Demographics of Romania

Demographics of Romania
The evolution of the population between 1961 and 2010
Population	20,121,641 (2011 census)[1]
Growth rate	-0.29% (2014)
Birth rate	9.27 births/1,000 population (2014)
Death rate	11.88 deaths/1,000 population (2014)
Life expectancy	75 years (2015)[2]
• male	71.4 years
• female	78.8 years
Fertility rate	1.32 children born/woman (2014)
Infant mortality rate	9.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2012)[3]
Net migration rate	-0.24 migrants/1,000 population (2015)
Age structure
0–14 years	3,189,646 (15.8%)
15–64 years	13,684,251 (68.1%)
65 and over	3,247,744 (16.1%)
Sex ratio
Total	0.95 males/female (2014)
At birth	1.06 males/female
Under 15	1.05 males/female
15–64 years	0.99 males/female
65 and over	0.69 males/female
Nationality
Nationality	noun: Romanian(s), adjective: Romanian
Major ethnic	Romanian
Minor ethnic	Hungarian, Roma, Ukrainian, German, Russian, Turkish, Serbian, Slovak, etc.
Language
Official	Romanian
Spoken	Romanian and other minority languages

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Romania, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

About 89.4% of the people of Romania are ethnic Romanians, whose language, Romanian, is an Eastern Romance language, descended primarily from Latin with some Bulgarian, Serbian, German, Greek, Hungarian and Turkish borrowings. Romanians are by far the most numerous group of speakers of an Eastern Romance language today. It has been said that they constitute "an island of Latinity"^[4] in Eastern Europe, surrounded on all sides either by Slavic peoples or by the Hungarians.

The Hungarian minority in Romania constitutes the country's largest minority, 6.1 per cent of the population.^[5]

Population

Romania's population declined steadily in recent years, from 21.7 million in 2002 to 19.9 million in 2014.^[6] More specifically, in the last decade, the population of Romania decreased by 7.5%, the most important moment for the country's demography being 2008, when the number of inhabitants dropped by 600,000 people.^[7] Among the causes of population decline are high mortality, low fertility rate after 1989, and emigration.^[6]

For the entire period 1990–2006 estimated population loss tops 1.5 million. But it is likely to be higher, given the explosion of migration for work after 2001 and the tendency of some migrants to settle permanently in the countries where they live.^[8]

Population evolution

A huge surge of the birth rate in 1967 is the most prominent feature of these graphs.

Sources give varied estimates for Romania's historical population. The National Institute for Research and Development in Informatics (NIRDI) gives the following numbers:

Ethnic groups

Ethnic map (1930 census)

Ethnic map (2002 census)

Ethnic map (2011 census)

Ethnicity in Romania by county (inhabitants) based on the 2002 census data

Ethnicity in Romania by county (%) based on 2002 census data

Before World War II, minorities represented more than 28% of the total population. During the war that percentage was halved, largely by the loss of the border areas of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina (to the former Soviet Union, now Moldova and Ukraine) and southern Dobrudja (to Bulgaria). Two-thirds of the ethnic German population either left or were deported after World War II, a period that was followed by decades of relatively regular (by communist standards) migration. All these left behind a population of 60,000 ethnic Germans in Romania today. Of a total official population of over three quarter million Jews before World War II, more than half were killed during the Holocaust.^[9] Mass emigration, mostly to Israel and United States, has reduced the surviving Jewish community to less than 6,000 in 2002(it is estimated that the real numbers could be 3-4 times higher).^[10]

Hungarians (Magyars; see Hungarians in Romania), especially in Harghita, Covasna, and Mureș counties, and the Roma are the principal minorities, with a declining German population (Banat Swabians in Timiș; Transylvanian Saxons in Sibiu, Brașov and elsewhere), and smaller numbers of Czechs, Slovaks, Serbs, Chinese, Croats, and Banat Bulgarians (in Banat), Ukrainians (especially in Maramureș and Bukovina), Greeks of Romania (especially in Brăila and Constanța), Turks and Tatars (mainly in Constanța), Armenians, Russians (Lipovans, Old Believers in Tulcea), Jews and others. Since the Romanian Revolution of 1989, Bucharest has again become an increasingly cosmopolitan city, including identifiable Chinese and Irish presences. Minority populations are greatest in Transylvania and the Banat, areas in the north and west of the country, which were part of the Kingdom of Hungary (after 1867 the Austria-Hungary) until the end of World War I. Even before the union with Romania, ethnic Romanians comprised the overall majority in Transylvania. However, ethnic Hungarians and Germans were the dominant urban population until relatively recently, while Hungarians still constitute the majority in Harghita and Covasna counties.

