This article presents the demographic history of Romania through census results. See Demographics of Romania for a more detailed overview of the country's present-day demographics.
The 1930 census was the only one to cover Greater Romania . Censuses in 1948, 1956, 1966, 1977, 1992, 2002, and 2011 covered Romania's present-day territory,[ 1] as does the current 2022 census.
All but the 1948 census, which asked about mother tongue, had a question on ethnicity. Moldavia and Wallachia each held a census in 1859. The Romanian Old Kingdom conducted statistical estimates in 1884, 1889, and 1894, and held censuses in 1899 and 1912. Ion Antonescu 's regime also held two: a general one in April 1941, and one for those with "Jewish blood" in May, 1942.
Religion
number
%
Romanian Orthodox
4,198,862
94.89
Jewish
134,168
3.03
Roman Catholic
45,152
1.02
Protestant
28,903
0.65
Lipovans
8,375
0.19
Armenians
8,178
0.18
Muslim
1,323
0.03
Total[ 2] [ 3] [ 4]
4,424,961
100.0
Ethnicity
number
%
Romanians
4,500,000
81.8
Jews
300,000
5.5
Romani
200,000
3.6
Bulgarians
100,000
1.8
Germans
50,000
0.9
Hungarians
50,000
0.9
Armenians
15,000
0.3
Others*
285,000
5.2
Total[ 5]
5,500,000
100.0
* Mainly in Dobruja (details )
December 1899 census
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Persons in Romania by citizenship (1899 census)
Ethnicity
number
%
Romanians
5,489,296
92.2
Jews
256,588
4.3
Others
210,806
3.5
Total[ 6]
5,956,690
100.0
19 December 1912 census
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number
%
Total[ 7]
7,234,919
100.0
29 December 1930 census
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Ethnic map (1930 census)[ 8] [ 9]
Postage stamp issued in 1930, marking the census that year.
Ethnicity
number
%
Romanians
12,981,324
71.9
Hungarians
1,425,507
7.9
Germans
745,421
4.1
Jews
728,115
4.0
Ruthenians and Ukrainians
582,115
3.2
Russians
409,150
2.3
Bulgarians
366,384
2.0
Romani
262,501
1.5
Turks
154,772
0.9
Gagauz
105,750
0.6
Czechs and Slovaks
51,842
0.3
Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
51,062
0.3
Poles
48,310
0.3
Greeks
26,495
0.1
Tatars
22,141
0.1
Armenians
15,544
0.0
Hutsuls
12,456
0.0
Albanians
4,670
0.0
Others
56,355
0.3
Undeclared
7,114
0.0
Total[ 10]
18,057,028
100.0
Ethnic map (1941 census)
number
%
Total[ 11]
13,535,757
100.0
25 January 1948 census
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1948 census on a stamp
Mother tongue
number
%
Romanian
13,597,613
85.7
Hungarian
1,499,851
9.4
German
343,913
2.2
Yiddish
138,795
0.9
Romani
53,425
0.3
Serbian, Croatian and Slovenian
45,447
0.3
Russian
39,332
0.2
Ukrainian
37,582
0.2
Czech and Slovak
35,143
0.2
Turkish and Tatar
28,782
0.2
Bulgarian
13,408
0.1
Greek
8,696
0.1
Armenian
6,987
0.0
Polish
6,753
0.0
Albanian
735
0.0
Others
15,639
0.2
Undeclared
523
0.0
Total[ 12]
15,872,624
100.0
21 February 1956 census
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1956 census on a pair of stamps
Ethnicity
number
%
Romanians
14,996,114
85.7
Hungarians
1,587,675
9.1
Germans
384,708
2.2
Jews
146,264
0.8
Romani
104,216
0.6
Ukrainians
60,479
0.4
Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
46,517
0.3
Russians
38,731
0.2
Slovaks
23,331
0.2
Tatars
20,469
0.2
Turks
14,329
0.1
Bulgarians
12,040
0.1
Czechs
11,821
0.0
Greeks
11,166
0.0
Poles
7,627
0.0
Armenians
6,441
0.0
Others
13,357
0.1
Undeclared
4,165
0.0
Total[ 12] [ 13]
17,489,450
100.0
15 March 1966 census
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Ethnicity
number
%
Romanians
16,746,510
87.7
Hungarians
1,619,592
8.5
Germans
382,595
2.0
Romani
64,197
0.3
Ukrainians
54,705
0.3
Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
44,236
0.3
Jews
42,888
0.2
Russians
39,483
0.2
Slovaks
22,221
0.1
Tatars
22,151
0.1
Turks
18,040
0.1
Bulgarians
11,193
0.1
Czechs
9,978
0.0
Greeks
9,088
0.0
Poles
5,860
0.0
Armenians
3,436
0.0
Others
4,681
0.0
Undeclared
2,309
0.0
Total[ 12] [ 13]
19,103,163
100.0
5 January 1977 census
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Ethnic map (1977 census)
Ethnicity
number
%
Romanians
18,999,565
88.1
Hungarians
1,713,928
7.9
Germans
359,109
1.6
Romani
227,398
1.05
Ukrainians
55,510
0.3
Serbs
34,429
0.2
Russians
32,696
0.2
Jews
24,667
0.1
Turks
23,422
0.1
Tatars
23,369
0.1
Slovaks
21,286
0.1
Bulgarians
10,372
0.0
Czechs
7,683
0.0
Croats
7,500
0.0
Greeks
6,262
0.0
Poles
4,641
0.0
Armenians
2,342
0.0
Others
5,279
0.0
Undeclared
452
0.0
Total[ 12] [ 13]
21,559,910
100.0
7 January 1992 census
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Ethnic map (1992 census)
1992 census on a stamp
Ethnicity
number
%
Romanians
20,408,542
89.5
Hungarians
1,624,959
7.1
Romani
401,087
1.8
Germans
119,462
0.5
Ukrainians
65,472
0.3
Russians
38,606
0.2
Turks
29,832
