Romanian is the fastest-growing language in England and Wales, census data has revealed. When the 2011 census was taken, just 67,586 people had Romanian as their first language. By 2021, that figure had swelled to 471,954.
That means the number of Romanian speakers in England and Wales has gone up by over 400,000 in ten years, equivalent to a seven-fold increase. Romanian is now the second most-common foreign language spoken in the country. Ten years ago it was only ranked 19th.
Romania joined the European Union in 2007, before the 2011 census, meaning Romanians could enjoy restriction-free travel and residency in any EU member state, including the UK. Work permit restrictions were then lifted on the last day of 2013, which gave Romanians the same access to the UK labour market as other EU citizens.