Population of Romania according to ethnic group in 1930 ^[11]

Ethnicity	number	%
Romanians	12,981,324	71.9
Hungarians	1,425,507	7.9
Germans	745,421	4.1
Jews	728,115	4.0
Ruthenians and Ukrainians	582,115	3.2
Russians	409,150	2.3
Bulgarians	366,384	2.0
Romani	262,501	1.5
Turks	154,772	0.9
Gagauzians	105,750	0.6
Czechs and Slovaks	51,842	0.3
Serbs, Croats and Slovenes	51,062	0.3
Poles	48,310	0.3
Greeks	26,495	0.1
Tatars	22,141	0.1
Armenians	15,544	0.0
Hutsuls	12,456	0.0
Albanians	4,670	0.0
Others	56,355	0.3
Undeclared	7,114	0.0
Total	18,057,028	100.0

Population of Romania according to ethnic group 1948–2011

Ethnic group	census 1948^1		census 1956^2		census 1966^3		census 1977^4		census 1992^5		census 2002^6		census 2011^7
	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%	Number	%
Romanians	13,597,613	85.7	14,996,114	85.7	16,746,510	87.7	18,999,565	88.1	20,408,542	89.5	19,399,597	89.5	16,792,868	83.4
Hungarians	1,499,851	9.4	1,587,675	9.1	1,619,592	8.5	1,713,928	7.9	1,624,959	7.1	1,431,807	6.6	1,227,623	6.1
Romani	53,425	0.3	104,216	0.6	64,197	0.3	227,398	1.05	401,087	1.8	535,140	2.5	621,573	3.0
Ukrainians	37,582	0.2	60,479	0.4	54,705	0.3	55,510	0.3	65,764	0.3	61,098	0.3	50,920	0.2
Germans	343,913	2.2	384,708	2.2	382,595	2.0	359,109	1.6	119,462	0.5	59,764	0.3	36,042	0.2
Turks	28,782	0.2	14,329	0.2	18,040	0.1	23,422	0.1	29,832	0.1	32,098	0.2	27,698	0.2
Tatars			20,469	0.2	22,151	0.1	23,369	0.1	24,596	0.1	23,935	0.1	20,282	0.1
Russians	39,332	0.2	38,731	0.2	39,483	0.2	21,206	0.2	7,983	0.1	35,791	0.2	23,864	0.1
Lipovans							11,090	0.1	30,623	0.2
Serbs	45,447	0.3	46,517	0.3	44,236	0.3	34,429	0.2	29,408	0.1	22,561	0.1	18,076	0.1
Croats							7,500	0.0	4,085	0.0	6,807	0.0	5,408	0.0
Slovenes											175	0.0
Slovaks	35,143	0.2	23,331	0.2	22,151	0.1	21,286	0.1	19,594	0.1	17,226	0.2	13,654	0.1
Czechs			11,821	0.0	9,978	0.0	7,683	0.0	5,797	0.0	3,941	0.0	2,477	0.0
Bulgarians	13,408	0.1	12,040	0.1	11,193	0.1	10,372	0.0	9,851	0.1	8,025	0.0	7,336	0.0
Greeks	8,696	0.1	11,166	0.0	9,088	0.0	6,262	0.0	3,940	0.0	6,472	0.0	3,668	0.0
Jews	138,795	0.9	146,264	0.8	42,888	0.2	24,667	0.1	8,955	0.0	5,785	0.0	3,271	0.0
Poles	6,753	0.0	7,627	0.0	5,860	0.0	4,641	0.0	4,232	0.0	3,559	0.0	2,543	0.0
Armenians	6,987	0.0	6,441	0.0	3,436	0.0	2,342	0.0	1,957	0.0	1,780	0.0	1,361	0.0
Macedonians							1,176	0.0	6,867	0.0	731	0.0	1,264	0.0
Csangos											1,266	0.0	1,536	0.0
Aromanians							982	0.0	21,736	0.1
Others/undeclared	15,897	0.1	17,522	0.1	6,990	0.0	5,731	0.0	9,368	0.0	28,303	0.1	23,741	0.1
Undeclared													1,236,810	6.14
Total	15,872,624		17,489,450		19,103,163		21,559,910		22,810,035		21,680,974		20,121,641
^1 The results of the 1948 census are according to language. ^2 Source: . ^3 Source: . ^4 Source: . ^5 Source: . ^6 Source:

