Chapter 1. Numbers and locations of Romanian emigrants

Romania is the main origin country among its neighbours

Among its neighbouring countries (Moldova, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Ukraine), Romania was the main origin country for emigrants in OECD countries in 2015/16 (see Figure 1.2). Romanian emigrants alone accounted for almost half (44%) of the 7.8 million emigrants from these countries in 2015/16. Romania also accounted for the largest group of emigrants in 2000/01, but they only made up 26% of the total. Between 2000/01 and 2015/16, the Romanian emigrant population grew at a rate (206%) far above the average growth rate for this comparison group (80%). The emigrant populations of all countries in this group have grown, in almost all cases at lower growth rates than observed for Romanian emigrants. The only comparison country with a higher rate of growth was Moldova (over 400%), which had a much lower emigrant population in 2000/01 (fewer than 100 000 emigrants compared to over 1 million for Romania).

Figure 1.2. Numbers of migrants living in the OECD area from Romania and neighbouring countries, 2000/01 and 2015/16

Total emigrant population aged 15 and above (left scale), growth 2000/01-2015/16 in percentages

(right scale)

Note: The horizontal line represents the average weighted growth rate for the countries depicted in the figure. Serbia includes Montenegro in 2000/01 but not in 2015/16 due to Montenegro’s independence in 2006.

Source: OECD Database on Immigrants in OECD Countries (DIOC) 2000/01 and 2015/16, www.oecd.org/els/mig/dioc.htm.

The number of Romanian emigrants also appears large in relation to the domestic population of Romania. In 2015/16, Romanian emigrants accounted for 17% of the total Romanian population (see Figure 1.3). While Romania ranked fifth in total emigrant population, it occupied the first place in the ranking of emigration rates for the top ten origin countries of emigrants living in OECD countries. The emigration rate for Romania was higher than the rate for countries with larger numbers of emigrants, such as Mexico, China and India. Romania’s emigration rate was not only greater than that of Poland, a country with a slightly larger population of emigrants, but was also greater than the emigration rates of all of its neighbours. Moldova (11%) and Bulgaria (15%) were the only neighbouring countries with emigration rates greater than 10%.

Figure 1.3. Emigration rates for main origin countries of emigrants in the OECD area, 2015/16

Note: A country’s emigration rate is defined as the number of persons born in the country and residing abroad, divided by the total number of persons born in the country, wherever they reside.

Source: OECD Database on Immigrants in OECD Countries (DIOC) 2000/01 and 2015/16, www.oecd.org/els/mig/dioc.htm and World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision, United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division.

More than half of Romanian emigrants are women

Among Romanian emigrants in the OECD area in 2015/16, women (1.89 million) outnumbered men (1.57 million), as shown in Figure 1.4. In 2000/01, women (597 000) already outnumbered men (529 000), but the share of women increased slightly from 53% in 2000/01 to 54% in 2015/16. This implies that women contributed more strongly to the increase in the overall number of Romanian emigrants: the number of women grew by 213% between 2000/01 and 2015/16, while the number of men grew by 197%.

Figure 1.4. Gender composition of Romanian emigrants in OECD countries, 2000/01 and 2015/16

Source: OECD Database on Immigrants in OECD Countries (DIOC) 2000/01 and 2015/16, www.oecd.org/els/mig/dioc.htm.

While women have consistently made up the majority of the Romanian diaspora in OECD countries, the share of women among Romanian emigrants was lower than that of a number of main origin countries and neighbouring countries (see Figure 1.5). Among the main origin countries for emigrants in the OECD, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Germany and China had higher shares of women. Figure 1.5 also shows that shares of women among the emigrant populations of some of Romania’s neighbouring countries were higher: over 60% of emigrants from Ukraine and Moldova were women, while the share of women among Bulgarian emigrants was comparable to the share for Romanian emigrants. No neighbouring country had an emigrant population with a majority of men in 2015/16, with all having a share of women over 51% (see Annex Table 1.A.3).

Figure 1.5. Share of women among emigrants from main and regional origin countries, 2015/16

Source: OECD Database on Immigrants in OECD Countries (DIOC) 2000/01 and 2010/11, www.oecd.org/els/mig/dioc.htm.

Nine out of ten Romanian emigrants are of working age, up from only three out of four in 2000

Romanian emigrants who are of working age (i.e. between 15 and 64 years old) may be the most likely to play an economic role in the development of Romania, because they are available for jobs in Romania if they return or because they have acquired skills and networks through their current economic activities. In 2015/16, 92% of adult Romanian emigrants in the OECD area were of working age, as shown in Figure 1.6. Those aged 15-24 accounted for 11%, while those aged 25-64 made up 81%. Because many in the former age group might still be in education, prime working age includes those between 25 and 64 years old. Within the group of prime working age Romanian emigrants, younger age groups predominated: age groups 25-34 and 35-44 each represented 27% of Romanian emigrants, respectively, while age groups 45-54 and 55-64 represented 18 and 9%, respectively.

The predominance of younger age groups underscores a process of rejuvenation among Romanian emigrants between 2000/01 and 2015/16. The share of working-age Romanian emigrants rose by 15 percentage points, from 77% in 2000/01. The share of Romanian emigrants aged 65 and above shrank accordingly, from almost a quarter in 2000/01 to close to 8% in 2015/16. This rejuvenation process has been more pronounced for women, among whom the share in working ages increased more (+16 percentage points) than among men (+14 percentage points). In comparison to emigrants from the other main origin countries or from neighbouring origin countries, the age distribution of Romanian emigrants is one of the youngest (see Annex Table 1.A.2 and Annex Table 1.A.3). Among the main emigrant populations in OECD countries, only that of China had a higher proportion aged 15-24 (16%), and only that of Turkey had a larger share aged 25-64 (82%). Moldova and Bulgaria had similar shares aged 25-64, but slightly larger proportions in the 15-24 age group.

