Dan Pălăngean
Dan Pălăngean
Senior Expert, National Bank of Romania
Romania, Above Eight EU Member States in Terms of Actual Individual Consumption

Romania, Above Eight EU Member States in Terms of Actual Individual Consumption

In international comparisons of national accounts data, such as GDP per capita, it is desirable not only to express the figures in a common currency, but also to adjust for differences in price levels. Failing to do so would result in an overestimation of GDP levels for countries with high price levels, relative to countries with low price levels. More


GfK: Romania, 51% below the European Purchasing Power Average in 2022

GfK: Romania, 51% below the European Purchasing Power Average in 2022

Romania had a spending potential of €8,017 per capita in 2022. This is 51% below the European average and puts the Romanians in 31st place. Compared to the previous year, the gap between counties with high and low purchasing power has widened even further.In the top 10 ranking, Bucharest is clearly leading the field with a per capita purchasing power of €15,482. This means that the inhabitants of the capital have more than 93% more purchasing power than the national average and 3.6 times more than the inhabitants of Vaslui County, which has the lowest purchasing power in terms of spending and saving. Here, disposable net income is just €4,728, which is around 53%of the national average. More


Romania, Third Among EU Economies Regarding Net Personal Transfers as Percentage of GDP and First in Nominal Terms

Romania, Third Among EU Economies Regarding Net Personal Transfers as Percentage of GDP and First in Nominal Terms

In 2021, the EU countries that generated surpluses of personal transfers, representing more than 1% of their respective gross domestic product (GDP), were Croatia (2.7% of GDP), Bulgaria (1.6%), Romania (1.5%) and Latvia (1.1%). In contrast, Cyprus (-0.9%), France and Spain (each -0.5%) generated the largest deficits of personal transfers vis-à-vis the rest of the world as a share of their respective GDP. In terms of personal transfers and compensation of employees related to economic result, our country is placed also third among EU member states, with a percentage of 3.2% of GDP, after Croatia (7.3% of GDP) and Latvia (3.3%) and above Luxemburg (2.7%), Bulgaria (2.4%), Belgium (2.3%), Slovakia (2.1%), Portugal and Hungary (both with 2%). More


Eurostat: Young People Materially and Socially Deprived, Highest Proportion Recorded in Romania

Eurostat: Young People Materially and Socially Deprived, Highest Proportion Recorded in Romania

In 2021, the EU Member States with the highest levels of young people (aged 15-29 years) at risk of poverty or social exclusion were Romania (36.1 %), Greece (35.4 %) and Bulgaria (31.8 %), while the lowest rates were found in Czechia (10.6 %), Slovenia (11.5 %) and Malta (14.0 %), according to Eurostat.The situation in our country was extremely bad for the 15 – 19 age group, where the percentage goes up to 44.7% (see Figure 1), well above Greece (36.3%) and Bulgaria (36.2%), and a little better for the 20 – 24 age group (33.5%, under Denmark 43.8%, Finland 35.4%, Greece 37.1% and Bulgaria 34.4% ) and the 25 – 29 age group (28.1%, under Greece 32.7%, Italy 31.9%, Denmark 30.2% and Spain 30.0%), in the European context.  More


One Fifth of Young Romanians, Neither in Employment Nor in Education or Training

One Fifth of Young Romanians, Neither in Employment Nor in Education or Training

Last year, one fifth of young Romanian people were neither in employment nor in education or training (NEET), according to data compiled and published by Eurostat. It is the largest proportion in any EU Member State, well above the European average and the situation deteriorated in the last ten years, as opposed to the progress recorded in neighboring countries.*In 2022, 11.7 % of 15-29 year-olds in the EU were neither in employment nor in education and training.* The proportion of 15-29 year-olds in the EU neither in employment nor in education and training in 2022 ranged from 4.2 % in the Netherlands to 19.8 % in Romania. More


Romania 2022 – Highest Share of People at Risk of Poverty or Social Exclusion in the EU