Vital statistics

Romania total fertility rate by region (2014)

1.9 - 2.1   1.7 - 1.9   1.5 - 1.7   1.4 - 1.5   1.3 - 1.4   < 1.3

Before WWI

	Average population (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)
1900	6 050	235 000	146 000	89 000	38.8	24.2	14.6
1901	6 120	241 000	160 000	81 000	39.3	26.2	13.1
1902	6 210	242 000	172 000	70 000	39.0	27.7	11.3
1903	6 290	252 000	156 000	96 000	40.1	24.8	15.3
1904	6 390	256 000	156 000	100 000	40.1	24.4	15.7
1905	6 480	248 000	160 000	88 000	38.3	24.7	13.6
1906	6 570	262 000	157 000	105 000	39.9	23.9	16.0
1907	6 680	274 000	176 000	98 000	41.1	26.3	14.8
1908	6 770	273 000	185 000	88 000	40.3	27.4	12.9
1909	6 860	282 000	188 000	94 000	41.1	27.4	13.7
1910	6 970	274 000	173 000	101 000	39.3	24.8	14.5
1911	7 090	300 000	179 000	121 000	42.3	25.3	17.0
1912	7 240	314 000	166 000	148 000	43.4	22.9	20.5
1913	7 360	310 000	192 000	118 000	42.1	26.1	16.0
1914	7 770	327 000	183 000	144 000	42.1	23.5	18.6
1915	7 910	320 000	194 000	126 000	40.5	24.5	16.0

Between WWI and WWII

	Average population (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)
1919	15 920	366 000	328 000	38 000	23.0	20.6	2.4
1920	16 010	539 000	415 000	124 000	33.7	25.9	7.8
1921	16 240	620 000	372 000	248 000	38.2	22.9	15.3
1922	16 500	614 000	376 000	238 000	37.2	22.8	14.4
1923	16 770	609 000	372 000	237 000	36.4	22.1	14.3
1924	16 990	623 000	383 000	240 000	36.7	22.5	14.2
1925	17 190	606 000	362 000	244 000	35.2	21.1	14.1
1926	17 460	608 000	373 000	235 000	34.8	21.4	13.4
1927	17 690	603 000	393 000	210 000	34.1	22.2	11.9
1928	17 970	624 000	352 000	272 000	34.7	19.6	15.1
1929	17 640	601 000	378 000	223 000	34.1	21.4	12.7
1930	17 870	625 000	347 000	278 000	35.0	19.4	15.6
1931	18 190	605 000	379 000	226 000	33.3	20.8	12.5
1932	18 427	662 000	399 000	263 000	35.9	21.7	14.2
1933	18 653	598 000	348 000	250 000	32.1	18.7	13.4
1934	18 914	612 416	390 668	221 748	32.4	20.7	11.7
1935	19 088	585 503	402 720	182 783	30.7	21.1	9.6
1936	19 319	608 906	382 179	226 727	31.5	19.8	11.7
1937	19 535	601 310	377 954	223 356	30.8	19.3	11.4
1938	19 750	585 423	379 445	205 978	29.6	19.2	10.4
1939	19 934	563 817	370 348	193 469	28.3	18.6	9.7

After WWII

^[12]

