Dan Pălăngean

Senior Expert, National Bank of Romania

Employees Working Abroad, of Great Importance for Romania

No. 45, Jan.-Feb. 2024 For France, Romania and Belgium, the positive net balance of personal transfers and compensation of employees reduces their current account deficits significantly, according to data for 2022 published recently by Eurostat. For some countries, net inflows of personal transfers and compensation of employees are important sources of external funding and contributors to a recipient’s disposable income and GNI.Romania considerably reduced its negative current account balances through these net inflows, with €7.4 billion (see Figure 1). The current account deficit for Romania would have been €33.5 billion instead of €26.1 billion, which includes transactions related to personal transfers and compensation of employees. More

Romania, Second Lowest Price Level in the EU for 2022

Dan Pălăngean

Romania had the second lowest price level in the EU for the year 2022, with a value of 59.3% relative to the European average. Bulgaria was first, with an index of 58.5%, and above our country were situated Poland (60.7%), Hungary (67.7%), Croatia (73.5%), Lithuania (78.8%) and Czechia (84.3%).*In 2022, the highest price level for consumer goods and services among the EU Member States was observed in Denmark (49% above the EU average) and the lowest in Bulgaria and Romania (41% below the average). More

The Median Disposable Income in the EU

Dan Pălăngean

In 2022, the median disposable income was 18.706 PPS per inhabitant in the EU, one-third of it was received as social transfers from governments (e.g. pensions, social benefits, etc.). Compared with 2010, EU’s median disposable income in real terms increased by 20% in 2022. Romania was first among the member states, with a 126% increase.EU median annual disposable income per inhabitant stood at 18.706 PPS in 2022. It varied considerably across the EU Member States and ranged from 9.671 PPS in Bulgaria and 9.826 PPS in Slovakia to 33.214 PPS in Luxembourg and 25.437 PPS in the Netherlands. The highest levels of income per inhabitant were recorded in Central and Nordic EU Member States. Romania was placed third place from the rear (10.033 PPS), although the level of GDP per inhabitant is currently above the ones in other six European countries. This signifies an increased inequality in relative terms. More

Romania, the Highest Share of Children in Poverty or Social Exclusion in 2022

Dan Pălăngean

Among the EU member states in 2022, the highest share of children at risk of poverty or social exclusion was recorded in Romania, according to Eurostat data. The percentage of 41.5% (same as in the previous year) was well above those for Bulgaria (33.9%) and Spain (32.2%). On the other hand, the lowest shares were reported in Slovenia (10.3%), Czechia (13.4%) and Denmark (13.8%).Children who grow up in poverty or social exclusion encounter difficulties in doing well in school, enjoying good health and realising their full potential later in life. They also face a higher risk of becoming unemployed, poor and socially excluded as adults. More

Foible Taxation, the Main Cause of Public Deficit

Dan Pălăngean

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

Dan Pălăngean

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

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

Dan Pălăngean

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

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

Dan Pălăngean

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

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

Dan Pălăngean

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

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

Dan Pălăngean

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

Dan Pălăngean

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

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

Dan Pălăngean

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

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Employees Working Abroad, of Great Importance for Romania

Romania, Second Lowest Price Level in the EU for 2022

The Median Disposable Income in the EU

Romania, the Highest Share of Children in Poverty or Social Exclusion in 2022

Foible Taxation, the Main Cause of Public Deficit

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

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

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

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

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

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

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