Statistics: Economy grows 0.6% in 2025 but Romania ends year in technical recession

Romania’s economy expanded by 0.6% overall in 2025 but entered a technical recession at the end of the year, after two consecutive quarters of real GDP contraction, according to flash data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS) on Friday, February 13, as quoted by Ziarul Financiar. Prime minister Ilie Bolojan said in a first reaction that "we are not going through a crisis," as this is "part of the anticipated and inevitable cost" of a transition that "will ultimately lead us to a solid economy."

In the fourth quarter of 2025, GDP rose by 0.1% year-on-year on a gross series but declined by 1.6% on a seasonally adjusted basis compared with the same period of 2024. Quarter-on-quarter, the economy shrank by 1.9% in real terms compared with the third quarter of 2025.