Romania, on Europe Day: The second fastest economic development after Poland. A comparison with the other states in the area

On May 9, it will be 20 years since the great enlargement of the EU – Romania and Bulgaria will enter three years later, in 2007.

A good moment to analyze the spectacular developments of Romania’s indicators since accession:

• from GDP/capita to wages and purchasing power,
• from European funds to the evolution of the Stock Exchange,
• from the evolution of the degree of poverty to the growth rate of the economy.

In the last two decades, the level of GDP per capita has grown strongly in most of the countries that joined the EU (2004 – the first wave, 2007 – the second wave of which Romania was also a part).

So, GDP per capita, expressed at Purchasing Price Parity (PPP), doubled in Romania and Poland.

Slovakia has also achieved a remarkable performance, as GDP per capita is 75% higher than in 2004.

In Hungary, GDP per capita is only 50% higher.

Slovenia and the Czech Republic gained 40%, but their starting point was the highest in CEE8. Furthermore, since 2008, nominal wages have grown at least twice as fast as the EU27 average.

Last year, Romania surpassed Hungary in GDP per capita (reported to Purchasing Power Parity – PPC), reaching 78% of the EU27 average compared to 76% of Hungary’s, according to preliminary data from the EU statistical office, Eurostat.

Romania came much closer to Poland, which is at 80% compared to the EU average.

Below, the evolution of GDP/inhabitant at purchasing power parity, compared to the European average (European average = 100), for 4 CEE states:

It should be noted that Romania had a higher growth rate even than the other CEE states, the start being very low.

Thus, at the beginning of the accession negotiations, Romania had the lowest level of GDP per inhabitant in terms of purchasing power parity: only 26% of the average level of the EU.

In 2023, the country is three times better – almost 77% of the EU average.

65 billion euros of non-refundable European funds

These results are also due to the fact that the CEE region is a net beneficiary of the funds granted by the European Union.

Since the accession of the CEE countries and until 2023, the funds received from the EU amounted to a total of 205 billion euros.

In addition to monetary benefits, the EU offers harmonized regulations and a stable political and economic environment for businesses. The pillars of the single market (the free flow of goods, services, people and capital) mostly benefit everyday life.

In our case, from accession until now, Romania received over 95 billion euros and contributed almost 30 billion euros. To these amounts are added the funds granted through the PNRR, which support a good part of GDP growth through important investments.

Read the full analysis of European Romania on Europe Day: the second fastest economic evolution after Poland. A comparison with the other ECE states on the Governance Course