Radio România Internațional

Tag: birth rate

  • Challenges of an ageing population

    Challenges of an ageing population

    Romanians are getting fewer and older.

     

    The population of Romania in mid-2024 was 21,779,000, down 1% compared to June 1, 2023. According to the National Statistics Institute, demographic aging is deepening, with the over-65 age bracket now almost 1 million people larger than the under-14 segment. The number of women is at present half a million larger than the number of men, and the national average age is close to 43. This is the radiograph of the current situation. The dynamics, however, is constantly worrying, according to experts. Since the 2011 census until the most recent one, of 2021, Romania has lost approximately one million inhabitants, the president of the National Statistics Institute (INS), Tudorel Andrei, said half a year ago in a debate organized by the media in Bucharest. He pointed out to the sharp aging of the population over the last 30 years (by about 7.7 years on average, but much more pronounced in the case of women), and to the fact that, in the coming years, Romania will very likely change places with the Netherlands and will go down from sixth to seventh in the European Union, in terms of population number.

     

    Economist Ionuț Dumitru, former head of the Fiscal Council, warns that the worst part is that this very sharp decline will be felt, in the coming years, in the segment of ​​the active population. In his opinion, the retirement of those born in the period 1968-1990 –  when the communist regime prohibited abortions and discouraged the use of contraceptives – is a very strong shock. Experts also say that Romania’s 65-and-over demographic group is among the fastest growing in Europe, a trend that is expected to continue.

     

    The consequences of an aging workforce become apparent as a smaller workforce group must support a larger community of retirees. This change has far-reaching implications in various sectors, from the economy to healthcare, creating a ripple effect that touches every corner of the Romanian society. Moreover, the birth rate in Romania has been declining for decades, falling below the replacement level needed to maintain a stable population. In the last 35 years, this has almost halved – from about 60 births per thousand women of childbearing age, to 35.

     

    Many young people are leaving the country in search of better economic opportunities, and this exodus worsens demographic imbalances. Finally, commentators point to the inefficiency of the political decision makers. In spite of their declared good intentions, none of the governments in Bucharest, regardless of their ideological color, managed to create programs able to convince the increasingly numerous Romanians in the Diaspora to come back home.

  • Plans for child protection and higher birth rate

    Plans for child protection and higher birth rate

    A year ago, the Bucharest Government adopted the National Strategy for the Protection of Children’s Rights, and now the Parliament has passed the Law according to which 2025 will be the Year of the Child in Romania. The authorities say that they are preparing a series of measures to support children and to promote their rights, especially of those from disadvantaged backgrounds. The law passed by Parliament at the beginning of this month provides for several lines of action, including the organization of events dedicated to the social, educational, cultural and civic development of children, as well as the allocation of specific funds to support these initiatives and the prioritization of investments in infrastructure aimed for children.

     

    Although there is specific national legislation, a clear strategy and an action plan called the European Child Guarantee in all EU member states, by adopting this law, the Romanian officials say, Romania is taking an additional step forward. The UN special representative for combating violence against children, Dr. Najat Maalla M’jid, is of the same opinion. On a recent visit to Romania, he appreciated the significant progress made in the field of child protection and rights, as well as regarding combating violence against minors in the last two years. Moreover, he believes that this initiative is an example of good practice and that such a year dedicated to children in several countries could stimulate global investments in child protection. Romania has key achievements in child protection and well-being, with multiple strategies, plans and legislative reforms in this field, the UN official said. I believe that Romania is in an excellent position not only to continue to lead these efforts domestically, but also to become an example in child protection at international level, he also said. However, the UN representative emphasized that the country still faces numerous challenges in this field.

     

    On the other hand, at a round table held on Tuesday in Bucharest, the problem of increasing birth rate in Romania was also addressed. In this context, Government representatives say, infertility must be included on the public agenda and a national strategy is needed to help women and all couples who want to become parents, to support them through fiscal and economic measures, as well as through adequate access to all health services. According to official statistics, infertility affects, globally, one sixth of the adult population. In Europe, for example, it is estimated that around 25 million couples have infertility problems. According to the authorities, low birth rates and increased infertility have such effects that, unless measures are taken now, could lead to irreversible phenomena. That is why, the birth rate is and will continue to be a priority, the Government representatives say. In this context, the Minister of Family and Youth, Natalia Intotero, said that the in vitro fertilization program is functional and will be extended, as it responds to the alarming decrease in the birth rate and the financial problems faced by families in Romania.

     

  • Bye-Bye, Romania!

    Bye-Bye, Romania!


