Romania recorded large population decrease in 2015

Romania is among the six EU member states that recorded the largest decrease in their population, with a -5.6 percent drop in 2015. Overall, the EU population increased compared to last year, despite the bloc posting for the first time a negative natural change of its population.

Data released by the Eurostat reveals that on 1 January 2015 the European Union had a population of 510.1 million, compared to 508.3 million on 1 January 2015. However, last year, 5.1 million babies were born in the EU, against 5.2 million deaths, resulting in a negative natural change in EU’s demographics, for the first time in the bloc’s history. Nevertheless, the population increase, estimated by Eurostat at almost 2 million, (+3.5pct) was driven by net migration.

The most populous EU member state continues to be Germany, with 82.2 million residents, accounting for 16.1 percent of total EU population, followed by France, (66.7 million), the United Kingdom (65.3 million) and Italy (60.7 million), which together, make up more than half of the EU population.

Last year, the population decreased in eleven EU member states and increased in seventeen. Romania recorded the sixth largest decrease, with -5.6 percent. The countries that posted the biggest drops in population numbers were two Baltic countries, namely Lithuania (-11.3 pct), Latvia (-8.7pct), followed by Croatia (-8.2pct), Bulgaria (-6.7pct) and Greece (-6.0pct).

The seven EU member states that posted the largest population increase were Luxembourg (+23.3 per 1 000 residents), followed by Austria (+14.4pct), Germany (+11.8pct), Malta (+11.7pct), Sweden (+10.6pct), Denmark (+8.4pct) and Belgium (+7.2pct).

On 1 January 2015, Romania counted a population of 19 870.6. The country ranked among the thirteen member states where deaths outnumbered births, by ( – 3.8pct). Last year in Romania the crude death rate in Romania stood at 13.2 pct.

Georgeta Gheorghe