Metropolitan areas in Romania

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There are 10 metropolitan areas in Romania that have been constituted as of 2013.

Legislative status

The current legislation in Romania regulates the status of the 265 cities according to their population and regional importance:

Rank 0 – Bucharest, the capital of Romania - municipality of European importance
Rank I – municipality of national importance, with regional role and potential influence at European level
Rank II – municipality of national, regional or county-level importance, or with equilibrium role in the network of cities
Rank III – cities

Legislation also restricts the possibility to engage into a metropolitan area project to only those cities that are of rank 0 or I.^[1] Here is a list of the municipalities that as of 2007 can for metropolitan areas around them with approximate populations.^[2] Only three zones have been officially constituted by the end of 2007: Oradea, Iasi and Constanta.^[3] At least 9 others are at the level of project.

Constituted metropolitan zones

Iași metropolitan area^[4] (since 8 April 2004) – Today it has a population of 400,347^[5] and 832 km².
Oradea metropolitan area (since 9 May 2005)^[6] – It had a population of 258,800 in 2008 being the largest urban area in the Crișana historical region, surpassing the city of Debrecen.
Târgu Mureș metropolitan area (since 2005)^[7] – It has a total population of 212,752.
Baia Mare metropolitan area (since 2006) – It includes 19 localities and has a population of 237,348 inhabitants.
Constanța metropolitan area^[8] (since December 2007) – It hosts 70% of the county population, 446,595 inhabitants,^[5] on an area totaling 33% of the administrative territory of Constanța.^[9]
Brașov metropolitan area^[10] (since 2007) – Now has a population of 402,041.^[5] It includes the cities of Codlea, Săcele, Ghimbav and Râşnov.
Cluj-Napoca metropolitan area^[11] (since 2008)^[12] – In 2011, the population of the metropolitan area was estimated at 392,562, with a total area of 1,626 km².
Craiova metropolitan area^[13] (since 11 February 2009) – It has a population of 333,834.^[5]
Satu Mare metropolitan area (since 2013) – In 2013, the population of the metropolitan area was estimated at 243,600, with a total area of 1,988 km². It includes 3 cities and 22 communes.
Piatra Neamț metropolitan area (since 2013)^[14] – It comprises 2 cities and 7 communes.

Planned metropolitan zones

Bucharest metropolitan area^[15] – Today it has a population of about 2.2 million and is only slightly larger than the city proper. There are plans to greatly enlarge the metropolitan area all the way to the Danube. A possible name would be Greater Bucharest.^[16] Currently, the project advances slowly.^[17]
Timișoara metropolitan area^[18]^[19] – As of July 2006, it has a population of 387,885.^[5]
Danube metropolitan area^[20] – It is formed by the cities of Galaţi and Brăila and is estimated to have a population of about 450,000. From the establishment, it will be the second largest conurbation in Romania.
Bacău metropolitan area^[21]^[22] – It includes the urban area of Bacău and other surrounding localities, with a total population of around 200,000.
Ploiești metropolitan area^[23] – It is made up of the urban area of Ploieşti and other surrounding localities. It has a population of more than 300,000.
Suceava–Botoșani conurbation^[24] – It includes the metropolitan areas of Suceava and Botoșani, with a total population of over 300,000 inhabitants.

Statistics

Map of the metropolitan areas of Romania (including the proposed ones)

Main city

Adjacent localities

Legally constituted metropolitan areas

Proposed metropolitan areas

Name	Population (2011)	Area	Density
Bucharest Metropolitan Area	2,272,163	1,811 km²	1,254/km²
Lower Danube Metropolitan Area	496,844	1,702.17 km²	291/km²
Constanța Metropolitan Area	425,916	1,013.5 km²	420/km²
Cluj-Napoca Metropolitan Area	411,379	1,537.54 km²	268/km²
Timișoara Metropolitan Area*	384,809	1,070.48 km²	359/km²
Iași Metropolitan Area	382,484	808 km²	473/km²
Brașov Metropolitan Area	369,896	1,368.58 km²	270/km²
Suceava–Botoșani Conurbation	305,060	1,117.46 km²	273/km²
Craiova Metropolitan Area	285,098	419.2 km²	680/km²
Ploiești Metropolitan Area	276,279	478 km²	577/km²
Oradea Metropolitan Area	235,462	773 km²	305/km²
Satu Mare Metropolitan Area	233,306	2,251.09 km²	104/km²
Bacău Metropolitan Area	216,649	848.32 km²	255/km²
Baia Mare Metropolitan Area	215,932	1,395.38 km²	154/km²
Pitești Metropolitan Area	213,212	446.21 km²	477/km²
Târgu Mureș Metropolitan Area	197,717	669.01 km²	295/km²
Arad Metropolitan Area*	191,880	570.23 km²	336/km²
Râmnicu Vâlcea Metropolitan Area	163,650	942.65 km²	173/km²
Corvina Conurbation	149,198	409.35 km²	364/km²
Piatra Neamț Metropolitan Area	131,086	706.84 km²	185/km²

^*Timișoara and Arad intend to form the Arad–Timișoara Conurbation.^[25]

Functional Urban Areas

In the EU, a Functional Urban Area (FUA) - formerly known as larger urban zone (LUZ) - consists of a city and its commuting zone. The LUZ definition was introduced in 2004 by Eurostat, as a measure of the population and expanse of metropolitan areas in Europe.^[26]

Largest Urban Areas of Romania^[27]
Rank	Name	County	Development region	FUA Population (2012)
1	Bucharest	-	Bucharest-Ilfov	2,183,091
2	Iași	Iași	Nord-Est	382,484
3	Cluj-Napoca	Cluj	Nord-Vest	375,379
4	Constanța	Constanța	Sud-Est	369,693
5	Brașov	Brașov	Centru	344,892
6	Timișoara	Timiș	Vest	341,389
7	Craiova	Dolj	Sud-Vest	289,025
8	Ploiești	Prahova	Sud	267,575
9	Galați	Galați	Sud-Est	265,137
10	Oradea	Bihor	Nord-Vest	210,851