Romanian diaspora

Ethnically Romanian population outside Romania and Moldova

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Countries with significant Romanian population and descendants (as of 2020).

Romania

\+ 1,000,000

\+ 100,000

\+ 10,000

\+ 1,000

The Romanian diaspora is the ethnically Romanian population outside Romania and Moldova. The concept does not usually include the ethnic Romanians who live as natives in nearby states, chiefly those Romanians who live in Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, and Bulgaria. Therefore, the number of all Romanians abroad is estimated at 4–12 million people, depending on one's definition of the term "Romanian" as well as the inclusion respectively exclusion of ethnic Romanians living in nearby countries where they are indigenous. The definition of "who is a Romanian?" may range from rigorous conservative estimates based on self-identification and official statistics to estimates that include people of Romanian ancestry born in their respective countries as well as people born to various ethnic-minorities from Romania. As of 2015/16, over 97% of Romanian emigrants resided in OECD countries; and about 90% of Romanian emigrants in OECD countries lived in Europe, with the most common country of residence being Italy.[1] The vast majority of Romanian emigrants are based in just ten countries, with the most common countries being Italy, Germany, Spain, United Kingdom, United States, Hungary, France and Canada.[1]

Over one million Romanians live in Italy. Large Romanian populations exist in Spain, the UK and Germany, with the latter including many Germans of Romania.

After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, emigration was liberalized and during the 1990s the main destination countries for Romanian emigrants were Germany, Hungary, Israel, the United States and Canada.[1] After further liberalization in 1999, 2002 and especially after Romania entered the European Union in 2007, Italy, Spain, the UK and other EU countries became major destinations.[1][2]

## Size of the Romanian diaspora

[edit]

Italy is the most common destination for Romanian emigrants, with over one million Romanians living there.

In 2006, the Romanian diaspora was estimated at 8 million people by then President of Romania, Traian Băsescu, most of them living in the former USSR, Western Europe (esp. Italy, Spain, Germany, United Kingdom, France, and Austria), North America (Canada and the United States), South America, and Australia.[3] Nonetheless, it is unclear if Băsescu included the indigenous Romanians living in the immediate surroundings of the Romanian state, which are those in Moldova, Bulgaria, Hungary, Serbia and Ukraine.

In December 2013, Cristian David, the government minister for the Department for Romanians Everywhere, declared that a new reality illustrates that between 6–8 million Romanians live outside Romania's borders. This includes 2–3 million indigenous Romanians living in neighbouring states such as Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, the Balkans and especially the Republic of Moldova. The number also includes circa 2.7–3.5 million Romanians in Western Europe.[4]

Furthermore, the Romanian diaspora emerged as a powerful political force in elections since 2009.[5][6] For the 2014 presidential election, voting in the diaspora was poorly organized and resulted in protests in several major European cities. The diaspora vote played a key role in the final result.[6] 5 years later, in the 2019 presidential election, then center-right candidate and incumbent President Klaus Iohannis was once again overwhelmingly voted for by Romanian diaspora from all over the world.

Below is a list of self-declared ethnic Romanians in the countries where they live, excluding those who live in Romania and Moldova but including those who live in Ukraine, Serbia, Hungary, and Bulgaria.

The numbers are based on official statistical data in the respective states where such Romanians reside or – wherever such data is unavailable – based on official estimates made by the Romanian department for Romanians abroad (figures for Spain, Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Sweden, Portugal, and Turkey are for Romanian citizens, and may include individuals of any ethnicity).

