Minorities of Romania

About 9.3% of Romania's population is represented by minorities (the rest of 77.7% being Romanians), and 13% unknown or undisclosed according to 2021 census.[1] The principal minorities in Romania are Hungarians (Szeklers, Csangos, and Magyars; especially in Harghita, Covasna, and Mureș counties) and Romani people, with a declining German population (in Timiș, Sibiu, Brașov, or Suceava) and smaller numbers of Poles in Bukovina (Austria-Hungary attracted Polish miners, who settled there from the Kraków region in contemporary Poland during the 19th century), Serbs, Croats, Slovaks and Banat Bulgarians (in Banat), Ukrainians (in Maramureș and Bukovina), Greeks (Brăila, Constanța), Jews (Wallachia, Bucharest), Turks and Tatars (in Constanța), Armenians, Russians (Lipovans, in Tulcea), Afro-Romanians, and others.

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To this day, minority populations are greatest in Transylvania and the Banat, historical regions situated in the north and west of the country which were former territorial possessions of either the Kingdom of Hungary, the Habsburgs, or the Austrian Empire (since 1867 the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary until World War I).

Before World War II, minorities represented more than 28% of the total population. During the war that percentage was halved, largely by the loss of the border areas of Bessarabia and northern Bukovina (to the former Soviet Union, now Republic of Moldova and Ukraine), Black Sea islands (to the former Soviet Union, now Ukraine), and southern Dobrudja (to Bulgaria), as well as by the postwar flight or deportation of ethnic Germans.

In the Romanian election law, government-recognized ethnic minorities in Romania are subject to a significantly lower threshold and have consequently won seats in the Chamber of Deputies since the fall of the Nicolae Ceauşescu regime.

Overview

In the table below are enlisted all minority ethnic groups from Romania with more than 1,000 persons (based on the 2002, 2011,and 2021 Romanian censuses):

MinorityPopulation (2002)Percentage of the
total population (2002)		Population (2011)Percentage of the
total population (2011)		Population (2021)Percentage of the
total population (2021)		County
Hungarians (incl. Szeklers and Csangos) 1,431,807 Steady 6.60% Steady 1,227,623 Decrease 6.10% Decrease 1,002,151 Decrease 5.25% Decrease Mainly Transylvania, but also Bucharest
Roma 535,140 Steady 2.46% Steady 621,573 Increase 3.08% Increase 569,477 Decrease 2.99% Decrease Mureș, Călărași
Ukrainians (incl. Hutsuls and Rusyns) 61,091 Steady 0.28% Steady 50,920 Decrease 0.25% Decrease 45,835 Decrease 0.24% Decrease Maramureș, Timiș, Suceava
Germans[2] 59,764 Steady 0.28% Steady 36,042 Decrease 0.17% Decrease 22,907 Decrease 0.12% Decrease Timiș, Sibiu, Satu Mare, Caraș-Severin, Brașov, Mureș, Maramureș, Hunedoara, Alba, Bihor, Suceava, Bistrița-Năsăud, Transylvania
Russians (incl. Lipovans) 35,791 Steady 0.17% Steady 23,487 Decrease 0.11% Decrease 19,394 Decrease 0.10% Decrease Tulcea, Constanța, Iași, Suceava
Turks 32,098 Steady 0.15% Steady 27,698 Decrease 0.13% Decrease 20,945 Decrease 0.11% Decrease Constanța
Crimean Tatars 23,935 Steady 0.11% Steady 20,282 Decrease 0.10% Decrease 18156 Decrease 0.10% Steady Constanța
Serbs 22,518 Steady 0.10% Steady 18,076 Decrease 0.08% Decrease 12,026 Decrease 0.06% Decrease Timiș, Arad, Caraș-Severin, Mehedinți
Slovaks 17,199 Steady 0.08% Steady 13,654 Decrease 0.06% Decrease 12,026 Decrease 0.06% Steady Sălaj, Arad, Bihor, Suceava
Bulgarians 8,025 Steady 0.04% Steady 7,336 Decrease 0.04% Steady 5,975 Decrease 0.03% Decrease Timiș
Croats (incl. Krašovani) 6,786 Steady 0.03% Steady 5,408 Decrease 0.03% Steady 4,842 Decrease 0.025% Decrease Caraș-Severin
Greeks 6,472 Steady 0.03% Steady 3,668 Decrease 0.02% Decrease 2,086 Decrease 0.01% Decrease Constanța, Brăila, Transylvania
Jews 5,785 Steady 0.03% Steady 3,271 Decrease 0.02% Decrease 2,378 Decrease 0.01% Decrease Bucharest
Czechs 3,938 Steady 0.02% Steady 2,477 Decrease 0.01% Decrease 1,576 Decrease 0.008% Decrease Caraș-Severin, Mehedinți, Suceava
Poles 3,559 Steady 0.02% Steady 2,543 Decrease 0.01% Decrease 2,137 Decrease 0.01% Steady Suceava, Bucharest
Italians 3,288 Steady 0.02% Steady 3,203 Decrease 0.02% Steady 4039 Increase 0.02% Steady Bucharest, Constanța, Timiș
Chinese 2,243 Steady 0.01% Steady 2,017 Decrease 0.01% Steady Bucharest
Armenians 1,780 Steady 0.01% Steady 1,361 Decrease >0.01% Decrease 1,213 Decrease >0.01% Decrease Cluj (city of Gherla)
Csángós 1,266 Steady 0.01% Steady 1,536 Increase >0.01% Increase Bacău
Other lesser minorities and/or recent immigrants: 13,653 Steady 0.06% Steady 18,524 Increase 0.10% Increase 19510 Increase 0.10% Steady All counties of Romania
Total: 2,276,138 Steady 10.49% Steady 2,091,963Decrease 10.39% Decrease 1,767,447Decrease 9.28% Decrease Romania

