Almost 70% of Romanians declare that they have relatives who have left the country

Almost 70% of Romanians declare that they have relatives abroad, a significantly higher percentage than ten years ago, according to the data of a survey carried out by INSCOP on behalf of News.ro. Conversely, the number of Romanians who say that relatives abroad send them money has halved compared to ten years ago. This shows that the dependency of those who stayed at home decreased during this interval, believes Remus Ştefureac, director of INSCOP Research.

69% of Romanians declare that they have relatives abroad (compared to 51.8% in June 2013), while 31% answer negatively (compared to 48.2% in June 2013), the INSCOP survey shows. They declare that they have relatives abroad especially: people with primary education, residents of small towns, those from the eastern regions or South-West Oltenia, reveals the socio-demographic analysis. 19.7% of those who have relatives abroad say that they send them money (compared to 38.1% in June 2013), while 80.1% answer negatively (compared to 60.6% in June 2013). 0.2% do not know or do not answer (compared to 1.3% in June 2013).

The socio-demographic analysis indicates that young people under 30, the potentially active inactive and rural residents declare in a higher proportion than the other population categories that relatives abroad send them money. In the opinion of 68.1% of those surveyed, Romanians abroad contribute a lot to the standard of living of Romanians in the country (compared to 56.8% in June 2013). 24.3% are of the opinion that Romanians abroad contribute little to the standard of living of Romanians in the country (compared to 30.8% in June 2013), and 7.7% do not know or do not answer this question (compared to 12.4% in June 2013).

Asked if Romanians abroad should have the right to vote in Romanian elections, 84.4% of the participants in the survey answer yes (compared to 74.9% in June 2013), and 13.4% no (compared to of 15.1% in June 2013). 2.2% of the total sample do not know or do not answer this question (compared to 10% in June 2013).

“Against the background of the increase in the last 10 years of the share of Romanians who declare that they have relatives abroad, the share of those who believe that Romanians who have gone abroad contribute a lot to the standard of living of Romanians in the country has also increased significantly, even if the percentage of those who declare that they have relatives abroad who send them money decreased compared to 2013. These latest data most likely reflect a change in the relationship between those who went to work abroad and those who stayed at home, in the context of the lessening of the financial pressures of relatives in the country Romanians working in other countries. The recognition of the contribution of Romanians from the diaspora to the standard of living of Romanians is accompanied by increasing support for the idea that Romanians abroad should have the right to vote in Romanian elections. All these data show that the hostile diaspora narratives once promoted in the Romanian public space have massively lost traction, not benefiting from the support of public opinion”, said Remus Ştefureac, director of INSCOP Research, according to News.ro.