Țăndărei

Țăndărei (Romanian pronunciation: [t͡səndəˈrej]) is a town in Ialomița County, Muntenia, Romania, with a population of 12,761 as of 2021. The town is located on the Bărăgan Plain, on the left bank of the Ialomița River. It was declared a town in 1968. It is crossed by the national road DN2A [ro], which connects Slobozia with Constanța.

Țăndărei Rural Hospital, c.1930s

Țăndărei
Town
Țăndărei town hall
Coat of arms
Location in Ialomița County
Țăndărei Location in Romania
Coordinates: 44°38′33″N 27°39′22″E
Country	Romania
County	Ialomița
Government
• Mayor (2020–2024)	George Cristian Roman[1] (PSD)
Area	113.25 km2 (43.73 sq mi)
Elevation	20 m (70 ft)
Population  (2021-12-01)[2]	12,761
• Density	110/km2 (290/sq mi)
Time zone	EET/EEST (UTC+2/+3)
Postal code	925200
Area code	(+40) 02 43
Vehicle reg.	IL
Website	www.primaria-tandarei.ro

Țăndărei has been called a "Beverley Hills for Gypsy gangsters".^[3] The town gained this reputation as many ethnic Roma engaged in criminal activity as well as welfare fraud in the UK, using the money obtained from those activities to build opulent villas.^[4]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the town was also in the spotlight of national media and of social media, because the ethnic Roma of the town were accused of bringing the virus from Western Europe and not respecting the anti-COVID measurements implemented by the government.^[5]

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1977	10,166	—
1992	14,212	+39.8%
2002	14,591	+2.7%
2011	10,289	−29.5%
2021	12,761	+24.0%
Source: Census data

Demographics

At the 2021 census, Țăndărei had a population of 12,761. At the 2011 census, 65.47% of the population declared themselves as ethnic Romanian and 10.85% as Roma (23.55% did not declare any ethnicity and 0.11% declared another ethnicity).^[6]

Natives

• Aurelian Chițu (born 1991), footballer
• Paul Georgescu (1923 – 1989), literary critic, journalist, fiction writer, and communist political figure
• Grigore H. Grandea (1843 – 1897), journalist, poet, and prose writer
• Alexandru Lăpușan (1955 – 2016), politician