Figure 1.6. Age and sex distribution of Romanian emigrants in OECD countries, 2000/01 and 2015/16

Note: The base quantity does not include Romanian emigrants aged below 15.

Source: OECD Database on Immigrants in OECD Countries (DIOC) 2000/01 and 2015/16, www.oecd.org/els/mig/dioc.htm.

A fifth of Romanian emigrants arrived recently

Emigrants who arrived in their respective destination country within the past five years can be considered recent emigrants. They reflect more recent migration waves and usually are more mobile than settled migrants, often staying only for a few years before returning or moving on. Among Romanian emigrants, DIOC data show that 20% were recent emigrants in 2015/16, up slightly from 19% in 2000/01. Shares of recent emigrants are lower for Ukraine, Serbia and Moldova but higher for Hungary and Bulgaria (see Annex Table 1.A.3). About 51% of recent Romanian migrants were women in both 2000/01 and 2015/16.

Ten countries host over 93% of Romanian emigrants in the OECD

The overwhelming majority of all Romanian emigrants (93%) observed in the OECD area in 2015/16 resided in only ten countries (see Table 1.1). Italy alone hosted almost a third of all Romanian emigrants in the OECD area: at over 1 million, the number of Romanian emigrants in Italy was considerably higher than in any other country. Large numbers of Romanian emigrants also resided in Germany (680 000) and Spain (573 000). These three countries together accounted for two thirds of Romanian emigrants in the OECD area in 2015/16. Another five countries, each of which hosted more than 100 000 Romanian emigrants, accounted for an additional 23% of the Romanian diaspora: the United Kingdom (225 000), the United States (160 000), Hungary (154 000), Canada (130 000) and France (105 000). Israel, Austria and Belgium each hosted over 50 000 Romanian emigrants in 2015/16, while Ireland, Sweden, Greece and Denmark each recorded between 20 000 and 30 000 Romanian emigrants. As far as the available data allow, Annex Table 1.A.4 lists the numbers of Romanian emigrants across OECD countries, indicating further notable destination countries each with over 10 000 Romanian emigrants: Switzerland, Portugal, Australia, the Netherlands and Norway.

Close to 90% of all Romanian emigrants in OECD countries are in Europe

In 2000/01, European OECD countries already hosted the vast majority of Romanian emigrants (70%), according to DIOC data. While the total number of Romanian emigrants in non-European OECD countries increased by 16 000 (or about 5%) between 2000/01 and 2015/16, the number grew by almost 2.3 million – an almost three-fold increase – in European OECD countries. As a result, the share of Romanian emigrants residing in Europe increased further and approached 90% (corresponding to 3.1 million) in 2015/16. This shift has, not altered, however, the weight of the ten main destination countries: collectively, they accounted for 90% of all Romanian emigrants in the OECD in 2000/01, as much as in 2015/16.

While the Romanian emigrant populations in the United States and Canada experienced increases, the large absolute growth in the Romanian emigrant populations in Italy, Spain, Germany and the United Kingdom allowed European OECD countries to maintain their predominance (see Figure 1.7). Another factor in the predominance of European destinations for the Romanian emigrant population was the decline of almost 35% (-41 000) that occurred in Israel, reflecting the fact that emigration to Israel mainly consisted of one large wave decades ago (see Box 1.3). Excluding Israel, the Romanian emigrant population of non-European OECD countries increased by 27%, or more than 57 000.

The number of Romanian emigrants in Italy increased the most in the period of Romania’s accession to the European Union

Figure 1.7 depicts how the numbers of Romanian emigrants changed in the main destination countries between 2000/01 and 2015/16. Levels in most of these countries grew considerably, but they rose most sharply in the United Kingdom, where the number of Romanian emigrants increased more than 33-fold over this period. This extremely high growth rate is partly the product of the small population of Romanian migrants in the United Kingdom in 2000/01 (less than 7 000), but the absolute growth of 218 000 was the fourth highest for all OECD destinations. Numbers of Romanian emigrants in Italy and Spain also grew sharply between 2000/01 and 2015/16: the Romanian diaspora increased 13-fold in Italy and tenfold in Spain. These large relative increases corresponded to the largest absolute increases for all OECD countries over this period, as the numbers of Romanian emigrants in Italy and Spain increased by 958 000 and 522 000, respectively. Germany recorded the next largest increase in Romanian emigrants, of 293 000 or 75% of its 2000/01 level.

A number of other countries recorded significant increases. The numbers of Romanian emigrants almost quintupled (+83 000) in France and more than doubled (+56 000) in Austria. At lower absolute levels, the Romanian diaspora of Canada increased by 62% (+34 000) while that of the United States increased by a third (+34 000).

Given the new mobility opportunities that Romania’s 2007 accession to the European Union created, the increases in the numbers of Romanian emigrants in many EU countries are not surprising. DIOC data from 2005/06 and 2010/11 help clarify the timing of the dynamics of the Romanian diaspora (Figure 1.8). Over 50% of the increase in Romanian emigrants in Italy (+483 000) took place during the period of Romania’s EU accession (between 2005/06 and 2010/11). This growth in the number of Romanian emigrants in Italy accounted for 46% of the increase across all OECD countries during this period. The number of Romanian emigrants in Spain rose during this period by 265 000 or 51% compared to 2000/01, accounting for a quarter of the period’s total increase across all OECD countries. Hungary also saw an increase of over 170 000 between 2005/05 and 2010/11 in the number of Romanian emigrants living there.

