Bucharest, September 2025 - Romania’s business landscape experienced a notable shift in August 2025, with company exits surpassing new registrations for the first time in recent months, signaling potential stress in the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

The Numbers Tell the Story

August 2025 saw **11,435, representing a significant 32.65% decline from July’s 15,168.

More concerning, however, was the simultaneous surge in business exits. The month recorded **11,709,.

Business Churn Rate Hits Critical Level

The business churn rate - measuring the percentage of businesses exiting the market - reached **102.4, indicating that for every 100 businesses operating, more than 102 exited during the month.

The health ratio, which compares registrations to exits,, falling below the critical threshold of 1.0 that indicates a healthy, growing business environment.

Year-over-Year Comparison Reveals Alarming Trends

When compared to August 2024, the data shows dramatic increases across all types of business exits:

• Suspensions: 1,480 in 2025 vs 832 in 2024 - a 77.88% increase
• Dissolutions: 4,635 in 2025 vs 2,047 in 2024 - a 126.43% surge
• Deregistrations: 5,594 in 2025 vs 4,198

Geographic Concentration of Business Stress

The capital city of Bucharest led all counties in business exits across all categories:

• Dissolutions: 877
• Deregistrations: 983 companies
• Suspensions: 172 companies

Other major urban centers like Constanța, Cluj, and Ilfov also showed significant business exit activity, suggesting the stress is concentrated in Romania’s economic hubs.

Industry Performance Mixed

While some sectors showed resilience, others faced significant challenges:

Strong Performers:

• Transport and Storage: 15,677 registrations, up 56.25% year-over-year
• Manufacturing: 4,110 registrations, up 19.72%
• Hotels and Restaurants: 4,667 registrations, up 17.35%

Concerning Declines:

• Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing: Down 19.44%
• Education: Complete absence of registrations (0 vs 2,667 in 2024)
• Real Estate Transactions: No registrations (0 vs 2,459 in 2024)
• Healthcare and Social Assistance: No registrations (0 vs 2,420

Business Entity Types Show Different Resilience

Limited liability companies (SRLs) continued to dominate new registrations with **7,613, followed by individual enterprises (PFAs) with 3,415. However, the surge in dissolutions and deregistrations suggests many of these business types are facing operational challenges.

Context and Outlook

The August 2025 data represents a departure from the generally positive business formation trends observed in recent years. While the decline from July could reflect typical seasonal patterns, the simultaneous surge in business exits across multiple categories suggests broader economic pressures may be affecting Romanian entrepreneurs.

The data shows a business ecosystem under moderate stress, with the health ratio dipping below 1.0 and net business growth turning negative. However, the ecosystem health ratio trend showed a positive 0.12 improvement, and net growth trend improved by 883 points from the previous period, suggesting the situation may be stabilizing.

As Romania’s business community navigates these challenges, the coming months will be crucial in determining whether August’s data represents a temporary fluctuation or the beginning of a more sustained period of business consolidation.

Note: All data reflects business registration and lifecycle events through August 2025. The analysis does not include forward-looking predictions beyond this period.