Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights

The Roma and Sinti populations of Europe migrated from India between the 9th and the 14th centuries. They dispersed across Europe and developed diverse communities.

Millions of Roma and Sinti live around the world, the majority in Europe. While nomadism was once central to their culture, most Roma are now sedentary.

Often linked together pejoratively under the term Gypsies, alongside ethnically unrelated groups, Roma and Sinti have been persecuted throughout their history and were victims of the Holocaust. Since the collapse of communism in 1989, Roma and Sinti communities have in many places been further excluded from mainstream society. Many were caught in the crossfire of violent conflicts resulting from the resurgence of nationalism in Eastern and South Eastern Europe.

Discrimination and exclusion still characterize the lives of most Roma and Sinti today, reflected in racist violence, unemployment, poverty, illiteracy and high infant mortality.