13.01.2023

ACCORDING TO THE 2021 CENSUS, THE POPULATION OF ROMANIA IS 19.05 MILLION PEOPLE, THE PROCESS OF DEMOGRAPHIC AGING IS DEEPENING

Romania's population is 19.05 million, of which 9.8 million - 51.5 percent - are women, according to the first preliminary data for the 2021 population and housing census, the National Statistics Institute (NSI) reports.

9.941 million people - 52.2 percent of the total population - live in urban environments.

According to NSI, the process of demographic aging has deepened compared to 10 years ago (the 2011 census) and the share of the elderly population (65 and over) is increasing.

The demographic aging index depreciated by almost 20 percentage points, increasing to 121.2 older people per 100 young people (Census 2021) compared to 101.8 (Census 2011). Although the number of young people (under 15) fell by 115,700, their share of the total population rose slightly to 16.1 percent (up from 15.9 percent in Census 2011), while people aged 65 and over have increased by almost half a million people, correspondingly their share has increased by 3.5 percentage points (from 16.1 percent in the 2011 census to 19.6 percent in the 2021 census).

Compared to the permanent population recorded in the previous census (2011), Romania lost 1.1 million inhabitants. Out of 42 counties (including Bucharest Municipality) in 39 counties the population has decreased. The exceptions are Ilfov county, whose population increased by 153,900 people, and Bistrica-Nasaud and Suceava counties, which recorded an increase of 9,800 and 7,700 inhabitants, respectively.

Ethnicity information is available for 16.5 million people (out of a total of 19.05 million people who make up the permanent population of Romania). 14.8 million people (89.3 percent) declared themselves Romanian. The ethnic Hungarian population recorded in the census was 1.002 million (6 percent), and the number of self-identified Roma was 569,500 (3.4 percent). The ethnic groups for which more than 20,000 people are registered are: Ukrainians (45,800 people), Germans (22,900 people) and Turks (20,900 people).

16.551 million people have declared their mother tongue and according to their data the structure of the population according to mother tongue is as follows: 91.6 percent with Romanian as mother tongue, 6.3% with Hungarian as mother tongue.

16.397 million people have declared their religion and the data show that 85.3 percent are Orthodox; 4.5 percent identify as Roman Catholic, 3 percent as Reformed, and 2.5 percent as Pentecostal. Burdens between 0.4% and 0.8% were recorded by the following religions: Greek Catholic (0.7%), Baptist (0.6%), Seventh-day Adventist, and Muslim at 0.4% each.

Almost half of the population of Romania (47.9 percent) are legally married. 4.495 million men and 4.629 million women are married. Two out of five people have never been married, and widows make up 5.2 percent of the total population.

43.5 percent of Romania's population has a secondary level of education (high school, post-secondary, vocational or technical education), 40.5 percent has a lower level (primary, primary or no education) and 16 percent has a higher level. In the 2021 census, 143,600 people were illiterate (compared to 245,400 in the 2011 census).

Romania's active population is 8.185 million people, consisting of 7.689 million employed and 496,100 unemployed. The inactive population includes 10.868 million people, of whom pensioners and people on welfare make up two fifths (39.5 per cent) and schoolchildren and students almost a third (32 per cent).

The 2021 census was the 13th consecutive in the country's history and the first to be conducted entirely in digital format. The entire process of data collection was conducted under the assurance of confidentiality and full protection of information.