Bucharest, February 10, 2026 – The population’s level of trust in non-governmental organizations in Romania remains around 50%, in a social context marked by successive crises, accentuated polarization and generalized distrust in institutions. At the same time, although distrust of NGOs is also relatively constant between 2010 and 2025, it is becoming more intense, with the proportion of those who say they “have no  confidence at all” doubling between 2016 and 2025, from 14% to 27%, according  to The Barometer of Opinions on the Civil Society – BOSC 2025, conducted by the Civil Society Development Foundation (FDSC).

BOSC 2025 is part of a series of sociological researches carried out in 2010, 2016, 2023 and 2025, analyzing the evolution of public perceptions of civil society: the level of trust, attitudes towards NGOs, their role and impact, forms of association and civic involvement.

BOSC 2025 data show that non-governmental organisations enjoy a significantly higher level of trust than other forms of association or public representation. NGOs are credited with a level of trust of 49%, compared to trade unions (36%) and political parties (19%). The Church remains the institution with the highest level of trust (81%).

Trust in NGOs is higher among women, young people between 18 and 44 years old, people with higher education, residents of large cities and those in the Moldova region.

Young people are constantly distinguished by a closer relationship with non-governmental organizations. People aged 18 to 29 have a significantly higher level of trust in NGOs (57%) compared to the population over 60 (36%) and are more frequently beneficiaries of the services offered by them.

The majority of respondents believe that NGOs play a key role in the functioning of a democratic society. 63% agree that NGOs get involved where the state fails to bring about change. A similar percentage, 62% believe that a democratic society cannot function without non-governmental organizations.

The statistical analyses included in the study show that trust in NGOs is strongly influenced by the belief that they are indispensable to democracy and that they make up for the failures of the state, while conspiracy theories and indigenous perceptions are associated with a low level of trust in civil society.

The overall picture of the impact of NGOs is moderately positive. Almost half of the respondents believe that NGOs have a positive influence on the quality of life of the direct beneficiaries of their services. In contrast, 62% say that non-governmental organizations have no influence on their own lives.

NGOs are perceived as having a positive impact at the local level rather than at the national level. One in three respondents believe that most NGOs pursue the general interests of society.

This perception – NGOs “do good, but not me” – is identified as one of the central explanations for the relatively low level of formal civic involvement.

Two-thirds of Romanians (66%) say they have interacted, in one way or another, with a non-governmental organization. The most common form of contact is exposure to informative materials about NGOs (55%). The proportion of those who made donations increased to 29%, with a higher participation among young people, people with higher education and residents of large cities.

Almost two-thirds of the adult population is aware of the possibility of redirecting 3.5% of their income tax, and the proportion of those who say they have used this mechanism has increased to 42% in 2025. Of these, 18% redirected to NGOs.

Young people are also more active in non-charitable forms of civic involvement: they have higher shares in participation in public demonstrations, volunteering and institutional activism. Also, young people with higher education from large cities and from the Bucharest–Ilfov area are the most present in the forms of civic involvement associated with NGOs, including in supporting the independent press, even if this form of support is still, overall, marginal at the level of the general population.

35% of adults declare that they are members of some form of association, but only 12% are currently part of an NGO in the narrow sense, and 8% pay a fee. The most widespread forms of association remain mutual aid houses, followed by religious organizations.

The analysis of civic engagement highlights four distinct dimensions: charity, militant activism, institutional activism and volunteering. Civic involvement is most frequently manifested through donations, while participation in protests, volunteering or supporting the independent press remains concentrated in smaller segments of the population, especially among young people with higher education in large urban areas.

The material support of the independent press, a relatively new phenomenon, has doubled compared to 2023 and 4% of Romanians say they have donated in the last year to a newspaper, magazine or online publication, according to BOSC 2025 data.

About 80% of respondents support the four missions tested for non-governmental organizations, namely: supporting people in need, organizing people to do things together, verifying the way governors act and contributing to the drafting of laws and other normative acts. Of these, the role that stands out is that of power surveillance: 52% believe, “to a very large extent”, that NGOs should check what the governors are doing, this expectation being more pronounced among women and people aged between 30 and 44.

The report can be accessed Here. (available in Romanian)