Romania has entered a technical recession after the economy contracted for a second consecutive quarter, according to data released on Friday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
Gross domestic product fell by 1.9% in real terms in the fourth quarter of 2025 compared with the previous quarter, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The economy had already declined by 0.2% in Q3 2025 compared with Q2.
Under the standard definition, a technical recession is recorded when GDP shrinks for two consecutive quarters.
Compared with the same quarter of 2024, GDP decreased by 1.6% in Q4 2025 on a seasonally adjusted basis. On the unadjusted series, however, GDP in Q4 2025 increased by 0.1% year on year. For the full year 2025, GDP rose by 0.6% compared with 2024.
Reacting to the news, Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan noted that Romania’s 0.6% economic growth in 2025 came amid “the rapid change, within just six months, of the economic model that had pushed us against the wall”.
“We began the transition from a model based on deficits and consumption, apparently generating prosperity but in fact destructive, to one based on investment, productivity, exports and budgetary discipline,” he said, describing the technical recession as “part of the anticipated and unavoidable cost of this transition”, adding that it will ultimately lead to “a solid economy, healthy growth and real prosperity, based on what we produce, not on ever-increasing and increasingly expensive borrowing”.
On the fiscal correction implemented in 2025, the PM stated: “We implemented a correction of approximately 1% of GDP, a significant effort that generated social costs and dissatisfaction.”
“We are not going through a crisis. We are going through a period of necessary economic correction in order to achieve a more stable and stronger economy that delivers long-term prosperity,” Bolojan concluded.