Ethnic Romanians are primarily present in Europe and North America. However, there are ethnic Romanian enclaves in Turkey, both in the Asian and European parts of the country, who are descendants of Wallachian settlers invited by the Ottoman Empire from the early fourteenth to the late nineteenth centuries. Furthermore, there are about 2,000 Romanian immigrants in Japan since the late twentieth century.[7]

## Distribution by country

[edit]

Romanian diaspora inside the EU between 2008 and 2012 Country | Year | Population | Origin, notes

|
|
|

Italy | 2022 | 1,083,771[8] | Citizens (additional 122,667 Moldovans)
Spain | 2022/2023 | 1,079,726 (including naturalized)[9]
630,795 (Romanian citizens, as of 2023)[10] 539,418 (residents of Spain who were born in Romania as of 2022)[11] | Immigrants and Romanian citizens of all ethnic groups. The first number includes all Romanians in Spain, thus taking into account second and third generation Romanians or nationalized ones that count as Spanish in the census. The second number takes into account just Romanian citizens. The third number represents Romanian born residents in Spain. (additional 17,868 Moldovans)
Germany | 2023 | 909,795[12] | Citizens According to German statistics, in 2023, the number of Romanian citizens in Germany was 909,795.[13] The number of people with Romanian ancestry in 2023 (defined as all persons who migrated to the present area of the Federal Republic of Germany after 1949, plus all foreign nationals born in Germany and all persons born in Germany as German nationals with at least one parent who migrated to Germany or was born in Germany as a foreign national) was 1.146,00.[14] (the overall number of people with Romanian ancestry in Germany includes many Romanian-Germans as well)
United Kingdom | 2021 | 539,000 people in England and Wales were born in Romania in 2021;[15] additional Romanians in Scotland and Northern Ireland; there are also naturalized second and third generation Romanians in the UK  | Immigrants (additional 18,000 Moldovans)[citation needed]
United States | 2023 | 425,738[16] (ancestry)

164,406[17] (born in Romania)

| Immigrants
Canada | 2021 | 215,885[18] | According to the 2021 Census, there were 215,885 Canadian residents declaring themselves of Romanian origin;[19] Romanian language was the mother tongue of 93,160 of Canadian residents.[20] There were 86,770 Canadian residents who were born in Romania.[21]
Ukraine | 2001 | 150,989[22] | Indigenous to Zakarpattia Oblast, Odesa Oblast, and Chernivtsi Oblast (additional 258,619 Moldovans)
France | 2019 | 133,000[23] | Immigrants
Austria | 2021 | 132,000[24] | Immigrants, of whom 36,000 live in Vienna[25]
Belgium | 2020 | 105,358[26] | Immigrants
Israel | 2020 | 86,200[27] | Immigrants (mostly Romanian Jews)
Netherlands | 2022 | 48,563[28] | Immigrants (additional 986 Moldovans)
Greece | 2020 | 44,600 [29] | Immigrants (additional 10,391 Moldovans). There are also 209,000 Aromanians[30] and 3,000 Megleno-Romanians[31] in Greece; however, they are not considered an ethnic but a linguistic/cultural minority.
Denmark | 2022 | 43,312[32] | Immigrants (additional 2,236 Moldovans)
Ireland | 2022 | 42,460[33] | Immigrants
Sweden | 2023 | 36,738[34] | Immigrants (additional 1,573 Moldovans)
Hungary | 2011 | 30,924[35] | Indigenous and immigrants
Switzerland | 2022 | 27,299[36] | Immigrants
Cyprus | 2011 | 24,376[37] | Immigrants
Portugal | 2023 | 23,393[38] | There are 23,393 Romanian citizens in Portugal as of 2023.[39] According to Eurostat as many as 7,000 Romanians have acquired Portuguese citizenship since 2008, thus are excluded from the number of Romanian nationals in Portugal.[40][41] (additional 5,243 Moldovan foreigners as of 2022; since 2008 more than 20,000 Moldovans became Portuguese citizens)[41]
Serbia | 2022 | 23,044[42] | Indigenous to Vojvodina and the Timok Valley (additional 21,013 Vlachs and 327 Aromanians)
Norway | 2022 | 18,877[43] | Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents
Australia | 2021 | 15,268 (by birth)