	Average population (x 1000)	Live births	Deaths	Natural change	Crude birth rate (per 1000)	Crude death rate (per 1000)	Natural change (per 1000)	Fertility rates
1946	15 760	391 273	296 439	94 834	24.8	18.8	6.0
1947	15 860	370 562	349 331	21 231	23.4	22.0	1.3
1948	15 893	379 868	248 238	131 630	23.9	15.6	8.3
1949	16 084	444 065	219 881	224 184	27.6	13.7	13.9
1950	16 311	426 820	202 010	224 810	26.2	12.4	13.8	3,14
1951	16 464	412 534	210 021	202 513	25.1	12.8	12.3	3,01
1952	16 630	413 217	195 287	217 930	24.8	11.7	13.1	2,97
1953	16 847	401 717	194 752	206 965	23.8	11.6	12.3	2,76
1954	17 040	422 346	195 091	227 255	24.8	11.4	13.3	2,98
1955	17 325	442 864	167 535	275 329	25.6	9.7	15.9	3,07
1956	17 583	425 704	174 847	250 857	24.2	9.9	14.3	2,89
1957	17 829	407 819	181 923	225 896	22.9	10.2	12.7	2,73
1958	18 056	390 500	156 493	234 007	21.6	8.7	13.0	2,58
1959	18 226	368 007	186 767	181 240	20.2	10.2	9.9	2,43
1960	18 403	352 241	160 720	191 521	19.1	8.7	10.4	2,34
1961	18 567	324 859	161 936	162 923	17.5	8.7	8.8	2,18
1962	18 681	301 985	172 429	129 556	16.2	9.2	6.9	2,04
1963	18 813	294 886	155 767	139 119	15.7	8.3	7.4	2,01
1964	18 927	287 383	152 476	134 907	15.2	8.1	7.1	1,96
1965	19 027	278 362	163 393	114 969	14.6	8.6	6.0	1,91
1966	19 141	273 678	157 445	116 233	14.3	8.2	6.1	1,90
1967	19 285	527 764	179 129	348 635	27.4	9.3	18.1	3,68
1968	19 721	526 091	188 509	337 582	26.7	9.6	17.1	3,64
1969	20 010	465 764	201 225	264 539	23.3	10.1	13.2	3,20
1970	20 253	427 034	193 255	233 779	21.1	9.5	11.5	2,89
1971	20 470	400 146	194 306	205 840	19.5	9.5	10.1	2,67
1972	20 663	389 153	189 793	199 360	18.8	9.2	9.6	2,55
1973	20 828	378 696	203 559	175 137	18.2	9.8	8.4	2,44
1974	21 029	427 732	191 286	236 446	20.3	9.1	11.2	2,71
1975	21 245	418 185	197 538	220 647	19.7	9.3	10.4	2,60
1976	21 446	417 353	204 873	212 480	19.5	9.6	9.9	2,55
1977	21 658	423 958	208 685	215 273	19.6	9.6	9.9	2,57
1978	21 855	416 598	211 846	204 752	19.1	9.7	9.4	2,52
1979	22 048	410 603	217 509	193 094	18.6	9.9	8.8	2,48
1980	22 201	398 904	231 876	167 028	18.0	10.4	7.5	2,43
1981	22 353	381 101	224 635	156 466	17.0	10.0	7.0	2,36
1982	22 478	344 369	224 120	120 249	15.3	10.0	5.3	2,17
1983	22 553	321 498	233 892	87 606	14.3	10.4	3.9	2,07
1984	22 625	350 741	233 699	117 042	15.5	10.3	5.2	2,27
1985	22 725	358 797	246 670	112 127	15.8	10.9	4.9	2,31
1986	22 823	376 896	242 330	134 566	16.5	10.6	5.9	2,40
1987	22 940	383 199	254 286	128 913	16.7	11.1	5.6	2,39
1988	23 054	380 043	253 370	126 673	16.5	11.0	5.5	2,31
1989	23 152	369 544	247 306	122 238	16.0	10.7	5.3	2,20
1990	23 207	314 746	247 086	67 660	13.6	10.6	2.9	1,83
1991	23 185	275 275	251 760	23 515	11.9	10.9	1.0	1,59
1992	22 789	260 393	263 855	-3 462	11.4	11.6	-0.2	1,51
1993	22 755	249 994	263 323	-13 329	11.0	11.6	-0.6	1,43
1994	22 731	246 736	266 101	-19 365	10.9	11.7	-0.9	1,40
1995	22 681	236 640	271 672	-35 032	10.4	12.0	-1.5	1,33
1996	22 608	231 348	286 158	-54 810	10.2	12.7	-2.4	1,30
1997	22 546	236 891	279 316	-42 425	10.5	12.4	-1.9	1,32
1998	22 503	237 297	269 166	-31 869	10.5	12.0	-1.4	1,32
1999	22 458	234 600	265 194	-30 594	10.4	11.8	-1.4	1,30
2000	22 435	234 521	255 820	-21 299	10.5	11.4	-0.9	1,31
2001	22 132	220 368	259 603	-39 235	10.0	11.7	-1.8	1,27
2002	21 803	210 529	269 666	-59 137	9.7	12.4	-2.7	1,25
2003	21 734	212 459	266 575	-54 116	9.8	12.3	-2.5	1,30
2004	21 673	216 261	258 890	-42 629	10.0	11.9	-2.0	1,33
2005	21 635	221 020	262 101	-41 081	10.2	12.1	-1.9	1,40
2006	21 588	219 483	258 094	-38 611	10.2	12.0	-1.8	1,42
2007	21 547	213 625	252 097	-38 472	10.0	11.7	-1.7	1,45
2008	21 513	222 749	253 177	-30 428	10.3	11.8	-1.5	1,60
2009	21 480	222 925	257 083	-34 158	10.4	12.0	-1.6	1,66
2010	21 432	211 922	259 747	-47 825	9.9	12.1	-2.2	1,59
2011	20 121	196 373	251 370	-54 997	9.7	12.5	-2.8	1,47
2012	20 066	201 202	255 458	-54 256	10.0	12.7	-2.7	1,52
2013	19 952	198 216	249 264	-51 048	9.9	12.5	-2.6	1,41
2014	19 897	[13]	[13]	-59 179 [13]	[13]	[13]	-2.6	1,52
2015	19 838	[13]	[13]	-73 625 [13]	[13]	10.2 [13]	-3.3

