Capannelli (World Bank): Roma in Romania are 10 times more likely to be poor vs rest of people

Moreover, she claims that Romania has taken important steps in recent years in fighting poverty and sustaining development.

“However, 40.2 percent of the people remain at risk of poverty and social exclusion according to Eurostat data (the highest percentage in the European Union) and poverty is three times higher in rural than in urban areas”.

According to her, 46 percent of the population live in rural areas, where social exclusion prevail.

What she underlines is that many of the people in poverty are Roma, who have a 10 times higher risk of being poor than the general population regardless of their age, education, or area of residence, but what she stresses is that  the poverty risk is extremely high for Roma children. Their poverty rate is 37.7 percent compared to a national rate of 4.3 percent.

Capannelli informs that in order to meet its Europe 2020 targets and achieve EU convergence, the social and economic inclusion of Roma is essential for Romania, because as the Romanian population is aging and shrinking, the Roma people are young and growing. Between 6-20 percent of new labor market entrants in Romania are Roma.

Also, an important fact is that one of the most important anti-poverty legislative measures will be debate in the Romanian Parliament, the Social Inclusion Income (Venitul Minim de Incluziune) and once this law is approved, it will bring around four million Romanians, or one million families, out of poverty and exclusion.