About 9.3% ofRomania's population is represented by minorities (the rest of 77.7% beingRomanians), and 13% unknown or undisclosed according to 2021 census.[1] The principalminorities in Romania areRomani people, and Hungarians (Szeklers,Csangos, andMagyars; especially inHarghita,Covasna, andMureș counties), with a decliningGerman population (inTimiș,Sibiu,Brașov, orSuceava) and smaller numbers ofPoles in Bukovina (Austria-Hungary attracted Polish miners, who settled there from theKraków region in contemporary Poland during the 19th century),Serbs,Croats,Slovaks andBanat Bulgarians (inBanat),Ukrainians (inMaramureș andBukovina),Greeks (Brăila,Constanța),Jews (Wallachia,Bucharest),Turks andTatars (inConstanța),Armenians,Russians (Lipovans, inTulcea),Afro-Romanians, and others.
To this day, minority populations are greatest in Transylvania and theBanat, historical regions situated in the north and west of the country which were former territorial possessions of either theKingdom of Hungary, theHabsburgs, or theAustrian Empire (since 1867 the dual monarchy ofAustria-Hungary untilWorld War I).
BeforeWorld 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 ofBessarabia and northernBukovina (to the formerSoviet Union, nowRepublic of Moldova and Ukraine),Black Sea islands (to the formerSoviet Union, now Ukraine), and southernDobrudja (to Bulgaria), as well as by the postwar flight ordeportation 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 theChamber of Deputies since the fall of theNicolae Ceauşescu regime.
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):
| Minority | Population (2002) | Percentage of the total population (2002) | Population (2011) | Percentage of the total population (2011) | Population (2021) | Percentage of the total population (2021) | County |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roma | 535,140 | 2.46% | 621,573 | 3.08% | 569,477 | 3.44% | Mureș,Călărași |
| Hungarians(incl.Szeklers andCsangos) | 1,431,807 | 6.60% | 1,227,623 | 6.10% | 1,002,151 | 5.25% | MainlyTransylvania, but alsoBucharest |
| Ukrainians(incl.Hutsuls andRusyns) | 61,091 | 0.28% | 50,920 | 0.25% | 45,835 | 0.24% | Maramureș,Timiș,Suceava |
| Germans[2] | 59,764 | 0.28% | 36,042 | 0.17% | 22,907 | 0.12% | Timiș,Sibiu,Satu Mare,Caraș-Severin,Brașov,Mureș,Maramureș,Hunedoara,Alba,Bihor,Suceava,Bistrița-Năsăud,Transylvania |
| Russians(incl.Lipovans) | 35,791 | 0.17% | 23,487 | 0.11% | 19,394 | 0.10% | Tulcea,Constanța,Iași,Suceava |
| Turks | 32,098 | 0.15% | 27,698 | 0.13% | 20,945 | 0.11% | Constanța |
| Crimean Tatars | 23,935 | 0.11% | 20,282 | 0.10% | 18,156 | 0.10% | Constanța |
| Serbs | 22,518 | 0.10% | 18,076 | 0.08% | 12,026 | 0.06% | Timiș,Arad,Caraș-Severin,Mehedinți |
| Slovaks | 17,199 | 0.08% | 13,654 | 0.06% | 12,026 | 0.06% | Sălaj,Arad,Bihor,Suceava |
| Bulgarians | 8,025 | 0.04% | 7,336 | 0.04% | 5,975 | 0.03% | Timiș |
| Croats(incl.Krašovani) | 6,786 | 0.03% | 5,408 | 0.03% | 4,842 | 0.025% | Caraș-Severin |
| Greeks | 6,472 | 0.03% | 3,668 | 0.02% | 2,086 | 0.01% | Constanța,Brăila,Transylvania |
| Jews | 5,785 | 0.03% | 3,271 | 0.02% | 2,378 | 0.01% | Bucharest |
| Czechs | 3,938 | 0.02% | 2,477 | 0.01% | 1,576 | 0.008% | Caraș-Severin,Mehedinți,Suceava |
| Poles | 3,559 | 0.02% | 2,543 | 0.01% | 2,137 | 0.01% | Suceava,Bucharest |
| Italians | 3,288 | 0.02% | 3,203 | 0.02% | 4039 | 0.02% | Bucharest,Constanța,Timiș |
| Chinese | 2,243 | 0.01% | 2,017 | 0.01% | Bucharest | ||
| Armenians | 1,780 | 0.01% | 1,361 | >0.01% | 1,213 | >0.01% | Cluj(city ofGherla) |
| Csángós | 1,266 | 0.01% | 1,536 | >0.01% | Bacău | ||
| Other lesser minorities and/or recent immigrants: | 13,653 | 0.06% | 18,524 | 0.10% | 19510 | 0.10% | All counties of Romania |
| Total: | 2,276,138 | 10.49% | 2,091,963 | 10.39% | 1,767,447 | 9.28% | Romania |
According to the2021 census, the number of Romani people in Romania was 569,477 people, constituting 3.4% of the total population.[3] The real size of their total population is considered to be higher, with some estimates varying from 4.6% to over 10% of the population, as many Romani do not declare themselves as such.[4][5] Less than half are native speakers of theRomani language.
In 2007, theCouncil of Europe (CoE) estimated that approximately 1.85 million Roma lived in Romania,[6] based on an average between the lowest estimate (1.2 to 2.2 million people[7]) and the highest estimate (1.8 to 2.5 million people[8]) with a maximum percentage of 12%, available at the time; the highest estimate, generated for the year 1991 and originating from aSecuritate report, is considered unreliable, and Romanian post-communist censuses have consistently produced far lower figures.[9] The CoE's average estimate is equivalent to 8.32% of the population,[10][11] a figure difficult to verify due to the mobility of Romani and the reluctance of some to disclose their ethnicity.[12]
TheHungarian 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.[13]
Most ethnic Hungarians live in what is today known asTransylvania (where they make up about 16.79% of the population), an area that includes the historic regions ofBanat,Crișana, and Maramureș. They form a large majority of the population only inHarghita andCovasna counties and a large percentage in theMureș county.
Among the towns and communes in Romania with the highest proportions of Greeks as of 2011 areIzvoarele (Greek:Ιζβοάρελε; 43.82%) andSulina (Greek:Σουλινάς; 1.69%), both inTulcea County.
According to the Romanian census of 2002, the Greek community numbered 6,472 persons, most of whom live inBucharest and its surrounding area. Next in line come the Dobruja counties of Tulcea andConstanța, and the Danube-facing ones ofBrăila andGalați. The 1992 census however found 19,594 Greeks;[14] this shows the tendency of assimilation. According to the General Secretariat for Greeks Abroad (a dependency of theGreek Ministry of Foreign Affairs) the Greek community in Romania numbers 14,000.[15]
TheHellenic Union of Romania, founded in 1990, represents the political and cultural preservation interests of the community, notably by providing its representatives in theChamber of Deputies.