Note: The 2011 Romanian Census gave a figure of 20,121,641.

Current vital statistics

-Number of births from January–March 2011 = 47,043

-Number of births from January–March 2012 = 46,164

-Number of births from January–March 2013 = 44,965

-Number of death from January–March 2011 = 68,728

-Number of death from January–March 2012 = 71,978

-Number of death from January–March 2013 = 64,879

During the period of January–March 2013 the natural increase was :

Natural increase from January–March 2011 = - 21,685

Natural increase from January–March 2012 = - 25,814

Natural increase from January–March 2013 = - 19,914

Largest urban agglomerations

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Age structure

• 0-14 years: 15.5% (male 1,772,583/female 1,681,539)
• 15–64 years: 69.7% (male 7,711,062/female 7,784,041)
• 65 years and over: 14.7% (male 1,332,120/female 1,934,076) (2010 est.)

A huge surge of the birth rate in 1967 is the most prominent feature of these graphs

As a consequence of the pro-natalist policies of the Nicolae Ceaușescu regime (see Decree 770), Romania has a higher proportion of people born in the late 1960s and 1970s its population than any other Western country except Slovenia. The generations born in 1967 and 1968 were the largest, although fertility remained relatively high until 1990. 8.55% of the Romanian population was born in the period from 1976 to 1980, compared with 6.82% of Americans and 6.33% of Britons.^[15]

Urban-rural ratio

^[16]

• Urban — 55.20%
• Rural — 44.80%

Population growth rate

The population growth rate is -0.127% (2007 estimate).^[17] In common with many European countries, Romania has experienced a decline in population in recent years. The population fell by 1,129,000 or 4.95% in the decade 1992–2002. In three counties, Caraș-Severin, Hunedoara and Teleorman, the population fell by more than 10% over the same period. Only two counties, Ilfov and Iași saw their population increase.

