Around 20 percent of the active workforce has left Romania in recent years, World Bank says

“Before the shock of COVID-19, the Romanian emigrants of working age exceeded 2.6 million people, representing almost 20 percent of the working age population in Romania. The World Bank’s estimates were made on the basis of Eurostat data but also on the basis of national censuses in the destination countries,” said Andrei Silviu Dospinescu, economist in the Romanian office of the World Bank, at the 6th edition of the “Labour Pact. Together we reconstruct Romania” conference, which took place recently in Constanța.

Most Romanians emigrated to Italy (about 1.2 million people, of which about 1 million from the active population category), followed by Spain (about 700,000 people, of which about 600,000 from the category 15 – 64 years, active population).

Romania ranks 52nd out of 140 in the Global Competitiveness Ranking compiled by the World Economic Forum and has one of the lowest scores in the European Competitiveness Ranking in 2020. This is due to a sharp demographic decline, especially the decline of the active population, a high emigration rate, including highly skilled labor and a labor market participation rate of 67 percent (compared to the EU average of 74 percent). The World Bank economist is optimistic and talks about “the low unemployment rate which suggests that the country has great potential in terms of human capital development, although the labor force is less educated than in the EU, with significant differences between regions. Public spending on active employment policies is low and relatively inefficient, which contributes to limited access to employment opportunities, especially among young people in rural areas. ”

According to World Bank data from recent years, among Romanians with higher education, perhaps the worst situation is among doctors – over 50 percent of emigrants who are doctors and working abroad are under 40 and in addition, many of them are resident doctors.