While the 2007 accession clearly played a role in the growth of the Romanian diaspora living in Italy, Spain and Hungary, DIOC data also show significant increases in Romanian emigrants in EU countries in other periods. Between 2000/01 and 2005/06, the number of Romanian emigrants living in Spain rose by almost 300 000, a six-fold increase compared to the level of 2000/01. This increase was the largest in Spain in the entire 15-year period between 2000/01 and 2015/16 and accounted for 57% of the total growth of Romanian emigrants in Spain.

Germany, the United Kingdom and France saw the most growth in their Romanian diasporas in the most recent period. The largest increase in the number of Romanian emigrants living in Germany (+220 000) occurred between 2010/11 and 2015/16, accounting for 75% of the growth in this country over the full 15-year period. After growing by about 70 000 between 2000/01 and 2010/11, the population of Romanian-born persons living in the United Kingdom increased by 200% or almost 150 000 between 2010/11 and 2015/16. This increase accounted for almost 70% of the total growth of the Romanian diaspora in the United Kingdom between 2000/01 and 2015/16. In France, almost 60% of the increase (+48 000) in the Romanian diaspora occurred in the most recent five-year period. In contrast, the increase of 330 000 Romanian emigrants in Italy, while the largest absolute increase among all OECD countries between 2010/11 and 2015/16, only accounted for a third of the total growth in Italy over the full 15-year period. The Romanian diaspora in Spain actually shrank by 42 000 during the most recent five-year period, as did the population of Romanian emigrants living in Hungary (-17 000).

Outside of the EU, growth in the numbers of Romanian emigrants in was unevenly distributed over the 15-year period. The Romanian diaspora in the United States grew by 40 000 between 2000/01 and 2005/06 but lost almost 6 000 over the following decade. In contrast, the Romanian emigrant population in Canada grew consistently. While the largest share of the growth in Canada occurred between 2000/01 and 2005/06 (66%), almost 30% of the increase in the number of Romanian emigrants in Canada came between 2010/11 and 2015/16. The Romanian diaspora in Israel declined consistently over the 15-year period but almost half (-19 300) of these losses occurred between 2005/06 and 2010/11.

Figure 1.7. Main OECD destination countries of Romanian emigrants, 2000/01 and 2015/16

Romanian emigrants aged 15 and above in thousands (left scale); change in the 2000/01-2015/16 period in percentages (right scale)

Source: OECD Database on Immigrants in OECD Countries (DIOC) 2000/01 and 2015/16, www.oecd.org/els/mig/dioc.htm.

Figure 1.8. Change in numbers of Romanian emigrants in OECD countries, by country and time period

Source: OECD Database on Immigrants in OECD Countries (DIOC) 2000/01, 2005/06, 2010/11 and 2015/16, www.oecd.org/els/mig/dioc.htm.

A high share of recent emigrants (i.e. those who arrived within the previous five years) often reflects rapid increases in the number of Romanian emigrants, as shown in Table 1.1. Almost 60% of Romanian emigrants in the United Kingdom had arrived within the previous five years in 2015/16, reflecting the sharp increase that occurred between 2010/11 and 2015/16. Germany and France also recorded high growth in the most recent five-year period and had shares of recent emigrants approaching one third. In contrast, recent emigrants only accounted for 9% of Romanian emigrants in Italy and 10% in Spain in 2015/16, underscoring the fact that growth in the Romanian diasporas in these countries mainly took place in the decade prior to 2010. Indeed, the shares of the recently arrived among Romanian emigrants in both Italy and Spain approached 40% in 2010/11, while the share of recent emigrants in Germany was only 10%. The data on duration of stay also reflect the uniqueness of the population of Romanian emigrants in Israel, less than 1% of whom had arrived within the past five years.

The number of Romanian emigrants was large enough to make up a significant share of the total foreign-born population in a number of OECD countries in 2015/16 (see Annex Table 1.A.4). In Hungary, over 40% of the foreign-born population were born in Romania, reflecting territorial changes and longstanding patterns of mobility between the two neighbouring countries. In Italy, Romanian emigrants represented 19% of the foreign-born population, while they accounted for 11% in Spain. The corresponding shares in 2000/01 were 3% for Spain and 4% in Italy, reflecting the magnitude of the increase in Romanian emigration towards these two countries. In 2015/16, Romanian emigrants also accounted for large shares of the foreign born in Austria (6%), Germany (6%) and Israel (5%). The share of Romanian emigrants among the foreign-born surpassed 2% in Greece, Ireland, Belgium, Denmark, the United Kingdom, Portugal, the Slovak Republic and Canada. Among the top ten destinations of Romanian emigrants, the Romanian diaspora failed to constitute at least 2% of all foreign-born residents in only the United States and France, due to larger emigrant populations from other countries.

Where emigrants from the same country are sufficiently frequent, such as in the many OECD countries where Romanian emigrants make up a significant share of the foreign-born population, a community centred on the expatriate identity may emerge. Such communities support emigrants by providing goods and services known from the country of origin, but they might slow down the acquisition of the host country language and integration more generally. Chapter 3 considers social ties of Romanian emigrants as one indicator of their integration, and Chapter 4 examines their labour market performance.

Differences between destination countries

Notable differences exist across the main destination countries in the composition of the Romanian emigrant population by age and gender (see Figure 1.9 and Annex Table 1.A.4). At 58%, the share of women in 2015/16 was highest in Italy. The share of women exceeded 50% in all of the other main destination countries except the United Kingdom, where the share of women was almost 49%, and exceeded 55% in Hungary, Israel and Austria. Outside of the ten principal destinations, Greece, Switzerland and the Netherlands had Romanian emigrant populations with shares of women that surpassed 60%. While the share of women thus varied, they were the majority in almost all main destination countries.