28,103 (by ancestry)

| According to ABS (2021 census) figures, there are 15,268 people in Australia who were born in Romania[44] and 28,103 people with Romanian ancestry in Australia.[45]
Czechia | 2018 | 14,684[46] | Immigrants (additionally 5,811 Moldovans)
Kazakhstan | 2009 | 14,666[47] | Displaced and deported during World War II (including Moldovans)
Turkey |  | 14,000[48] | Immigrants
Japan |  | 10,000[49] | Immigrants
Slovakia | 2017 | 8,474[50] | Immigrants
Brazil |  | 7,393[51] | Immigrants and Brazilians with Romanian ancestry
United Arab Emirates |  | 6,444[52] | Immigrants
Finland | 2021 | 5,628[53] | Immigrants (additional 778 Moldovans)
Luxembourg | 2019 | 5,209[54] | Immigrants
Jordan |  | 4,000[52] | Immigrants
Russia | 2010 | 3,201[55] | Immigrants/displaced during World War II (additional 586,122 Moldovans)
South Africa |  | 3,000 | Immigrants
Iceland | 2022 | 2,505[56] | Immigrants
Qatar |  | 2,000[52] | Immigrants
New Zealand | 2018 | 1,485[57] | Immigrants
China |  | 1,320[52] | Immigrants
Malta | 2016 | 1,262[58] | Immigrants
Argentina |  | 1,000[52] | Immigrants
Chile |  | 1,000[52] | Immigrants
Bulgaria | 2011 | 891[59] | Indigenous to Vidin Province and parts of northern Bulgaria (additional 3,684 "Vlachs")
Palestine |  | 850[52] | Immigrants
Kuwait |  | 696[52] | Immigrants
South Korea |  | 634[52] | Immigrants
Mexico |  | 600[52] | Immigrants
Ethiopia |  | 485 | Immigrants
India |  | 400[52] | Immigrants
Singapore |  | 400[52] | Immigrants
Paraguay |  | 398[52] | Immigrants
Oman |  | 382[52] | Immigrants
Colombia |  | 350[52] | Immigrants
San Marino | 2018 | 283[60] | Immigrants
Monaco |  | 250[52] | Immigrants
Philippines | 2019 | 209[61] | Immigrants
Uruguay |  | 200[52] | Immigrants
Peru |  | 174[52] | Immigrants
Indonesia |  | 155[52] | Immigrants
Venezuela | 2020 | 150[52] | Immigrants
Thailand |  | 106[52] | Immigrants
Cuba |  | 100[52] | Immigrants
North Macedonia |  | 100[52] | Immigrants (additional 9,900 Aromanians[62] and 2,100 Megleno-Romanians)[63]
Vietnam |  | 100[52] | Immigrants
Lithuania | 2011 | 77[64] | Immigrants
Pakistan |  | 75[52] | Immigrants
Latvia | 2011 | 63[65] | Immigrants (additional 1,919 Moldovans)
Dominican Republic |  | 30[52] | Immigrants
Liechtenstein |  | 15[52] | Immigrants
Albania |  |  | There live up to 300,000 indigenous Aromanians, but Albanian authorities do not recognize them as Romanian minority.[66]
Total |  | 4,321,496 | The estimate is the sum of the countrywide estimates listed. To this are added 1,618,650 people belonging to ethnic groups Romanian authorities claim to be part of the Romanian population (e.g., Moldovans, Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians). The total estimate is roughly 5.9 million.

## See also

[edit]

