ROMANIA
The largest Balkan republic
Total area: 237,500 sq km (slightly smaller than Oregon)
Population: 21.5 million
Government type: Republic
Administrative division: 41 counties (called „judete“) and the municipality („municipiu“) of Bucharest
Capital + other major cities: Bucharest (1.94 million) + Timisoara (312,400), Cluj-Napoca (309,300), Iasi (306,600). Constanta (303,700), Craiova (299,600)
Currency: leu (ROL) was being phased out in 2006; "new" leu (RON) was introduced in 2005 due to currency revaluation: 10,000 ROL = 1 RON
Languages: Romanian (official), Hungarian, German
Ethnicity: Romanian 89.5%, Hungarian 6.6%, Roma 2.5%, Ukrainian 0.3%, German 0.3%, Russian 0.2%, Turkish 0.2%, other 0.4%
Religion: Eastern Orthodox 86.7%, Roman Catholic 4.7%, Protestant 3.7%, Baptist/Pentecostal 1.5%, Greek Catholic 0.9%, Muslim 0.3%, other religion 2.0%, no religion 0.1%
President: (Mr.) Traian BASESCU (since 20 December 2004)
Prime Minister: (Mr.) Mihai Razvan UNGUREANU (since 9 February 2012)
Date of EU accession: 1 January 2007 |
 |
MACROECONOMIC OVERVIEW
Romania's pace of economic transition from central planning to a market driven economy has been slower than in other post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe. Aiming for EU accession, the economic policy of Romania had to be solidified by undertaking measures such as instituting a flat income tax, revising the labour code and capital account policy as well as strengthening anti-inflationary efforts. For a large part of the 1990's, inflation ran in double or even triple digits. Since then the situation had improved and in 2009, the inflation rate reached 5.6%; in 2010 it increased slightly to 6.1% and then dropped again attaining 5.8% in 2011.
Even though Romania has experienced a remarkable economic performance from 2004 on, spurred by exports and strong domestic consumption, business activities are still hindered by widespread poverty, corruption, and bureaucracy.
Selected economic indicators, Romania, 2005 - 2012
| |
|
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
2009 |
2010 |
2011 |
2012* |
| GDP |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Real GDP growth |
% |
4.2 |
7.9 |
6.0 |
7.3 |
-6.6 |
-1.6 |
2.5 |
1.6 |
| GDP at current prices |
€ bn |
79.81 |
97.75 |
124.73 |
139.76 |
118.20 |
124.06 |
136.48 |
140.69 |
| Foreign trade |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Exports |
€ bn |
26.40 |
31.55 |
36.55 |
42.53 |
36.17 |
44.04 |
52.33 |
54.98 |
| Imports |
€ bn |
34.51 |
43.30 |
53.87 |
60.76 |
43.31 |
50.47 |
59.36 |
62.53 |
| Balance |
€ bn |
-8.11 |
-11.75 |
-17.32 |
-18.23 |
-7.14 |
-6.43 |
-7.03 |
-7.55 |
| Prices |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| CPI - average inflation rate |
% |
9.1 |
6.6 |
4.9 |
7.9 |
5.6 |
6.1 |
5.8 |
|
| Employment |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Registered unemployment |
% |
7.2 |
7.3 |
6.4 |
5.8 |
6.9 |
7.3 |
7.4 |
|
| Average monthly gross wage |
€ |
270 |
328 |
421 |
481 |
435 |
461 |
|
|
| Exchange rates |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| RON/USD average |
|
2.9137 |
2.809 |
2.4383 |
2.5188 |
3.0493 |
3.1779 |
|
|
| RON/EUR average* |
|
3.6209 |
3.5258 |
3.3353 |
3.6827 |
4.2399 |
4.2122 |
4.2391 |
|
Source: Eurostat 2012; 2012 data - forecast
KEY SECTORS
The construction sector has grown since 2000 due to the rising demand for housing, retail outlets, and highway construction. The automobile and pharmaceuticals sectors experienced the fastest growth rates mainly due to heavy support through FDI.
Key service sectors expected to experience the fastest rates of growth include banking, financial services, tourism, information and communication technology, insurance, and accounting.
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