The phenomenon of immigration is the main reason for the increase in the country’s population in 2023, the National Institute of Statistics reported on Friday.
Last year, this phenomenon of population growth due to immigrants took place for the first time in Romania.
Thus, the balance of international migration (the difference between the number of immigrants and the number of emigrants) in 2023 was positive, the number of immigrants exceeding the number of emigrants by 82,000 people.
During the past year, women were the majority among emigrants (52.4%), while among immigrants, men were the majority (57.4%).
As of January 1, 2024, the resident population was 19,064,409 people, an increase of 9,900 compared to January 1, 2023, according to the latest statistics. The resident population includes all individuals (regardless of Romanian citizenship, foreign citizenship, or statelessness) who have their usual residence in Romania, whether they are currently in the country or abroad.
The urban population and females are the majority, accounting for 51.9% and 51.4%, respectively.
The demographic aging phenomenon continues to intensify, reaching 123.8 elderly individuals per 100 young people under 15 years old. The gap between the elderly population aged 65 and over and the young population aged 0-14 years has reached 736,000 people, an increase compared to January 1, 2023.
The demographic dependency ratio (the ratio of the number of individuals in the “dependent” age group (people under 15 and over 64 years old) to the working-age population (15-64 years old) expressed per 100 people) increased from 56.0 to 56.8 young and elderly people per 100 working-age adults.
Record Number of Romanians Emigrated Permanently Last Year
As a matter of fact, last year, the number of Romanians who left Romania for good was a record of the last 30 years, according to INS data. On Friday, Statistics published the population data, emphasizing that only thanks to immigrants coming to Romania, the country’s population increased, in the conditions of a demographic decline and consistent external migration.
Overall, in the past 30 years, Romania has lost through external migration the equivalent of the country’s most populous county – Iași (about 700,000 inhabitants).