Romania's population has declined by more than 4.16 million people over the past 35 years, with external migration accounting for 63% of the decrease and negative natural growth for 37%, according to an expert analysis published on Tuesday by the head of the National Institute of Statistics (INS), Tudorel Andrei.
According to the same source, the population of the European Union (EU) currently includes approximately 43 million people living in a country other than their country of residence, whether within the EU or outside the bloc, as shown by Eurostat data for 2025.
'Of the 43 million people, 32.6% (around 14 million) reside in another EU Member State, while 67.4% (approximately 29 million) come from countries outside the Union. At the opposite end of the scale are states with low shares of this category of population, including Romania, alongside Poland and Slovakia, each recording values of around 1%,' Andrei notes.
As regards Romania, data centralised by the INS show that between 1990 and 2024, more than 808,000 people emigrated permanently from the country, while 646,000 people established their residence in Romania.
'In the first year after the Revolution, almost 100,000 people left the country permanently, but in the following years the number of permanent emigrants steadily declined from one year to the next over the subsequent four years. This was followed by a period of almost 14 years, between 1997 and 2010, during which the annual level of emigration was relatively low, with most figures below the threshold of 10,000 people. From 2011 onwards, the annual flow of permanent emigrants increased year by year. In this context, in 2022 the number of permanent departures exceeded 30,000, and in 2024, after almost three decades, Romania once again reached the level of 50,000 permanent departures in a single year,' Tudorel Andrei underlines.
He also points out that between 2000 and 2011, in most years the annual balance of permanent migration was negative.
Furthermore, between 2012 and 2022, the number of registered immigrants was significantly higher than that of permanent emigrants, with permanent migration recording a positive balance of 183,000 people.
'In 2023 and 2024, Romania returned to a negative balance of permanent international migration, which contributed to a reduction of the resident population by more than 41,000 people. Since 1992, citizens from various countries have established their residence in Romania. (...) Until 2010, the largest number of permanent immigrants came from the Republic of Moldova - approximately 75,000 people, representing more than half of all permanent immigration recorded,' the specialist notes.
For the period 2011-2022, nearly 273,000 people established their residence in Romania, representing more than 60% of total permanent immigrants.
At the same time, against the backdrop of the war in Ukraine, the number of Ukrainian citizens who registered their residence in Romania was approximately 34,400, accounting for 7.6% of total permanent immigration recorded during this period.
The analysis highlights that in 2024 the number of immigrants from countries other than the traditional ones reached around 21,800 people, or 39.7% of total permanent immigration that year.
'In 2022 and 2023, the number of immigrants registered in Romania doubled compared with the level recorded in 2010. Between 2010 and 2014, more than 90% of immigrants were Romanian citizens returning to the country,' the head of the INS states.
As for the resident population, on January 1, 2010 it was more than 1.33 million lower than on January 1, 2003, with external migration accounting for over 83% of the reduction in the resident population during that period.
Against this backdrop, between 2022 and 2024 the positive balance of external migration stood at 235,000 people, 'almost entirely offsetting the negative natural growth of 263,000 people', and 'under these conditions, Romania's resident population did not fall below the threshold of 19 million people'.
Overall, over a period of 35 years, Romania's population declined by more than 4.16 million people, with external migration contributing 63% and negative natural growth 37%.
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