Download the graphic presentation: 11.09.26 Informat.ro Barometer – Direction of the Country
According to the Informat.ro – INSCOP Research BAROMETER, 14th edition, conducted between September 1 and 7, 2026, the vast majority of Romanians believe that things in the country are heading in the wrong direction. By contrast, the share of those who are optimistic about the country’s direction has fallen to its lowest level this year.
The Informat.ro – INSCOP Research BAROMETER is a monthly opinion poll conducted by INSCOP Research at the request of the Informat.ro news platform, in partnership with the Strategic Thinking Group think tank.
The Informat.ro – INSCOP Research BAROMETER aims to bring issues of public interest to the attention of the public in order to stimulate national conversations on a wide range of topics and public policies that are essential to Romania’s present and future. The initiative is based on the opinions of Romanians and is developed in partnership with renowned think tanks and academic institutions. Through this initiative, we aim to contribute to strengthening democracy by using credible, scientific tools that bring citizens’ voices to the forefront of public debate.
Methodology: The data were collected between September 1 and 7, 2026. Research method: questionnaire-based interviews. The data were collected using the CATI method (telephone interviews), with a simple random sample of 1,100 respondents, representative of the Romanian non-institutionalized population aged 18 and over in terms of the main socio-demographic categories (gender, age, and occupation). The maximum margin of error is ±2.95%, at a 95% confidence level.
The graphic presentation of the data is available at: https://www.inscop.ro/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/11.09.26-Barometrul-Informat.ro-Inscop-Directia-tarii.pdf
Darie Cristea, Research Director at INSCOP Research: “The direction in which things are heading in the country should be a rather boring indicator. But it becomes salient in times of crisis. For years now, distrust has been high in our country. In September, the view that things are heading in the wrong direction is almost 6 percentage points higher than in January, after the midpoint of this interval was reached at the no-confidence motion, following which the governing coalition fell apart. In fact, this is an indicator of a climate of public opinion in which we all find it easier to identify someone to blame than to find solutions.”
Direction of the Country
17.1% of respondents believe that things in Romania are heading in the right direction (compared with 17.5% in May 2026, 20.4% in April 2026, 24.3% in March 2026 and 22.1% in January 2026). 76.5% believe that things are heading in the wrong direction (compared with 73.5% in May 2026, 73.8% in April 2026, 69.1% in March 2026 and 70.9% in January 2026), while 6.4% do not know or did not answer (compared with 9% in May 2026, 5.8% in April 2026, 6.6% in March 2026 and 7% in January 2026).
PNL and USR voters, men, young people under 30 and people with higher education are the most optimistic about the direction in which the country is heading.
AUR voters and people aged 30 to 44 are pessimistic about the direction of the country in a higher proportion than the average.
Download the graphic presentation: 11.09.26 Informat.ro Barometer – Direction of the Country
