FRA survey on the rights of Roma people in the EU published (2024) [editar]

On 3 October, the FRA published a study comparing its 2024 Survey on Roma and Travellers with its previous surveys from 2021, 2019 and 2016. This survey assesses progress in social inclusion, discrimination and living conditions of Roma and Travellers in Europe, in 13 European countries, 10 of which are EU Member States (Bulgaria, Czechia, France, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Romania and Spain) and 3 candidate countries (Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia).

According to this study, the Roma and Traveller population in the EU has more jobs and better housing than before, but poverty, discrimination and segregation remain widespread. The FRA warns that significant gaps remain between the EU's Roma inclusion targets and the experiences of Roma and Traveller communities. It therefore asserts that it is unlikely that EU countries will achieve the 2030 targets.

With regard to discrimination, 31% of the Roma and Traveller population suffers discrimination on the basis of their ethnic origin, a figure similar to that of 2021 (25%). In Spain in 2024, the percentage has not changed much (35%) compared to the previous survey in 2021 (37%), a figure higher than that for 2021.

Seventy per cent of the Roma and Traveller population lives in poverty. Although this figure is lower than in 2016 (80%), as in 2021 (80%), Roma and Traveller families are still four times more likely to face poverty than the general population of the EU. Children are the most affected by poverty and economic hardship. In Spain, the poverty rate stands at 94%, 74 points higher than the general population (20%). The child poverty rate for children under 17 in Spain remains very high at 96%. These figures represent a slight improvement on the 2021 survey (99% poverty). This extreme figure may be biased, given that the sample in Spain was taken in segregated neighbourhoods, rather than from a balanced territorial sample, as the Fundación Secretariado Gitano has pointed out in previous editions.

In terms of housing, 47% of the Roma and Traveller population live in damp and dark homes or without adequate sanitation facilities. This figure is lower than in 2016 (61%) and 2021 (52%), but it is still far from the EU average (18%). Overcrowding remains a problem, with 83% living in homes without enough rooms. In Spain, in 2024, 30% of Roma people surveyed continue to live in poor conditions (damp, dark homes without adequate sanitation) or substandard housing, a lower percentage than in 2019/2021 (36%) and compared to 20216 (33%). This rate remains slightly higher than that of the general population (28%), although it is lower than the 2019 figure (36%). This data is surprising when compared to other reports on Spain, given that according to the FRA, the percentage of the Roma and non-Roma populations living in inadequate housing conditions is almost similar (around 27%), while other data indicates that substandard housing affects the Roma community much more (in fact, a recent study by the FSG found that 77% of people living in substandard housing settlements were Roma).

53% of Roma and Traveller children attend early childhood education, which is higher than in 2016 (42%) and also higher than in 2021 (44%). However, it remains much lower than that of children in the EU as a whole (95%). Only 32% complete upper secondary education, compared to 84% of the general student population. In Spain, the percentage of children aged 3 to the age of starting compulsory primary education attending early childhood education and care in 2024 (78%) has increased compared to 2019/2021 (69%) but is lower than the 2016 rate (86%). In addition, the percentage of people aged 20 to 24 who completed at least upper secondary education has increased compared to previous periods (2024=36%; 2021=28%; 2016=24%), which is encouraging progress; However, there is still a very large gap, specifically 44 points lower than the general population (80%).

Segregation in schools remains widespread. Forty-six per cent of Romani boys, Romani girls and Traveller children attend a school where all or most of the pupils are Romani or Traveller. In Spain, according to the survey, the percentage of children in schools where all or most of the pupils are Roma has fallen significantly compared to 2019, by 17 points: from 45% in 2019/2021 to 28% in 2024. This is a positive development, although it remains a very worrying reality.

54% of the Roma and Traveller population is in paid employment, which is an improvement compared to 2016 (43%) and 2021 (43%), but employment levels remain well below those of the general population (75%). At the same time, 36% of the Roma and Traveller population felt discriminated against when looking for work: more than double the figure for 2016 (16%) and higher than in 2021 (33%). In Spain, the percentage of Roma people in paid employment is 31% in 2024, an improvement on 2019/2021 (25%), but still 40 points lower than the general Spanish population (71%).

The gender gap is very marked in this area: only 38% of Roma and Traveller women have paid work, compared to 69% of Roma and Traveller men. In Spain, the wages of Roma women in paid work (22%) are almost half those of Roma men (40%). Spain needs to at least double the proportion of Roma women in paid employment to meet the EU target of 45%.

Although their awareness of equality bodies is improving, less than 6% of Roma and Traveller people report discrimination. This figure is much lower than in 2016 (16%) and 2021 (5%), a worrying figure that indicates that fewer and fewer cases are being reported. In Spain, the reporting rate in 2024 is 6%, slightly higher than in 2019/2021 (4%) but slightly lower than in 2016 (7%).

Health inequalities remain serious. Roma and Travellers live 8 years (men) and 7.4 years (women) less than the rest of the population in the countries surveyed. With regard to discrimination in access to health services in general, the percentage in Spain remains low, with 9% of Roma people surveyed reporting that they had experienced discrimination in accessing these services in 2024 (13% in 2019/2021), a notable decrease, even when compared to 2016 (7%).

These data show that, although the situation has improved in almost all areas and in almost all countries, there is still a huge inequality gap between the Roma population and the rest of the population in Europe. In Spain, there have also been improvements, although very slight in almost all areas. These data show that greater investment by public authorities is needed in specific programmes dedicated to the Roma people in areas such as education, housing and employment, and that anti-Roma sentiment continues to be a reality that has a direct impact on the enjoyment of fundamental rights and access to a dignified life for many Roma people throughout Europe.

Methodological note: in Spain, 1,143 Roma people participated in the 2024 survey, representing 2,955 household members.

The full report is available in English at:

https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2025-roma-survey-2024_en.pdf 

https://fra.europa.eu/sites/default/files/fra_uploads/fra-2025-roma-survey-2024_en.pdf