Romania country profile
Bucharest
Romania offers significant opportunities to UK businesses with products, services, or technologies that either meet growing private demand or contribute to the country’s development priorities. Romania joined the EU in January 2007 and is a major destination for both UK investment and exporters. With a population of 22 million people, Romania is an important market for UK companies with many strong sectors of opportunity. As there is still significant development to take place in Romania in various industry sectors, the market can offer longevity of development over the next 10-15 years. Handel Export offers a range of services to help companies to do business in Romania. We can acclerate your market entry, hlep you to build market share and ultimately save you time and money. See our Services section for more details or contact us on +44 28 9092 3378.
Romania Key Facts
Population: 22,215,421 (July 2009 est.)
Language: Romanian 91% (official), Hungarian 6.7%, Romany (Gypsy) 1.1%, other 1.2%
Chief of state: President Traian BASESCU (since 20 December 2004)
Head of Government: Prime Minister Emil BOC (since 22 December 2008); Deputy Prime Minister Marko BELA (since 23 December 2009)
Local currency: Leu (RON)
Capital City: Bucharest
GDP per capita: $256.3 billion (2009 est.)
GDP composition by sector: agriculture: 12.4%; industry: 35%; services: 52.6% (2009 est.)
Export partners: Germany 16.3%, Italy 15.4%, France 7.3%, Turkey 6.5%, Hungary 5%, Bulgaria 4.1% (2008)
Exports: machinery and equipment, textiles and footwear, metals and metal products, machinery and equipment, minerals and fuels, chemicals, agricultural products
Import partners: Germany 16.1%, Italy 11.2%, Hungary 7.3%, Russia 5.9%, France 5.6%, Turkey 4.9%, Austria 4.8%, Kazakhstan 4.5%, China 4.2% (2008)
Imports: machinery and equipment, fuels and minerals, chemicals, textile and products, metals, agricultural products
Map of Romania
Major cities in Romania and populations
Constanta - 348,000
Galati - 326,000
Iasi - 341,000
Cluj-Napoca - 332,000
Timisoara - 322,000
Brasov - 322,000
Craiova - 307,000
Statistics for Romania 2008 2009 2010 2011
GDP growth (%, yoy) 7.3 -7.1 0.5 2.6
Inflation (%, yoy) 7.9 5.6 N/A N/A
Unemployment (%) 4.4% 7.8% N/A N/A
Opportunities for Business
UK exports of goods to Romania were worth £651.1m in 2007. It is the second largest consumer market in Central and Eastern Europe after Poland. The UK is the one of the leading foreign investors in Romania with close to €3.5 billion of direct investment.
The strongest areas of opportunity for UK exports and investment potential include the following sectors:
Energy; Transport (especially Railways); Automotive; Construction, particularly in infrastructure and PPPs; Water; Environment; Agriculture; Education & Training; Oil & Gas; Engineering; ICT; Tourism
If you would like more specific information on any of these sectors contact us on info@NOSPAMhandelexport.com (remove NOSPAM before sending).
Useful links
Romanian Government Ministries
Romania: National Agency for SMEs and Cooperatives
Romania: Romanian Agency for Foreign Investment
