Romania's population will drop to 19.8 million in 2035, from 21.4 million at the end of 2010, and will further reduce to 17.3 million in 2060, one of the steepest declines in the EU, according to the European Statistics Office Eurostat.

The drop would be of 7.5 percent in 2035, the third biggest population drop in the EU, after Bulgaria, Latvia and Lithuania. The number of Romania's inhabitants could decline by 19.4 percent by 2060, again the fourth largest population decrease in the EU.

At an EU level, the number of inhabitants should increase by 3.7 percent by 2035, to 524 million people. After 2040, the level should also go down, but not lower than in 2010. Around 2040, one person in eight will be aged 80 or more, according to Eurostat.

Read the full Eurostat statement here (pdf).

editor@romania-insider.com