School segregation of Roma children remains at high levels in some countries of the European Union, but Portugal has significantly lower figures comparatively, according to data from the European Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), released this Thursday.
Analysing the percentage of Roma children between 6 and 15 years old who attend schools in which the majority of their colleagues are Roma, there is a significant difference when children live in neighbourhoods or locations where the population is complete or mostly “gypsy”, against those who live in mixed population neighbourhoods.
For example, in Hungary 73% of children living in neighbourhoods with a majority of Roma population say that their school reflects this reality, with most, if not all, colleagues sharing the same ethnicity. As for those who live in mixed population neighbourhoods, only 22% say they have classes mostly or completely of their ethnicity. Slovakia and Bulgaria are two other countries where segregation numbers are high.
However, in the nine countries analysed, Portugal has the lowest numbers of segregation indicators in overall terms: only 17% of Roma children living in neighbourhoods with a majority Roma population claim to have classes mostly of their ethnicity, a percentage that drops to 10% for those who live in mixed population locations.
