At least 8 million Romanians live outside the country's borders according to estimates voiced by the state secretary for Diaspora, Gheorghe Cârciu, who expressed hopes for “bringing back some of them to Romania.”

“According to the latest official data, there are 5.7 million Romanians abroad. This is an official figure from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. [But] the real figure exceeds 8 million. There are 500,000 Romanians in France alone, more than the 106,000 officially counted by French authorities. There are several countries in Europe that host at least one million Romanians each," said Cârciu, at a conference organized by the National Trade Union Bloc (BNS), according to Economica.net.

He expressed hopes that the Romanian authorities will succeed in convincing part of the Romanians living abroad to return home and fill part of the vacant workplaces in Romania. The tax allowances for employees in the sectors of construction and, more recently, agriculture is aimed at helping employers pay wages closer to what Romanians earn abroad, he argued.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Gheorghe Carciu Facebook page)