The Germans of Romania (; ; ) represent one of the most significant historical ethnic minorities of Romania, both nowadays and during its past as well, stretching back in time to its foundation as the Kingdom of Romania (and even before as principality) in the late 19th century. Throughout the interwar period, the total number of ethnic Germans in this country amounted to as much as 800,000 (according to some sources and estimates dating to 1939, just on the verge of World War II), a figure which has subsequently drastically fallen to 36,000 (according to the 2011 census) and dropped even more to 22,900 (as per the 2021 Romanian census, postponed one year because of the COVID-19 pandemic and conducted in 2022). Following the decreasing trend of the overall population of Romania, the German community of the country is expected to continue shrinking in numbers as well, as it has already been officially reported by the partial results of the 2021 census. Overview and classification of Romanian-Germans The Germans of Romania (or Romanian-Germans) are not a single, unitary, homogeneous group, but rather a series of various regional sub-groups, each with their different culture, traditions, folklore, dialect or dialects, and history. This claim stems from the fact that various German-speaking populations had previously arrived in the territory of present-day Romania in different waves or stages of settlement, initially starting with the High Middle Ages, firstly to southern and northeastern Transylvania, Kingdom of Hungary (some of them even crossing the outer Carpathians to neighbouring Moldavia and Wallachia), then subsequently during the Modern Age in other Habsburg-ruled lands (such as Bukovina, at the time part of Cisleithania, or the Banat). Subsequently, the Romanian Old Kingdom was also colonized by Germans, firstly in Dobruja and then gradually in Moldavia and Wallachia. Therefore, given their rather complex geographic background, besides major border changes took place in the region throughout history (after World War I, Romania expanded its territory from the pre-war to . In order to understand their language, culture, customs, and history, the Germans of Romania must be regarded as the following independent sub-groups: Transylvanian Saxons – the largest and oldest German community in the territory of modern-day Romania (often simply equated with all Romanian-Germans); Transylvanian Landlers – expelled Protestants (Evangelical Lutherans) from the region of Salzkammergut, contemporary Austria to southern Transylvania during the 18th century; Most Banat Swabians as well as the entirety