a shift(or relaxation) in criteria as time passes by, or an over-reporting of personal selectivity by younger people in order to conform to social expectations. Main takeaways 1.  A high proportion of young people live with their families of origin because it is more convenient and relations with parents are predominantly good. The desire for independence is stronger among males and rural young people, but constrained by limited financial resources. 2.  Rural young people live in families that are extended intra- and intergenera­ tionally. At the same time, they report more conflict situations than their urban counterparts and want to have more children and sooner. 3.  Urban young people’s preferences when it comes to choosing partners indicate a higher level of selectivity based on religion, nationality or family consent, pointing to a more competitive marriage market, if not a higher social conservatism than in rural areas. This runs counter to cultural stereotypes. 4.  Women are more interested than men in their partners’ education and ­financial status, while Romanian men are more concerned about the virginity of potential partners. 5.  Romania has by far the highest percentage of young people in the region who expect to have only one child. 6.  Prospects for the future in young people’s personal lives are regarded with more optimism than the progress of ­society overall, and are influenced by current con­ ditions. Rural young people feel more discouraged than their urban counterparts, believing that their lives and the situation in Romania will not change or will get worse. 24 6. Family and plans for the future

7. Youth Study Romania General values, attitudes and perceptions General orientation The individual priorities of young respondents revolve around their professional aspirations and self-assertion, in the sense of natural de­ sires in relation to respondents’ life cycles. Specifically, taking responsibility and the desire to become independent are the top priorities of 69 % of young respondents, followed by their desire to have a successful career(65 %) and to eat healthily(62 %). Graduating from college (57 %), playing sports(57 %), starting a family and wanting to have children were also among the top priorities for most respondents, mentioned by 54 % of those surveyed. At the opposite pole are political activity and an interest in designer clothes, both of which are considered unimportant or less important by more than 50 % of respondents, while civic activ­ ism is important for only a third of respondents, neither important nor unimportant for a third, and unimportant for the other third of the sample. Overall, young Romanian respondents do not differ significantly from their counterparts in the other countries covered by the study. There are also several individual differences re­ lated to gender, residential background and age. Young women are more likely to consider it im­ portant or very important to take responsibility, be independent, finish university, pursue a career, get married, and have children, while for young men sports and getting rich are more important. For all these questions gender differences are sta­ tistically significant, with young women tend to be more future-oriented. 14 In terms of age, there are statistically significant differences(p>0.000) between young persons aged 14–18 and those aged 24–29: the former are more focused on long-term goals such as a career and marriage, and more willing to be independent and take re­ sponsibilities. Most likely, those aged 25 or over already have a life plan under way, and its cen­ tral goals are no longer priorities. More specifical­ ly, people are self-evidently no longer concerned with acquiring degrees or getting married if they have already done so. This explains why different age groups have different priorities. It is noteworthy that the priorities of the young people included in the sample indicate an orientation towards post-materialist values , such as autonomy and independence, professional devel­ opment, health and healthy eating, while starting a family and having children are relevant for only half of those interviewed. However, interest in po­ litical and civic activities is rather limited in Roma­ nia compared with other countries, with no sta­ tistically significant differences by age or gender. Fears and concerns The main fears expressed by more than half of the respondents are related to issues that may jeop­ ardise their survival, such as war, the poor quali­ ty of health care(mentioned by 59 % of respond­ ents), unemployment(a concern for 57 %), and serious illness(relevant for 53 %). A number of other issues which also represent existential risks were mentioned by almost 50 % of interviewees. 25 7. General values, attitudes and perceptions

Youth Study Romania Fig. Personal priorities for youth in Romania (in%) By shares of‘not at all important’ and‘mostly unimportant’, and‘important’ and‘very important’ Taking responsibility Being independent Graduating from university Having a successful career Being active in politics Participating in civic actions/initiatives Marriage Getting rich/wealth Looking good Wearing brand clothes Eating healthy food Doing sports Having children 11 11 18 12 19 20 21 18 29 34 21 13 16 20 57 50 69 69 65 54 47 53 53 62 57 54 not at all important/mostly unimportant Important and very important This category includes climate change, terrorist attacks, pension worries, worries about becom­ ing a victim of violence(physical, sexual, domes­ tic), the outbreak of a pandemic or being robbed. These are all matters of concern for 40 to 50 % of the sample. Less than one-third of the young respondents were concerned about the develop­ ment of so-called‘AI’ and increases in the num­ bers of immigrants or refugees. Within the population groups we analysed, fe­ male respondents are significantly more fearful or concerned than male respondents about all the abovementioned situations, with the exception of the overly large number of immigrants and ref­ ugees. The biggest differences are observed, as expected, with regard to their possibility of be­ coming victims of sexual, domestic or physical violence: the percentage of young women who fear these things is about 50 % higher than that of counterpart men(see Fig. 10). 26 7. General values, attitudes and perceptions

Youth Study Romania Fig. Reasons to fear or worry by gender among youth in Romania (in%) To what extent are you frightened or concerned in relation to the following? A lot . Physical violence → Male . Female . Sexual violence → Male . Female . Domestic violence → Male . Female A little . . . . . . Not at all . . . . . . These data suggest not only that Romanian wom­ en are more likely to try to internalise fear under social pressure, but also that disproportionately more women than men are victims of domestic, sexual and physical violence in Romania. 15 The young respondents’ answers showed that their fears and concerns are defined according to the threats or risks they have experienced in each of the 15 situations. Using factor analysis, their fears and concerns are grouped along two dimen­ sions. The first dimension includes the fear of be­ coming a victim of violence(physical, sexual, do­ mestic), fear of being robbed, and fear of a global pandemic or terrorist attack. These are threats to the respondents’ physical in­ tegrity. The second dimension covers the other types of events(serious illness, poor health-care services, unemployment, lack of a proper retire­ ment pension, housing problems, climate change, war, immigrants and refugees, negative effects of ‘AI’) and seems to be more connected to possible future threats. The two dimensions are strongly interrelated, but the first provides a better expla­ nation of how young Romanians relate to these possible problems. From a comparative perspective, young Roma­ nians appear to be among the most worried of all young people in the countries surveyed about different kinds of violence. Romania is among the top three countries in terms of fear of physical vi­ olence, which is shared by 48 % of respondents compared with 43 % of the total sample; fear of sexual violence is mentioned by 49 % compared with 43 % of the total sample; and fear of domes­ tic violence is shared by 44 % of young Romani­ ans compared with only 34 % of the total group surveyed. Romania is almost on a par with Bos­ nia and Herzegovina(46 %) and Turkey(44 %) in terms of fear of domestic violence, while these two countries are 6 and 8 %, respectively, ahead of Romania in terms of physical and sexual violence. Although, according to this survey and compared with the other surveyed countries, violence is not the main concern of young Romanians, their fear of violence is among the highest. The number of young Romanians fearing war is also one of the highest: 56 % fear war, exceeded only by respond­ ents from Turkey and Bosnia and Herzegovina (both over 60 %). 27 7. General values, attitudes and perceptions

Youth Study Romania Attitudes towards abortion and homosexuality In terms of young people’s shared moral values, the results reveal a much higher acceptance of behavioural diversity in the case of homosexuali­ ty. More specifically, the average of the responses with regard to acceptance of abortion is 5.87 on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is‘never justified’ and 10 is‘always justified’. The average for homosexu­ ality on a similar scale is 5.31. The analysis of the re­ spondents’ socio-demographic profiles shows that young people in urban areas are more accepting of abortion and homosexuality. There are no significant differences between male and female young people in their acceptance of abortion and homosexuality. In contrast, 14- to 18-yearolds are more likely to reject deviations from mor­ al norms than those over 25. Analysing the responses of young people from countries in the region, we observe a higher tol­ erance in Romania for all the social norms being investigated compared with the sample averages. Romanian young people are among the most tolerant towards abortion and homosexuality , with only Slovenia and Greece showing high­ er levels of tolerance, while Albania and Kosovo have the lowest levels. There has been a significant change among young Romanians in the dynamics of their attitudes to­ wards abortion and homosexuality. In 2018, the mean of the responses regarding the justifica­ tion of abortion was 3.6, while the mean of the responses regarding homosexuality was 3.1 on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is‘never justified’ and 10 is ‘always justified’. In 2024, the means of both vari­ ables were 2.2 points higher for both dimensions. In the five-year period between the two surveys, there has been a significant shift in the tolerance of young people in Romania regarding these two dimensions, indicating an important liberalisation of attitudes towards private life. Attitudes towards corruption and drug use In terms of the regulations on bribery, tax eva­ sion and nepotism, young people in Romania are again among the most tolerant of violations, being surpassed only by Greece with regard to tax evasion and bribery. The average score on a 10-point scale measuring acceptance of tax eva­ sion is 4.7 for Greece and 4.4 for Romania, com­ pared with 3.5 for the overall sample. The average score for bribery is 4.3 in Greece and 4.2 in Roma­ nia, compared with a sample average of 3.4. Fig. Dynamics of attitudes towards abortion and homosexuality among youth in Romania Mean values on a scale of‘ – never justi ed’ to‘ – always justi ed’, for and . . . . Abortion Homosexuality 28 7. General values, attitudes and perceptions

