The objective of this chapter is to provide answers to two broad questions: How have the Gypsies' socioeconomic conditions changed in the postcommunist era, and how have interethnic relations between the Roma and dominant populations changed in the same period? These questions correspond to the argument stated in Chapter 1, which contends that state policies toward the Roma are in part determined by societal attitudes and the Roma's own socioeconomic conditions. I argue that in both regards the regime change from state-socialism to the nascent democracies was accompanied by profoundly negative effects for the Roma. This chapter analyzes their situation in the 1990s, putting aside for the moment the changes spurred by Romani political mobilization, the efforts of international and nongovernmental organizations, and state policies. In Chapter 8 I will revisit the Gypsies' socioeconomic circumstances to take into account whatever changes occurred as a result of these factors.

This chapter is divided into three sections. In Part I the focus is on the demographic, educational, and employment situation of the Roma in the 1990s. Part II analyzes the Gypsies' social ills focusing on health problems, poverty, and crime. Finally, Part III examines societal relations between the Roma and the dominant groups and explores the phenomenon of interethnic violence.

PART I: DEMOGRAPHY, EDUCATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT

Demography

In the postcommunist era the estimation of the size of Eastern Europe's Romani population remains a chancy undertaking. Numerous longstanding obstacles to accurate calculation remain.