Good to know
Good to Know
- Official census data (7% foreign residents) significantly understates the actual foreign long-stay population—digital nomads, remote workers on tourist visas, and unregistered expats are not captured. The real figure is higher, particularly in expat-concentrated neighborhoods.
- Immigration to Bucharest has grown approximately 30% annually (2024–2025) according to city immigration officials; if this pace continues, roughly one-quarter of Bucharest's population could be foreign-born within five years.
- South Asian and Southeast Asian migrants (Nepal, Sri Lanka, Turkey) dominate the registered foreign workforce, concentrated in construction and service sectors. Western European expats (Italy, Sweden, France) form a smaller but visible professional/expat community.
- Tech/IT workers and digital nomads are increasingly settling in Bucharest; the city was ranked #9 globally for digital nomads in 2024 and hosts active online expat communities (Facebook groups, Meetup.com, coworking spaces). Romania's flat 10% income tax and digital nomad visa (launched 2022) attract remote professionals.
Current Estimate
- Unit
- people (approximate)
- Year
- 2026
- Amount
- 1750000
- Note
- Downward trend; population has declined since 2011
Registered Population
- Unit
- people
- Amount
- 1716961
- Source
- 2021 census (most recent official)
- Note
- Latest official census figure for city proper
Foreign Labor Composition
- Registered For Work
- 60000
- Note
- Migrant workers fill critical gaps in local labor market
Sectors
- construction
- delivery services
- hospitality/service industry
Tech And Business Presence
- IT Sector Dominance
- Bucharest generates approximately 63% of Romania's IT revenue
- Note
- Bucharest dominates Romania's startup and tech investment activity; significant international talent attraction but also brain drain to Western EU/US
Startup Ecosystem
- Growth Rate 2025
- +6.8%
- Rank Global
- #116 (2025)
- Total Funding
- $27.33M
- Total Startups
- 265
Key Sectors
- software/SaaS
- fintech
- cybersecurity
- AI
- e-commerce
- edtech
Notable Companies
- UiPath (Romania's first unicorn)
- FintechOS
- Bitdefender
Major Global Tech Companies
- Microsoft
- Amazon
- Oracle
- Huawei
- Adobe
- Stripe
Ethnic Breakdown Census 2021
- Romanian
- 97.3%
- Note
- 226,943 people did not declare ethnicity in 2021 census
Other Significant Groups
- Romani
- Hungarian
- Turkish
- Jewish
- German
- Chinese
- Russian
- Ukrainian
- Italian
Foreign Residents Registered
- Percentage Of City
- 7
- Unit
- people
- Year
- 2025
- Amount
- 144000
- Source
- General Inspectorate for Immigration (Jan 2026)
Breakdown
Western European
- Amount
- 40000
Primary Origins
- Italy
- Sweden
- France
South South East Asian
- Amount
- 100000
Primary Origins
- Nepal
- Turkey
- Sri Lanka
Notable Foreign Nationalities
Primary
- Nepalese (11,417 registered)
- Turkish (10,698)
- Sri Lankan (8,123)
- Moldovan (7,738)
- Indian (5,474)
Secondary
- Chinese
- Hungarian
- Italian
- Swedish
- French
Estimated Unregistered Long Stayers
- Note
- Official immigration data captures ~144,000 registered foreigners (7% of population). However, this figure omits digital nomads, long-term tourist-visa residents, and undocumented long-stayers who do not appear in official residence-permit statistics. Given Romania's digital nomad visa program launched in 2022, active expat/nomad community groups on Facebook and Meetup.com, and Bucharest's ranking as #9 globally for digital nomads (2024), the true foreign long-stay population is believed to be substantially higher than official registration. Exact unregistered count unavailable; credible secondary sources emphasize Bucharest welcomes approximately one-third of Romania's total migrant population despite only ~7% official foreign-resident rate in city proper.
Foreign Born Percentage Romania Wide
- Unit
- %
- Year
- 2024
- Amount
- 3.1
- Note
- National figure; Bucharest concentration is higher
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this local demographics research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Bucharest
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.