Romanian diaspora

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]

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

  Romania

  + 1,000,000

  + 100,000

  + 10,000

  + 1,000

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

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

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	1,079,726 (including naturalized)[9] 627,478 (Romanian citizens)[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

• Aromanian diaspora
• Moldovan diaspora

References

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External links

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