Youth Study Romania The answers to the questions included in the scale of moral values are clustered into two di­ mensions: one covers the spectrum of civic mo­ rality and is related to the answers to questions on bribery, tax evasion and fixers; the other, re­ garding private morality, is associated with the answers to the ques­ > 50 % of young people in Romania reject gender stereotypes tions on abortion and homosexuality. An analysis of the re­ spondents’ socio-de­ mographic profile reveals that young men, rural residents and those with lower levels of educa­ tion have a higher tolerance for bribery, tax eva­ sion and‘fixers’(corruption). In contrast, age is associated with a rejection of deviations from moral norms; for example, respondents aged 14– 18 are more likely to accept deviations from mor­ al norms than those over 25. The legalisation of cannabis consumption is a top­ ic on which there is no clear majority opinion. Half of the respondents reject the idea, while those who‘strongly agreed’ and those‘strongly disa­ greed’ combined account for 50 %. The remaining 50 % of the responses are distributed between the 20 % who are neutral and 30 % who agree with legalising cannabis. Young women are also more likely to be against legalisation(56 %) than young men(46 %). Minorities: stereotypes and tolerance Stereotypes about minorities differ depending on the group. Most of the respondents tend to reject gender stereotypes according to which men are better political leaders than women, as well as the statement‘when jobs are scarce, men should have more right to a job than women’. Stereotypes about same-sex couples are rather controversial, with 40 % rejecting the statements ‘same-sex couples should have the right to marry’ and‘same-sex couples are just as good parents as other couples’, while 28 % neither agree nor disa­ gree and only 20 % agree. The situation is even more nuanced with regard to ethnic and racial stereotypes: 40 % of respond­ ents reject them, while only 13 % accept them, but a significant percentage of the respondents do not have a clear opinion about the follow­ ing statements:‘there is a natural hierarchy be­ tween black and white peoples’, and‘Jews have too much influence in our country’. The first state­ ment received 40 % neutral responses(27 % nei­ ther agreed nor disagreed, while 13 % did not know/did not answer); for the second statement, 44 % were neutral(27 % neither agreed nor disa­ greed, while 17 % did not know/did not answer). Stereotypes about immigrants are another topic of social controversy: 40 % of respondents neither agreed nor disagreed, or did not know/did not answer, while only 18 % agreed with the state­ ment‘immigrants enrich our culture’ and 30 % re­ ject the idea that‘we must protect our own cul­ ture from the influence of other cultures’. The responses to the questions on stereotypes about minorities are grouped into two dimen­ sions that can be called‘rejection of minorities’ and‘openness towards minorities’. An analysis of the socio-demographic profile of those with these attitudes shows a significant link to gender, young men being more likely to reject minority groups, whereas young women are notably more open-minded about the rights of these groups. 29 7. General values, attitudes and perceptions

Youth Study Romania Fig. Views on the rights of minority groups among young people in Romania (in%) Please say whether, in your view, the following groups have: not enough, enough, or too many rights in your country? Not enough rights Enough rights Drug addicts LGBTQIA+ persons Roma Muslims Jews Christians Too many rights Rural young people are also more likely to have negative attitudes towards minorities, while re­ spondents aged 14–18 are more likely to reject them. In the literature, a standard method for assessing the level of tolerance towards certain groups in society and the willingness to interact with‘differ­ ent’ people is to ask respondents how they would feel if individuals from various categories moved into their neighbourhood(see Fig. 12). Young people’s responses to these questions re­ flect a situation similar to the one observed five years ago in 2019. 16 The strongest rejection is ex­ pressed towards drug addicts(with 69 % express­ ing rejection). Sexual minorities are in second 18 % of the youngsters in Romania believe that immigrants enrich their national culture place, rejected by 36 % of young people, while 30 % accept them and 34 % remain neutral. Roma are in third place, with similar percentages: 32 % of young Romanians reject them, 40 % treat them neutrally, and only 28 % accept them. With re­ gard to other groups(Muslims, Jews, Christians), the answers reflect a high degree of acceptance (more than 80 % of respondents have a low or medium distance from these issues). Of the differences associated with social and eco­ nomic characteristics, the following should be highlighted: women are more likely to reject drug addicts (73 % compared with 65 % among men), while men are more likely to reject LGBTQIA+ people(42 % compared with 30 % among women). Respondents under 18 are more likely than the rest to reject drug addicts, Roma and LG­ BTQIA+ people. Respondents with higher levels of education, whether personal or parental, are less accepting of Roma and drug addicts. Living in urban areas is associated with a stronger rejec­ tion of Roma. Young people from wealthier fam­ ilies are more likely to reject drug addicts. Although the data was not so different in 2019 compared with a 2010 survey of secondary school students, 17 the situation today is much better – re­ jection of certain social groups has fallen signifi­ cantly. Some 15 years ago, Roma were rejected by 68 % of students and LGBTQIA+ people were re­ jected by 75 %. By comparison, nowadays the cor­ responding percentages are 41 % for Roma and 43 % for LGBTQIA+. Similar lower results have been found with regard to Muslims and Jews. 30 7. General values, attitudes and perceptions

Youth Study Romania Compared with the responses of young people liv­ ing in the other countries in the region, young Ro­ manians are more tolerant of LGBTQIA+ commu­ nities, with over 13 % of respondents saying they are very comfortable having LGBTQIA+ neigh­ bours, compared with 10 % of the total sample. However, Romania is behind Slovenia and Greece, whose answers were similar(20 % and 16 %, re­ spectively), while in Kosovo and Turkey only 3 % chose the same answer. Romania is also one of the countries in the region with the highest level of tolerance towards Jews, with 42 % of respond­ ents saying they are very comfortable or comfort­ able having Jewish neighbours. This is topped only by Greece with 45 %, while in Turkey only 13 % share this opinion. In terms of identification with a political and ter­ ritorial entity, national identity is more clearly de­ fined than a European identity, with 74 % of re­ spondents declaring themselves‘very much’ or ‘totally’ Romanian citizens, while only 41 % con­ sider themselves‘very much’ or‘completely’ Eu­ ropean citizens. Also, only 11 % of young peo­ ple consider themselves‘very little’ or‘not at all’ Romanian, compared with 28 % who respond­ ed similarly with regard to European identity. It should also be mentioned here that there is a pos­ itive correlation between the two types of identi­ ty, in the sense that those considering themselves Romanian citizens also consider themselves Eu­ ropean citizens(Pearson correlation coefficient= 0.283, p>0.000). The results indicate that stereotypes about mi­ nority groups exist, but affect the perception and acceptance of these groups to varying degrees. Gender stereotypes are the least commonly held by respondents, and stereotypes about same-sex couples are accepted by only a minority, too. Eth­ nic and religious groups are more likely to be the subject of social controversy, with no mainstream opinion. Noteworthy are the neutral attitudes and the high proportion of non-responses re­ garding these issues. Also notable is the predomi­ nantly negative attitude towards drug users, with a large majority not wanting them as neighbours. Identity and nationalism In terms of national identity, 54 % of responses refer to a definition of nationhood in civic rath­ er than ethnic terms. Thus, 33.7 % consider any­ one with Romanian citizenship to be Romani­ an, 13.4 % link identity to respect for Romanian customs and traditions, and 6.4 % to knowledge of the Romanian language, all of which are sub­ sumed under the idea that anyone who is a citi­ zen, respects Romanian culture or speaks the lan­ guage can be considered Romanian. Only 41 % of the respondents chose a response that refers to the idea that national identity is acquired by birth(having Romanian parents) or is linked to re­ ligious identity(being an Orthodox Christian). De­ tailed analyses do not suggest any significant as­ sociations with age, gender or background. The data analysis reveals significant differences 18 with regard to identity by gender and residence. Thus, young women are more likely to declare themselves‘fully’ European citizens, while young men are more likely to choose the‘very little’ op­ tion in the case of national identity. Similarly, re­ spondents living in urban areas rather declare themselves‘very’ or‘very much’ European, total­ ling 47 % of the answers, compared with 35 % in rural areas. More than half of respondents(53 %) are‘very’ and‘somewhat proud’ to be Romanians, while 26 % are neutral(‘so-so’). It is important to note that there is no majority opinion on accepting a larger number of immigrants, or accepting only Romanians within the country, or defining Roma­ nian people in terms of‘Romanian blood.’ All of these topics are fairly controversial, and the re­ sponses are divided between adoption, rejection and neutral attitudes. Analysis of the nationalist attitudes scale indicates higher support for na­ tionalist attitudes among males than among fe­ males, as well as among young people aged 14– 18 compared with those aged 25–29. Support for nationalism is significantly higher among rural young people and among those who are active in the labour market. 31 7. General values, attitudes and perceptions

