October 2025 data reveals Bucharest-Ilfov continues to drive national business registration growth, while provinces show mixed performance

Romania’s business ecosystem demonstrated robust health in October 2025, with the country recording 15,874 new company registrations , representing a 7.96% increase compared to the same period last year . However, a deeper analysis reveals significant regional disparities, with the Bucharest-Ilfov metropolitan area continuing to dominate the business landscape.

Capital Region’s Overwhelming Dominance

The Bucharest-Ilfov region accounted for 28.6% of all new business registrations in October 2025, with Bucharest alone registering 3,510 companies and Ilfov adding another 1,024 registrations . Combined, the capital region’s 4,534 registrations significantly outpaced any other region in the country.

The growth momentum in the capital region is particularly strong, with Bucharest showing a 32.1% year-over-year increase and Ilfov growing by 29.62% .

Provincial Centers Show Resilience

While the capital region leads, several provincial centers demonstrated strong performance. Cluj County ranked third with 832 registrations, followed by Timiș (785), Iași (738), and Constanța (612). Notably, Constanța showed the strongest growth among major counties with a 42.66% year-over-year increase .

The data suggests that while Bucharest-Ilfov dominates in absolute numbers, regional centers are maintaining their economic vitality and, in some cases, showing even stronger growth rates than the capital.

Entity Type Preferences Vary by Region

The national data reveals a significant shift in business entity preferences. While SRLs (limited liability companies) remain the most common form with 9,342 registrations, PFA (authorized physical persons) registrations surged by 67.37% year-over-year to 5,935 .

In Ilfov, the pattern mirrored the national trend with SRLs accounting for 70.7% of registrations (724 out of 1,024) and PFAs representing 28.6% (293 registrations) .

Industry Concentration Patterns

The industry breakdown shows some concentration effects. Technology and professional services appear more concentrated in urban centers, while traditional sectors show broader distribution:

• Transport and storage led all sectors with 21,492 registrations, growing 60.33% year-over-year
• Wholesale and retail trade followed with 20,294 registrations
• Professional, scientific and technical activities accounted for 12,179 registrations
• Construction showed 11,761 registrations

The strong growth in transport and storage (60.33%) and manufacturing (37.24%) suggests these sectors are driving economic activity across multiple regions, not just the capital.

Business Ecosystem Health

The overall business ecosystem remains healthy, with registrations exceeding exits by a ratio of 1.24 to 1 . The net growth of 3,041 companies indicates sustained economic expansion across the country.

However, the capital region also leads in business exits, with Bucharest recording the highest numbers of both suspensions (171) and dissolutions (1,191) . This reflects both the scale of the capital’s business ecosystem and potentially higher competitive pressures.

Regional Development Implications

The data reveals a complex picture of Romania’s economic geography. While Bucharest-Ilfov continues to dominate in absolute terms, several provincial centers are showing strong growth momentum. The 32.1% growth in Bucharest and 29.62% in Ilfov, combined with even higher growth rates in some provincial counties like Constanța (42.66%) and Harghita (60.87%), suggests that economic activity is expanding across multiple regions, though from very different starting points.

The concentration of business activity in the capital region, while significant, appears to be part of a broader national growth story rather than coming at the expense of provincial development. The simultaneous strong performance in multiple regional centers indicates that Romania’s economic expansion is becoming more geographically diversified, even as Bucharest-Ilfov maintains its position as the country’s primary business hub.