Ilfov County
Bucharest's suburban explosion: fastest-growing Romanian county at 139% of EU average GDP
Romania's fastest-growing county between 2011 and 2021 isn't a traditional destination—it's the suburban ring absorbing Bucharest's overflow. Popesti-Leordeni alone gained 31,536 residents in a decade, the largest population increase of any Romanian settlement. What was once agricultural land serving the capital has transformed into satellite cities: Voluntari, Chiajna, Bragadiru, Otopeni housing the commuters while continuous urban fabric expanded from 1,309 hectares in 1990 to 10,170 hectares by 2018. The numbers tell an EU success story—139% of European average GDP per capita, outperforming Athens, Berlin, and Budapest—but agricultural land keeps disappearing: vineyards and orchards down 65%, arable land shrinking by 21,000 hectares. Henri Coanda Airport in Otopeni processed 15.9 million passengers in 2024, making Ilfov Romania's gateway even as it swallows the farmland that once fed Bucharest.