Youth Study Romania Fig. Nationalist attitudes among young people in Romania (in%) To what degree do you agree with the following statements? Agree I am proud to be a citizen of Romania Romania should accept/receive more immigrants It would be best if only real Romanians lived in Romania Non-Romanians living in Romania should adopt Romanian customs and values Real Romanians are only those who have Romanian blood Largely agree Indifferent Largely disagree Disagree The majority of those interviewed stated that they would not support Romania’s exit from the Euro­ pean Union, with 63 % against and only 19 % in favour. It is worth noting the high proportion of those who answered‘Don’t know’, accounting for 16 % of the sample. In terms of support for leav­ ing the EU, there are also statistically significant differences 19 by gender, age and urban/rural res­ idence. Young men are more likely to favour ex­ iting the EU, while young women are more likely to choose the answer‘Don’t know’. Similarly, 14– 18 year olds are significantly more likely to answer ‘Don’t know”, while 19–25 year olds are signifi­ cantly more likely to reject the statement. When it comes to residential environments, those living in rural areas are more likely to answer‘Don’t know’, while those living in urban areas are more likely to oppose Romania’s exit from the EU. From a comparative perspective, the share of young Romanians who say they are proud to be citizens of their home country is among the lowest in the entire sample: only 30 % agree with this statement compared with 43 % in the total sample. A lower percentage of similar re­ sponses(26 %) is to be seen only in North Mace­ donia, while Slovenia and Greece are closer to Ro­ mania – in both countries 31 % of respondents are proud of their citizenship. The highest proportion of young people who say they are proud to be citizens of their home coun­ try was found in Kosovo(65 %). Also, young Romanians exhibit the lowest level of rejection of the European Union , with only 19 % favouring Romania’s exit from the EU, compared with 31 % in Bulgaria. Religious affiliation and practice The data on religious affiliation and practice sug­ gest a major change in the analysed sample of young people: 14 % say they belong to no reli­ gion, 5.6 % did not answer the question, while 62 % said they are Christian Orthodox. According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census data, 1.1 % of the population declare that they have no religious affiliation, while 72 % declare them­ selves Orthodox Christians. For 15 % of the popu­ lation, there is no information. The data collected in FES’s 2018 survey suggest that 1.8 % of young people have no religious affiliation, while 87.8 % of the sample declared themselves to be Ortho­ dox Christians. 32 7. General values, attitudes and perceptions

Youth Study Romania Compared with both the census and the previous survey, the share of those with no declared reli­ gious affiliation exceeds 20 %(the figure was cal­ culated by summing the shares of those who de­ clared no religious affiliation and those who did not answer the question). Discrimination A significant proportion of respondents(over 60 %) say they have never felt discriminated against based on gender, ethnicity, religion, politi­ cal beliefs, language spoken, or sexual orientation. 53 % of young people in Romania felt discrimination based on economic reasons The share of those who say they go to church at least once a month is 20 % in FES’s 2024 survey sample, compared with 29 % of all respondents covered by FES’s previous survey in 2018. 20 Also, compared with the 2018 survey results, the per­ centage of those who never go to church has in­ creased from 9 % in 2018 to 15 % in 2024. The anal­ ysis shows a statistically significant difference 21 in religious practice by age, with 20 % of 14–18 year olds saying they never go to church, compared with 14 % of 19–24 year olds and 11 % of 25–29 year olds. In addition, 19 % of respondents 18 years of age or under go to church at least once a month, compared with 26 % of all the other age groups. Gender, residential environment and ed­ ucation are not significantly associated with reli­ gious practice. Overall, the data indicate a trend toward secularisation among young people , as evidenced by a higher level of non-affiliation with religion compared with the general population and the results of the 2018 FES survey, and a decline in re­ ligious practice, particularly pronounced among those aged 14 to 18. Young Romanians do not differ significantly in terms of religious affiliation or practice from their counterparts in the other countries covered by the study. By contrast, 53 % of respondents report feeling discriminated against sometimes or often due to their economic situation. Moreover, young Roma­ nians are more likely to feel discriminated against on the basis of their economic situation com­ pared with their peers in other countries includ­ ed in the study, with 39 % of the whole sample saying they sometimes or often feel discriminat­ ed against because of their financial situation. Al­ bania is at the opposite extreme with 18 % of re­ spondents reporting perceived discrimination on financial grounds. A number of social and demographic character­ istics are significantly linked with perceived dis­ crimination. Young people aged 14 to 18 are much more likely to say they have never experi­ enced discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, religion, political opinion, language or sexual ori­ entation – over 75 % say they have never expe­ rienced discrimination, compared with 60 % for other age groups. The only question for which there are no statistically significant differences between age groups concerns financial discrim­ ination, which is reported evenly by young peo­ ple of all ages. There are significant differences between young people living in rural and urban areas, with ru­ ral areas being associated with more report­ ed discrimination of various kinds, while urban respondents are much less likely to report dis­ crimination. There are also differences in gen­ der-based discrimination, with 24 % of young women reporting that they sometimes feel dis­ criminated against because of their gender, com­ pared with 16 % of young men. 33 7. General values, attitudes and perceptions

Youth Study Romania Apart from the gender and financial dimensions, young women are significantly more likely(70 to 84 %) to say that they have never been discrimi­ nated against on the basis of ethnicity, religion, political beliefs, language or sexual orientation. The analysis shows no significant gender differ­ ences in perceptions of discrimination on finan­ cial grounds. 22 Perceived quality of life The subjective assessment of life quality captures several aspects. The survey covers the assessment of household incomes, general emotional state and life satisfaction. The responses on subjec­ tive income estimation follow a normal distribu­ tion: 14 % chose‘we have enough money for ba­ sic bills and food, but not for clothes and shoes’; 34 % of respondents said‘we have enough mon­ ey for food, clothes and shoes but not enough for more expensive things(fridge, TV set, etc.)’, while 30 % opted for‘We can afford to buy some more expensive things but not as expensive as a car or a flat, for instance’, indicating that the majority of respondents can cover their basic needs and pos­ sibly some extra expenses. When analysing income data, we should also con­ sider a certain selection effect in the sampling due to the method of data collection, which re­ quired access to the internet. This diminished the likelihood of responses from young people in families with limited financial resources. From a comparative perspective, however, young people in Romania are significantly more likely than their peers in the survey to report that their income is insufficient to cover even the basic necessities, with 8 % choosing this option, compared with 5 % of the total sample. Only young people in Greece feel similarly deprived, again with 8 % choosing this response. The lowest levels of deprivation were found in Albania and Montenegro, where less than 2 % of the sample chose this option. Fig. Life satisfaction and emotional state of young people in Romania To what extent are you satis ed with your life in general? Satis ed Sad, demotivated Concerned, anxious Very little( –)(–)(–)(–) Very much( –) 34 7. General values, attitudes and perceptions

Youth Study Romania The responses concerning both emotional state and overall life satisfaction suggest a positive as­ sessment of personal situation and low levels of anxiety and depression. From a subjective per­ spective, young Romanians’ quality of life is predominantly positive , with around 65 % of the respondents rating their own level of depression as 5 or less on a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 is the lowest and 10 the highest. Similarly, 64 % indicat­ ed an anxiety level of 5 or less on a scale of 1 to 10. 76 % Furthermore, 76 % of respondents rated their sat­ isfaction with their living standards as 6 or more, measured on a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is very dis­ satisfied and 10 is very satisfied. It is noteworthy that there are no statis­ of young people are satisfied with their lives tically significant asso­ ciations between the level of life satisfaction and socio-demograph­ ic variables, such as age and residence. However, when comparing life satisfaction levels between age groups, the 14–18 age group seems to be more satisfied than the under 18 age group, with the former averaging 7.2 compared with a 6.8 av­ erage for the latter. 23 In terms of educational at­ tainment, only those with a doctoral degree are significantly more satisfied than those who have a secondary education and a degree at the end of their studies. 24 Main takeaways 1.  Taking responsibility and wanting to be independent are important priorities for two-thirds of young people, while civic ­activism is important for only a third. 4.  Compared with young people in the other countries surveyed, young people in Romania seem to be among the most worried about violence of all kinds. 5.  Comparing responses from young people across the region, Romania shows a higher level of tolerance for all the social norms investigated compared with the average for the 12 countries. Thus, young Roma­ nians are among the most tolerant of abortion and homosexuality, but also of norms related to bribery, tax evasion, and nepotism. When asked about their acceptance of certain categories of people as neighbours, twothirds of young Romanians were categorically opposed to drug users. At the same time, the data show levels of tolerance towards LGBTQIA+ people and Jews that are higher than the regional averages. 6.  Young people in Romania report the lowest level of rejection of the European Union among the countries surveyed. 7.  Overall, comparing the data from this study with that from FES 2018 reveals a trend toward secularisation among young people. Young Romanians show no significant differences in religious affiliation or practice compared with their peers in the other countries studied. 8.  Young people in Romania are signifi­ cantly more likely than their peers in the survey to report that their income is insufficient to cover even the bare necessities. 2.  Overall, the data point to an orientation towards post-materialist values, such as autonomy and independence, professional development, health and healthy eating. 3.  More than half of young people report fears about issues that could threaten their survival, such as war, inadequate health care, unemployment, and serious illness. 35 7. General values, attitudes and perceptions

