In 2024 Romania had the highest share of emigrants among EU states, 24% of the country's population (4.6 million persons) living abroad, but also one of the largest volumes of GDP, respectively 2.8% in 2023, an Alpha Bank analysis shows. Value, the Romanians left the country sent about 13 billion lei back in 2023. Both weights are increasing. Thus, in 2024, a quarter of the population of Romania lived abroad, increasing from 14.7% of the population (4.2m) in 2010. The volume of remittances received in relation to the gross domestic product (GDP) amounted to 2.8% in 2023 compared to 2.1% in 2012. On the next places to the volume of emigrants, Bulia, Bulgaria and Portugal The remitors, the first place is Croatia, with 6.2% of GDP, followed by Romania, Luxembourg and Hungary. Remittances include personal transfers and remuneration of employees. Personal transfers consist of all current transfers in cash or in nature between resident and non -resident households, without taking into account the source of underlying income, the relationship between households or the purpose of transfer to the region, consistent emigration, registered Bulgaria and Poland, the number of emigrants representing 19.4% and 12.5%) (4.6m) in 2024. In the Czech Republic and Hungary, the number of emigrants was lower, 5.4% and 5.6% of the population. Only in the Czech Republic the number of emigrants relative to the population was reduced compared to 2010. The volume of remittances received to GDP varied between 1% in Poland, 1.3% in the Czech Republic, 2.3% in Bulgaria and 2.4% in Hungary in 2023. In 2023 compared to 2012 only in Poland the volume of remittances decreased. Spain data refers to 2013, Lithuania data refers to 2014. Malta and Denmark do not report data. Analysts emphasize that the great distance emigration of Poland, Romania and Bulgaria is characterized by the continuous growth of the population of emigrants, in the type that the border emigration of the Czech Republic and Hungary has remained constant. Between 1990-2024 the number of emigrants increased 4.6 times in the case of Romania and doubled in the case of Bulgaria and Poland, the departures of the new emigrants exceeding the number of emigrants returned to the country. In contrast, in the Czech Republic and Hungary the returns compensated the new departures. It follows that only the emigration at a great distance favors the increase in the duration of emigration that weakens the links with the families at home and the remittances. The data show that the emigrants at a great distance have lower income and lesser remitting than the border emigrants. In 2023, the share of personal transfers in total remittances, although decreasing, remained high in Bulgaria, Romania and Poland to 66%, 50% and 40% compared to only 12% in Hungary and 22% in the Czech Republic. In 2023, the number of emigrants originating in the EU member states compared to the population varied between 24% in Romania and 2.1% in Denmark, and the volume of remittances received between 6.2% in Croatia and 0.1% in Ireland. The number of emigrants and the volume of remittances tends to be higher in the countries with GDP per capita, as in the countries of the region where GDP per capita in 2023 was between 15,000 euros in Bulgaria and 29,000 euros in the Czech Republic with 38,100 euros EU average.
Between 2012-2023 the structure on the main destinations – the EU, European countries outside the EU and America – of the population of emigrants in the region registered different developments. In Romania, the share of emigrants in the EU (from 84% to 74%) and America (from 9% to 6%) decreased and increased the share of emigrants in European countries outside the EU (from 4% to 17%) mainly to the UK and Switzerland. In Poland, the share of emigrants to the EU has been preserved (61%), but the share of emigrants to European countries outside the EU (from 18%to 24%) increased on account of decreased emigrants to America (from 17%to 12%). In Bulgaria, the share of emigrants to the EU increased (from 49%to 66%) on account of the share of emigrants from European countries outside the EU (from 46%to 30%) and the share of emigrants (2%) has been preserved. In the Czech Republic the structure of the population of emigrants to the three destinations has been preserved. In Hungary, the share of emigrants to the EU increased (from 69% to 80%) on account of the share of emigrants from European countries outside the EU (from 10% to 9%) and America (from 12% to 6%). Despite the changes of the destinations of the emigrants in the region, the majority source of the remittances received by the countries in the region remained the EU. The share of remittances originating in the EU in total increased in all countries of the region in 2024 compared to 2012, to 70% from 61% in Romania, to 72% from 67% in Poland, to 67% from 63% in Bulgaria, to 91% from 82% in Hungary, to 82% from 71% in the Czech Republic.
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