One in five (19.7%) of the working-age Romanians (20-64) lived in other EU countries in 2017, the highest share in European Union, according to the European statistical office Eurostat.

The share of Romanians abroad also saw the highest increase in the EU in the last 10 years, namely 12.3 percentage points, from 7.4% in 2007, the year when Romania joined the EU.

Some 3.8% of European Union (EU) citizens of working age were residing in another member state than that of their citizenship in 2017, Eurostat data shows. High shares were also recorded in Lithuania (15%), Croatia (14%), Portugal (13.9%), Latvia (12.9%) and Bulgaria (12.5%). The lowest shares were in Germany (1%), UK (1.1%), Sweden and France (1.3% both).

Only 16.9% of the Romanians living abroad have tertiary education, which is also close to the national average. Meanwhile, almost a third of Europeans living in other countries have upper education.

Study: 21% of urban Romanians plan to emigrate in the next two years

editor@romania-insider.com