    The
    Romanian diaspora is the world’s fifth largest diaspora, and the sixth largest
    within the OECD countries. In Romania’s case, migration is the obvious cause for
    the country’s population diminishing. These are the conclusions of an OECD
    report. Most Romanian migrants are poorly skilled, while the higher education
    graduates among migrants are overqualified. Nearly half of the Romanian higher
    education graduates who migrated to OECD countries have poorly skilled jobs.
    Men usually work in the construction sector, while women find employment in the
    household industry. Notwithstanding, the medical doctors in the diaspora make a
    large and clearly-defined community. Hospitals are understaffed as regards the
    medical doctors, and we strongly feel the consequences of such a situation. Why
    do our medical doctors leave? What can we do to prevent them from doing that?
    How does the typical doctor-patient relationship look like, in our country or
    elsewhere?

    Sociologist Vladimir Ionas:


    For its greater part, the migration of medical doctors, we can say it
    occurred before the pay rise that was officially approved only a couple of
    years ago. Unfortunately, it is the main problem the Romanian healthcare system
    is facing. As we speak, the migration of the medical doctors is an ongoing
    process. And at that, it is not about
    the paygrade, it is also about the facilities n the hospital, about the
    shortage at all levels, which is rampant in hospitals around Romania. We can
    also mention the respect medical doctors across Romania enjoy, the way the
    doctor-patient relationship is being built in the Western countries and how it
    is created in Romania. Unfortunately, in Romania, the doctor-patient
    relationship is basically a needs-based one, whereas the patient-doctor
    relationship in the Western countries is based on respect and trust on the part
    of the patient. The Romanians are not used to having total confidence in the
    medical doctor, nay, they see the medical doctor as somebody they see when they
    most need it, whenever they need that immediately. And that is clearly
    reflected in the results of the anti-COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Romania.


    The
    aforementioned OECD report also states that 25% of Romania’s inhabitants
    (young, for their most part) expressed their wish to relocate abroad and stay
    there for good. It is of the biggest
    percentages reported for the region, Almost half of the people aged 15 to 24
    expressed their intention to emigrate. The implications of that for the
    country’s labor force are tremendous. According to Vladimir Ionas, youngsters
    do not live for a different paygrade alone, they also leave for a different way
    of life.

    Vladimir Ionas:

    Taking the youngsters into account, we can speak about a different way
    of life. We don’t need to believe that most of those who left, remained abroad
    mainly because of a much greater income they could earn in a foreign country.
    Oftentimes, in the case of those whose professional background is not that
    strong, the paygrade is not necessarily much greater as compared to what they
    could earn in Romania. It is about the standard of living, about the services
    they benefit from when they interact with the state institutions, with the
    healthcare system, it is about the education their children can get. We’re
    speaking about several factors that lead up to that wish of the Romanians to leave
    and settle somewhere abroad. Then again, just like with the medical doctors,
    that definitely poses a big problem for the workforce, because a relevant
    proportion of those who leave are higher education graduates, but that
    shouldn’t come up as a surprise and then again, the lifestyle they have when
    they go abroad prompts them to wish to stay there for good, which is very good
    for them, but they also want that because they wish to offer their children a
    much certain future.


    In
    recent years, the birth rate has seen a sensible decrease. However, according
    to Vladimir Ionas, in 2021 things have changed for the better, quite
    surprisingly.


    Vladimir Ionas:

    The birth rate issue is a compelling one, for Romania. It has seen a downward
    trend for many years now. 2021 is the year when the birth rate has seen a
    slight increase, somehow favored by the ongoing pandemic. It is hard to say
    whether such a trend can be contained. The state needs to take very tough
    measures to that effect. Why don’t we look at such countries as Hungary or
    France, for instance, so that we can copy their measures leading up to the
    increase of the birth rate. Hungary is the country with one of the toughest
    policies favoring the birth rate increase, since they also have a big problem
    with the demographic increase. That is what the political class should do -
    understand what the priorities of the country are, realize the fact that the
    demographic situation is extremely worrying and they should promote public
    policies aimed at encouraging child birth. The are rather easy to implement.
    Romania is not poor; it is a rich country that has resources so that such
    programs can be created. Political will is most needed, first of all.


    The
    public policies, they need to be targeted and efficiently implemented. However,
    in a country where they percentage of those who have their pensions is much
    greater than the percentage of those whose work, the future looks rather grim.