Net migration rate

-0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)^[17]

Sex ratio

at birth::1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years::1.05 male(s)/female

15–64 years::0.99 male(s)/female

65 years and over::0.71 male(s)/female

total population::0.95 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate

9.2 deaths/1,000 live births (May 2010);^[18] down from 17.3 deaths/1,000 live births in 2002.^[19]

Life expectancy at birth

• Total population: 72.18 years
  • male: 68.69 years
  • female: 75.89 years (2008 est.)

Nationality

The noun form is Romanian(s), and the adjectival form is Romanian.

Religion

Distribution of religions in Romania

• Romanian Orthodox — 86.7%
• Roman Catholic — 4.7%
• Protestant Churches (Calvin, Lutheran, Unitarian, Pentecostal, Baptist, Adventist) — 5.3%
• Greek Catholic - Uniate — 0.9%
• Islam — 0.3%
• Atheist — ~0.04% (9,271 people)
• No religion — 0.1%
• Other religions — 2.0%
• Refused to declare — 0.1%

Religious affiliation tends to follow ethnic lines, with most ethnic Romanians identifying with the Romanian Orthodox Church. The Greek Catholic or Uniate church, reunified with the Orthodox Church by fiat in 1948, was restored after the 1989 revolution. The 2002 census indicates that 0.9% of the population is Greek Catholic, as opposed to about 10% prior to 1948. Roman Catholics, largely ethnic Hungarians and Germans, constitute 4.7% of the population; Calvinists, Baptists (see Baptist Union of Romania and Convention of the Hungarian Baptist Churches of Romania), Pentecostals, and Lutherans make up another 5%. There are smaller numbers of Unitarians, Muslims, and other religions.

See also

• Ageing of Europe
• Immigration to Romania

Notes

1. (Romanian) "Recensământul populației și locuințelor - 2011" (PDF). Institutul Național de Statistică. Bucharest. July 2013.
2. "Life expectancy". World Health Organization.
3. "European health for all database (HFA-DB)". World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe.
4. See, for example, Fabio Bordignon, "Italian Decentralisation in Romania", SEF 2003, Warsaw. Abstract available online.
5. http://www.recensamantromania.ro/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Comunicat_DATE_PROVIZORII_RPL_2011.pdf
6. (Romanian) "Populația României, scădere alarmantă: Suntem la nivelul lui 1966. Anual dispar două orașe mici". Ziare.com. 10 December 2015.
7. (Romanian) "Evoluția populației României (milioane de locuitori)". Ziarul Financiar. 3 August 2015.
8. (Romanian) Vasile Ghețău (2007). Declinul demografic și viitorul populației României. O perspectivă din anul 2007 asupra populației României în secolul 21 (PDF). Institutul Național de Cercetări Economice al Academiei Române. Editura Alpha MDN. ISBN 978-973-7871-88-6.
9. Jewishvirtuallibrary.org
10. Comunitati evreiesti din România, B'nai B'rith International and Federația Comunitatii Evreiesti din România. Accessed online 4 December 2006
11. Populația pe Neamuri (in Romanian). Institutul Central de Statistică. pp. XXIV. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
12. "Eurostat - Tables, Graphs and Maps Interface (TGM) table".
13. "Demographic events in 2015 - National Institute of Statistics".
14. "Population at 20 October 2011" (in Romanian). INSSE. 5 July 2013. Retrieved 5 July 2013.
15. "Countries Compared by People > Total population > Age 25-29 > % of the total. International Statistics at NationMaster.com".
16. National Institute of Statistics, INSSE.ro, July 1, 2007 (Romanian)
17. "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency".
18. Populatia Romaniei, in continua scadere, July 12, 2010, wall-street.ro, Accessed online on August 2, 2012
19. UNDP.ro (Romanian)

External links

• United Nations Statistics - Romania
• Romanian National Statistic Institute (site is in Romanian language, pdf files are in Romanian and English)
• Population density map