Romania’s Economy Declines by 0.1% in Q4 2021

Gross domestic product in the fourth quarter of 2021 was lower, in real terms, by 0.1% compared to the previous quarter, Romania’s National Institute of Statistics (NIS) announces.

According to the National Institute for Statistics, the fourth quarter of 2021’s gross domestic product was 0.15 lower in real terms than the previous quarter, which released the figures on March 3, 2022.
Thus, the estimated Gross Domestic Product for the fourth quarter of the previous year, seasonally adjusted data, was EUR 62,420 million, down 0.1% in real terms from the third quarter of 2021 but up 3.9% from the fourth quarter of 2020.

According to the NIS, most branches of the economy contributed to GDP growth in 2021 compared to 2020, with more critical positive contributions being the following branches: wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles; transport and storage; hotels and restaurants (+ 1.7%), with a share of 19% in the formation of GDP and whose volume of activity increased by 9.5%; industry (+ 1%), with a percentage of 21.3% in the construction of GDP and whose volume of activity increased by 5%; information and communications (+ 0.8%), with a share of 6.4% in the formation of GDP and whose volume of activity increased by 13.4%; net taxes on the product (+ 0.8%), with a share of 9.5% in the formation of GDP and whose volume of activity increased by 8.2%.

This year, the forecast is not optimistic due to the Russian-Ukraine war and high energy and gas prices. Overall, Romania is an Eastern country with numerous issues related to the expansion of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but what appears to be reasonably simple to comprehend is that unless the escalation of oil and gas prices is halted, Romania (and other countries) will experience rapid inflation, far faster than expected.