    Vladimir Ionas:

    Unfortunately, to that end, it’s hard to believe we can change the trend
    for the better. Around 20% of those who are over 18, medium-term, would like to
    leave Romania and about 50% of the students who are freshmen, as we speak, or
    2nd-year students at the university would like to leave for another
    country when they graduate, so they can have better chances of personal
    development and better-paid jobs. Again, I do not know if those working with
    the state institutions ever thought of a solution to that problem, but we need
    to be aware and realize that such a trend will cause the collapse of many
    systems, the pension system, first of all. The state will no longer be able to
    pay people’s pensions, I think, if the reported percentage of those who have
    employment stands at 30%, whereas 70% of the people receive their pensions or
    unemployment benefits. Concurrently, the healthcare system will be
    underfinanced and will collapse, so we have a very big problem. That should be
    the main debate topic at the level of the Romanian society, so that the
    solutions can be identified to stem the exodus and to avoid the situation
    where we have twice as many retired people as compared to those who work. It
    should be the main debate topic for all state institutions.

    (Translation by Eugen Nasta)

  • Applications for parental leave and child raising allowance, simplified

    Applications for parental leave and child raising allowance, simplified

    The Bucharest Government has taken some measures regarding people who plan to become or have recently become parents. The Government has simplified the procedure for granting parental leave and the child raising allowance. The new regulations recently endorsed by Parliament will be enforced as of July 1st. For about 140 thousand parents, the child raising allowance will be recalculated automatically without additional documents being needed on their part. Also, people who initially opted for just a 1-year parental leave can now extend this period by another year.



    Labour Minister Dragos Paslaru: “We now have one form that can be filled in for both the child raising allowance and the child subsidy, and, if that’s the case, for the extension of the parental leave. We also have several ways of supplying the required documents to the authorities: by going to the office of the National Agency for Social Inspection and Payments, by post and by email, at the addresses that will soon be announced.”



    The Labor Ministry will also draw up a guide aimed at helping parents who want to apply for the child raising allowance. The document will be posted on the labor Ministry’s website and on the Internet pages of the National Agency for Social Inspection and Payments and of the relevant county institutions. According to Labor Ministry estimates, implementing the new regulations will require an additional amount of 50 million euros from the state budget. Also, around 78 thousand people who are currently getting the minimum monthly child raising allowance, will see it increased from 139 euros to 230 euros.



    According to Labor Ministry data, the number of parents receiving a child raising allowance went down by 0.9% in the first nine months of last year, following a drop in the birth rate. After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the number of newborn babies has dropped constantly, with Romania ranking among the last countries in the world in terms of birth rate. If 25 years ago over 30 thousand children were born every year, the number went down by half in the last few years, according to the National Statistics Institute. Sociologists say that the reason for this is the advanced age at which Romanians choose to get married and the fact that having a child is not a priority anymore.


    (Translated by Elena Enache)

  • Poverty and Corruption

    Poverty and Corruption

    European statistics indicate that Romania had the highest economic growth in the European Union in the third quarter of this year as against the same quarter of last year. This is good news, arriving after several years of crisis affecting many Romanians, and it could be followed by more good news: combating poverty. The same EU statistics, alongside those from the World Bank and UNICEF, place Romania among the last countries in Europe in terms of poverty and human rights.




    Social gaps emerged after 1990, leading to a rather extreme level of wealth inequality, recognized by sociologists, who noted the great gap between a very wealthy minority and the rest of the population, including people with median incomes. For the latter, statistics can be misleading, as they do not say anything of the daily life of the poor or the people with an average income. For instance, in Romania, the net average income is around 400 Euro, which is below par for European standards, as we find out from Mihai Dumitriu, a researcher with the Institute for Researching the Quality of Life:



    “As you may know, the average income in Romania is almost the lowest in the EU, which is a fundamental problem in the country. Poverty affects, first and foremost, by social comparison. Romania is not only a poor country, and I am referring to peoples incomes, but it has almost the highest level of wealth inequality in Europe. In Romania there are people who wake up in the morning not knowing what they will be eating that day. There is an uncertainty regarding fundamental needs.


    The poor condition of the children combines with demographic problems. Since 1990, the population of Romania has reduced from 23 to 20 million, with the future risk of working people to live in poverty at retirement age. If right now there are almost 1.1 people paying into the system to sustain a retiree, when people who are now 30 or 35 years of age retire, there will be only 0.77 people who will pay into the system. Policies to encourage a higher birth rate are not successful. Women who are not poor tend to avoid becoming mothers, according to Traian Rotariu, an expert in demography:



    “In Romania, about half of children have working mothers. Many of the non-working mothers are poor, in the countryside, others are young and single, so there is no father to contribute to a childs upkeep. In addition, in the countryside a lot of women live off child rearing benefits. For women with three or four kids, this is a means of survival. At the same time, half of the mothers in the country work, and they could use support in addition to the child-rearing benefits, which is too small anyway, and does not cover expenses.


    (translated by C. Cotoiu)