The majority of Bulgarian citizens approve of the implementation of various policies for Roma integration and agree that it is good to have more Roma who become students (77%), teachers (62%), journalists (62%), doctors (59%) and police officers (53%). With almost full support among society (nearly 80%), the idea is that the state should take measures to encourage more Roma students to take matriculation exams, which would open the door for their continued education at higher education. More than half of the respondents (51%) also express support for the idea of the state encouraging more Roma to become students with scholarships.
This is shown by the data from a nationally representative public opinion survey conducted in July 2023 and cited in a report by the Open Society Institute – Sofia on public attitudes towards Roma integration policies.
The report notes that despite the continuing negative stereotypes towards the Roma, at least at a declarative level, more than half of adult Bulgarian citizens are of the opinion that it is important for society to promote the integration of the Roma (57%). A similar share of Bulgarian citizens (54%) express support for state intervention against public speech that expresses aggression, hatred or disapproval of various minorities.
The majority of citizens also believe that there should be more programs to help the poor, regardless of which ethnic group they belong to (63%), while at the same time they do not approve of the state removing illegal housing for the socially disadvantaged without a commitment to offer them an alternative (59%). For 70% of the respondents, the current situation in terms of housing conditions is unacceptable and the state should not stand idly by.
However, citizens are divided on the issue of building more social housing to accommodate poor Roma living in illegal buildings, as well as facilitating access to loans for such households. The majority of citizens do not approve of the state to bear the costs of legalizing the housing of people in poor neighborhoods with illegal construction.
The data show that support for Roma to have programs in their language on national television or to study it in public schools remains limited to about 20-25% and unchanged for the last 15 years – since the beginning of Bulgaria’s membership in the EU. Attitudes regarding whether Roma should have the right to have their own representatives in parliament (49% support in 2023, compared to 43% in 2008) and whether they should be able to create their own organizations for the preservation and development of their culture (59% support in 2023, compared to 65% in 2008) also remain stable.
Full text of the report Public attitudes towards Roma integration policies in 2023
The cited report uses data from a nationally representative public opinion survey conducted among the adult population of the country in the period July 9-17, 2023 using the method of direct standardized face-to-face interview. The respondents were selected through a two-stage stratified sample by region and type of settlement with a quota on the grounds of sex and age. 1003 effective interviews were conducted. The maximum stochastic error at 95% guarantee probability and at a 50% share is ±3.1%. The study was conducted in the field by the Trend Agency on behalf of the Open Society Institute – Sofia Foundation. The questionnaire has been prepared and the data has been analyzed by a team of the Open Society Institute – Sofia.
The survey was carried out within the framework of the Roma Policy Lab initiative with the financial support of the Active Citizens Fund Bulgaria under the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Operator of the Active Citizens Fund or the EEA Financial Mechanism.