Romanian emigrants in the age group 15-24 made up less than a fifth of all Romanian emigrants in all of the main destination countries. Emigrants in this age group were slightly more frequent in the United Kingdom and France, where they respectively accounted for 16% and 15% of all Romanian emigrants (see Figure 1.9 and Annex Table 1.A.5). By contrast, Romanian emigrants aged 15-24 made up less than 2% in Israel and only 5% in Hungary (see Figure 1.9 and Annex Table 1.A.5). Romanian emigrants aged 65 and above accounted for a share of 66% in Israel and also made up substantial shares in Hungary (23%), the United States (18%), Germany (17%) and Canada (15%), reflecting migration patterns prevailing in the late 20^th century (Sandu, 2005[2]). Romanian emigrants of working age (15 to 64) made up the largest majorities in the Italy (87%), Austria (87%), Spain (86%) and the United Kingdom (84%). Annex Table 1.A.5 presents detailed figures by age group and shows that children (aged below 15 years) are relatively frequent in the United Kingdom (12% of Romanian emigrants) and France (11%).

Figure 1.9. Romanian emigrants in the main destination countries by gender and age, 2015/16

Note: The underlying figures can be found in Annex Table 1.A.4 and Annex Table 1.A.5.

Source: OECD Database on Immigrants in OECD Countries (DIOC) 2015/16, www.oecd.org/els/mig/dioc.htm.

An alternative approach to differences between destination countries is to examine whether the ranking of destination countries differs across groups of Romanian emigrants. For example, do women emigrate to a different set countries than men? This does not appear to be the case: the set of ten main destination countries in 2015/16 was the same for men and women, according to the DIOC data, and their rankings of these ten countries did not differ at all.

There are more pronounced differences between the rankings of destination countries for recent emigrants and settled emigrants. In 2015/16, the largest number of recent Romanian emigrants resided in Germany and the United Kingdom, followed by Italy. Spain and Belgium. Among settled migrants, however, Italy and Spain ranked first and second, and Germany was in the third position ahead of the United States and Hungary. At the same time, the set of the ten main destination countries differed by only two countries between recent and settled emigrants: Israel and Canada were not among the ten main destination countries of recent Romanian emigrants. Instead, Belgium was in the fifth position in the ranking for recent Romanian emigrants, hosting approximately 34 000, while Denmark was in the ninth position on the ranking of destinations for settled emigrants, with almost 15 000. Chapter 2 of this review examines further trends and developments among Romanian emigrants.

Regional distribution of Romanian emigrants in main destination countries

National data sources make it possible to study the location of Romanian emigrants in the three main destination countries and to map their regional distribution. These data sources are the 2015-16 Labour Force Survey (Rilevazione sulle Forze di Lavoro) in Italy, the 2016 Labour Force Survey (Encuesta de población activa) in Spain, the 2016 Register of Foreigners (Ausländerzentralregisters) in Germany, the 2015/16 Quarterly Labour Force Survey in the United Kingdom and the 2016 American Community Survey in the United States. Census data from 2011 at the regional level provided by Eurostat allow a comparison with the geographical distribution of the general population and the overall foreign-born population.

Data from the Italian Labour Force Survey allow examination of the regional distribution of Romanian emigrants residing in this country (see Figure 1.10). These data show that Romanian emigrants are particularly concentrated in the regions of Lazio (over 200 000, or 18% of Romanian emigrants residing in Italy) and Lombardy (about 150 000 or 14% of the total) in the north of the country. More than 100 000 Romanian emigrants are also in Piemonte (13% of the total) and Veneto (11%). This geographical distribution differs from that of the general population of Italy and the foreign-born population. Romanian emigrants are more concentrated in the region of Lazio, which hosts 9% of the general population and 11% of all emigrants. The share of Romanian emigrants is also higher in Piemonte, which represents 7% of the general population and only 8% of emigrants. While Lombardy is the second largest region of residence for Romanian emigrants in Italy, they are less concentrated there than emigrants in general, as 21% of the foreign-born in Italy live in this region.

Figure 1.10. Regional distribution of Romanian emigrants in Italy, 2016

Note: NUTS-2 regions. This map is for illustrative purposes and is without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory covered by this map.

Source: Labour Force Survey, 2016.

The Spanish Labour Force Survey contains data on the autonomous community of residence of Romanian emigrants (Figure 1.11). The autonomous communities of Madrid and Valencia each host approximately 115 000 Romanian emigrants, or about 40% of the total between them. The autonomous communities of Andalusia and Catalonia are each home to around 76 000 Romanian emigrants, and together account for 26% of all Romanian emigrants in Spain. Almost 10% of Romanian emigrants live in Castilla-La Mancha (59 000) and 9% in Aragón (51 000). No other autonomous community exceeds 5%. Romanian emigrants are more concentrated in the autonomous community of Madrid than the general population (14%) and all foreign-born residents of Spain (18%). The autonomous community of Valencia likewise hosts smaller shares of the general population (11%) and the foreign-born population (14%) than its share of Romanian emigrants. Andalusia is disproportionately home to Romanian emigrants, as it has lower shares of the general (18%) and foreign-born (13%) populations. The concentration of Romanian emigrants is much higher in Castilla-La Mancha relative to the total and foreign-born populations, the shares of which are less than 5%. In contrast, despite the fact that Catalonia hosts a sizable share of Romanian emigrants (13%), both the general population (16%) and emigrants in general (20%) are more concentrated there.

Figure 1.11. Regional distribution of Romanian emigrants in Spain, 2016

Note: NUTS-2 regions. This map is for illustrative purposes and is without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory covered by this map.

Source: Labour Force Survey, 2016.

