By 2030, the number of Roma living in Slovakia could rise to 640,000 from the current 402,000, brings the daily SME. The Demographic Research Institute has been compiling a three years long study on the Roma population. Branislav Šprocha from the Institute claims that the birth rate of Roma is mostly related to poverty and education.
This means that the poorer the family, the more children it usually has. While Roma women living in poor settlements give birth to four or five children on average, educated and employed Roma women have on average two children or less. Talking about the number of children in a family is a touchy topic. “The majority of women in the research were ashamed to admit the number of children they have”, Šprocha explained, adding that they say what they think he wants to hear in order to show themselves in a better light. That is why numbers on the Roma population differ. Roma women try to conceal two children on average. Moreover, findings of the Institute show that the issue of fertility is a big taboo in these settlements. Roma living in the segregated settlements face many health problems linked to their poor living conditions, the biggest of which are cardiovascular diseases which cause up to 40 percent of Roma deaths. Poor health in settlements is also reflected in higher mortality of Roma new-borns and also by the fact that adults in these settlements die younger that is the average mortality age in Slovakia. This is mainly due to poor sanitation, bad diet and inadequate health care.
