CFI Data on Romania

The light green area is the rest of the European Union

Romania was the 46th largest economy in the world by nominal GDP in 2018. Its GDP per capita was $12,301 USD. It is a regional leader in fields such as IT and motor vehicle production. It was ranked 31st in the Economic Complexity Index in 2017. It is a member of the EU. Services was the largest economic sector in 2018 (57 percent of GDP), followed by manufacturing (20.1 percent), and agriculture (4.3 percent). In 2017, the largest export sectors were services (24.6 percent), electronics (13.63 percent), vehicles (13.62), machinery (10.5 percent), and agriculture (10.1 percent). The largest individual exports were ICT services (14.2 percent), parts of motor vehicles (7.5 percent), insulated electronic wire (4.5 percent), and cars (4.12 percent). Its largest export partners were Germany (22.4 percent), Italy (9.8 percent), France (6.2 percent), and Hungary (4.37 percent). The largest goods imports were parts of motor vehicles (4.65 percent), crude oil (3.4 percent), cars (2.97 percent), and packaged medicaments (2.6 percent). After World War Two, Romania fell under Soviet control and the economy transitioned to a centrally planned economy with collectivisation of agriculture and the development of heavy industry. Nicoale Ceausescu came to power in 1965. He reduced the level of decentralisation and introduced a policy of using western technology to produce exports for less developed countries. He was also responsible for turning Romania into a police state. By the 1980s, Romania had high public debt after borrowing from the West in the 1970s. The debt was serviced by switching domestic production to exports resulting in shortages and a general decrease in the standard of living. Following the end of communist rule in 1989, reforms and growth were slow. In the 2000s, reforms related to the EU ascension process spurred growth by increasing FDI and productivity. Ascension in 2007 led to increased exports. Romania was hit hard by the global financial crisis and turned to the EU and IMF for a bailout followed by a standby facility which ended in 2015. Growth rebounded after 2013, driven by strong industrial exports, excellent agricultural harvests, and, more recently, expansionary fiscal policies. The IT sector has also showed impressive growth. Further growth can be unlocked through better fiscal discipline, improving infrastructure, and continuing the fight against corruption.

Trade agreement information for Romania

Does Romania belong to any economic unions or free trade areas?

Member of the European Union (EU) since 01/01/2007

Other members:

Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden

Which trade deals does Romania have through its membership of the EU?

EU - Andorra Customs Union (from 01/01/1991)

European Single Market (SM) (from 01/01/1993)

EU - Sri-Lanka Co-operation and Partnership Agreement (from 01/04/1995)

EU - Turkey Customs Union (from 31/12/1995)

EU - Faroe Islands Agreement (from 01/01/1997)

EU - Palestinian Authority Interim Association Agreement (from 01/07/1997)

EU - Tunisia Association Agreement (from 01/03/1998)

EU - Armenia Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (from 09/09/1999)

EU - Morocco Association Agreement (from 01/03/2000)

EU - Israel Association Agreement (from 01/06/2000)

EU - Mexico Global Agreement (from 01/10/2000)

EU - San Marino Customs Union (from 01/04/2002)

EU - Jordan Association Agreement (from 01/05/2002)

EU - North Macedonia Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/04/2004)

EU - Pakistan Co-operation agreement (from 29/04/2004)

EU - Egypt Association Agreement (from 01/06/2004)

EU - Chile Association Agreement and Additional Protocol (from 01/03/2005)

EU - Algeria Association Agreement (from 01/09/2005)

EU - Lebanon Association Agreement (from 01/04/2006)

EU - Albania Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/04/2009)

EU - Montenegro Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/05/2010)

EU - Central America Association Agreement (from 01/08/2013)

EU - Serbia Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/09/2013)

EU - Bosnia and Herzegovina Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/06/2015)

EU - South Korea Free Trade Agreement (from 01/07/2015)

EU - Kosovo Stabilisation and Association Agreement (from 01/04/2016)

EU - Georgia Association Agreement (from 01/07/2016)

EU - Moldova Association Agreement (from 01/07/2016)

EU - Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) (from 21/09/2017)

EU - Eswatini (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - Lesotho (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - Mozambique (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - Namibia (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - South Africa Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - Botswana (SADC) Economic Partnership Agreement (from 05/02/2018)

EU - Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (from 01/02/2019)

EU - UK Withdrawal Agreement Transition Period (from 01/02/2020)

Member of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) since 05/06/1998

Other members:

Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Republic of Moldova, Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine

What bilateral trade deals are there between Romania and other countries and economic unions?

None

Data sources

1 UNCTAD

2 World Bank

3 IMF World Economic Outlook Database

4 The Economist