The register of foreigners in Germany makes it possible to study the regional distribution of Romanian citizens living in this country (see Figure 1.12). A quarter of Romanians (about 135 000) live in Bavaria, while Baden-Württemberg (118 000) and North Rhine-Westphalia (102 000) account for 21% and 19%, respectively, of the Romanian population in Germany. Approximately 10% (53 000) of Romanian citizens live in Hesse. Compared to the general and foreign population, Romanian emigrants are far more concentrated in Bavaria: only 16% of both the overall foreign population and the general population live in this federal state. Romanian citizens are also more concentrated in Baden-Württemberg, which accounts for 16% of foreigners and 13% of the general population (13%), and Hesse, where 8% of the general population and 9% of foreigners liv. In contrast, Romanians are less concentrated in North Rhine-Westphalia, which hosts 22% of the total population and 25% of foreigners.

Figure 1.12. Regional distribution of Romanian citizens in Germany, 2016

Note: NUTS-1 regions. This map is for illustrative purposes and is without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory covered by this map.

Source: Foreigners Register, 2016.

The Quarterly Labour Force Survey includes data on the country or English region of residence of Romanian emigrants in the United Kingdom (Figure 1.13). Almost 100 000 Romanian emigrants in the United Kingdom reside in the London region, close to 40% of the total. The neighbouring South East region hosts almost 15% of the total, or more than 37 000 Romanian emigrants. The East Midlands region accounts for about 13% of all Romanian emigrants in the United Kingdom, or almost 32 000. These three regions alone comprise more than two thirds of the Romanian emigrant population in the United Kingdom. Taken together, the English regions host more than 90% of this population. About 7 000 Romanian emigrants live in Wales, 6 500 in Scotland and 3 400 in Northern Ireland. Romanian emigrants in the United Kingdom are more geographically concentrated than the overall foreign-born population and the native-born population. About 37% of the foreign-born population of the United Kingdom live in the London region, compared to only 10% of the native-born population. Lower shares of native-born (14%) and foreign-born (13%) also reside in the South East region. In contrast, almost 12% of the native-born population and 8% of the foreign-born population live in the North West region, compared to only 3% of Romanian emigrants. The native-born population is relatively less concentrated in England, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland accounting for 17%.

Figure 1.13. Regional distribution of Romanian emigrants in the United Kingdom, 2015/16

Note: This map is for illustrative purposes and is without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory covered by this map.

Source: Quarterly Labour Force Survey, 2015/16.

The American Community Survey allows a mapping of Romanian emigrants residing in the United States (Figure 1.14). The states of California (24 300) and New York (21 000) are home to the largest numbers of Romanian emigrants and together account for 28% of the total Romanian emigrant population in the United States. The states of Illinois and Florida each host about 8% of the Romanian emigrants living in the United States, while Michigan is home to 6%. These five states comprise almost half of the Romanian diaspora in the United States. Romanian emigrants are, however, somewhat less concentrated than the general foreign-born population in the United States, as almost a quarter of foreign-born reside in California compared to 15% of Romanian emigrants. Only 10% of foreign born live in the state of New York, though, so Romanian emigrants are more concentrated there. The native-born population is also less concentrated in these two states (10% in California and 5% in the state of New York).

Figure 1.14. Regional distribution of Romanian emigrants in the United States, 2016

Note: This map is for illustrative purposes and is without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory covered by this map.

Source: American Community Survey, 2016.

The American Community Survey contains more-detailed information on the place of residence of Romanian emigrants. The Public-Use Microdata Areas (PUMAs) are statistical geographic areas that contain at least 100 000 people and are built on census tracts and counties. Combining PUMAs allows identification of the counties of residence of Romanian emigrants in the United States. More than 40% of Romanian emigrants in California live in two counties in the south of the state: 23% of Romanian emigrants in California live in Los Angeles County, while 19% live in Orange County. Almost 70% of Romanian emigrants in New York state live in New York City, with over 9 000 residing in Queens alone. In Illinois, 45% of Romanian emigrants are residents of Chicago, while 34% live in Cook County. Romanian emigrants in Florida are concentrated in Broward County (29% of the state total), while more than a quarter of those in Michigan live in Oakland County.

The number of international students from Romania is growing slowly

The total number of international students from Romania enrolled at the tertiary level in OECD countries approached 33 000 in 2016. The number of international students from Romania has increased by 3% since 2013, when it was just over 32 000. By far the largest group of international students from Romania – over 8 000 in 2016 – was enrolled in Italy, followed by 7 200 in the United Kingdom and 3 300 in France (see Figure 1.16). Denmark and Germany each hosted approximately 2 500 Romanian tertiary students, while over 1 000 Romanian students were enrolled in Hungary, the Netherlands, Austria and the United States. The same data for previous years show that numbers of international students from Romania increased in Italy (by 23%, from 6 500 in 2013) and the United Kingdom (by 12%, from 6 400 in 2013), but declined in France (by 7%, from 3 500 in 2013). The number of Romanian-born students enrolled at the tertiary level increased in Denmark (+27%) and the Netherlands (+40%), but declined in Germany (-5%), Austria (-17%) and the United States (-23%). The number of Romanian students enrolled in Spain decreased sharply between 2013 and 2016, from almost 2 200 to 900 (-57%).

Figure 1.16. Main destination countries of international students from Romania, 2013 and 2016

Enrolled Romanian citizens (who are not citizens of the destination country)

Note: In the case of the United States, figures refer to students who are normally resident outside the United States (non-residents).

Source: International Students Database, UNESCO-OECD-Eurostat (UOE) database on education, https://doi.org/10.1787/edu-data-en.

Internationally mobile Romanian students in OECD countries accounted for less than 6% of total Romanian tertiary enrolments in 2016. While Romanian students enrolled in OECD countries outnumbered those from neighbouring countries in 2013, the number of Ukrainian students grew by 80% to surpass the number of Romanian students in 2016. Furthermore, the relative growth in internationally mobile students in OECD countries was higher for all of Romania’s neighbouring countries with the exception of Bulgaria.