8. Youth Study Romania Political attitudes and participation Rights of minority groups Participants in our study were asked to indicate whether they believe that members of five select­ ed groups have too many rights or not enough. In theory, responses to these questions should align with the answers about social distance from var­ ious groups, and the results indeed show exactly this(see Figure 12). The most notable are opinions on the rights of LGBTQIA+ and ethnic minorities, which only 31 % of respondents think are insuf­ ficient. Half of young people(50 %) believe that LGBTQ­ QIA+ people have either enough rights, or too many, while for ethnic minorities the percentage of those who believe they have enough or too many rights is even higher at 57 %. Added to this is a significant percentage of respondents who did not wish to answer these questions. For the other three minorities, the order of responses is very clear: poor people are considered the group with the fewest rights(61 %), followed by young people(51 %) and women(38 %). Comparison with 2019 data reveals that, over the past five years, the issue of minority rights has become more polarised in relation to women’s, ethnic minority, and LGBTQIA+ rights, while no significant changes have been observed for the rights of young people and the poor. For the first three groups, however, the proportion of re­ spondents who believe these groups have suf­ ficient rights has fallen over the last five years, from 34 to 23 % for LGBTQIA+ people, from 42 to 37 % for ethnic minorities, and from 56 to 44 % for women. At the same time, the decrease in re­ spondents taking this view has been accompa­ nied by an increase in the percentage of people who believe these minorities do not have suffi­ cient rights. Thus, it can be argued that the polarisation ob­ served in these results reflects either a reaction to the deterioration of minority rights in Romania over the past five years or an increased awareness among young people of how the rights of these minorities are respected in Romania. An analysis of the differences by respondents’ so­ cio-economic characteristics reveals another in­ teresting aspect: for all five groups, a significantly higher percentage of young women believe they do not have sufficient rights compared with young men . The biggest difference is in terms of women’s rights: while 29 % of men believe that women don’t have enough rights in Romania, the corre­ sponding percentage for women is almost dou­ ble: 56 %. For LGBTQIA+ members the gap is 21 %, and for young people, poor people and ethnic minorities the gap varies between 13 and 17 %. These results are similar to those found over the past decade in other Western societies, where young women appear to be becoming more lib­ eral than young men(Edsall, 2024). 36 8. Political attitudes and participation

Youth Study Romania Fig. LGBTQIA+ persons → Comparative evolution of opinions regarding the rights of minority groups among youth in Romania between and Please tell us whether, in your opinion, the following groups have not enough rights, enough rights, or too many rights in your country: (in%) Not enough rights Enough rights Too many rights Ethnic minorities → Women → Young persons → Poor people → I don’t know/ no answer Compared with the other countries included in the survey, Romania does not differ much when it comes to views on the rights of poor people and young people: in all countries these are the 44 % of youngsters support government intervention in the economy in order to protect the environment Environmental protection Young Romanians expressed their preference for government intervention in the national econ­ omy to protect nature: only 25 % said they disa­ greed with such intervention, 31 % said they were neutral on the issue, and the remaining 44 % ex­ pressed support for such intervention. two main minority groups that citizens say do not have enough rights. Turkish and Greek citizens are much more open towards LGBTQIA+ people than the rest of the countries in the region. They are followed by Romania. The percentage of respondents in all three countries who say that this minority does not have enough rights is higher than that of people saying that, on the contrary, they have too many. In all other countries, aggregate opinion is rather unfavour­ able to LGBTQIA+ people. This finding is also supported by the conclusions of a survey published by FES in May, which shows that 18–29 year olds are significantly more likely than those aged 30 and over to believe that en­ vironmental issues should be a priority for Roma­ nian politicians(Bucată, 2024: 5). 37 8. Political attitudes and participation

Youth Study Romania Among those favouring government intervention to protect the environment, women account for a significantly higher proportion(49 % compared with only 39 % of men), along with highly edu­ cated respondents(50 % compared with 36 % of those with low education), and those living in ur­ ban areas(46 % compared with 38 % in rural ar­ eas). It should be noted, however, that some of these differences may be influenced by the exam­ ple given to clarify the question, which suggested that the government could ban old cars that pol­ lute the environment. If respondents reacted to this example rather than the more general case, it is possible that their answers may have been different if a different example had been given. Interest in politics Active political involvement cannot occur without an interest in politics, which is essential for every citizen. Therefore, we will begin the analysis of the research section dedicated to political behav­ iour by presenting the results on young people’s interest in politics and their self-assessments of their knowledge of the political world. 45 % of youngsters in Romania are not are not interested in politics A first observation worth making is that young people’s interest in politics appears to have in­ creased slightly compared with five years ago: while in 2019, more than three-quarters of young people(76 %) reported no interest in politics, and only 9 % expressed interest, by 2024, the percent­ age of those not interested had dropped to 45 %, and the percentage of those interested had near­ ly doubled to 18 %. This is quite an encouraging development, al­ though the percentage of young people who are not interested in politics remains very high. Young people were found to take a higher inter­ est in politics than in Romania in just two of the 12 surveyed countries: Greece, where only 27 % of young people say they are not interested in pol­ itics, and Turkey, where the corresponding fig­ ure is 28 %. In Romania, 45 % of young respond­ ents were not interested in politics, which is lower than in the other nine countries. Gender and education are the only social and eco­ nomic characteristics significantly related to an in­ terest in politics: young people with more educa­ tion(25 %) or who come from families with higher educational backgrounds(22 %) take more inter­ est in politics than those with less formal or fami­ ly education(15 %). In terms of gender, while 20 % of men say they are interested in politics, only 15 % of female respondents take any interest in politics. The responses also show a significant relationship with self-positioning on the left–right axis, sug­ gesting that those who are more aware of their own ideological position tend to take more in­ terest in politics than others. Thus, 65 % of those who are unable to place themselves on the left– right scale declare they are not interested in pol­ itics, and only 8 % say they are interested. If we consider those who have chosen a central posi­ tion on the left–right axis(values 5 or 6 on the scale) as a benchmark, then the percentage of those not interested in politics falls to 43 %, while the percentage of those interested rises to 14 %. Finally, the highest percentage of young people who are interested in politics is found among those who have a well-established political iden­ tity, either on the left(25 %) or on the right(28 %). Knowledge of politics is distributed somewhat similarly to an interest in politics: 40 % say they do not know much about politics, 34 % say they have average knowledge, and just over a quar­ ter, 26 %, say they know a lot about politics. If we relate the two variables – interest in and knowl­ edge about politics – we can see that they are strongly connected: 63 % of respondents have a level of knowledge that corresponds to their lev­ el of interest in politics. The group of respondents who take more interest in politics than they have knowledge about it is around 14 %, and at the opposite pole are the 23 % of young people who have more knowledge than interest in politics. Only one in eight respondents(12.5 %) fall in the category of‘model citizens’, in other words, those who are not only interested in politics, but also have a lot of knowledge about it. 38 8. Political attitudes and participation

Youth Study Romania As with the previous variable, knowledge about politics is associated with educational attainment: the percentage of respondents who do not know much about politics plummets from 51 % among those with low education to 25 % of the high­ ly educated. Similarly, the percentage of those who know a lot about politics ranges from 20 % among those with low education to 29 % among the highly educated. It is also worth mentioning here that men are more likely(30 %) than women (22 %) to report having a lot of knowledge about politics. Interest in politics can also be linked to how respondents consider that young people’s interests are represented in politics. The data show that respondents are rather critical of this: 55 % consider that young people’s interests are not very well represented in politics; 30 % rate their representation as average; while only 15 % con­ sider that young people’s interests are proper­ 55 % of youth in Romania consider that young people’s interests are not well represented in politics ly represented in politics(in Romania). Women (59 %, compared with 51 % for men), underage respondents(61 %), highly educated respond­ ents(59 %), and respondents living in urban ar­ eas(57 %, compared with 50 % in rural areas) are more critical of the representation of young peo­ ple’s interests in politics. Even though young Ro­ manians are rather critical of how politics repre­ sent their interests, the 15 % of young people who consider that their interests are adequately repre­ sented is enough to rank Romania second in the region in this respect. Only young Turks(19 %) have a better opinion on this issue. Considering the percentage of those who are dissatisfied, 55 %, it is clear that the poor representation of young people’s interests in politics is not a problem only in Romania, but in other countries of the region as well. Left–right dimension Positioning on the left-right axis is a tool we use to describe the ideological stances of citizens and political parties. Here, we focus solely on how young Romanians position themselves on this axis(see Fig. 13). A first observation here is that only about three-quarters of respondents(77 %) can position themselves on this axis – the remain­ ing 23 % state that they do not know where to place themselves or do not want to indicate their position on the axis. From this standpoint, Romania is in the middle; more specifically, the percentage of those who do not know how to position themselves varies from 12 % in the case of Turkey to 39 % in the case of Northern Macedonia. It is worth noting that reporting on the left–right axis differs by gender: women are much more likely to say that they do not know where they stand on this axis(28 %), compared with only 18 % of male respondents. The 10 % difference is distributed across the entire scale, with a slight­ ly higher concentration towards the right-hand side, values 8 and 9, where slightly more male re­ spondents placed themselves. However, the dif­ ferences between the responses given by young men and women living in Romania are minor compared with the whole scale. Figure 13 reflects only the positions of the 77 % of respondents who provided a valid answer to this question. The picture is a standard one for this question in the context of Romanian society: most respondents place themselves in the middle of the scale(50 % chose the values 5 or 6), while the right and far right positions attract about three times as many respondents(38 %) than the left and far left positions(12 %). 39 8. Political attitudes and participation

