Romania’s population reached 21.646 million people on January 1, 2026, decreasing by 0.5% compared to the same period of the previous year, according to data published on Thursday, April 2, by the National Institute of Statistics.
The urban and female populations constitute the majority, accounting for 55.2% and 51.2% of the total, respectively.
Specifically, aound 11.94 million people lived in cities in Romania on January 1, 2026, down 0.9% from the first month of 2025. At the same time, the rural population numbered 9.697 million people, showing a slight increase of 0.04% compared to the reference period.
Official data also reveal that the female population was 11.091 million people, decreasing by 0.5% year-on-year, while the male population stood at 10.555 million people (-0.5%).
At the same time, the process of demographic aging continued in 2025, with a slight decrease (by 0.3%) in the share of young people (0–14 years). Consequently, there was a 0.3% increase in the share of the elderly population (65 years and over) in the total population.
On January 1, 2026, the average age of the Romanian population was 43.2 years, 0.4 years higher than on January 1, 2025, while the median age stood at 44.3 years, increasing by 0.5 years. The demographic aging index increased from 131.7 (on January 1, 2025) to 136.6 elderly persons per one hundred young persons on January 1, 2026.
The 45-49 age group (8.6%) made up the largest share of the total population and of the male population. At the same time, among females, the highest shares were held by the 45-49 and 55-59 age groups (8.2%). Those between 0 and 4 years old represented 4% of the population, lower than that of the 5-9 age group (4.9%), 10-14 age group (4.8%), and 15-19 age group (5.2%).
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