Romania's Business Landscape Opens 2026 With a Strong Registration Surge — But Exit Rates Climb Too
January 2026 saw Romania record its highest January registration count in recent years, driven by an extraordinary leap in sole trader filings. Yet beneath the headline growth, a rising tide of business exits signals a more complex picture for the national business ecosystem.
A Robust Start to the Year
Romania registered 11,075 new businesses in January 2026 , a 27.7% increase compared to the 8,675 registrations recorded in January 2025. While a modest month-over-month dip of 4.8% from December 2025’s 11,632 registrations is notable, such a seasonal pullback is entirely typical for January — the post-holiday period routinely sees administrative activity slow before picking up pace.
The 12-month moving average currently stands at 12,990 , reflecting the generally higher registration volumes of the preceding year. January’s figure of 11,075 falls below this trailing average — again, a normal seasonal pattern — and the moving average itself has ticked up by 200 units from the previous month, suggesting the structural trend remains upward.
The PFA Phenomenon: Sole Traders Lead the Charge
The most striking development in January’s data is the explosive growth of PFA (Persoană Fizică Autorizată) registrations — the individual authorised professional form. PFAs reached 4,455 in January 2026 , up from just 2,319 in January 2025 — a 92.1% year-on-year increase . This single entity type accounted for roughly 40% of all January registrations, a dramatic shift in composition.
SRLs (Societăți cu Răspundere Limitată) — the standard limited liability company — remained the largest single category with 6,264 registrations , up a more modest 4.5% year-on-year . SRLs continue to dominate the formal corporate landscape, but the pace of PFA growth now clearly outstrips it.
Other entity types remained marginal. Individual Enterprises (II) registered 306 filings , a slight 6.1% decline year-on-year. Family Associations (IF) edged up to 29 , while the small number of Civil Associations (CA) tripled from 6 to 16 — a notable proportional jump, though small in absolute terms.
The overall picture points to a Romanian labour market increasingly embracing the solo self-employment model, whether driven by platform economy dynamics, freelancer demand in IT and professional services, or structural shifts away from traditional employment.
Industry Trends: Transport Overtakes Retail at the Top
January 2026 brought a notable reshuffling of the industry rankings:
| Industry | Jan 2026 | Jan 2025 | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transport & Storage | 2,045 | 1,407 | +45.3% |
| Wholesale & Retail Trade | 1,646 | 1,558 | +5.7% |
| Information & Communications | 1,140 | 687 | +65.9% |
| Professional, Scientific & Technical | 1,085 | 792 | +37.0% |
| Construction | 914 | 911 | +0.3% |
| Other Service Activities | 901 | 796 | +13.2% |
| Manufacturing | 672 | 345 | +94.8% |
| Admin & Support Services | 597 | 498 | +19.9% |
| Hotels & Restaurants | 412 | 357 | +15.4% |
| Education | 397 | 289 | +37.4% |
(Sources: get_industry_breakdown(year=2026, month=1)[‘industry_trends’])
Transport and Storage climbed to the top position with 2,045 registrations , displacing Wholesale & Retail Trade which had held the lead in January 2025. The sector’s 45.3% year-on-year growth is substantial, likely reflecting continued expansion of logistics and courier services in Romania’s growing e-commerce ecosystem.
Information & Communications posted an impressive 65.9% jump to 1,140 registrations — consistent with Romania’s established position as a regional technology hub. Similarly, Manufacturing surged 94.8% year-on-year to 672 registrations, though this should be read cautiously: a near-doubling from a January baseline can be partially attributable to low base effects and the composition of PFA filings being categorised under manufacturing codes.
Entertainment, Cultural and Sports Activities nearly doubled (+96.3%), reaching 373 registrations. Construction, meanwhile, was the clearest standout for stability — virtually flat year-on-year at 914 versus 911 — a signal of steady but unspectacular demand in the sector.
The sole industry to register a decline was Health and Social Assistance, which fell 12.3% to 199 registrations , reversing what had been a notable area of growth in recent years.
Regional Picture: Bucharest and the Capital Region Dominate
The Bucharest-Ilfov metropolitan belt once again accounted for a disproportionate share of new registrations. Bucharest alone posted 2,706 registrations — nearly one in four nationally — while neighbouring Ilfov added another 696 . Together they represent roughly 31% of the national total.
Beyond the capital, the major regional cities followed expected patterns: Cluj (557), Timiș (522), and Iași (482) completed the top five. These counties collectively reflect Romania’s polycentric economic geography, with secondary cities playing an increasingly important role.
In terms of year-on-year growth rates, Galați stood out — recording a 119.3% increase from just 119 registrations in January 2025 to 261 this year. While the absolute numbers are modest, such a surge warrants attention as a possible indicator of local economic development activity. Bucharest (+54.8%), Ilfov (+53.0%), Constanța (+59.6%), and Brașov (+54.8%) also recorded strong double-digit growth.
Business Exits: A Concerning Rise in Dissolutions
The full story of January 2026 cannot be told without examining what is happening on the other side of the ledger. Business exits — encompassing suspensions, dissolutions, and deregistrations — reached 13,761 total events , resulting in a churn rate of 124.25 exits per 100 new registrations .
This compares to a churn rate of 133.68 in January 2025 — meaning that while exits still outpace registrations, the gap has actually narrowed somewhat year-on-year. The ecosystem health ratio stands at 0.80 , up from the prior trend, with the net growth position showing improvement of +1,606 units versus the previous period.
Breaking down the exit categories:
- Deregistrations: 6,312 — essentially flat year-on-year (down just 0.24%)
- Dissolutions: 5,403 — up a substantial 51.6% year-on-year
- Suspensions: 2,046 — up 19.9% year-on-year
The sharp rise in dissolutions — the formal legal winding-up of a company — is the most significant concern. At 5,403 in a single month, this represents a 51.6% year-on-year increase and is the dominant driver of elevated total exits. Dissolutions are a more definitive form of business exit than suspensions (which can be temporary) or deregistrations (which often represent administrative clean-ups of dormant entities). The increase suggests that a growing number of businesses formed in prior years — potentially including companies set up during the 2020-2022 period — are now reaching the end of their viable lifecycle.
The net balance for January 2026 was -2,686 companies — meaning exits exceeded registrations by that margin. January is historically a negative month for net business stock, as companies deferred administrative proceedings from the prior year often materialise in the new year. Still, the scale of dissolutions warrants continued monitoring in the months ahead.
Putting January 2026 in Context
January 2026 presents a nuanced but broadly positive picture for Romanian entrepreneurial activity, with the headline registration figure of 11,075 representing genuine year-on-year growth across most entity types and sectors. The dramatic expansion of PFA filings in particular reflects a structural shift in how Romanians are choosing to formalise their economic activity — moving toward leaner, more flexible business structures.
At the same time, the surge in dissolutions — even as deregistrations remain stable — indicates that the stock of older companies is undergoing a meaningful adjustment. Whether this reflects normal business lifecycle consolidation or a more challenging operating environment for established small businesses is a question the coming months’ data will help clarify.
The 12-month moving average of 12,990 remains comfortably above January’s total, reinforcing that the seasonal softness of this month does not undermine the broader medium-term trend in registration volumes.
Data sourced from Romania’s National Trade Register Office (ONRC) via business registration and lifecycle event records. All figures refer to January 2026 unless otherwise stated.