2021 Lost people since 2002 Gained people since 2002 Nearly unchanged Romania · 2002–2021 # How many people are left in your commune Three censuses counted the people of every commune, town and municipality. Find your commune and watch its column fall or rise on the 3D terrain map. Height is population, colour is change since 2002. Search a commune, town or county Loading the terrain… Or scroll: the story, in four steps. County totals and the steepest falls and rises are below: [counties](#judete) and [communes](#comune). 2002–2021 ## Three censuses, on the map Every column is a commune, town or municipality. Height shows the place's population; colour shows whether it fell (orange) or rose (teal) relative to 2002; changes under ±2% show cream. Scroll and the years pass over the relief. In 2002, Romania's resident population was 21,680,974. In 2021, 19,053,815: 2,627,159 fewer (-12.1%). Of 3,181 communes, towns and municipalities, 2,661 declined (83.7%). 2002–2021 ## The largest falls: Caraș-Severin and Teleorman Population fell in 40 of Romania's 41 counties and in Bucharest. The largest percentage falls among counties are in Caraș-Severin (-26%) and Teleorman (-25.8%). 619 communes, towns and municipalities lost at least a quarter of their people. The steepest fall is Chilia Veche (Tulcea): -52.1%, followed by Bătrâna (Hunedoara) (-49.7%) and Gogoșu (Dolj) (-49.2%). Growth ## Where the teal towers grow Ilfov is the only county that grew: 80.8%. The big rises all sit near large cities: Dumbrăvița (Timiș) (643.2%), Florești (Cluj) (606%) and Chiajna (Ilfov) (444.2%). The map shows where population grew, but not where new residents came from. Growth in a commune near Cluj may reflect moves from several places. What is measured ## What the columns show In “Change” mode, height is no longer population but how much the place grew or shrank since 2002. Tall columns are the largest population declines and increases. The figures are resident population: people usually living in the commune, present or temporarily away. Years between censuses are linearly interpolated, so the animation flows. ## Put your place on the map Open the map, search a commune, town or county and pick the year at the bottom. For each place, the panel shows population at the three censuses and compares its 2002–2021 change with the national change. ## How much, at each count? Population fell at each census: from 21,680,974 in 2002 to 20,121,641 in 2011 and 19,053,815 in 2021. It fell by 1,559,333 people in the first interval and by 1,067,826 in the second. The 518 communes, towns and municipalities that grew are under a fifth of the 2,661 that declined. The map takes no sides: it shows the teal towers and the orange stubs alike. ## By county Resident population in 2002 and 2021, the difference and percentage, for every county and Bucharest. Ordered from the steepest fall to the only rise. Counties and Bucharest, from the steepest fall to the only rise County | 2002 | 2021 | Change | Change, % | Caraș-Severin | 333,219 | 246,588 | −86,631 | -26% | Teleorman | 436,025 | 323,544 | −112,481 | -25.8% | Hunedoara | 485,712 | 361,657 | −124,055 | -25.5% | Brăila | 373,174 | 281,452 | −91,722 | -24.6% | Tulcea | 256,492 | 193,355 | −63,137 | -24.6% | Mehedinți | 306,732 | 234,339 | −72,393 | -23.6% | Olt | 489,274 | 383,280 | −105,994 | -21.7% | Galați | 619,556 | 496,892 | −122,664 | -19.8% | Gorj | 387,308 | 314,685 | −72,623 | -18.8% | Buzău | 496,214 | 404,979 | −91,235 | -18.4% | Dolj | 734,231 | 599,442 | −134,789 | -18.4% | Neamț | 554,516 | 454,203 | −100,313 | -18.1% | Vaslui | 455,049 | 374,700 | −80,349 | -17.7% | Vâlcea | 413,247 | 341,861 | −71,386 | -17.3% | Prahova | 829,945 | 695,119 | −134,826 | -16.2% | Ialomița | 296,572 | 250,816 | −45,756 | -15.4% | Bacău | 706,623 | 601,387 | −105,236 | -14.9% | Alba | 382,747 | 325,941 | −56,806 | -14.8% | Sălaj | 248,015 | 212,224 | −35,791 | -14.4% | Vrancea | 387,632 | 335,312 | −52,320 | -13.5% | Botoșani | 452,834 | 392,821 | −60,013 | -13.3% | Argeș | 652,625 | 569,932 | −82,693 | -12.7% | Călărași | 324,617 | 283,458 | −41,159 | -12.7% | Giurgiu | 297,859 | 262,066 | −35,793 | -12% | Dâmbovița | 541,763 | 479,404 | −62,359 | -11.5% | Maramureș | 510,110 | 452,475 | −57,635 | -11.3% | Arad | 461,791 | 410,143 | −51,648 | -11.2% | București | 1,926,334 | 1,716,961 | −209,373 | -10.9% | Mureș | 580,851 | 518,193 | −62,658 | -10.8% | Harghita | 326,222 | 291,950 | −34,272 | -10.5% | Covasna | 222,449 | 200,042 | −22,407 | -10.1% | Satu Mare | 367,281 | 330,668 | −36,613 | -10% | Constanța | 715,151 | 655,997 | −59,154 | -8.3% | Bihor | 600,246 | 551,297 | −48,949 | -8.2% | Sibiu | 421,724 | 388,326 | −33,398 | -7.9% | Brașov | 589,028 | 546,615 | −42,413 | -7.2% | Iași | 816,910 | 760,774 | −56,136 | -6.9% | Suceava | 688,435 | 642,551 | −45,884 | -6.7% | Bistrița-Năsăud | 311,657 | 295,988 | −15,669 | -5% | Timiș | 677,926 | 650,533 | −27,393 | -4% | Cluj | 702,755 | 679,141 | −23,614 | -3.4% | Ilfov | 300,123 | 542,704 | +242,581 | 80.8% | ### Steepest falls and rises Below: the ten steepest falls and the ten steepest rises, in percent, 2002–2021. Large percentages sit on small bases: a commune of a few hundred can double with a single new neighbourhood. Steepest falls, 2002–2021 Place | 2002 | 2021 | Change, % | Chilia Veche · Tulcea | 3,606 | 1,728 | -52.1% | Bătrâna · Hunedoara | 175 | 88 | -49.7% | Gogoșu · Dolj | 1,029 | 523 | -49.2% | Întregalde · Alba | 877 | 459 | -47.7% | Bunila · Hunedoara | 462 | 247 | -46.5% | Oprișor · Mehedinți | 3,122 | 1,681 | -46.2% | C.A. Rosetti · Tulcea | 1,179 | 636 | -46.1% | Titești · Vâlcea | 1,196 | 646 | -46% | Stejaru · Tulcea | 2,294 | 1,242 | -45.9% | Pădina · Mehedinți | 1,979 | 1,073 | -45.8% | Steepest rises, 2002–2021 Place | 2002 | 2021 | Change, % | Dumbrăvița · Timiș | 2,693 | 20,014 | 643.2% | Florești · Cluj | 7,470 | 52,735 | 606% | Chiajna · Ilfov | 8,009 | 43,588 | 444.2% | Giroc · Timiș | 4,295 | 22,270 | 418.5% | Bragadiru · Ilfov | 8,165 | 40,080 | 390.9% | Valea Lupului · Iași | 3,075 | 14,510 | 371.9% | Moșnița Nouă · Timiș | 4,298 | 16,424 | 282.1% | Șelimbăr · Sibiu | 4,912 | 17,492 | 256.1% | Popești-Leordeni · Ilfov | 15,115 | 53,434 | 253.5% | Miroslava · Iași | 8,073 | 28,534 | 253.4% | ## What the map cannot know Where people went The map shows net change in resident population between censuses. These figures do not separate births, deaths and moves, or trace individuals' routes. Resident population, not domicile-based The figures count people usually living in the commune, present or temporarily away. Domicile-based population is a different, usually higher indicator: it also counts people abroad who kept a registered domicile in the country. Years between censuses Between 2002, 2011 and 2021, population values are interpolated linearly for the animation, and column heights are then calculated on a compressed scale. These are not annual measurements: real change comes in waves. Abolished or split communes The boundaries of some communes may have changed between censuses; the dataset does not yet flag individually the cases where the comparison is not like-for-like, and the figures stay those published for each year. The column scale In “Population” mode, height encodes population in the selected year; in “Change” mode, it encodes the number of people gained or lost since 2002. Both use a compressed scale — roughly the square root of the value — so that Bucharest and the smallest commune fit on one map; height ratios are not population ratios. Edges Commune boundaries are simplified to about 30 metres. The column stands on the commune's centre; on odd borders it may sit near the edge. ## How we computed it and where the data come from The censuses. Resident population of every commune, town and municipality in 2002, 2011 and 2021, from the county tables of citypopulation.de (Thomas Brinkhoff), compiled from INS censuses. We included all 3,181 communes, towns and municipalities, counting Bucharest once. We checked its six sectors separately without adding them again to the totals. The national totals match INS figures; we also checked five county totals for 2021. Bucharest appears whole, with the municipality total. Matching to the map. We matched census rows by name and county; for 12 names that differ across sources (Petreu–Abrămuț, Sâniob–Ciuhoi, Pădina–Pădina Mare, Bira–Bâra and others) we checked the match by SIRUTA code in the geo-spatial.org LAU registry (version 2025-03-26). The page shows the registry name and finds the variants in search. The columns. Each commune gets a column on its outline's centre. Height roughly follows the square root of the value, with a compression that keeps Bucharest on the map: in “Population” mode the value is the selected year's population, in “Change” mode it is the number of people gained or lost since 2002. Colour shows the percentage change since 2002: orange for falls, teal for rises, cream between −2% and +2%. The terrain. Copernicus GLO-30 (European Space Agency), 30-metre resolution, reduced to about 900 metres on the page. Vertical exaggeration varies with camera distance. Boundaries. Communes and counties: geo-spatial.org, after ANCPI data (CC BY-SA 4.0). The outlines on the page are simplified and shared under the same licence. ### Sources Thomas Brinkhoff, citypopulation.de, Romania county tables, 2002, 2011 and 2021 census columns: [citypopulation.de/en/romania](https://www.citypopulation.de/en/romania/). The figures are INS census figures, cited with source. INS, 2021 census, definitive results: [recensamantromania.ro](https://www.recensamantromania.ro/rezultate-rpl-2021/rezultate-definitive-caracteristici-demografice/). Communes and counties: [geo-spatial.org, ro_admin_lau_polygon](https://geo-spatial.org/ghiduri/procesari-etl/administrative-boundaries/ro-admin-lau-polygon/), after ANCPI, [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Copernicus DEM GLO-30, ESA: [doi.org/10.5270/ESA-c5d3d65](https://doi.org/10.5270/ESA-c5d3d65). ## Frequently asked questions ### How much did Romania's resident population fall between 2002 and 2021? The resident population fell from 21,680,974 in 2002 to 19,053,815 in 2021: 2,627,159 fewer people (-12.1%). Of 3,181 communes, towns and municipalities, 2,661 declined (83.7%). ### Which places had the largest percentage falls and rises? The steepest falls are Chilia Veche (Tulcea) (-52.1%), Bătrâna (Hunedoara) (-49.7%) and Gogoșu (Dolj) (-49.2%). The steepest rises are all near big cities: Dumbrăvița (Timiș) (643.2%), Florești (Cluj) (606%) and Chiajna (Ilfov) (444.2%). Ilfov is the only county that grew. ### Resident population or domicile-based — which is this? Resident population: people usually living in the commune, present or temporarily away. The domicile-based total is a different, usually higher indicator. The definitions and limits of this comparison are explained in “What the map cannot know”. Share