Romania is EU’s last for small and medium enterprises

Romania ranks 17th in the European Union for the total added value of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and last based on the number of active SMEs, according to a survey by the Post-Privatization Foundation, cited by local Mediafax. In Romania there are 426,295 active SMEs, the lowest density of SMEs in the EU 28. With 2.71 million employees, Romania ranks 8th for the share of SME employees in the overall number of employees. The added value of SMEs amounts to EUR 25.8 billion. In Romania there are 21.3 small and medium sized firms per 1,000 inhabitants, the EU average being 42.7 companies. The highest densities are recorded in the Czech Republic, with 95.9 enterprises per 1,000 inhabitants or Portugal with 73.5 SMEs per 1,000 inhabitants. In 2013 there were 15.5% fewer SMEs compared to 2008. The number of employees in SMEs was 6.6% lower compared to 2008 and the added value brought by SMEs went down by 16.6% compared to the same year, the study shows. editor@romania-insider.com