The Portuguese Roma Gypsies have little formal education, marry young, mainly work in fairs, though many are unemployed and get basic social security benefits, a study published this week has revealed. This, is the first national study of the Roma community. They interviewed almost 1,600 Gypsies throughout Portugal last year. The study co-ordinator said there were three large groups. One is composed of youths under 34 years with different levels of schooling, many of them have never worked and many live with their families. A second group is 45 years or older ‘living in very deficient conditions with greater vulnerability’. The last group has people of an active age with families or in a stable situation, with ages of between 24 and 35 years, many have had four years of school. This group has a larger number of workers, mainly people who travel from fair to fair as employees. They are more open and have non-Roma friends and their networks are less closed.