Sustained Patriotism: Romanian Pride Surges Over the Past Decade, says INSCOP poll

The percentage of those declaring themselves proud to be Romanians has increased by 12% in the last 10 years, while those who claim to display the national tricolor on National Day have increased by 23%, according to an INSCOP survey commissioned by News.ro. Additionally, over 90% of those surveyed believe that being Romanian means knowing the Romanian language, with a similar percentage stating that being Romanian means having Romanian citizenship. More than a quarter of Romanians would agree to move National Day to a warmer season, as indicated by the survey.

95% of respondents declare that they feel proud to be Romanians (compared to 83% in 2013), while 4.3% state the opposite (compared to 12.8% in 2013). 0.7% do not know or do not respond to this question (compared to 4.2% in 2013). There are no significant differences in socio-demographic categories among respondents on this subject, according to socio-demographic analysis.

49.7% of Romanians usually display the national tricolor flag at home on National Day (compared to 26.3% in 2013), while 49.9% declare that they do not have this habit (compared to 71.5% in 2013). 0.5% do not know or do not respond to this question (compared to 2.2% in 2013).

Socio-demographic analysis reveals that people with primary education, residents of the South Muntenia and Central regions are more likely to display the national tricolor at home on National Day than other socio-demographic categories. People with higher education and residents of the South West Oltenia region state that they do not have such a habit in a significantly higher proportion than the average.

26.4% of Romanians would agree to move National Day to a warmer season (compared to 29.6% in 2013). 69.7% would not agree (compared to 55.3% in 2013), and 3.9 do not know or do not respond (compared to 15.1% in 2013). “People with primary education and residents of the North West region would agree to move National Day to a warmer season in a significantly higher proportion than the average. People with higher education, white-collar workers, and those with high incomes are the socio-demographic categories with the highest percentages of opponents to such a move,” the socio-demographic analysis reveals.

According to 93.6% of respondents, being Romanian implies speaking the Romanian language, while 5.7% reject such an idea, and 0.7% do not know or do not respond. Being Romanian means having Romanian citizenship for 90.6% of respondents, while 8.7% disagree with this statement, and 0.7% do not know or do not respond.

Having a family with Romanian roots is a condition for being Romanian for 77.2% of survey participants, while 21.5% express disagreement with this idea, and 1.3% do not know or do not respond. For 64% of respondents, being Romanian means being an Orthodox Christian. 34.8% reject such an idea, and 1.2% do not know or do not respond to the question. Socio-demographic analysis reveals that people with primary education, blue-collar workers, and residents of the South East region are more likely than the rest of the population to believe that being Romanian implies speaking the Romanian language. People with primary education, residents of the North East region, and those with very low incomes are more likely than other socio-demographic categories to believe that being Romanian implies having a family with Romanian roots.

“Comparative data collected by INSCOP Research in 2013 and 2023 clearly show that in the last decade, the patriotic sentiment of Romanians has significantly strengthened for all socio-demographic categories. The percentage of citizens declaring themselves proud to be Romanians has increased by 12% in the last 10 years, the percentage of those declaring that they display the national tricolor on National Day has increased by 23%, and the attachment to December 1st remains solid, given that only 26% would like to move National Day to a warmer season (three percentage points less than 10 years ago). For the vast majority of Romanians (over 90%), being Romanian means speaking the Romanian language and having Romanian citizenship,” explained Remus Ștefureac, director of INSCOP Research.