Youth Study Romania Fig. Ideological self-placement of youth in Romania on the left–right axis % % % % % % % % Extreme left Extreme right The way in which young respondents placed themselves on the left–right scale was influenced by their level of interest in politics, which we dis­ cussed in the previous section. There are two im­ portant aspects of the relationship between the two variables. First of all, the level of interest tak­ en in politics strongly influences young people’s ability to place themselves on the left–right scale: the percentage of those who do not know how to place themselves is 33 % among those not in­ terested in politics, 16 % among those taking an average interest in politics, and only 10 % among those who say they are very interested in politics. Secondly, the data show that young respondents who say they are interested and very interested in politics tend to be located more on the righthand side of the scale. Thus, while those taking no interest in politics are distributed 10 % to the left, 56 % to the centre and 34 % to the right, the distribution is different among those who are very interested in politics: 14 % of them are to the left, 33 % in the centre, and 52 % to the right. The reason why young Romanians who are interest­ ed in politics are so massively located on the right side of the scale remains an open question. Compared with 2019, a shift in the population towards the right side of the scale can be observed: while in 2019 the distribution was nearly balanced between the left(49 %) and the right(51 %), by 2024, only five years later, only 31 % of respondents identify with the left, while 69 % of the young people align with the right. Does this mean that young Romanians have moved significantly to the right? The discussion here must be nuanced, as self-placement on the left–right axis is just one indicator of ideology. Studies suggest that a second dimension, based on socio-cultural themes, could be combined with the left–right axis to create a two-dimen­ sional framework that more accurately explains the ideological positions of citizens and political parties. Dassonneville, Hooghe, and Marks(2024) even argue that this dimension has become more important in shaping citizens’ political decisions, overshadowing the traditional left–right axis. 40 8. Political attitudes and participation

Youth Study Romania 12 % Unfortunately, there are no questions in our ques­ tionnaire that enable us to analyse this second di­ mension, but we can use other values and atti­ tudes expressed by respondents to estimate their position. As shown in other sections of the re­ port, the social distance taken towards minority groups has decreased, the proportion of respond­ ents who believe that certain groups do not have sufficient rights has increased, and young Romani­ ans seem to be concerned about issues such as en­ vironmental protection. All of these topics suggest that a large proportion of the young Romanians do not find any of their own values in Romanian politics, which emphasises mainly left–right topics rather than topics that are of interest to them and which would fit better in the second dimension of the political field. Moreover, the increase in the percentage of those who believe that young peo­ ple’s interests are not well represented in Romani­ an politics is a consequence of the fact that Roma­ nian parties do not discuss the social and identity issues that concern young people very much. of youth in Romania identify as left or centre-left, and 38% as right or centre-right From this perspective, we can say that although the answers to this question suggest a rightwards political movement among young Romanians, other data from the questionnaire suggest that this has been accompanied by a movement away from the traditionalist, authoritarian, national­ ist components of the second dimension and to­ wards the green, alternative, libertarian compo­ nents. However, comparisons with other countries included in the report clearly show that Romania has the lowest percentage of young people who self-identify as left or centre-left(values 1–4 on the scale): only 12 % choose this position, while the percentage of those identifying as right or centre-right(values 7–10 on the scale) is more than three times higher at 38 %. By comparison, in countries such as Albania, Mon­ tenegro or North Macedonia, the percentage of those who place themselves on the left is high­ er than those who identify with the right, while in the rest of the countries the ratio of those selfplaced on the right to those placed on the left is no more than 1.8 to 1(in the case of Slovenia), which is significantly lower than the 3 to 1 ratio observed in Romania. Values associated with the left–right dimension In this section, we focus more closely on values to which, traditionally, people relate differently, de­ pending on their own ideology. These values con­ cern the role of the church in society, and the role of the state in the economy. When asked about the influence of church and religious organisations, and whether they have too little or too much power, more than half of young Romanians(53 %) believe that churches have too much power , while 34 % believe they have as much power as they should, and 13 % be­ lieve they have too little power. The percentage of those who believe that the churches have too lit­ tle power in Romania is negatively associated with level of education(21 % of those with a low level of education believe this, falling to 14 % among those with medium education and to only 8 % among those with higher education), and with interest in politics(18 % of those not interested in politics say that the churches do not have enough power, which drops to 9 % among those interest­ ed in politics). 41 8. Political attitudes and participation

Youth Study Romania Surprisingly, this is also a result that needs to be further analysed, as the relationship of this varia­ ble with self-placement on the left–right scale is the opposite of what we might expect. Thus, 27 % of those who consider themselves to be on the left consider the church to have too little pow­ er, 30 % position themselves in the middle, and 43 % consider the church to have too much pow­ er. By comparison, among those who consider themselves on the right, only 8 % believe that the church has too little power, 36 % position them­ selves in the middle, and 56 % believe the church has too much power. Traditionally, the right is as­ sociated with pro-clerical positions, while the left is associated with a somewhat greater scepticism towards the church, but the data show that this relationship is reversed among young Romanians. An additional set of three questions asked about the role played by the state in the economy. Young people were asked whether they agreed or disagreed with the following statements:‘in­ comes of the poor and the rich should be made more equal’,‘Government ownership of business and industry should be increased’, and‘Govern­ ment should take more responsibility to ensure that everyone is provided for’. Agreement with these statements would be associated with a leftwing position, while disagreement would be as­ sociated with a right-wing position. The results reveal that young people overwhelm­ ingly support these statements: 55 % agree that incomes should be more equal, 57 % agree that the state should have a greater role in business and industry, and 73 % agree it is the govern­ ment’s responsibility to assist people. Also, in re­ lation to these variables we observe an incon­ sistency between the values accepted by young Romanians and their self-positioning on the left– right axis. Specifically, although 73 % of young people place themselves on the right side of the left–right scale(values 6 to 10), the majority actu­ ally support values traditionally associated with the left, rather than the political right. When re­ calculating agreement with these values among those who identify as right-leaning, we find that more than half of this group still supports them (50, 56 and 64 %, respectively). This inconsistency warrants further investigation, but one possible explanation is that some peo­ ple who self-position on the left–right axis sim­ ply may not fully understand what the two terms mean. Voting turnout Given that our study focuses on young people and that the most recent elections before data collection were in 2020, respondents who were under 18 at the time of the 2020 elections have not yet had an opportunity to vote. We can thus estimate that about half of the sample, those aged 21–22 at most in 2024, will vote for the first time in 2024. The most recent elections, held on 6 December 2020, were for the Romanian Parliament. When asked about their participation in these elections, 50 % of respondents said that they had voted, 17 % said that they had not vote, despite having the right to, and 33 % stated they did not have the right to vote in 2020. It is well known in the specialist literature that in post-election surveys the voter turnout rate is overreported, for a num­ ber of reasons. 25 Based on this observation, we calculated the ac­ tual voter turnout rate using turnout data col­ lected during the 2020 parliamentary elections (available at: → prezenta.roaep.ro/parlamenta­ re06122020) and data describing Romania’s res­ ident population aged 18–29 on 1 January 2021 (available at: → insse.ro/cms). Based on these data, the 2020 turnout rate of 18–29 year olds was 32.5 % , and so significantly lower than the self-re­ ported turnout rate of 50 % in our study. Bearing this observation in mind, the results in this sec­ tion related to youth voter turnout should be in­ terpreted with caution. 42 8. Political attitudes and participation

