Is Romania a Safe Country or a Dangerous One?

Many people consider Romania dangerous, just like they do with any Eastern European country. However, this is no longer the case – and it has been so for many years now.

Romania is a safe country to live in or travel to. There is almost no gun violence or violent crime here, and foreigners are welcome by the locals. You should still practice normal precautions as everywhere in the world, but you’ll feel generally safe here.

People worried a little bit when the Ukraine war started, since the country shares a common border with Romania and thought that the conflict might expand.

I said this back then and I will repeat it now: even the war in Ukraine hasn’t made Romania more dangerous and chances of the war expanding here are close to zero, in my opinion.

Remember: unlike Ukraine, Romania is both a member of the European Union AND NATO.

Attacking it would mean declaring war on the entire NATO block (with members like the US, UK, Turkey, Germany, or France). Slim chances that anybody’s going to do this.

Is Romania safe for foreigners?

Romania is a safe country

I want to start by talking about general issues and day to day living, ignoring any (kind of past) viruses for now – or wars. We’ll talk about these at the end of the article.

Romania can be considered a safe country to visit or to live in. There are no external threats for the country at the moment, and internally, crime rates are low, while general safety is high in all areas.

This includes weapon usage or crimes related to firearms: the number of people who own guns is extremely small in Romania and actual gun violence close to zero.

In our small provincial city of Drobeta Turnu Severin, my wife has been taking our beagle out each night at around 10:30 to 11:00 PM, without any worries. Nothing has ever happened and she’s confident enough that nothing will.

While there are always risks in any country, a single lady can go out for a walk at night without any real reasons to worry.

If we look at other countries and potential threats to Romania (like attacks or anything like that), the country remains a really safe one to be in.

Looking at the Romania safety ranking, it is the 31st safest country in the world according to the Global Peace Index in 2023, keeping this position since 2021. (Source here).

In terms of safety, Romania is tied with Spain, but above Italy, the UK, South Korea, or the US (which, by the way, is ranked among the LEAST safest countries in the world, placed 131st).

So, based on my own experience living here for decades, as well as all the rankings and studies, we can say that Romania is not dangerous. Very few people own guns in the country and most of those who do are hunters.

Further more, owning a gun requires a special permit and there are no reasons for most of the population to go through the trouble of getting one.

Even though the number of individuals owning firearms has increased over the past year, it’s very unlikely you will ever see one in the country.

I’ve been here for 37 years and never saw an armed man in Romania (except for police officers, of course).

safe street in Romania
Romania is safe, even at night

Also, there have been no mass shootings in the country and hopefully there will be none in the future.

It happens very rarely for shootings to take place (maybe once or twice per year) and that’s in between gangs on a jealous husband who wants to scare the life out of his wife…

If you watch TV, though, you might be tempted to believe that Romania is a place where small crimes happen all the time. This is also a stereotype about Romanians the media is responsible for.

There are indeed acts of violence, robberies (if you can call a “robbery” when the neighbor jumps over the fence and steals your chickens) and other similar problems, but most of them take place in the very poor, rural areas that you will probably never get to visit anyway.

And even if you do visit them, you will still be extremely safe as they generally happen within families or between neighbors who have a fight, usually after drinking serious amounts of alcohol.

So stuff like mugging, breaking ins and other more serious crimes rarely happen in Romania, which can easily have us say that Romania is NOT a dangerous country to be or live in.

This follows suit with the trend set by the largest cities in the country: I wrote about the safety in Cluj or Constanta’s safety here, for example.

Do have in mind, though, that there are some areas in the big cities that are considered traditionally unsafe.

While you will most likely have no problems if you visit, it’s still best to avoid them mainly because this is where the junkies hang out and they’re always unpredictable.

Such a place is the well known Ferentari neighborhood in Bucharest, which also became a lot safer over the years as regular families moved there, new shops were opened and the quality of life there increased considerably.

So things like the ghettos that we as Romanians see in the movies-only are nowhere to be found here.

Homelessness is not rampant and fortunately drug users are still in relatively low numbers – or at least those who could roam the street and pose a threat.

Romania still has a bit of a stray dogs problem, and that would probably be your biggest concern when visiting (at least regarding your safety).

But even the once-roaming packs of 10 and more dogs are a thing of the past, with the few remaining on the streets being pretty much domesticated, well fed (by people who still don’t take them in) and generally friendly.

Finally, drivers tend to be pretty chaotic – and Bucharest is the melting pot of driving “innovations” where rules are mainly for guidance and chaos reigns supreme. (I must admit that I am exaggerating a bit, but it’s still pretty bad).

Personally, I have never driven a car in Bucharest and I don’t think I’ll ever have the guts to because of all the chaos.

But as long as you’re careful, you should be, again, all right – just don’t expect all the normal traffic rules to be respected by drivers and take extra precautions when crossing the street, for example, as a pedestrian.

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Racism in Romania

If you are not Caucasian, you might have worries that you could be less safe if you travel or move to Romania. Generally speaking, you should have nothing to worry about, no matter where you come from.

While racism is present in Romania (as it is in other countries), Romanians are generally friendly people and won’t judge and especially won’t attack you based on race alone.

While Romania is not very heterogeneous country – at least from a racial point of view – more and more foreigners from all parts of the globe arrive in the country and generally enjoy life here and are treated as equals.

As I said, some Romanians might have some misconceptions and outdated thinking, but the vast majority will keep their opinion to themselves.

In other words, people from all over the world will feel safe in Romania, no matter the color of their skin. Same goes for LGBTQ – read my full article here.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we can say that Romania is a safe country to travel to or live in. It’s not more dangerous than any other civilized country out there and I would dare to say that it’s safer than countries like the US or any of those where gun violence and violent crimes happen constantly.

While there is a fair share of petty crimes happening, these are in poorer areas or villages, and tourists or expats are not particularly targeted. Also, the country has low rates of violent crimes.

I’d love to hear what you think about Romania’s safety overall, so leave your comments down below.

Calin
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6 thoughts on “Is Romania a Safe Country or a Dangerous One?”

  1. Very glad to discover your website as considering moving out of the US for at least a decade following retirement. Good information – thank you.

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  2. I have been coming to Romania since 1996, and have lived here since 2010. IT IS AN EXTREMELY SAFE COUNTRY! especially compared to other countries that I have visited eg Brazil, Mexico, USA (Where I was born, worked and lived until 2010). I am glad and grateful to be living in Romania…

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