
Chapter 4: Voluntary Military Service
According to BAROMETER Informat.ro – INSCOP Research, edition III, conducted between September 1 - 9, 2025, three-quarters of Romanians have a positive opinion about the introduction of voluntary military service.
BAROMETER Informat.ro – INSCOP Research is a monthly opinion poll conducted by INSCOP Research on behalf of the news platform Informat.ro in partnership with the Strategic Thinking Group think tank.
BAROMETER Informat.ro – INSCOP Research aims to bring to the public's attention topics of interest to stimulate national conversations about various subjects and essential public policies for the present and future of Romania, based on the opinions of Romanians in partnership with think tanks and prestigious academic institutions. It is an initiative through which we aim to contribute to the strengthening of democracy by using scientific and credible tools that bring the voice of citizens to the forefront of public debate.
Methodology: Data was collected between September 1-9, 2025. Research method: interview via questionnaire. Data was collected using the CATI method (telephone interviews), with a simple stratified sample volume of 1103 people, representative of significant socio-demographic categories (gender, age, occupation) for the non-institutionalized population of Romania, aged 18 and over. The maximum margin of error for the data is ± 2.95%, at a confidence level of 95%.
Graphical presentation of the data is available here: BAROMETER Informat.ro - INSCOP Research - Voluntary Military Service
Remus Ștefureac – director INSCOP Research: "Public support for voluntary military service is strong and consistent over time, with three-quarters of Romanians having a positive opinion about this form of military service both now and in the next ten years. Segmenting the responses by population groups reveals relatively homogeneous opinions, with only the population with primary education registering over 30% who have a negative opinion about voluntary military service. Additionally, voters from all parties declare a very high proportion of positive opinions about voluntary military service, with very high proportions among PNL and USR voters. In the regional context marked by Russian aggression in Ukraine, these perceptions may contribute to strengthening the preparedness and resilience of the population in relation to concrete security threats."
Voluntary Military Service
74.2% of Romanians have a positive opinion about the introduction of voluntary military service in Romania (compared to 79.4% in July 2015), while 20.7% have a negative opinion (compared to 15.1% in July 2015). The proportion of non-responses is 5.1%.
Those who have a positive opinion about the introduction of voluntary military service in Romania: 76% of PSD voters, 94% of PNL voters, 87% of USR voters, and 68% of AUR voters, respectively 76% of men and 72% of women, 76% of young people aged up to 30 years, 77% of those aged between 30 and 44 years, 67% of people aged between 45 and 59 years, and 78% of those over 60 years. 60% of people with primary education, 76% of those with secondary education, 87% of those with higher education, 74% of residents of Bucharest, 81% of those in urban areas with over 90 thousand inhabitants, 80% of those in small urban areas, and 68% from rural areas, respectively 81% of public sector employees and 75% of those working in the private sector are in favor of introducing voluntary military service.
Those who have a negative opinion about the introduction of voluntary military service in Romania: 21% of PSD voters, 4% of PNL voters, 9% of USR voters, and 28% of AUR voters, respectively 20% of men and 21% of women, 22% of young people aged up to 30 years, 20% of those aged between 30 and 44 years, 26% of people aged between 45 and 59 years, and 16% of those over 60 years. 33% of people with primary education, 19% of those with secondary education, 10% of those with higher education, 23% of residents of Bucharest, 16% of those in urban areas with over 90 thousand inhabitants, 17% of those in small urban areas, and 25% from rural areas, respectively 15% of public sector employees and 21% of those working in the private sector have a negative opinion about the introduction of voluntary military service.