Poverty in Romania - A look into the past - An assessment of the present - A hope for the future

Jul 19, 2026

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Romania made remarkable progress in reducing poverty over the past decade, with a steep decline in the share of people living on less than $5.5 a day (2011 PPP) from 2014 to 2019. Despite this, Romania still faces the highest poverty rate in the EU and elevated inequality, especially across regions and between rural and urban areas. Prolonged COVID-19 and rising prices disproportionately harm poor and vulnerable groups, while concerns about the Ukraine crisis are widespread. Future pathways require multi-dimensional, multi-sector investments and coordination, including efficient spending, human capital, jobs, resilience, and digitalization.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages34

Reading Time1 h 26 min

Overview

A look into the past

An assessment of the present

A hope for the future

Discussion

Key findings - Poverty in Romania

Pub lic Disclosure Authorized Pub lic Disclosure Authorized Poverty in Romania A look into the past An assessment of the present A hope for the future May 19, 2022 ed Overview 1. A look into the past • What has been the progress in poverty reduction in Romania? • Can Romania continue this path? 2. An assessment of the present • What is the poverty landscape in Romania now, compared to other EU countries? • How have the recent shocks affected Romanian poor? ▪ Prolonged COVID-19 pandemic ▪ Rising prices ▪ Ukraine crisis 3. A hope for the future • What are the pathways to support the poor and vulnerable? 4. Discussion KEY FINDINGS – Poverty in Romania A look into the past ~~ Rom~~ania made remarkable progress in reducing poverty. • Between 2014 and 2019, share of Romanians living on less than $5.5 a day at 2011 PPP declined rapidly from 25.9 percent to 9.5 percent. • Moreover, Romania was by far the top performer in the EU in terms of shared prosperity: income growth for the bottom 40 percent surpassed that of the general population. Much of the poverty reduction progress can be attributed to pension and wage reforms • Reforms in taxes, minimum wage setting, and pension contributed to high income growth for the bottom 40. • These drivers also contributed to a rising deficit. KEY FINDINGS – Poverty in Romania An assessment of the present Poverty rate in Romania is still the highest in the EU, and inequality is also elevated. • Romania’s poverty is nearly twice as high when comparing to peer countries with similar levels of income (Croatia, Poland, Latvia) • A tale of two Romania exists: high inequality in income and public services delivery across regions, and between rural and urban areas. Prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and rising prices disproportionately affect the poor and vulnerable. • The poor have fewer financial savings to cushion the prolonged pandemic. • Rising prices can add 250,000 Romanian poor. Concerns about the Ukraine crisis are nearly universal, Specific concerns are related to security and rising prices. • Nearly 90 percent of Romanians are worried about the Ukraine crisis. • Over 60 percent are concerned about security and rising prices. KEY FINDINGS – Poverty in Romania A hope for the future Poverty is multi-dimensional, so the pathways requires multi-sectoral investments and coordination. • Effective and efficient budget spending, human capital investments, job creation through private sector development and digitalization, resilience against climate changes Digitalization can provide a leapfrog in growth ~~ and ~~ productivity • Romania made impressive progress in expanding access to broadband. • There is room for improvement in productive use of internet. • To achieve digital opportunities, it is important to invest in a wider sets of complementary factors in addition to digital access: logistics, governance and trust in the digital system, and digital skills Romania has made remarkable progress in reducing poverty over the past decade. With economic growth among the highest in the EU, much of this high growth has translated into substantial poverty reduction. Between 2014 and 2019, share of population lived on less than $5.5 a day at 2011 PPP declined from 25.9 percent to 9.5 percent. Growth and poverty Source: World Bank using EU-SILC/ECAPOV/GMD Source: Eurostat Moreover, Romania is by far the top performer in shared prosperity in the EU. Between 2014 and 2019, annual income growth of people in the bottom 40 percent surpasses that of the general Romanian population. Annual income growth between 2014 and 2019 | Annual growth rate,% | 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 | | | --- | --- | --- | | Income percentiles | | | Shared prosperity Source: World Bank staff calculation based on EU SILC 2020 and 2015 data (referring to 2019-and 2014-income years). Note: Poverty rates

FAQs

What progress has Romania made in poverty reduction?

Romania reduced poverty rapidly between 2014 and 2019, with the share of people living on less than $5.5 a day (2011 PPP) falling from 25.9% to 9.5%. Romania also performed strongly in shared prosperity, with income growth for the bottom 40% exceeding that of the general population.

How does poverty in Romania compare with other EU countries?

Romania’s poverty rate remains the highest in the EU, and inequality is elevated. Poverty is nearly twice as high compared with peer countries with similar income levels such as Croatia, Poland, and Latvia, with wide disparities in income and public service delivery across regions and between rural and urban areas.

How have recent shocks affected the poor and vulnerable?

The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic and rising prices affect poor and vulnerable groups disproportionately. Poor households have fewer financial savings to withstand the pandemic, and rising prices are projected to add around 250,000 people to the poor category.

What pathways are proposed to support the poor in the future?

Because poverty is multi-dimensional, the report calls for multi-sectoral investment and coordination. Key elements include effective and efficient budget spending, human capital investments, job creation via private sector development and digitalization, and resilience against climate change.

Jul 19, 2026

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