Romania’s GDP calculated at PPP exchange rates increased to 78% of the European Union’s average in 2023, 2 percentage points (pp) more than a year earlier, Eurostat confirmed based on preliminary data.

Romania's 2pp annual advance was among the strongest in Europe, where Portugal managed a 4pp surge to 83% while Spain and Croatia posted 3pp annual increases to 89% and 76% respectively.

Romania thus overtook Hungary (76%) by 2pp and is 1pp closer to Poland (80% of the EU average, up 1pp y/y).

In the region, Bulgaria lags behind all other EU member states with a GDP per capita of only 64% of the EU average despite a significant 2pp advance from 2022 while Greece is not much better (67%, flat y/y).

Actual individual consumption figures (calculated at PPP) for 2023 have not been released yet, but Romania stood out in 2022 with a significant 86% share of the EU average – well above the 76% share of the GDP.

Previously, it was reported that Hungary’s per capita GDP (measured at purchasing power parity) reached 76.6% of the EU average in 2022, 0.1pp below that of Romania, according to data by Eurostat released in October 2023. 

The gap between the two countries was forecast at the time to widen in 2023, with Hungary facing a recession, while growth in its eastern neighbour was set to exceed 2%.

In the last nine years, Hungary has made progress in closing the gap with the EU average but at a slower rate than Romania. The GDP per capita has increased by 8.5pp, while the Romanian economy has shown a much faster convergence rate, slightly above 22pp.