Hungarian minority in Romania
Main article: Hungarian minority in Romania
Map of Romanian counties with the Hungarian population highlighted.
Ethnic map of Romania in 2011

The Hungarian minority in Romania consists of 6.1% of the total population (1,227,623 citizens as per the 2011 census), being thus the largest ethnic minority of the country.[3]

Most ethnic Hungarians live in what is today known as Transylvania (where they make up about 16.79% of the population), an area that includes the historic regions of Banat, Crișana, and Maramureș. They form a large majority of the population only in Harghita and Covasna counties and a large percentage in the Mureș county.

Greek community
Main article: Greeks in Romania
Eastern Orthodox Church Metamorphosis in Constanța, with service occasionally held in Greek

Among the towns and communes in Romania with the highest proportions of Greeks as of 2011 are Izvoarele (Greek: Ιζβοάρελε; 43.82%) and Sulina (Greek: Σουλινάς; 1.69%), both in Tulcea County.

According to the Romanian census of 2002, the Greek community numbered 6,472 persons, most of whom live in Bucharest and its surrounding area. Next in line come the Dobruja counties of Tulcea and Constanța, and the Danube-facing ones of Brăila and Galați. The 1992 census however found 19,594 Greeks;[4] this shows the tendency of assimilation. According to the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad (a dependency of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs) the Greek community in Romania numbers 14,000.[5]

The Hellenic Union of Romania, founded in 1990, represents the political and cultural preservation interests of the community, notably by providing its representatives in the Chamber of Deputies.


See also

References
  1. Institutul Naţional de Statistică: Primele date provizorii pentru Recensământul Populației și Locuințelor, runda 2021
  2. Including Transylvanian Saxons, Transylvanian Landlers, Banat Swabians, Bukovina Germans, Sathmar Swabians, Regat Germans, Zipser Germans, and Dobrujan Germans.
  3. "The Euromosaic study Hungarian in Romania - General information". European Commission. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
  4. Greeks in Romania Archived 2006-01-04 at the Wayback Machine, eurominority.org. Accessed 15 December 2006.
  5. (in Greek) ΓΕΝΙΚΑ ΣΤΟΙΧΕΙΑ ΔΙΑΣΠΟΡΑΣ Archived 2008-07-16 at the Wayback Machine, ggae.gr. Accessed 15 December 2006.
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