Youth Study Romania Our respondents who provided a valid answer re­ ported the following for the 2020 elections: 38 % voted for the National Liberal Party(PNL), 23 % voted for the Social Democratic Party(PSD), 18 % voted for the Save Romania Union(USR), 10 % voted for the Alliance for the Unity of Romani­ ans(AUR) and 11 % voted for other parties. As ex­ pected, results differ from the official ones be­ come some people’s memories fade(the question was asked more than three years after the elec­ tions), or because people talk about other elec­ tions(perhaps the presidential elections), or be­ cause they compare young people’s vote with the results of the national vote. The biggest dif­ ferences are observed in the case of votes for the PNL – 38 % reported versus 25 % officially – and the votes for the PSD(23 % reported versus 29 % officially). For the smaller parties, USR and AUR, the reported percentages are closer to the offi­ cial ones. Relating the 2020 vote to social and economic characteristics, it can be seen that voting for PSD is negatively associated with the respondent’s lev­ el of education: 35 % of the low educated, 24 % of the medium educated and 17 % of the highly ed­ ucated voted PSD. Those surveyed in urban areas also reported voting for the PSD at a lower rate (19 %) than those surveyed in rural areas(28 %). Voting for USR is positively associated with edu­ cation level: only 7 % of respondents with lower education voted for this party, while among the highly educated the corresponding percentage was 27 %. USR also attracted more votes from ur­ ban voters(22 % compared with 13 % in rural ar­ eas) and from voters with better financial status (22 % compared with 13 % of the have-nots). It can therefore be seen that, although turnout is overreported, the relationships between voting and socio-economic characteristics that we know from previous studies are also apparent in how young people in our sample report their voting. In terms of voting intentions for the next elec­ tions, young Romanians indicated the following preferences: 26 % indicated that they would vote for PNL, 21 % for PSD, 19 % for USR, 18 % for AUR and 16 % for other parties. The next elections af­ ter data collection took place on 9 June, including the elections for the European Parliament and lo­ cal authorities. The results of the European Parliament elections show that 46 % of Romanians voted for the PSDPNL Electoral Alliance, 14 % for the AUR Alliance, 8 % for the United Right Alliance(which included USR), 5 % cancelled their votes and the remain­ ing 27 % voted for other parties. The differences between young people’s reported intention to vote and the results of the European Parliament elections are small and related largely to the USR party. However, the difference can easily be explained by the fact that USR is known to have a mainly young electorate, as well as by the fact that USR performed very poorly in this round of elections. Links to the respondents’ socio-economic char­ acteristics are as expected. AUR attracts more men, while USR attracts more women. Respond­ ents with higher education are significantly less attracted to PSD and PNL, and feel more attract­ ed to USR. Last but not least, respondents with above average financial resources indicated a sig­ nificantly higher preference for USR and a signif­ icantly lower preference for AUR. Respondents were also asked to indicate their fa­ vourite political party. As expected, their pref­ erence for a certain political party is also large­ ly reflected in their voting intention, although 10–18 % of those who prefer one political party say they will vote for another political party. PNL manages to turn 90 % of its supporters into vot­ ers, the remainder planning to vote AUR(5 %), PSD(3 %) or other parties(2 %). Some 85 % of those who prefer PSD say they will vote PSD, the remainder planning to vote for PNL(8 %), AUR (3 %) or other parties(4 %). 43 8. Political attitudes and participation

Youth Study Romania USR keeps 88 % of its supporters as voters, the re­ mainder planning to vote for PSD, PNL and AUR (2 % each) or other parties(6 %). Finally, AUR, the newest parliamentary party, keeps 82 % of its sup­ porters as voters, and the remainder plan to vote PNL(5 %), PSD(4 %), USR(4 %) or other parties (5 %). Institutional trust Trust in political institutions is a necessary ele­ ment of a functioning democracy, especially in new democracies such as Romania. The percent­ age of young Romanians who say they trust vari­ ous political institutions a great deal or very much is shown in Figure 14. Civic and political participation Voting is only one form of political participation, and young people are known to be one of the most civically and politically active age groups. Bearing this in mind, we also looked at young people’s involvement in other forms of civic and political participation: signing online petitions (29 %); participating in rallies(20 %); volunteering in NGOs(32 %); working for a political party or political group(10 %); boycotting products for political or environmental reasons(21 %); or participating in online political activities(17 %). In order to simplify the analysis of these data, we aggregated the number of activities in which young Romanians participated, and focused on people who did not engage in any kind of civic or political activity(43 % of young people) and, at the other extreme, on those who participated in at least three of the abovementioned types of activity(18 %). The data show that civic and political involve­ ment is influenced by level of education: 51 % of those with low education are inactive, compared with 33 % of those with a higher education. Par­ ticipation is higher in urban areas than in rural ones, which was expected, given that rural areas do not offer many opportunities for civic or polit­ ical involvement. Interest in politics is also associ­ ated with higher levels of participation: only 19 % of those interested in politics have never been involved in any form of civic or political activity, while 43 % of those involved in three or more ac­ tivities have never been involved in any form of civic or political activity. The data confirm what we know about institu­ tional trust in Romania: EU and NATO enjoy a high level of trust , and the military is the only national institution that comes close to these su­ pranational institutions in terms of trust. A sec­ ond group of institutions, trusted by 22–31 % of respondents, includes institutions that have a high profile at the local level: the church, the po­ lice, NGOs, the municipality, the courts. The insti­ tutions with the lowest level of trust are exactly the key institutions of the political system: the par­ liament, the government and the political parties. They are trusted by less than 20 % of young peo­ ple. Respondents’ socio-economic characteristics do not generate significant differences in their an­ swers, but it is noticeable that young people who declare themselves to be on the right generally have more trust in institutions than those on the left(four times more trust in the case of political parties, and twice as much trust in the case of the government). In comparison with the data on the whole pop­ ulation of Romania, the ranking of institutions is largely similar, but the level of trust is significant­ ly lower among young people than in the entire population(for a database of trust indicators in Romania and European countries from 1980 to 2023, see Tufiș, Ghica and Radu, 2023). Trusted political figures The questionnaire included an open-ended ques­ tion asking respondents to indicate the politi­ cal figure they trusted the most. Since this was an open-ended question, answers ranged from straightforward replies to the downright sarcastic. After recoding the answers, it emerged that 25 % of respondents did not wish to answer the ques­ tion, while 26 % answered that they did not trust any political figure in Romania. 44 8. Political attitudes and participation

Youth Study Romania Fig. Trust in institutions among youth in Romania (in%) Share of‘fully’ and‘a lot’ answers NATO Army EU Church Police Justice system NGOs Municipalities Trade unions Mass media The parliament The government Political parties The remaining half(49 %) who provided a valid answer responded as follows: George Simion, Klaus Iohannis, and Diana Șoșoacă hold the top three places with about 10 % of the answers (58 for Simion, 57 for Iohannis and 53 for Șoșoacă). Two parties and one politician, each mentioned by 8 % of respondents(45 mentions each) hold the fourth, fifth and sixth positions: PSD, PNL and Mircea Geoană. Next come Marcel Ciolacu, men­ tioned by 6 % of respondents and AUR, men­ tioned by 5 %. The last three places are held by Cătălin Drulă, mentioned by 14 respondents, USR, mentioned by 13 respondents and Dacian Cioloș, also mentioned by 13 respondents. Other nom­ inations accounted for 28 % of the names men­ tioned by the respondents. Values associated with political regimes In this section we analyse young Romanians’ views on the values associated with political re­ gimes and their assessment of the state of these values in Romania and within the EU. Young people were given a list of nine values usu­ ally associated with political regimes and were asked to name the top three in order of impor­ tance. The resulting ranking is shown in Figure 18. 45 8. Political attitudes and participation

Youth Study Romania Fig. Values associated with the political regime among youth in Romania (in%) Share of respondents who ranked the following values among the top Human rights Safety Economic welfare of citizens Jobs Individual freedom Social equality Democracy Gender equality Rule of law . . . . . . . . . As can be seen, top place in the ranking is held by one of the core values of democracy, human rights. The next three can be considered indica­ tors of the performance of the political regime rather than characteristics of democracy: securi­ ty, economic welfare and jobs. These three can be very well ensured even by an authoritarian re­ gime(and in some cases even better because au­ thoritarian regimes do not have to worry about individual rights and freedoms). In terms of respondents’ socio-economic charac­ teristics, most of the differences are minor and do not significantly alter the value ranking. However, the following points are worth mentioning: → more men than women chose democracy and the rule of law, while more women chose security and human rights; → young people of 18 years of age or less chose democracy and the rule of law to a greater extent than the remaining respondents, while fewer young respondents of 18 or below chose social equality and gender equality; → educational attainment is positively associated with a preference for democracy, individual freedom and economic welfare, but negatively associated with a preference for social equality and jobs. Young people were also asked to rate how good or bad the situation was with regard to these val­ ues in Romania and the EU, on a 5-point scale, from 1 – very bad to 5 – very good(see Fig. 19). These data show that the situation in Romania is considered deficient mainly in two respects relat­ ed to economic performance and the state of the economy, rather than to the characteristics of the political system. For both elements, the difference between the assessments of Romania and the EU exceeds 1 point on a 5-point scale. Gender equal­ ity, social equality and human rights are the next three values for which performance in Romania is considered significantly worse than in the Euro­ pean Union: the difference between the average scores for each of the three is about two-thirds of a point on the 5-point scale. For the remain­ ing values, the situation in the EU is also consid­ ered to be better than the situation in Romania, but the maximum difference is half a point on the 5-point scale. 46 8. Political attitudes and participation

