![Romania 1930 literacy EN](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/Romania_1930_literacy_EN.svg)
Before
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the
literacy rate
Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in written form in some specific context of use. In other words, huma ...
in Romania ranked among the lowest in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. In 1930, at the time of the first official
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
, more than 38 percent of the population over seven years of age were considered illiterate: 50 percent of the women and over 25 percent of the men in the entire population of about 18 million were unable to read or write. In rural areas, where most of the population lived, illiteracy rate was considered even higher. Prominent reasons for the lack of literacy were that children of school age either were not enrolled in school or, if they were, did not attend classes regularly. There was also a fairly large percentage of children who left school without completing their studies or, having completed only the compulsory first four grades, relapsed into illiteracy in adult life.
Although the proportion of literacy had increased somewhat by the time the
Communists
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a so ...
came to power, it was still low. The emphasis given to expanded educational opportunities by the party and government between 1948 and 1956 brought a significant decline in the number of illiterates (''see
Romanian literacy campaign''). Classes were organized throughout the country by the various people's councils, and a determined campaign was undertaken to increase enrollment. Most of these courses lasted two years and were conducted on a weekly basis by both regular teachers and literate volunteers; successful completion was officially considered equivalent to graduation from a four-year elementary school.
As a result of these efforts, the 1956 census showed an overall increase in the literacy rate to about 90 percent. According to this census, illiteracy was still concentrated in the rural areas and among women. Literacy courses were continued until late 1958. In the 1970s Western demographers still considered that, although illiteracy had been significantly reduced, it probably still existed among older segments of the population, particularly in remote areas of the country.
According to the
2002 Romanian Census 508,994 people where registered as illiterate, which is 2.6% of the Romanian population aged 10 or more.
The majority of the illiterate people were women: 357,245 women were illiterate (3.6% of all women) compared to 151,749 illiterate men (1.6% of all men).
Giurgiu
Giurgiu (; bg, Гюргево) is a city in southern Romania. The seat of Giurgiu County, it lies in the historical region of Muntenia. It is situated amongst mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the Danube facing the Bulgarian city ...
,
Teleorman and
Călărași
Călărași (), the capital of Călărași County in the Muntenia region, is situated in south-east Romania, on the banks of the Danube's Borcea branch, at about from the Bulgarian border and from Bucharest.
The city is an industrial centre f ...
were the counties with the highest share of illiterate people, at 7.7%, 7.1% and 6% respectively. Among ethnic groups,
Romani people
The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sig ...
and
Turks of Romania
The Turks of Romania ( tr, Romanya Türkleri, ro, Turcii din România) are ethnic Turks who form an ethnic minority in Romania. According to the 2011 census, there were 27,698 Turks living in the country, forming a minority of some 0.15% of ...
had the lowest levels of literacy, with illiterates forming 25.6% respectively 23.7% of the total population in 2002, while
Jewish people
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
had the highest literacy rate at 99.86%. Ethnic
Romanians
The Romanians ( ro, români, ; dated exonym ''Vlachs'') are a Romance languages, Romance-speaking ethnic group. Sharing a common Culture of Romania, Romanian culture and Cultural heritage, ancestry, and speaking the Romanian language, they l ...
had a literacy rate of 97.9%, while 98.6% of the
Hungarians in Romania
The Hungarian minority of Romania ( hu, Romániai magyarok; ro, maghiarii din România) is the largest ethnic minority in Romania, consisting of 1,227,623 people and making up 6.1% of the total population, according to the 2011 Romanian cen ...
were literate.
According to the
2021 Romanian census
The 2021 Romanian census ( ro, Recesământul Populației și Locuințelor 2021 (RPL2021)) was a census held in Romania between 1 February and 31 July 2022, with the reference day for the census data set at 1 December 2021. The census was supposed ...
, the number of illiterates fell to 135,000 people, with men forming the majority of the illiterates for the first time in Romanian history. Illiteracy was highest among Romani and Turkish people, with 3.73% and 3.13% respectively.
References
{{reflist
Education in Romania
Literacy