BUCHAREST - Romania’s business landscape showed remarkable dynamism in July 2025, with company registrations more than doubling compared to the same period last year, though the surge in new business formation was accompanied by a significant increase in business closures and exits.

Registration Boom Across All Major Categories

July 2025 saw 15,168, representing a staggering 117.68% increase from July 2024’s 6,968. This dramatic year-over-year growth suggests a robust entrepreneurial environment, though the data requires careful interpretation given the structural disruptions of the pandemic years.

The growth was broad-based across entity types:

• SRLs (Limited Liability Companies): 10,832 registrations, up 110.58% from 5,144 in July 2024
• PFAs (Individual Enterprises): 3,886 registrations, up 148.62% from 1,563
• IIs (Individual Enterprises): 387 registrations, up 88.78% from 205

The most explosive growth occurred in less common entity types, with SNCs (General Partnerships) increasing 800% and SAs (Joint Stock Companies) rising 225%, though from very small bases.

Industry Sector Dynamics

The sectoral breakdown reveals interesting patterns in Romania’s evolving economic structure:

Top Performing Sectors:

• Wholesale and Retail Trade: 14,213 registrations
• Transport and Storage: 14,065 registrations, up 51.35% year-over-year
• Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities: 8,312 registrations
• Construction: 7,984 suggests continued expansion in logistics and supply chain businesses, likely reflecting Romania’s strategic position in European trade routes.

Business Exit Trends Raise Questions

While new registrations surged, business exits also increased substantially, creating a more complex picture of the business ecosystem:

• Total business exits: 14,109
• Churn rate: 93.02%, meaning nearly as many businesses exited as entered

The year-over-year comparison shows significant increases across all exit categories:

• Dissolutions: Up 104.05% to 5,136
• Deregistrations: Up 58.58% to 7,144
• Suspensions: Up 65.82% to 1,829

Net Growth and Ecosystem Health

Despite the high exit rates, the business ecosystem maintained positive net growth of 1,059, with a health ratio of 1.08 registrations for every exit.

The data suggests Romania is experiencing both high entrepreneurial activity and significant business turnover. This pattern could indicate either a healthy “creative destruction” process where less viable businesses are replaced by new ventures, or potential economic pressures causing higher failure rates among existing enterprises.

Context and Interpretation

The dramatic year-over-year increases should be viewed in the context of Romania’s post-pandemic economic normalization. The 2020-2021 period saw significant disruptions to normal business registration patterns due to lockdowns and economic uncertainty, making year-over-year comparisons from that baseline potentially misleading.

The current data reflects a business environment where:

• Entrepreneurial confidence appears strong, with substantial new business formation
• Market competition is intensifying, as evidenced by high exit rates
• The economy is undergoing structural transformation, with traditional sectors facing pressure while service and technology-oriented businesses expand

The combination of robust registration growth and elevated exit rates suggests Romania’s business landscape remains dynamic and competitive, though the sustainability of this pattern will depend on broader economic conditions and the ability of new businesses to establish themselves in the market.

Note: All data reflects business registration and lifecycle events through July 2025, with comparisons to the same period in 2024.