Romania’s resident population continues to shrink as aging trend accelerates, official statistics say
Romania’s resident population fell to 19.043 million as of January 1, 2025, down by 24,400 people compared with the previous year, as negative natural growth continued to outweigh gains from international migration, according to data published on Wednesday, January 14, by the National Statistics Institute (INS). The office said the main driver of the decline was a negative natural balance, with the number of deaths exceeding live births by 100,900 people.
According to the same source, as quoted by Agerpres, although Romania recorded a positive net international migration of 71,300 people in 2024, this was not sufficient to offset the natural population loss.
The resident urban population stood at 9.77 million on January 1, 2025, a decrease of 1.3% compared with the same period a year earlier. The female population also declined, falling by 0.4% year-on-year to nearly 9.753 million.
The demographic aging process continued to deepen, with the share of people aged 65 and over rising to 20.3% of the total population, up from 20% on January 1, 2024. At the same time, the proportion of children aged 0 to 14 decreased from 15.9% to 15.4% over the same period.
As a result, the demographic aging index increased from 125.8 to 131.3 elderly persons per 100 young people.
According to the statistical office, the demographic dependency ratio edged down slightly, from 56.1 dependants per 100 working-age adults at the beginning of 2024 to 55.6 one year later.
Romania remained a country of immigration in 2024, with immigrants outnumbering emigrants by 71,300 people, even though the positive migration balance was lower than in previous years. Men accounted for the majority of both emigrants, at 53.3%, and immigrants, at 64.5%.
Overall, INS said that the combined effects of negative natural growth, the migration balance, and late-registered births, which added 5,200 people, still resulted in a decline of Romania’s resident population in January 2025 compared with the same date a year earlier.
irina.marica@romania-insider.com
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