Romania has annually closed an average of two percentage points of the gap with the European average. In 2000, Romania’s GDP per capita (at purchasing power parity) stood at around 25% of the EU average, but currently, this figure exceeds 75%, said Csaba Balint, a member of the Board of Director of the National Bank of Romania (BNR). An important role was played by the dynamic increase in labor productivity, Balint believes, and Romania had the fastest growth in the CEE region. This positive trend was largely supported by economic restructuring: in 2000, almost 45% of the employed population was involved in agriculture, followed by industry (22%) and market services (21%). currently, the weight has shifted significantly towards market services with a much higher added value. Within the services sector, certain categories such as IT&C have shown exceptionally fast growth. If we analyze the share of the added value of the IT&C segment in the national economies, Romania is in the top 5 of the EU countries. In addition to the country’s capital, there are numerous regional economic centers – such as Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timisoara, Brasov, Iasi, Constanta or Craiova, which play an important role in development. The seven most important economic poles in Romania contribute to more than 50% of the national GDP. All counties in Romania have made significant progress in the last almost two and a half decades in terms of GDP per capita, but regional disparities have increased, said the BNR expert. In the current global context, characterized by uncertainty and major structural changes, Romania must be prepared to respond to some challenges: the aging of the population, the transition to a green economy, digitization, geopolitical tensions and global fragmentation, as well as the impact of artificial intelligence, with all its aspects positives and associated risks, the economist concluded.
An earthquake of magnitude 5.4 shook Romania’s capital Bucharest and parts of Eastern Romania on Monday afternoon, September 16, around 17:40. No damages were reported after the event. According to the National Institute for Earth’s Physics (INFP), the earthquake occurred in the Vrancea seismic area, some 56 km North-West of Buzau and 59 km East […]
Romania and the United States, through the head of the prime minister’s chancellery Alexandru-Mihai Ghigiu, and the US ambassador to Romania, Kathleen Kavalec, have signed a five-year Child Protection Framework Partnership valued at USD 10 million. The purpose of the partnership is to create a victim-centered prevention strategy and protect child victims of trafficking, according […]
A snow layer of around 5 cm has fallen on Romania’s Transalpina mountain road, at altitudes over 1,900 meters, according to Gorj County authorities. The snow is particularly present in the Dengherul - Cărbunele sector, and visibility is reduced due to fog. The Gorj Mountain Rescue Service (Salvamont) advises drivers intending to cross Transalpina over […]
Nobel Prize for Literature winner Abdulrazak Gurnah, Irish novelist, poet and playwright Colm Tóibín, Spanish author Clara Usón, Israeli writer Zeruya Shalev, and French novelist and essayist Pascal Bruckner are among the guests of this year’s Iaşi International Festival of Literature and Translation (FILIT). The event, scheduled to take place between October 23 and October […]
Hanwha Aerospace, the largest defense company in South Korea, will begin construction of an armored vehicle factory in Romania at the beginning of next year, according to News.ro. The group plans to make Romania a regional hub for all Hanwha's land...
Turda Salt Mine (Salina Turda), one of the most spectacular tourist destinations revealing Romania’s underground wonders, will expand under a project set to kick off in 2025. The plan is to open another mine to tourists, which, local authorities say, would double the number of visitors. The project targets the 10,000 sqm Iosif mine, which […]