* Aromanian diaspora
* Moldovan diaspora

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d "Home". www.oecd-ilibrary.org. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
2. ^ "De aproape 20 de ani românii pot circula fără viză în UE. În consecinţă, milioane de români au plecat să lucreze în străinătate". Mediafax.ro (in Romanian). Retrieved 14 March 2024.
3. ^ "Președintele României". presidency.ro.
4. ^ 6-8 Million Romanians Live outside Romania's Borders
5. ^ "REZULTATE ALEGERI 2014 [Results of 2014 election]". 16 November 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
6. ^ a b "Romania election surprise as Klaus Iohannis wins presidency". BBC News. 17 November 2014. Retrieved 21 November 2014.
7. ^ "Departamentul Românilor de Pretutindeni". Archived from the original on 5 August 2012.
8. ^ "Resident foreigners on 1st January - Citizenship". I.Stat (Italian National Institute of Statistics). Retrieved 1 February 2022.
* Access instruction: On the sidebar "Data by theme", select by click "Population and Households | Foreigners and Immigrants | Resident foreigners on 1st January - Citizenship | Italy, regions, provinces – country of citizenship". After a few seconds, data will appear on the right-hand side table. Find column "Romania", row "2021 total".
9. ^ "Estadística de residentes extranjeros en España" (PDF). Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration (in Spanish). p. 4\. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 April 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2022.
10. ^ "Censo de población. 1 de Enero de 2023" (PDF). INE.
11. ^ "Población (Españoles/Extranjeros) por País de Nacimiento, sexo y año".
12. ^ "Ausländische Bevölkerung nach Altersgruppen und ausgewählten Staatsangehörigkeiten". Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). Retrieved 28 August 2024.
13. ^ "Ausländische Bevölkerung nach Altersgruppen und ausgewählten Staatsangehörigkeiten". Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). Retrieved 28 August 2024.
14. ^ "Bevölkerung in Privathaushalten 2023 nach Migrationshintergrund". Statistisches Bundesamt (in German). Retrieved 28 August 2024.
15. ^ "International migration, England and Wales – Office for National Statistics".
16. ^ "B04006: People Reporting Ancestry". American Community Survey. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
17. ^ "B05006: Place of Birth for the Foreign-Born Population in the United States". American Community Survey. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
18. ^ "Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population – Canada [Country]". 9 February 2022.
19. ^ "Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population – Canada [Country]". 9 February 2022.
20. ^ "Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population – Canada [Country]". 9 February 2022.
21. ^ "Profile table, Census Profile, 2021 Census of Population – Canada [Country]". 9 February 2022.
22. ^ "National composition of population". All-Ukrainian population census 2001. State Statistics Committee of Ukraine.
23. ^ "Immigrés par pays de naissance détaillé − Étrangers et immigrés en 2019 | Insee".
24. ^ "Bevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeit und Geburtsland" [Population by nationality and country of birth]. Statistics Austria (in German). Tabelle – Bevölkerung zu Jahresbeginn 2002-2021 nach detaillierter Staatsangehörigkeit (xlsx). Archived from the original on 12 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
* direct link to the data file: "Bevölkerung zu Jahresbeginn 2002-2021 nach detaillierter Staatsangehörigkeit" [Population at the beginning of 2002-2021 by detailed nationality] (XLSX) (in German). Statistics Austria. 10 May 2021. Tab "Tabelle" Row 32. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
25. ^ "Menschen in Wien" (PDF). Statistiches Jahrbuch der stadt Wien – 2017 (in German). Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 August 2021. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
26. ^ "Belgium: foreign population, by origin 2019". Statista.
27. ^ "Despre comunitatea originarilor din România". CBS, Statistical Abstract of Israel 2014.
28. ^ "CBS Statline".
29. ^ https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/migr_pop1ctz__custom_9061190/default/table?lang=en [bare URL]
30. ^ "Aromanian in Greece". Joshua Project.
31. ^ "Meglenite, Vlasi in Greece". Joshua Project.