Youth Study Romania It should be noted, with regard to these results, that the situation in the European Union is not very good either, according to respondents’ as­ sessments: the average EU score is above the mid­ dle of the scale(score 3, neither bad nor good) for only three values: jobs, economic welfare and gender equality. Democracy/ authori­tarianism An additional package included questions cap­ turing respondents’ stance on democracy and authoritarian alternatives to it. The responses are summarised in Figure 20. The data show that at least half of young Romanians agree that de­ mocracy is a good form of government(55 %), that it is preferable to any other form of govern­ ment(50 %), or that it is the best system of gov­ ernment if it can provide people with financial se­ curity(50 %). On the other hand, the percentage of young people who disagree that democracy is good varies, depending on the question, be­ tween 14 and 19 %. It is worrying that 25 % of young people agreed that dictatorship can be a better form of gov­ ernment than democracy in certain situations, with less than half(47 %) rejecting this idea. Of equal concern is the fact that 33 % of young peo­ ple would give up some of their civil liberties for a better life, while 40 % would give up some of these liberties for a more secure life. A similar share(41 %) believe it would be good for Romania to have a strong leader who does not care much about the parliament and elections. Romania’s main challenges for the next decade The last section of the report looks at how young people perceive the issues likely to affect Roma­ nia in the next decade. These issues are lined up in the table in accordance with the responses of young Romanians, but Figure 21 also includes the responses of young people from the other coun­ tries in the region. As can be seen, corruption remains the main problem facing Romania in the next decade for 72 % of respondents. Problems related to corrup­ tion rank second and third: emigration of skilled workers(57 %) and quality of public services (54 %). The remaining problems are mentioned by less than half of the respondents. The prob­ lems least mentioned by Romanian respondents are terrorism(18 %), the weakening of religious and traditional values(19 %), and the weakening of democracy(21 %). Comparing Romania to the other nations in the region reveals the following similarities and dif­ ferences: corruption is one of the top three prob­ lems mentioned in all countries; unemployment is one of the top three problems in all countries except Romania; emigration and quality of public services are among the top three problems men­ tioned in seven of the 12 countries covered by the research. It is worth mentioning here that these values are also associated with a position on the left–right axis and interest in politics. Noticeably, those on the right and those who say they are very interested in politics are slightly more likely to agree with authoritarian perspectives. 47 8. Political attitudes and participation

Youth Study Romania Fig. Values associated with the political regime in Romania and the EU among youth in Romania Mean values on a scale from‘ – very bad’ to‘ – very good’ Jobs Economic welfare Gender equality Social equality Human rights Rule of law Democracy Safety Individual freedom Average score Romania 2.16 2.12 2.39 2.30 2.70 2.45 2.70 2.74 3.04 Average score EU 3.39 3.26 3.05 2.92 3.30 2.96 3.17 3.13 3.27 Difference EU–Romania 1.23 1.14 0.66 0.62 0.60 0.51 0.48 0.39 0.23 Fig. Democracy vs. authoritarianism among youth in Romania (in%) Democracy is, in general, a good form of government Democracy will also always and under any circumstances be preferable to any other sort of government Democracy is the best possible government system only when it can ensure the economic security of the people We should have a strong leader who does not care much about the parliament and elections Sometimes, civil liberties should be limited in order to better protect citizens against terrorism and other threats I would sacri ce some of my civil liberties in order to secure better living standards In certain circumstances, dictatorship is a better form of government than democracy Young people should have more opportunities to speak out in politics Disagree 14 19 17 31 28 35 47 13 Neutral 31 31 32 29 33 32 28 24 Agree 55 50 50 41 40 33 25 63 48 8. Political attitudes and participation

Youth Study Romania Fig. Main challenges for SEE countries over the next decade, according to youth in the region (in%) Top three issues in red, issues of medium importance in orange, least important issues in green Corruption Skilled labour leaving the country Quality of public services Unemployment Inequality Climate change Immigration Demographic decline Automation of jobs Weaker democracy Weaker religious and traditional values Terrorism Romania 72 57 54 44 39 36 32 29 27 21 19 18 Bulgaria 68 44 48 62 39 36 47 41 26 18 27 22 Slovenia 50 40 54 50 40 42 53 22 31 27 19 23 Croatia 60 60 42 51 39 38 47 40 18 16 19 22 Greece 51 39 52 66 45 50 50 36 26 32 27 31 Türkiye 55 52 39 65 55 44 55 23 22 44 33 45 Albania BosniaHerzegovina Kosovo 66 70 53 59 71 44 35 62 40 60 69 69 50 40 39 32 30 26 56 45 50 35 28 19 25 17 20 25 23 20 22 33 26 22 17 19 North Macedonia Montenegro 62 46 55 59 51 46 51 55 39 38 21 29 40 31 22 26 16 19 17 21 22 26 18 13 Serbia 60 61 57 57 45 34 38 29 23 21 33 19 Main takeaways 1.  Comparison with 2019 data reveals that, over the past five years, opinions on the rights of women, ethnic minorities and LGBTQIA+ people have become more polarised, while no significant changes have been observed for young people and the poor. 2.  Young Romanians expressed a preference for state intervention in the national economy to protect the environment. 3.  Only one in eight young people are interested in politics and consider themselves to have a deep knowledge of politics. On the other hand, young people’s interest in politics has increased compared with five years ago. 4.  Most young people feel that their interests are not protected in politics. Women, young minors and those living in urban areas are more likely to have a critical view of how their interests are represented. 5.  About three-quarters of young respondents can self-position themselves on a left–right axis. Compared with FES’s 2018 survey, there has been a shift to the right. Currently, the proportion of those who place themselves on the right is double that of those on the left. 6.  The differences between young people’s voting intentions and the results of the June 2024 European Parliament elections are minor, except for the USR(Save Romania Union) political party, which has a higher share in the poll. 7.  For almost three-quarters of young Romanians, corruption remains the main problem facing Romania in the next decade. Emigration of skilled workers and quality of public services hold second and third places. 8.  It is noticeable that individuals to the right of the political spectrum and those who report a high level of interest in politics tend to support authoritarian perspectives at slightly higher rates. 49 8. Political attitudes and participation

Youth Study Romania Conclusions The study provides essential information about young people in Romania. Overall, the data re­ veal that young people are significantly impacted by poverty and inequality, more so than might be expected given the country’s overall level of so­ cial development. Thus, they are more likely than their counterparts in other similarly or less devel­ oped countries to report that their income is in­ sufficient to cover even the bare necessities. At the same time, their views on the education sys­ tem contribute to a better understanding of the modest results and unfavourable trends in terms of school dropout rates, the different opportuni­ ties for educational success according to family finances and urban/rural environment, and the low proportion of university graduates. Given these observations, it’s not surprising that the proportion of young people considering emigration remains high, albeit among the lowest in the region. In the context of declining democratic trends in many countries worldwide, including in the re­ gion, data on young people’s political attitudes and behaviours are important. The study reveals a low interest in politics among young people and indicates that the majority believe their interests are not represented by politicians. Approximately three-quarters of young people can place themselves on a left–right axis, with a shift to the right compared with five years ago. It’s concerning that those who are very interested in politics tend to endorse authoritarian perspec­ tives more frequently. At the same time, young Romanians exhibit the lowest level of rejection of the European Union among the countries sur­ veyed. Furthermore, the data indicate a focus on postmaterialist values such as autonomy, profession­ al development, good health and healthy food. A new trend among young people in Romania is secularisation. It’s also worth noting that, com­ pared with their peers in the region, young peo­ ple in Romania are among the most tolerant of abortion, homosexuality, but also of bribery, tax evasion and nepotism. However, corruption re­ mains the primary concern for nearly three-quar­ ters of young people. But even though percep­ tions of institutions are very negative, hopes for the future are remarkably optimistic when it comes to their personal life. Beyond that, the study also highlights gender differences found in many developed societies. For instance, young women are more critical of the quality of politi­ cal representation and tend to be more progres­ sive than young men. Overall, the study argues that understanding what motivates or hinders young people with regard to participating in civic activities, as well as their attitudes towards society and politics, is essential for designing initiatives that promote more active citizenship and a key aspect for de­ veloping youth-friendly policies. 50 Conclusions

