Romania lost almost 50.000 inhabitants in 7 months due to demographic crisis

Romania’s population fell by 48,850 inhabitants, the equivalent of mid-size city like Onesti, in the first seven months of this year due to demographic factors, as the number of deaths continues to exceed the number of births, National Institute of Statistics (INS) data show.

Compared with the first seven months of 2017, the natural decrease of population accelerated by 16 percent in January-July 2018.

Romania registered 104,724 births and 153,574 deaths in the first seven months of 2018, compared with 114,214 births and 156,350 deaths in January-July 2017.

Last year, the second-poorest EU member state lost 71,125 inhabitants, or 0.36 percent of its total population, due to demographic factors, as the number of deaths exceeded the number of births.

Romania had 19.52 million inhabitants at the beginning of 2018,  a 50-year low, due to negative natural increase and large migration, and this trend will have a large impact on economic growth during the next decade by mitigating potential GDP growth rates, Banca Transilvania’s analysts said in a recent research note.

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But many experts say this number seems largely exaggerated, as around 3.5 million Romanians have gone abroad between 2007 and 2015 to escape poverty and corruption in their country, according to a UN International Migration Report.

This number places the country on the second place globally by emigration growth rate between 2007 and 2015, after Syria.

Without the rampant emigration, Romania would have more than 22 million inhabitants, according to official data.

By 2050, the government expects the population to plunge to around 16 million inhabitants.