Comparatively few Romanian emigrants are citizens of Spain or Italy

Indeed, variation across the main destination countries of Romanian emigrants shows that holding host-country citizenship is likely related to the period of emigration and whether or not the destination country is a member of the EU. Across the main destination countries, the share of Romanian emigrants who held the citizenship of their destination country in 2015/16 was highest in in Israel (95%), Canada (89%), Hungary (87%), the United States (76%) and Germany (54%) (see Figure 1.17). As Sandu (2005[2]) points out, the main destinations of Romanian emigrants before 1990 were North American countries, Germany, Hungary and Israel, exactly the countries where Romanian emigrants are most likely to have acquired citizenship. Thus, acquisition of citizenship is probably partly a product of a longer stay in these countries among a larger share of Romanian emigrants. In the case of Germany and Hungary, the re-emigration of ethnic Germans (Aussiedler) and Hungarians in the 1990s (Sandu, 2005[2]) also probably increased the share of Romanian-born in those countries that have host-country citizenship. Finally, the almost-universal acquisition of citizenship in Israel is related to the fact that immigrating Jews normally obtain Israeli citizenship on arrival (see Box 1.3).

In contrast, Romanian emigrants are less likely to hold the citizenship of destination countries that are also EU members and to which Romanian emigration has mainly occurred in the last ten years. In 2015/16 in the main destination countries, the share of Romanian emigrants with the nationality of their country of residence was lowest in Spain (2%), the United Kingdom (5%) and Italy (7%). As explored above, the numbers of Romanian emigrants in these countries has only increased substantially since 2000, with the sharpest increases taking place in Italy between 2005/06 and 2010/11 and in the United Kingdom between 2010/11 and 2015/16. Not only have Romanian emigrants in these countries likely not resided there long enough to qualify for naturalisation, but their status as EU citizens also makes acquisition of another EU citizenship relatively less attractive (Dronkers and Vink, 2012[11]). Differing legal requirements for naturalisation may also dissuade Romanian emigrants from acquiring citizenship in some destination countries. Spanish law, for example, requires not only ten years of residence for the naturalisation of EU citizens, but also does not allow EU citizens (with the exception of Portuguese) to hold dual citizenship (Finotelli, La Barbera and Echeverría, 2018[12]). The requirement that naturalised citizens renounce their prior nationality may deter Romanian emigrants from seeking Spanish citizenship.

Figure 1.17. Romanian emigrants’ citizenship of main destination countries, 2015/16

Romanian emigrants aged 15 and above who are citizens of their host country, in percentages

Source: OECD Database on Immigrants in OECD Countries (DIOC) 2015/16, www.oecd.org/els/mig/dioc.htm.

Despite the low share of Romanian emigrants with host-country nationality in many EU countries, data on recent acquisitions of nationality show that recent policy changes and challenges to the stability of the EU may result in changing naturalisation decisions. Figure 1.18 shows that the annual number of acquisitions of nationality of Romanian citizens across OECD countries increased by 30% between 2005 and 2016, based on data from the International Migration Database (see Box 1.2 for a description). There has been a negative trend in acquisitions of nationality in the United States, Canada and Hungary, countries where Romanian emigrants are more likely to have host-country nationality. The number of acquisitions of nationality declined by 80% and 40% in Canada and the United States, respectively, between 2005 and 2006. In Hungary, a large temporary spike in 2011-13 was followed by a return to a negative trend, and acquisitions of nationality fell by 33% between 2005 and 2016. The 2011-13 spike is related to an amendment to the Hungarian citizenship law that came into effect in January 2011 that introduced a simplified and preferential naturalisation procedure for persons of Hungarian descent (OECD, 2012[13]). About 103 000 people acquired Hungarian citizenship in 2011 as the result of the simplified procedure (OECD, 2013[14]), almost 16 000 of whom were Romanians.

In contrast to the negative trend in North America and Hungary, acquisitions of nationality among Romanians increased between 2005 and 2016 in a number of EU countries. The sharpest increase was in Italy, where annual acquisitions of nationality rose from 2 800 in 2006 to an average of almost 13 700 in 2015-2016, an increase of 370%. Acquisitions of nationality also rose to over 2 000 per year in Germany (+178% to 3 800) and the United Kingdom (+229% to almost 2 000). France (+80% to 1 700 in 2016) and Spain (a sevenfold increase to 1 200 in 2016) also recorded significant increases in the number of acquisitions of nationality among Romanians (see Annex Table 1.A.6 for figures on all main destination countries).

These increases in the acquisition of EU host-country nationality among Romanians reflect larger trends in naturalisation in the EU. Research has pointed to rising rates of naturalisation among EU migrants in their EU host countries and has linked this trend to growing insecurity of EU citizenship in the wake of the Euro crisis (Graeber, 2016[15]). Romanians may be reacting to this insecurity surrounding EU citizenship in a similar way, by increasingly seeking to acquire the citizenship of their host country when possible. The Brexit referendum of June 2016 in the United Kingdom, which supported an exit from the EU, presents another challenge to the status of EU citizenship to which Romanians must react. Initial scholarship on the results of the referendum has suggested that Brexit may entail a loss of rights for EU citizens living in the United Kingdom (Mindus, 2017[16]). This loss may further drive Romanian emigrants there to seek British citizenship or to leave the United Kingdom for another country (Lulle, Moroşanu and King, 2018[17]), but comprehensive data are not yet available to comment on this possibility. In the case of Italy, the requirements for naturalisation are less restrictive for EU citizens than non-EU citizens (for example, four years of residence compared to ten years), which may also encourage Romanians to naturalise (Finotelli, La Barbera and Echeverría, 2018[12]).

