Romania: Population and Key Statistics

EuropeCapital: Bucharest#39 by population

With 19 million people, Romania is Eastern Europe's most populous EU member. Its economy has grown rapidly since accession in 2007, led by the information technology sector, automotive manufacturing (Dacia), and agriculture; the country became a full member of the Schengen area in early 2025.

Remittances sent home by millions of citizens working abroad play an important role in the economy, and the population has fallen by about four million since 1990 because of emigration and low fertility.

Population (2025)
19.0 million
19,020,271 people
GDP (2025)
$429bn
nominal, current US dollars
GDP per capita
$22,538
Life expectancy
76.5
years
Area
238,400
km²
Population density
80
people/km²
Median age
43.5
Internet usage
91.3%

Military Strength

Military expenditure (2024)
$8.7bn
8,716 million dollars
Share of GDP
2.30%
NATO guideline: 2%
Share of government spending
5.85%
Spending per capita
$458
per year, per person
Armed forces (2020)
128 thousand
128,000 active personnel
Armed forces per 1,000 people
6.7
1.52% of the labor force

Expenditure figures come from SIPRI and personnel counts from the IISS, both distributed through the World Bank. Source years differ by indicator, so each figure is shown with its own year.

How Romania compares

Romania and Germany — core indicators
020 b40 b60 b80 bGDP per capita ($)Life expectancy (years)Internet usage (%)GDP per capita ($) — Romania: 22.538Life expectancy (years) — Romania: 76,5Internet usage (%) — Romania: 91,3GDP per capita ($) — Germany: 60.496Life expectancy (years) — Germany: 80,8Internet usage (%) — Germany: 93,5
RomaniaGermany

The indicators use different scales, so the chart is a rough visual comparison only. For exact figures see the full side-by-side comparison.

Data sourcesPopulation and social indicators: UN World Population Prospects, World BankEconomy: IMF World Economic Outlook, World BankMilitary: SIPRI and IISS, distributed through the World BankLast refreshed: 2026-08-26