32. ^ "Population at the first day of the quarter by region, sex, age (5 years age groups), ancestry and country of origin". statistikbanken.dk. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
33. ^ https://data.cso.ie/ [bare URL]
34. ^ "Population by country of birth, age and sex. Year 2000 - 2023".
35. ^ "3. Országos adatok" (PDF). 2011\. évi népszámlálás (in Hungarian). Budapest: Központi Statisztikai Hivatal. 2013. ISBN 978-963-235-417-0.
36. ^ "Statistiques sur l'immigration" (PDF).
37. ^ "Preliminary Results of the Census of Population, 2011". Statistical Service of the Republic of Cyprus. 29 December 2011.
38. ^ https://www.sef.pt/pt/Documents/RIFA2022 vF2a.pdf [bare URL PDF]
39. ^ https://www.sef.pt/pt/Documents/RIFA2022 vF2a.pdf [bare URL PDF]
40. ^ "Estrangeiros em Portugal" (PDF).
41. ^ a b "Acquisition of citizenship statistics". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 22 July 2023.
42. ^ "Становништво према националној припадности" (in Serbian). Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
43. ^ "Immigrants and Norwegian-born to immigrant parents, 1 January 2022". Statistics Norway (in Norwegian).
44. ^ "2021 People in Australia who were born in Romania, Census Country of birth QuickStats | Australian Bureau of Statistics".
45. ^ Population by ancestry (Australia), 2021 Australian census
46. ^ Madalin Danciu (31 December 2018). "Foreigners in the Czechia by citizenship". CZSO.
47. ^ "Socio-economic development of the Republic of Kazakhstan". stat.gov.kz.
48. ^ Ana Ilie (20 July 2015). "Pentru ce facem moschee la București: În căutarea românilor ortodocși din Turcia". Ziare.com (in Romanian).
49. ^ V. C. (11 March 2011). "Câți români sunt în Japonia? Invazia dansatoarelor românce". HotNews.ro (in Romanian).
50. ^ Andrei Luca Popescu (21 December 2015). "HARTA românilor plecați în străinătate. Topul țărilor UE în care românii reprezintă cea mai mare comunitate". Gândul (in Romanian).
51. ^ "Brazilia – Comunitatea română" (in Romanian). Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
52. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa Anca Melinte (25 September 2015). "Câți români au părăsit România pentru a trăi în străinătate". Viața liberă (in Romanian).
53. ^ "Origin and background country by language, age (1-year) and sex, 1990-2021". stat.fi. Retrieved 29 January 2023.
54. ^ "Population by nationalities in detail 2011 – 2019". Statistiques // Luxembourg. Archived from the original on 10 September 2016.
55. ^ Том 1. Численность и размещение населения. ВПН-2010 (in Russian). Archived from the original on 15 March 2013. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
56. ^ "Mannfjöldi eftir bakgrunni, kyni og aldri 1996-2023".
57. ^ "2018 Census ethnic group summaries | Stats NZ". stats.govt.nz. Retrieved 6 January 2023.
58. ^ "Updated: Filipinos, Serbs top list of third country nationals working in Malta – the Malta Independent".
59. ^ "Население по етническа група и майчин език". National Statistical Institute (in Bulgarian). Archived from the original on 19 December 2015. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
60. ^ Rtv, San Marino (28 August 2018). "Popolazione presente a San Marino verso quota 35mila, in lieve aumento gli immigrati". San Marino Rtv.
61. ^ "Cifrele DIASPOREI! Câți români trăiesc în străinătate și despre care statul a auzit. DOCUMENT". 31 October 2019.
62. ^ "Aromanian in Macedonia". Joshua Project.
63. ^ "Meglenite, Vlasi in Macedonia". Joshua Project.
64. ^ "Comunitatea românească din Lituania și Letonia". Romanian Embassy in Lithuania (in Romanian).
65. ^ "TSG11-04. Latvijas pastāvīgie iedzīvotāji pēc dzimšanas valsts, dzimuma un pa vecuma grupām 2011.gada 1.martā". Centrālās statistikas pārvaldes datubāzes (in Latvian). Archived from the original on 3 September 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
66. ^ "Dan Stoenescu a mers de Crăciun la românii/aromânii din Albania. 300.000 de români pe care Albania nu-i recunoaște ca minoritate românească și nu le dă drepturi! Ce a cerut România?". Romanian Global News (in Romanian). 28 December 2015. Archived from the original on 4 April 2017. Retrieved 4 April 2017.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Romanian diaspora.

1\. Păstrarea identității culturale românești în diaspora: un ghid practic

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European diasporas

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Romanian diaspora

Europe|

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