Figure 1.18. Acquisitions of nationality of Romanian citizens in selected OECD countries, 2005-16

Note: Figures for Italy in 2005 are not available. Figures for all main destination countries are provided in Annex Table 1.A.6.

Source: OECD International Migration Database, https://doi.org/10.1787/data-00342-en.

Acquisition of host-country nationality differs by destination and age

This section explores how Romanian emigrants who are citizens of their host country differ from those who are not. Additional information from the DIOC data, albeit available only for eight destination countries, offers further details on the citizenship of Romanian emigrants in 2015/16 (see Figure 1.19). Among Romanian emigrants in France, almost 5% had obtained French citizenship at birth in Romania, so that they were likely born to parents who were French citizens. The corresponding share was almost 3% in the United States and 2% in Switzerland, but insignificant shares of Romanian emigrants in the remaining countries declared having the citizenship of their host country at birth. The majority of Romanian emigrants in Canada (88%), Hungary (87%) and the United States (73%) obtained citizenship through naturalisation. While naturalised citizens also accounted for almost half of the Romanian emigrants in Sweden, corresponding shares in Switzerland (27%), France (26%), Norway (11%) and Luxembourg (7%) were lower. Small shares of Romanian emigrants in Switzerland (16%) and Luxembourg (10%) declared having the nationality of a third country.

Finally, it is possible to differentiate the information in Figure 1.19 by age group, as shown in Annex Figure 1.A.1. For each country, Romanian emigrants who still hold only Romanian nationality (i.e. they are not citizens of the host or a third country) tend to be between 25 and 44 years old. In Canada, France, Switzerland and the United States, the largest group of Romanian emigrants who were born with the citizenship of the host country were between 15 and 24 years old, while the largest corresponding group in Norway and Sweden were 65 years old or older. Romanian emigrants who acquired host-country citizenship are mostly evenly distributed across age groups in most countries, with those between 15 and 24 years old somewhat less likely than those in other age groups to have acquired citizenship. This lower level of acquisition of nationality is likely due to these younger migrants having spent less time in the destination countries. In Luxembourg, the 45-54 age group dominates the group of Romanian emigrants who acquired host-country citizenship, while Romanian emigrants in Hungary who acquired Hungarian citizenship tend to be older (65+). Romanian emigrants who are citizens of a third country tend to be between 25 and 44, with the exception of Hungary where they are overwhelmingly 65 or over. Some of these differences may reflect different policy approaches to naturalisation in destination countries as well as differences in the demographic composition of Romanian emigrants.

Figure 1.19. Romanian emigrants’ acquisition of citizenship, selected OECD countries, 2015/16

Note: This information is available in DIOC only for the eight countries shown. Romanian emigrants aged 15 and above.

Source: OECD Database on Immigrants in OECD Countries (DIOC) 2015/16, www.oecd.org/els/mig/dioc.htm.

Cross-country EU data show an older population of descendants of Romanian emigrants concentrated in a small number of countries

Among the available cross-country data sources, only the special module of the European Labour Force Survey (EU LFS) provides information on parents’ country of birth (see Box 1.2). These data can identify descendants of Romanian emigrants who were born in the EU country where they reside and can thus constitute a lower bound for the total number of descendants of Romanian emigrants in the EU. In 2014, this population reached approximately 125 000 persons aged 15 to 64.

The EU LFS data show that descendants of Romanian emigrants were mostly of mixed parentage, over the age of 24, female, and concentrated in a small number of countries. Among the identifiable second-generation Romanian emigrants in the European Union, close to 30 000 persons (representing a quarter) had parents who were both born in Romania. In the case of roughly 43 000 persons (38%), only the father was born in Romania; in the case of 42 000 (36%), only the mother was born there. Only about a fourth (26%) were aged from 15 to 24, while almost 90 000 were aged from 25 to 64. The data from the special module of the EU LFS do not include those younger than 15. If they were counted towards the total, the share of those younger than 24 would become larger. Over half (53%) of the descendants of Romanian emigrants in the EU in 2014 were women. This population was concentrated in Hungary (about 40%) and Austria (about a fifth), and there were relatively few descendants of Romanian emigrants in Italy (6%), Spain (1%) or the United Kingdom (less than 1%).

National data sources in more recent countries of destination show a younger, more widespread population of descendants of Romanian emigrants

The geographic concentration of descendants of Romanian emigrants in the 2014 EU LFS points to a major limitation of the data source: as the survey includes only those aged 15 and above, it does not capture children of Romanian emigrants born since 1999. This is especially problematic in light of the increase since 2000 in the numbers of Romanian emigrants living in new destination countries such as Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom; their children are not included in the EU LFS-derived estimate of the number of descendants of Romanian emigrants.

Data on births in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom show that there may indeed be a sizable population of descendants of Romanian emigrants under the age of 15 (Figure 1.20). From a low of under 1 000 in 1999 and 2000, births to Romanian mothers in Italy and Spain rose quickly and attained 5 000 in both countries in 2004. Births to Romanian mothers in Spain peaked in 2008 and have since declined to an average of about 11 300 per year between 2009 and 2016. Romanian births in Italy peaked in 2012 at almost 16 500 and have averaged almost 15 700 per year since then.

No data on births to Romanian mothers in the United Kingdom are available prior to 2012, when Romania entered the list of the ten most common countries of birth of mother for mothers not born in the United Kingdom. With 4 400 births, Romania was ninth on the list in 2012 and has since moved rapidly up to third place in 2017 with 13 700 births. While births to Romanian mothers in the United Kingdom were 60% lower than those in Spain in 2012, the number in the United Kingdom exceeded the number in Spain in 2016.

Cumulating these yearly birth totals allows the calculation of rough estimates of the size of the population of descendants of Romanian emigrants in each country. From 1999 to 2016, there were 170 000 Romanian births in Italy and 144 000 births to Romanian mothers in Spain. Between 2012 and 2017, there were almost 50 000 births in the United Kingdom to Romanian mothers.