Romania 2022 – Highest Share of People at Risk of Poverty or Social Exclusion in the EU

In 2022, the shares of people at risk of poverty or social exclusion varied across the EU countries, with highest values reported in Romania (34%), Bulgaria (32%), Greece and Spain (both 26%). On the other hand, the lowest shares were recorded in three states from the former Eastern Bloc: Czech Republic (12%), Slovenia (13%) and Poland (16%).95.3 million people in the EU (22% of the population) were at risk of poverty or social exclusion, i.e. lived in households experiencing at least one of the three poverty and social exclusion risks: risk of poverty, severe material and social deprivation, and/or living in a household with very low work intensity. The figure remained relatively stable compared with 2021 (95.4 million, 22% of the population). More


Foible Taxation, the Main Cause of Public Deficit

Foible Taxation, the Main Cause of Public Deficit

As a ratio of GDP, in 2021 tax revenue (including net social contributions) accounted for 41.7% of GDP in the European Union (EU) and 42.2% of GDP in the euro area (EA-19). The ratio tax revenue to GDP was highest in Denmark (48.8%), France (47.0%) and Belgium (46.0%), followed by Austria (43.7%), Italy (43.6%), Sweden (43.5%) and Finland (43.1%); the lowest shares were recorded in Ireland (21.9%), Romania (27.3%), Bulgaria (30.7%), Latvia (30.8%), Malta (31.2%) and Lithuania (32.6%). This situation makes taxation the main cause of public deficit. With public revenues even as low as Bulgaria or Latvia, Romania wouldn’t be outside the maximum 3% of GDP requirement for deficit.  More


Romania’s GDP, 1.6% of EU Total in 2020

Romania’s GDP, 1.6% of EU Total in 2020

Romania’s gross domestic product in 2020 was 218.2 billion euros, which puts us at 13th place among the economies of the EU, according to data published by Eurostat. In the previous year, we were just under Czechia (223,2 billion euros vs. 225,6 billion euros), which had a stronger decline and went down to 215,3 billion euros .  More


Romania’s Loss of Competitiveness Compared to Hungary and Poland

Romania’s Loss of Competitiveness Compared to Hungary and Poland

Romania has improved its competitiveness compared to the Czech Republic and Bulgaria at the regional level in recent years but lost ground compared to Croatia, Poland and Hungary, according to data released by Eurostat. With an index calculated at 96.77 (2010 = 100), we were slightly better than our neighbor from the South of the Danube (97.32), with the note that a lower value shows an improvement in competitiveness.  More


The 2020 GDP of Romania

The 2020 GDP of Romania

The National Institute of Statistics confirmed the signal result of the economic growth for 2020 at the level of -3.9%, in the first preliminary version made public. The nominal value resulting from the overall calculation for the last year was RON 1,053,881.4 million, above the recent forecast and almost identical to that of 2019 (RON 1,053,884.8 million). However, it was lower in euro by about 4.22 billion, due to the increase in the average annual exchange rate (from 4.7452 RON/euro to 4.8371 RON/euro). The result – redistributed between quarters. Beware of base effect! More


Long-Term Interest Rate Fell Below 3%

Long-Term Interest Rate Fell Below 3%

Long-term interest rates for Romania fell by almost one percentage point in just two months, according to data released by Eurostat. After increasing up to 4.83% in April 2020, at the end of June it reached a level below the threshold of four percentage points (3.89%). Beyond the obvious effects on future budget payments, this indicator is critical for convergence purposes and the adoption of the euro.  More


The Effect of Brexit on Romanian Foreign Trade

The Effect of Brexit on Romanian Foreign Trade

Over the last few years, the United Kingdom has been Romania’s most important foreign trade partner with whom we have managed to record a significant trade surplus. The island economy’s exit from the community bloc and the establishment of barriers in the trading of goods, even non-tariff barriers (the granting of zero customs duties was finally recorded during negotiations), will affect the trade balance of our country.  More


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