With more than 10 million hectares of agricultural land, diverse energy sources, vast manufacturing base and opportunities for developing tourism on the Black Sea and the mountains, Romania has immense economic potential.
To foster growth, Romania needs to focus on integrating with the member states of the EU. Romania’s economic structure has started focusing on energy efficiency and diversifying export. The nation’s economy will strengthen further when it joins the Eurozone in 2014.
However, as far as the internal structuring is concerned, services still lead the way when it comes to adding to the GDP. Here is what the break up looks like:
Agriculture: 12.4%
Industry: 35%
Services: 52.6% (2009 est.)
Romania has growing middle and upper classes with relatively high per capita incomes. According to the World Bank estimates, 99% of the urban and 94% of the rural population had access to electricity in 2002. As for other improved facilities, while 91% of the urban and 16% of the rural population had access to improved water supply, 94% of the urban population had access to improved sanitation as of 2004. In 2007, approximately 19.5 million people owned mobile phone in Romania and about 7 million people could access the Internet.
As of March 2008, the net average wage was 1,192 lei (roughly $500), which climbed to 1,352 lei ($560) in 2009. The net average wage is expected to hit 1,819 lei ($760) by 2013. Despite excellent income growth in Romania, some of the industries in the country are among the lowest wage payers in the EU region.