Worrying statistics: Fewer children in Romania in early-2015

There were almost 4 million children aged 0-18 residing in Romania at January 1, 2015, 38,600 less compared to 2014. They had a share of 18% in the total population, down from previous years, according to recent data from the National Statistics Institute INS. In recent years, boys represented 51.4% of the population aged 0-18, the masculinity ration being of 1,056 boys per 1,000 girls. INS data estimates that over 185,000 children were born in Romania in 2014. The fertility rate declined last year compared to previous years, reaching 33 live births per 1,000 women of childbearing age. In 2014, the Central region had the highest birth rate – 9.1 live births per 1,000 inhabitants while the South-Oltenia region had the lowest rate – 7.3 live births per 1,000 inhabitants. Romania had a school population of over 3.7 million at the beginning of the 2014/2015 school year. The children were studying in an educational network of 7,127 units with slightly over 244,000 teachers. Children in primary and secondary schools had the largest share in the total school population, of 1.73 million, followed by those with high schools - over 727,000 and children in kindergarten – more than 578,000. INS released this data to mark the Children’s Day celebrated on June 1. The world’s happiest children live in three countries. Is Romania one of them? How do Romanian parents take care of their children? Romania has more women than men, but they have fewer children, at an older age Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com