This interactive material offers a detailed perspective on Romania’s economic and social evolution over the past 30 years. By analyzing 16 key indicators—from demography to education, from economy to health—we show how Romania has transformed in all the aspects that matter in a citizen’s life.
Thus, through interactive maps and charts, we have constructed the most detailed analysis of Romania to date. This helps us understand not only the transformations that have brought us here, for better or worse, but also the challenges that will define the coming decades.
And because national averages aren’t the whole country, and Bucharest isn’t all of Romania, we zoom in as closely as possible to all Romanians, presenting both the current situation and the changes at the county and even commune levels.
On the page dedicated to each county, you’ll find historical trends for these indicators. Below is a summary of each county’s position in the national rankings for 10 relevant indicators. The information is presented visually and audibly according to the legend below, or you can select a county from the menu to explore its dedicated page.
Each square represents the 10-year evolution of an indicator.
The indicators are grouped into two categories: social and economic. For more details, click the buttons below to explore the trends over the past decades. In the indicators section, you can select your desired county to explore detailed data at the county level.
The first thing we look at is the people. Romania’s resident population has seen a slight decline in recent years, reflecting both global demographic trends and the country’s specific challenges. Factors such as emigration, low birth rates, and an aging population contribute to this dynamic. These demographic changes have significant implications for the labor force, social systems, and the economy. For this reason, public policies must address the dynamics shaping society and ensure sustainable development.
The resident population includes all individuals with Romanian citizenship, as well as foreign nationals and stateless persons, who have their usual residence on the territory of Romania. The usual residence may coincide with the domicile or differ, in cases where individuals choose to establish their usual residence in a locality other than their registered domicile, either within the country or abroad.
The population by domicile, as of January 1 of the reference year, represents the number of individuals with Romanian citizenship and domicile on the territory of Romania, categorized according to administrative-territorial criteria. A person’s domicile is the address they declare as their primary residence, as recorded in their identification document (ID card or passport).
One of the most concerning trends relates to the population of tomorrow. Romania’s birth rate has nearly halved between 1990 and 2023, dropping from 13.6 to 7.1 live births per 1,000 inhabitants. This dramatic decline reflects the economic, social, and cultural changes of recent decades. These include migration, economic instability, and the prioritization of careers over family life. This trend highlights the need for family-supportive measures, such as access to childcare services, parental leave policies, and initiatives that encourage long-term increases in birth rates.
In the early 2000s, Romania’s unemployment rate was around 10%, driven by the economic and social changes at the end of the post-communist transition. Over the years, with economic development and increased investments, unemployment gradually decreased, reaching just over 3% in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic had a limited impact on Romania’s labor market in terms of the number of unemployed individuals. While the unemployment rate rose slightly during the health crisis, the flexibility of certain economic sectors helped limit long-term unemployment growth.
Salaries in Romania have experienced significant growth in recent decades, driven by economic progress and improved working conditions. From modest average wages in the 2000s, Romanian employees’ incomes have steadily increased, particularly in sectors such as IT, banking, and energy. Public sector salary hikes have also contributed to this upward trend.
However, this story of progress comes with two caveats: regional wage disparities remain substantial, deepening the divide between developed and “left-behind” Romania. Secondly, while salaries have risen, so has the cost of living, not always at the same pace. This highlights the importance of balancing incomes across regions and increasing the population’s purchasing power.
One of the challenges Romania will likely face in the near future is managing its aging population. The number of pensioners has increased from 3.7 million in 1990 to approximately 5 million in 2020. After 1990, the large generations born after World War II and during the pro-natalist policies of the 1960s and 1970s began reaching retirement age. At the same time, the decline in birth rates post-1990 and the massive migration of young people abroad led to a shrinking active population within the country.
This has resulted in a growing imbalance between the number of workers and pensioners. Along with an aging population, the shift of residents from rural to urban areas—impacting regional development inequality—has also severely affected the economic structure and the pension contribution system, which has since become unsustainable.
The average monthly pension in Romania was approximately 1,500 lei in 2020. While this represented a significant increase compared to previous years, it was still considerably below the European Union average. Romania’s pension levels reflect both the economic disparities between Romania and other European countries, as well as lower contributions and shorter contribution periods. Although steps have been taken to increase pensions, most recently in 2024, the gaps compared to European standards remain a long-term challenge.
Despite the exodus, the number of doctors in Romania’s public healthcare system has remained relatively stable over the past three decades, increasing modestly from around 38,000 in 1990 to 42,000 in 2020. This numerical stability contrasts with the demographic shifts and the growing demands of the healthcare system, driven by an aging population and the rising incidence of chronic diseases.
Despite the slight increase in the number of doctors, the system faces significant challenges, including the unequal distribution of medical personnel between urban and rural areas, across regions and specialties, as well as the ongoing migration of professionals to other countries.
Although it is an indicator that impacts Romanians’ wallets more subtly and over time, the evolution of the national GDP is one of the clearest signs of the major economic transformations the country has undergone in recent decades. In the 1990s, the transition from a centralized economy to a market economy was marked by instability and significant GDP declines. These were years of industrial restructuring and the collapse of traditional economic sectors.