0.1
Serbs
29,408
0.1
Tatars
24,596
0.1
Slovaks
19,594
0.1
Bulgarians
9,851
0.1
Jews
8,955
0.0
Czechs
5,797
0.0
Poles
4,232
0.0
Croats
4,085
0.0
Greeks
3,940
0.0
Armenians
1,957
0.0
Others
8,894
0.0
Undeclared
766
0.0
Total[ 12] [ 13]
22,810,035
100.0
18 March 2002 census
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Ethnic map (2002 census)
Promotional poster for the 2002 census
Ethnicity
number
%
Romanians
19,399,597
89.5
Hungarians
1,431,807
6.6
Romani
535,140
2.5
Ukrainians
61,098
0.3
Germans
59,764
0.3
Lipovan Russians
35,791
0.2
Turks
32,098
0.2
Tatars
23,935
0.1
Serbs
22,561
0.1
Slovaks
17,226
0.1
Bulgarians
8,025
0.0
Croats
6,807
0.0
Greeks
6,472
0.0
Jews
5,785
0.0
Czechs
3,941
0.0
Poles
3,559
0.0
Italians
3,288
0.0
Chinese
2,243
0.0
Armenians
1,780
0.0
Csángó
1,266
0.0
Macedonians
695
0.0
Albanians
477
0.0
Rusyns
257
0.0
Krashovani
206
0.0
Slovenes
202
0.0
Others
15,013
0.1
Undeclared
1,941
0.0
Total[ 14] [ 15]
21,680,974
100.0
20 October 2011 census
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Ethnic map by county (2011 census)
Ethnic map by commune (2011 census)
Ethnicity
number
%
Romanians
16,792,868
88.9
Hungarians
1,227,623
6.5
Romani
621,573
3.3
Ukrainians
50,920
0.3
Germans
36,042
0.2
Turks
27,698
0.1
Lipovan Russians
23,487
0.1
Tatars
20,282
0.1
Serbs
18,076
0.1
Slovaks
13,654
0.1
Bulgarians
7,336
0.0
Croatians
5,408
0.0
Greeks
3,668
0.0
Jews
3,271
0.0
Italians
3,203
0.0
Poles
2,543
0.0
Czechs
2,477
0.0
Chinese
2,017
0.0
Csángó
1,536
0.0
Armenians
1,361
0.0
Macedonians
1,264
0.0
Others
18,524
0.1
Data unavailable
1,236,810
6.1
Total[ 16]
20,121,641
100.0
Ethnic figures for 2011 are given as a percentage of individuals for whom data is available, while the "data unavailable" cohort is given as a percentage of the total population.
1 December 2021 census
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The 2021 Romanian census (RPL2021), with the reference day for the census data set at 1 December 2021,[ 17] was held between February and July 2022, being postponed from its original scheduled year due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania .[ 18] The first provisional results of the RPL2021 published at the end of 2022 show a resident population of Romania of 19,053,815 people.[ 17]
^ "Lista recensămintelor populaţiei din România" . Institutul Naţional de Statistică. 2011. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011 .
^ Leonida Colescu, director of the Romanian Statistics Service between 1899 and 1922, conjectured that the number of people was overestimated in the census conducted in 1859-1860 and calculated that the real figure was 3,864,848 people. Colescu, Leonida (1944). Analiza rezultatelor recensãmântului general al populației României din 1899 (PDF) . Institutul Național de Statistică. p. 7-8; 19.
^ Parliamentary Reports . Her Majesty's Stationery Office. 1867. p. 153.
^ Statul si cultele religioase Archived 30 October 2021 at the Wayback Machine (in Romanian)
^ The Statesman's Year-Book . St. Martin's Press. 1889. p. 407.
^ New International Yearbook . Dodd, Mead and Company. 1915. p. 612.
^ The Statesman's Year-book . St. Martin's Press. 1918. p. 1198.
^ Recensământul populaţiei din 1930 (in Romanian). Institutul Central de Statistică. p. L. Retrieved 8 June 2014 .
^ Recensământul populaţiei din 1930 (in Romanian). Institutul Central de Statistică. p. LI. Retrieved 8 June 2014 .
^ Recensământul populaţiei din 1930 (in Romanian). Institutul Central de Statistică. p. XXIV. Retrieved 8 June 2014 .
^ Recensămintele României: 1899–1992 (in Romanian). Editura Meronia. 2002. p. 358.
^ a b c d e "Hungarians in Transylvania between 1870 and 1995" . Archived from the original on 23 March 2019. Retrieved 20 July 2008 .
^ a b c d "Populaţia după etnie la recensămintele din perioada 1930–2002, pe judeţe" (PDF) (in Romanian). Institutul Naţional de Statistică. Retrieved 28 October 2011 .
^ "Populaţia după etnie" (PDF) (in Romanian). Institutul Naţional de Statistică. Retrieved 28 October 2011 .
^ "Date naţionale" (in Romanian). Erdélyi Magyar Adatbank. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2011 .
^ "Rezultatele finale ale Recensământului din 2011 - Tab8. Populaţia stabilă după etnie – judeţe, municipii, oraşe, comune" (in Romanian). National Institute of Statistics (Romania) . 5 July 2013. Archived from the original on 18 January 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2013 .
^ a b "Population and housing census, 2021 - provisional results" . insse.ro . 30 December 2022.
^ Marina, Georgiana (6 January 2021). "Recensământul populației nu va mai avea loc în 2021. A fost amânat pentru 2022, iar datele vor fi colectate și online" . Digi24 (in Romanian).