Romania’s business registration landscape displayed a complex pattern in December 2025, with strong year-over-year growth contrasting with expected seasonal declines from the previous month. The data reveals a business ecosystem experiencing significant churn alongside robust new enterprise formation, particularly in specific sectors and entity types.

Overall Registration Trends

December 2025 saw 11,632 new company registrations , representing a substantial 45.9% increase compared to December 2024’s 7,974 registrations . This year-end surge added 3,658 more businesses than the same period last year.

However, the monthly comparison shows a predictable seasonal pattern, with December registrations declining by 22.7% from November 2025’s 15,051 registrations . This 3,419-unit decrease aligns with typical year-end business patterns where entrepreneurs often delay new ventures until the new year.

The 12-month moving average stood at 12,790 registrations , slightly above the current month’s figure, indicating that December’s performance was slightly below the recent trend.

Entity Type Breakdown

Limited liability companies (SRLs) continued to dominate the business landscape, accounting for 7,629 registrations or approximately 65.6% of all new businesses . This represented a 27.4% increase from December 2024’s 5,988 SRL registrations.

The most dramatic growth occurred in individual enterprises (PFAs), which surged by 108.9% year-over-year to 3,650 registrations . This explosive growth in sole proprietorships suggests increased entrepreneurial activity at the individual level, possibly driven by digital platforms and service-based business models.

Individual enterprises (IIs) also showed strong growth with 307 registrations, a 67.8% increase from December 2024. Other entity types remained relatively stable, with small variations in both directions.

Industry Sector Analysis

The transportation and storage sector led all industries with 1,832 registrations , representing a remarkable 55.8% year-over-year increase. This growth likely reflects ongoing expansion in logistics and delivery services, particularly in e-commerce support.

Wholesale and retail trade followed with 1,621 registrations, showing modest 3.3% growth. Professional, scientific, and technical activities saw 1,088 registrations (36.7% growth), while information and communications registered 1,079 new businesses (59.9% growth).

The manufacturing sector displayed the most explosive growth, with 1,018 registrations representing a 226.3% increase from December 2024 . This dramatic expansion suggests potential recovery or transformation in Romania’s industrial base.

Other service sectors showed strong performance, with “other service activities” growing 113.8% to 992 registrations, and construction increasing 29.0% to 934 registrations.

Regional Distribution

Bucharest maintained its position as Romania’s business capital with 2,683 registrations , representing 23.1% of all national registrations. The capital showed 16.6% year-over-year growth.

Ilfov County followed with 804 registrations (40.6% growth), while Cluj County registered 683 new businesses (64.6% growth). Timiș County (595 registrations, 67.1% growth) and Iași County (513 registrations, 95.1% growth) completed the top five by volume.

The most dramatic regional growth occurred in Maramureș County, which saw 125.9% year-over-year growth to 262 registrations, followed by Suceava County with 92.5% growth to 256 registrations.

Business Lifecycle and Ecosystem Health

December 2025 presented a challenging picture for business sustainability, with 15,924 business exits recorded . This included 1,925 suspensions, 5,573 dissolutions, and 8,426 deregistrations.

The resulting churn rate reached 136.9% , meaning that for every 100 new businesses registered, approximately 137 businesses exited the market. This resulted in a net negative growth of 4,292 businesses for the month .

Year-over-year comparisons show mixed patterns in business exits. While suspensions decreased by 1.9% and deregistrations declined by 2.1%, dissolutions increased by 7.9% .

Regionally, Constanța County experienced the highest churn rate at 178.9%, followed by Argeș County at 183.3% and Sibiu County at 178.8% . Bucharest, despite having the highest number of exits (2,537), maintained a relatively lower churn rate of 94.6%.

Economic Implications

The December 2025 data reveals a business ecosystem characterized by high dynamism but also significant volatility. The strong year-over-year growth in registrations, particularly in manufacturing, transportation, and professional services, suggests continued entrepreneurial confidence and potential sectoral shifts in the Romanian economy.

However, the high churn rate indicates substantial business turnover, with many enterprises failing to achieve sustainable operations. This pattern may reflect competitive pressures, market saturation in certain sectors, or challenges in business scaling and management.

The growth in PFA registrations suggests increasing individual entrepreneurship, possibly driven by digital platforms, freelance work, and service-based business models that require lower startup capital and administrative overhead compared to traditional SRL structures.

The regional data shows continued concentration of business activity in major urban centers, particularly Bucharest and its surrounding Ilfov County, while also revealing strong growth in several counties across Transylvania and Moldova, suggesting broader geographic distribution of economic activity.

As Romania’s business landscape evolves, the December 2025 data provides a snapshot of an economy in transition, balancing robust new business formation against significant market exits, with particular strength in technology-driven and service-oriented sectors.