The family hearth was the core of ancient Greek and Roman cities. The whole family stood at the foundation of the great ancient cities of China and the Middle East. In 2023, there are settlements in Romania where there are no children aged 0-4, according to census data. Or areas where in the primary cycle you can barely find 7-8 children to enroll them in school.

In the case of 4 Romanian settlements, an asterisk is placed next to 4 settlements for the age group 0-4 years: Cheru-Bekeinci, Ponor, Betrana and Bunila.

Ceru-Băcăinți (Alba): 10 villages included, zero births

The town consists of the villages of Bolovenesti, Bulbuk, Cheru-Bekeinci, Kukuta, Kurpeni, Dumbravica, Fantanele, Grosi, Vala Mare and Viezuri. According to the recently completed population census, it has 227 people. Previously, there were twice as many, and 10 years ago, few children were born.

On OLX you can find Ceru Bacainti stone for sale, a stone that most likely comes from abandoned houses (all built of stone – a unique place from this point of view in Romania).

The history of the city is also fabulous. But a great past does not confirm a sad future.

Ponor – almost 500 inhabitants, there are no small children

Ponor is a commune in Alba County consisting of the villages of Dupe Dil, Geogel, Makerest, Ponor (residence), Wala Bukurului and Wala in Jos. From census to census, the number of residents decreases, and the majority of local residents are in the age group of 50-55 years. The commune mentions the existence of only 9 children aged 10-14. Age groups 0-4 years and 5-9 years are marked with asterisks.

Batrana is the least populated settlement in Romania

According to the preliminary data of the 2022 census published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS), the smallest city in Romania – Betran commune in Hunedoara County – has fewer than 90 inhabitants.

The smallest commune in Romania is Batrana in Hunedoara County, with only 88 inhabitants, down from the 2011 census when 127 inhabitants were counted.

Bunila, Hunedoara. Five villages, zero births

The commune has about 500 people. The local council is dominated by the PNL. From the mayor’s report for 2022, we noted zero marriages, two deaths, and a rate of collection of local taxes and fees to the budget of 80%).

This is followed by settlements with 0.2% of the population of children

We have about 30 settlements where the share of children under 4 is less than 2%

The rapid decrease in the number of children studying in primary school is also a big problem

In 5 settlements of Vaslui, their decrease is more than 50% over the last 8 years. The districts of Vaslui, Karash-Severin, Braila and Gorzh are the regions with the largest reduction in the number of primary school visitors – by almost 70% (calculations are valid for the last 8 years). Next (in terms of the scale of failure) are the Vaslui residents of Pogonesht, Muntenii de Jos, Suletea, Vutkan and the city of Murgeni.

On what it means to be a city without children, read the article from Brookings here , or here at The Atlantic (subscription may be required), or this article from City Journal