Taken together, births to Romanian mothers in these countries totalled almost 364 000. While not all of these children survived or remained in their country of birth, it is likely that these children, all of whom were under age 15 in 2014, constitute a sizable population of descendants of Romanian emigrants. Furthermore, these individuals are much younger than the population of descendants of Romanian emigrants as captured by the EU LFS and are concentrated in a different set of countries, underscoring the demographic and geographic transitions likely taking place within the Romanian second generation in the EU.

Data on births by nationality are available at the regional level in Italy. These data show that the ranking of Italian NUTS-2 regions by share of Romanian births is largely the same as the ranking of these regions by the share of the overall population. For example, the region of Lazio hosted the largest share (18%) of Romanian emigrants in Italy in 2015/16. This region also saw the largest share of Romanian births at about 21%, corresponding to an annual average of 3 200 births per year between 2010 and 2016. Lombardia was the region with the second-highest share of both Romanian emigrants and births and accounted for about 16% of births, or an annual average of 2 500. The regions of Piemonte (14% of Romanian births) and Veneto (11%) were third and fourth in both rankings. While the region of Emilia Romagna was ranked sixth in the share of Romanian emigrants, it had the fifth-highest share of Romanian births (7%), jumping ahead of the region of Toscana (6%). For the top five regions for Romanian births, the share of births was higher than the share of Romanian emigrants. The top five regions account for slightly more than two thirds of all Romanian births in Italy.

Figure 1.20. Births to Romanian mothers in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, 1999-2017

Note: Data refer to mothers born in Romania in the United Kingdom and in Spain for 2007 to 2016. Data refer to mothers with Romanian nationality in Spain for 1999 to 2006. Data refer to country of foreign citizenship in Italy. No data available for Romanian-born mothers in the United Kingdom prior to 2012.

Source: Italy: Istituto Nazionale di Statistica (Istat), Live births: Country of foreign citizenship, 1999-2016. Spain: Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), Vital Statistics/Birth Statistics, 1999-2016. United Kingdom: Office for National Statistics, Live births by parents’ country of birth, 2017.

It is likewise possible to study the regional distribution of Romanian births in Spain as the province of birth to foreign mothers is recorded in the data. Much like in the case of Italy, the ranking of Spanish provinces in terms of their shares of Romanian births closely matches the ranking of provinces by their shares of Romanian emigrants. The autonomous community of Madrid not only hosts the highest share of Romanian emigrants but is also the place of almost a quarter of Romanian births in Spain, a share that is five percentage points higher than its proportion of Romanian emigrants. The autonomous community of Valencia, with the second-highest share of Romanian migrants, retains its ranking for Romanian births with 16% of the total. The autonomous communities of Andalucía (13% of Romanian births), Cataluña (13%), and Catilla-La Mancha (11%) retain the third through fifth spots in the ranking. These five autonomous communities account for more than three quarters of all Romanian births in Spain.

Additional national data sources of specific destination countries can help establish total numbers and some characteristics of their populations of descendants of Romanian emigrants. A specialized survey of foreign families in Italy in 2011-12 (Condizione e Integrazione dei Cittadini Stranieri) permits another estimation of the number of descendants of Romanian emigrants in Italy. These data show that there were almost 115 000 individuals born in Italy with at least one parent born in Romania. While this total initially seems at odds with the estimates from the EU LFS data and the Italian birth data, further examination of the age distribution of this population shows it to be consistent with these other sources. Only about 4 000 individuals, or less than 4% of the total, were above 15 years of age, an estimate on the same order of magnitude as the EU LFS estimate of the total number of descendants of Romanian emigrants in Italy (6 000). In contrast, the survey data estimate about 112 000 descendants of Romanian emigrants between 0 and 14 years of age. This total is consistent with the cumulative number of Romanian births between 1999 and 2012 (107 000). Approximately 45% of descendants of Romanian emigrants in Italy were female and 40% had acquired Italian citizenship.

The descendants of Romanian emigrants in the United States are mostly women and concentrated in the older age groups. The Current Population Survey (CPS) produces an estimate of 138 000 descendants of Romanian emigrants in the United States in 2016. Women accounted for more than half (56%) of this population. While the majority of children of Romanian emigrants were over 30 years old, the age distribution shows a bimodal concentration at both younger and older ages. Almost a quarter of children of Romanian emigrants (about 40 000 individuals) were under 15 years old, and more than a third (34%) were 65 years old or older with a quarter over the age of 80. The regional distribution of descendants of Romanian emigrants in the United States mirrors the distribution of Romanian emigrants, with high shares in the states of Florida (28%), Illinois (12%), Michigan (10%), California (7%) and New York (7%). The shares of descendants of Romanian emigrants in California and New York are lower than these states’ shares of Romanian emigrants, and Florida’s share correspondingly higher, but the limited sample size of this population in the CPS probably underlies some of these discrepancies.

The descendants of Romanian emigrants, while difficult to measure accurately given the limitations of available data sources, constitute a growing population in countries of more-recent Romanian emigration. As a result, the majority of this population is likely quite young (under 15 years old), with Romanian births since 1999 in Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom representing upwards of 60% of the estimate of 630 000 descendants of Romanian emigrants in OECD countries. The estimate of the total number of children of Romanian emigrants is likely to be conservative, however, as it does not include several countries with sizable populations of Romanian emigrants, such as Germany, Hungary and Canada. The inclusion of additional countries would not only likely increase the estimate of the total number of descendants of Romanian emigrants, but could also have an effect of the estimated age distribution. The estimates presented here should thus be interpreted with caution. Chapter 3 presents further characteristics of the descendants of Romanian emigrants.