According to the latest Eurostat data on foreign nationals living in European Union member states in 2014, 1.4% of Hungary’s total resident population were foreign nationals. The largest share of all foreign nationals living in Hungary is made up of Romanian citizens, whose number in 2014 reached 30,924, or 22% of the total number of foreign nationals in Hungary. According to data from Hungary’s most recent census (2011), the majority of Romanian citizens living in Hungary come from the Central and Northwest regions. The largest group of Romanian citizens living in Hungary consists of people who left Romania to seek employment in Hungary. According to statistics from Hungary’s National Employment Service, in 2015, the number of Romanian employees registered by Hungarian employers throughout the year was 5,663, representing 50.2% of all registered foreign employees. Another significant segment of Romanian citizens living in Hungary consists of Romanian students enrolled in higher education in Hungary. According to the Statistical Bulletin on Higher Education for the 2012–2013 academic year, the proportion of Romanian students in Hungarian higher education was approximately 11% (2,308 out of a total of 20,694), with Romanian citizens constituting the second-largest group among all foreign students.
Analysis of the Situation of Romanian Citizens in Hungary
