Where Romanians move
4.6M Romanians live abroad — #14 largest source of emigrants worldwide
Considering a move from Romania? — See top destinations, regional flows, and how it's changed since 1990.
Where emigrants go
The top 3 countries receive 56% of all emigrants
↑↓ — change vs 2020
| Country | Emigrants |
|---|---|
| Germany | 968697 |
| Italy | 880402 |
| United Kingdom | 713578 |
| Spain | 522578 |
| Hungary | 253045 |
| United States | 178498 |
| Austria | 160281 |
| France | 156668 |
| Belgium | 131417 |
| Israel | 116289 |
| Canada | 88282 |
| Netherlands | 55421 |
| Greece | 50056 |
| Ireland | 47700 |
| Denmark | 40659 |
| Switzerland | 40167 |
| Sweden | 38394 |
| Portugal | 29376 |
| Norway | 16537 |
| Australia | 15735 |
| Türkiye | 11400 |
| Czechia | 11061 |
| Slovakia | 10613 |
| Luxembourg | 6036 |
| Cyprus | 5707 |
| Bulgaria | 4839 |
| Finland | 4557 |
| Malta | 3556 |
| Moldova | 3545 |
| Iceland | 2529 |
| Japan | 2212 |
| Serbia | 2160 |
| Poland | 1449 |
| Russia | 1359 |
| Uruguay | 939 |
| Venezuela | 785 |
| Libya | 672 |
| Mexico | 655 |
| Slovenia | 501 |
| Chile | 491 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 458 |
| Croatia | 446 |
| South Africa | 425 |
| Peru | 404 |
| Lithuania | 379 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 359 |
| Panama | 328 |
| Estonia | 312 |
| Faroe Islands | 271 |
| Georgia | 226 |
| Colombia | 164 |
| San Marino | 153 |
| Costa Rica | 142 |
| Bermuda | 140 |
| Azerbaijan | 114 |
| Bahamas | 114 |
| Montenegro | 103 |
| Bolivia | 88 |
| Latvia | 65 |
| Brazil | 50 |
| Dominican Republic | 47 |
| Cuba | 43 |
| Liechtenstein | 40 |
| Namibia | 32 |
| North Macedonia | 22 |
| Belarus | 21 |
| Greenland | 14 |
| Argentina | 10 |
| Guinea | 3 |
By destination region
Europe is the leading destination region at 91%
4.2M
266.9K
133.7K
15.7K
4.3K
2.7K
1.1K
Interesting facts
Notable statistics about emigration from Romania.
United Kingdom is the fastest-growing major destination
Emigration to the United Kingdom has increased by 277% since 2015, rising from 189.4K to 713.6K in 9 years.
Top emigration destinations have shifted significantly since 1990
7 new countries have entered the top 20 destinations: Spain, Belgium, Netherlands — Spain rose from outside the top 20 to rank #4.
A significant share of the population lives abroad
1 in 4 residents of Romania has emigrated — 4.6M out of 19.1M, representing 24.1% of the population.
The share of emigrants going to Europe has grown since 1990
The share of emigrants going to Europe has shifted from 67.4% to 90.7% since 1990.
How emigration changed over time
Total emigrant population by year
| Year | Emigrants |
|---|---|
| 1990 | 957791 |
| 1995 | 1142520 |
| 2000 | 1226172 |
| 2005 | 1960907 |
| 2010 | 2979844 |
| 2015 | 3535273 |
| 2020 | 4191022 |
| 2024 | 4583819 |
Top destinations over time
Emigration to the 5 largest destination countries
| Year | Germany | Italy | United Kingdom | Spain | Hungary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 321795 | 31588 | 3697 | 0 | 194128 |
| 1995 | 443750 | 52946 | 5200 | 15388 | 170168 |
| 2000 | 399018 | 85677 | 7201 | 43435 | 146208 |
| 2005 | 373304 | 386795 | 20888 | 355092 | 179463 |
| 2010 | 440929 | 775003 | 69898 | 730550 | 214330 |
| 2015 | 654819 | 953353 | 189427 | 635020 | 190203 |
| 2020 | 865707 | 947155 | 502169 | 571347 | 214514 |
| 2024 | 968697 | 880402 | 713578 | 522578 | 253045 |
Fastest-changing destinations
How emigration to each country has changed since the selected year
Romania as an emigration source
Share of immigrants in each country who originate from Romania