Since 2000, Romania has entered a trajectory of accelerated growth, fueled by foreign investments. The country’s accession to the European Union in 2007 and access to European funds were defining milestones—Romania began modernizing with external financing. The GDP nearly doubled between 2010 and 2020. While it remains below the European average in terms of GDP per capita, its growth rate is not only one of Romania’s success stories but also a notable achievement within the European Union.
Price levels in Romania have experienced significant fluctuations over the past three decades, reflecting both the economic transition and global market dynamics. In the 1990s, inflation reached extremely high levels, even exceeding 150% in 1997, during the period of price liberalization and severe economic instability.
Subsequently, stabilization policies and Romania’s integration into the European Union contributed to a reduction in inflation, which remained below 5% for most years after 2000. However, the pandemic and the energy crisis disrupted this stability. The inflationary period that began during those crises continues to affect Romanians’ purchasing power at the end of 2024.
After the 1990s, characterized by modest levels of invested capital, Romania became an increasingly attractive destination for foreign funds, particularly after joining the European Union. For a long time, however, foreign direct investments were comparable to the money sent home by Romanians living abroad.
Between 2010 and 2020, key sectors targeted by investments included construction, manufacturing, transportation, and IT, with substantial contributions from European funds and foreign direct investments. Despite significant growth, investments remain unevenly distributed, being concentrated in more developed counties, while less advantaged regions continue to be underfunded.
For a country emerging from decades of communism with no entrepreneurial culture, the growth in the number of active enterprises in Romania over the past two decades is an encouraging sign. In 2000, there were approximately 318,000 active enterprises, and by 2020, this number had doubled to 624,000. This growth was largely a result of Romania’s integration into the European Union. Access to the single market opened many doors, from financing opportunities to market expansion and business development support.
Sectors such as IT, services, and commerce experienced the most significant expansion. However, the survival rate of new businesses remains low due to challenges like limited access to capital, bureaucracy, and insufficient state support. Frequent and unannounced fiscal changes have also impacted the viability of enterprises.
Romania’s exports have grown significantly over the past three decades. Starting at €3.5 billion in 1990, they reached €62 billion by 2020. This evolution was driven by major changes, such as trade liberalization, attracting foreign direct investments, and joining the European Union in 2007, which opened access to new markets and eliminated tariff barriers.
The main exported products include machinery, electrical equipment, automobiles, agricultural goods, and chemical products. The European Union is Romania’s top trading partner, with Germany, Italy, and France leading the way—clear evidence of Romania’s integration into global production chains.
Romania’s imports have risen significantly over the past three decades, from €1.7 billion in 1990 to €80 billion in 2020. Similar to exports, integration into the European Union and access to other international markets provided Romania with a wide range of foreign products and technologies.
The country primarily imports machinery, electrical equipment, fuels, chemical products, food, and pharmaceuticals, with Germany and Italy among its main trading partners. However, the value of imports consistently exceeds that of exports, resulting in a persistent trade deficit. This negative balance highlights Romania’s dependence on foreign products, particularly in strategic sectors such as energy and industry.
The cultivated agricultural area in Romania has decreased from approximately 9 million hectares in 1990 to around 8 million hectares annually today, depending on weather conditions and market demands. Even so, agricultural production has grown significantly due to technological modernization and investments in equipment and infrastructure.
Romania remains a major grain producer within the European Union, recording high yields in wheat and corn. However, the agricultural sector is heavily impacted by climate change and the fragmentation of farmland. One of the key challenges for the future will be adapting Romanian agriculture to new climatic realities, including rethinking crop choices.
The story of any country’s development is a complex one. The portrait is painted with both bright and dark strokes—often blending into one another. Romania’s journey over the past three and a half decades has been no different.
Emerging from communism completely unprepared for capitalism, Romania’s transition was flawed from the outset. Then came the historic opportunities of joining the EU and NATO, which brought the country closer to the West year by year. These milestones opened up access to opportunities, markets, freedom, modernity, and new ways of thinking. Yet, even after reaching these goals, there have been both progress and missteps.
The evolution of key economic and social indicators highlights deeply uneven development at the national level. Despite the economic boom in some regions, Bucharest remains the driving force of the economy. The capital accounts for a significant proportion of GDP per capita, the number of doctors, higher education graduates, and pensioners.
Meanwhile, other regions, particularly in the south and east, struggle with high unemployment and limited capacity to attract investments and workforce.
In other words, despite an increase in the number of enterprises nationwide and in research and development expenditures, economic disparities between regions persist, carrying significant socio-political and welfare implications.
Moreover, declining birth rates and an aging population place additional pressure on economic and social sustainability, reigniting the need for a serious political conversation about administrative and territorial reorganization.
Finally, although economic gender gaps have narrowed nationally, they persist in certain counties, perpetuating local inequalities.
December 16, 2024
Articol editat de Alina Mărculescu Matiș
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