Youth Study Romania References Bădescu, Gabriel, Comșa, Mircea, Gheorghiță, Andrei, Stănuș, Cristina and Claudiu Tufiș.(2010): Implicarea civică și politică a tinerilor[Civic and political involvement of young people]. Constanța: Dobrogea Publishing House. Edsall, Thomas(2024): The Gender Gap Is Now a Gender Gulf, New York Times, 29 May 2024. →nytimes.com/2024/05/29/opinion/ gender-gap-biden-trump-2024.html Bădescu, Gabriel, Sandu, Daniel, Angi, Daniela and Carmen Greab(2019): Studiu despre tinerii din România [A study on young Romanians] 2018/2019. Bucharest: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung. Băluță, Ionela and Claudiu Tufiș. 2022. Barometrul violenței de gen[Gender Violence Barometer](2022): Violența împotriva femeilor în România: reprezentări, percepții[Violence against women in Romania: representations, perceptions]. Cluj-Napoca: Presa Universitară Clujeană. Bucată, Roxana(2024): Transformări socio-ecologice în România: Atitudini, interese și temeri ale diferitelor grupuri sociale.[Socio-ecological transformations in Romania: attitudes, interests and fears of different social groups]. Bucharest: Friederich-Ebert-Stiftung. Quandt, M., Lomazzi, V.(2023): Solidarity: A European Value?, in: Polak, R. and Rohs, P.(eds) Values – Politics – Religion: The European Values Study. Philosophy and Politics, Critical Explorations series, Vol. 26. Springer. → doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-31364-6_7 Tufiș, Claudiu, Ghica, Luciana and Bogdan Radu(2023): Long-Term Trends of Political Trust Dynamics(1980– 2023): Dataset and Codebook, Working Paper no. 1.3. TRUEDEM: Trust in European Democracies Project (→ truedem.eu). Buss, David(1999): Evolutionary psychology: The new science of the mind. Allyn& Bacon. Comșa, Mircea(2004): Rata de participare, supraraportare și predicții electorale. Sociologie românească, 2(3)[Voter turnout, over-reporting and electoral predictions], Romanian Sociology, 2(3)): 50–76. Comșa, Mircea and Camil Postelnicu(2013): Measuring social desirability effects on self-reported turnout using the item count technique, International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 25(2): 153–172. Dassonneville, Ruth, Hooghe, Liesbet and Gary Marks (2024): Transformation of the political space: A citizens’ perspective, European Journal of Political Research, 63(1): 45–65. 51 References

Youth Study Romania Endnotes  Gabriel, Sandu, Daniel, Angi, Daniela and Carmen Greab. 2019. Studiu despre tinerii din România(A study on young Romanians) 2018/2019. Bucharest: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.  2024. Country Report Romania. → unibuc.ro/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ ICCS-Raport-national-09-aprilie-2024.pdf  Manda(21 June 2024):‘Figures that bust “the myth of carelessness” of the new generations: 682,588 more young people voted than 4 years ago/ Those most active were the most surprising’. Hotnews. → rb.gy/bvfuhz  on young people neither in employment nor in education or training’. May 2024. → rb.gy/rmr14k  EU’s Material and Social Deprivation Index describes the proportion of people who are unable to cover five out of 13 basic life necessities considered indispensable to a decent living standard. These criteria include: their inability to pay their rent, or their maintenance and utilities; not owning a car; internet access; not having two good pairs of shoes; regular leisure activities; not going out with friends or family once a month; not being able to afford new clothes; all for financial reasons → ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/ SEPDF/cache/99141.pdf  material and social deprivation rate of young people: 6 per cent. 23 February 2024. → ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/productseurostat-news/w/ddn-20240223-1  indicator is GDP calculated at purchasing power parity(PPP). Source: Eurostat(prc_ppp_ind).  individual consumption per capita in 2023. 19 June 2024. Source: Eurostat(prc_ppp_ind__ custom_11873692).  mortality – 5.7/1000 – is the highest in the EU (Mortality and life expectancy statistics – Statistics Explained(→ europa.eu)), while life expectancy, at 75.1, is the third lowest after Latvia and Bulgaria. → fes.de/lnk/5ed  Eurostat indicator‘early leavers from education and training’ – previously‘early school leaving’ – refers to the percentage of persons aged 18 to 24 who have completed some form of upper secondary education, at most, and who are not involved in further education or training anymore. The indicator‘early leavers from education and training’ is expressed as the percentage of persons aged 18–24 who meet these criteria, out of the total population aged 18–24.  leavers from education and training. Eurostat, May 2024 → rb.gy/01r087  Institute of Statistics, Communique, 14 June 2024 → insse.ro/cms/sites/default/files/ com_presa/com_pdf/cs04r24.pdf  standard residual ratio>===/-1.96 for cells with significant association.  more details on gender-based violence in Romania, see Băluță and Tufiș(2022).  the 2019 results, see Bădescu et al(2019).  Bădescu et al(2010).  standard residual ratio>===/-1.96 for cells with significant association.  standard residual ratio>===/-1.96 for cells with a significant association.  study is available here: → library.fes.de/pdf-files/bueros/bukarest/15294.pdf  standard residual ratio>===/-1.96 for cells with a significant association.  standard residual ratio>===/-1.96 for cells with a significant association.  between groups were tested with One-way ANOVA, F test=3.536, p=0.05; Bonfferoni’s test for multiple comparison is significant for p=0.05.  between groups were tested with One-way ANOVA, F test= 1.758, p=0.10; Tahmane’s test for multiple comparison is significant for p=0.05.  Statistics Institute → fes.de/lnk/5ee  a detailed discussion adapted to the Romanian context, see Comșa, 2004 or Comșa and Postelnicu, 2013. 52 Endnotes

Youth Study Romania Figures 10 Fig. 1  Young people among the Romanian population by age group, regions and residential environment(in%) 37 Fig. 15  Comparative evolution of opinions regarding the rights of minority groups among youth in Romania between 2019 and 2024(in%) 11 Fig. 2  Proportion of 25–29 year olds with higher education across EU countries(in%) 40 Fig. 16  Ideological self-placement of youth in Romania on the left–right axis 14 Fig. 3  Views on corruption in the education system among youth in Romania(in%) 45 Fig. 17  Trust in institutions among youth in Romania(in%) 15 Fig. 4  How youth in Romania spend their time online(in%) 46 Fig. 18  Values associated with the political regime among youth in Romania(in%) 18 Fig. 5  Views on important factors for finding a job among youth in Romania(in%) 19 Fig. 6  Reasons to emigrate for young people in Romania(in%) 22 Fig. 7  Estimated number of children and average age of first-time parents among youth in Romania(in%) 24 Fig. 8  Views on important factors for choosing a partner among youth in Romania(in%) 48 Fig. 19  Values associated with the political regime in Romania and the EU among youth i n Romania 48 Fig. 20  Democracy vs. authoritarianism among youth in Romania(in%) 49 Fig. 21  Main challenges for SEE countries over the next decade, according to youth in the region(in%) 26 Fig. 9  Personal priorities for youth in Romania(in%) 27 Fig. 10  Reasons to fear or worry by gender among youth in Romania(in%) 28 Fig. 11  Dynamics of attitudes towards abortion and homosexuality among youth in Romania 30 Fig. 12  Views on the rights of minority groups among young people in Romania(in%) 32 Fig. 13  Nationalist attitudes among young people in Romania(in%) 34 Fig. 14  Life satisfaction and emotional state of young people in Romania 53 Figures

Youth Study Romania About the Authors Gabriel Bădescu is a professor of political science and the director of the Center for the Study of Democracy at Babes-Bolyai University, Romania. His research interests include democratic and economic transitions, social capital, educational policies, youth socialization, income inequality, and migration. Radu Umbreș is a cognitive-evolutionary anthropologist and associate professor at SNSPA. His research explores social interactions and representations related to morality, cooperation,(dis)trust and seemingly irrational beliefs.“Living with Distrust”, his ethnography of a village in Romania was published by OUP and translated by Humanitas under the title“Distrust. The deep mechanisms of Romania”. Outside of academic work, he is involved in scientific communication projects and applied social research. Malina Voicu is Research Professor at the Research Institute for Quality of Life, Romanian Academy, and Associate Professor at the University of Bucharest. Her research interests deal with values and attitudes change under the impact of eco­nomic and political transformations, with a particular focus on religious values and gender roles attitudes, as well as on social and political identity. Her work has been published in international journals in the field of Sociology and Political Science, and she co-edited several books on value changed published by international publishers. Claudiu Tufiș is Associate Professor of Political Science at University of Bucharest. His research focuses on people’s thoughts and actions in relation to the political context. This includes political culture, democracy, electoral behavior, and civil ­society. He is also interested in public policies related to the higher education system in Ro­mania. Since 2016 he is Data Manager for International IDEA’s Global State of Democ­ racy Indices(→ idea.int/gsod) and has recently been appointed as editor-in-chief for the Romanian Journal of Political Science(→ sar.romaniacurata.ro/polsci/?page_id=2). In addition to teaching, research, and consulting work, he also volunteers his expertise to various NGOs that promote transparency, accountability, and improvement of the political system. 54 About the Authors

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