Bucharest is the most economically developed and industrialised city in Romania, producing around 21% of the country's GDP and about one-quarter of its industrial production, while only accounting for 9% of the country's population.[1] Almost one third of national taxes is paid by Bucharest's citizens and companies. In 2009, at purchasing power parity, Bucharest had a per-capita GDP of €26,100, or 111% that of the European Union average and more than twice the Romanian average.[2] The city's strong economic growth has revitalised infrastructure and led to the development of many shopping malls and modern residential towers and high-rise office buildings. In September 2005, Bucharest had an unemployment rate of 2.6%, significantly lower than the national unemployment rate of 5.7%.[3]

Bucharest's economy is mainly centred on industry and services, with services particularly growing in importance in the last ten years. The city serves as the headquarters of 186,000 firms, including nearly all large Romanian companies.[4] An important source for growth since 2000 has been the city's property and construction boom, which has resulted in a significant growth in the construction sector. Bucharest is also Romania's largest centre for information technology and communications and is home to several software companies operating offshore delivery centers. Bucharest contains Romania's largest stock exchange, the Bucharest Stock Exchange, which was merged in December 2005 with the Bucharest-based electronic stock exchange, Rasdaq. The Speedtest Global Index ranks Bucharest the 6th city in the world (after Beijing, Shanghai, Abu Dhabi, Valparaíso, and Lyon) in terms of fixed broadband speed, at 250Mbps in 2023.[5]

The city has a number of international supermarket chains such as Kaufland, Auchan, Mega Image, Carrefour, Cora, and METRO. At the moment, the city is undergoing a retail boom, with a large number of supermarkets, and hypermarkets, constructed every year. For more information, see supermarkets in Romania. The largest shopping centres in Bucharest are AFI Cotroceni, Băneasa Shopping City, Bucharest Mall, Plaza Romania, City Mall, Mega Mall, Park Lake and Unirea Shopping Center. However, there are also a large number of traditional markets; the one at Obor covers about a dozen city blocks, and numerous large stores that are not officially part of the market effectively add up to a market district almost twice that size.[citation needed]

The city has the head offices of Air Bucharest and Blue Air.[6][7]

References edit

  1. ^ Joint Inclusion Memorandum of Romania Archived 2006-08-28 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ GDP per inhabitant in 2009 ranged from 27% of the EU27 average in Severozapaden in Bulgaria to 332% in Inner London Archived March 25, 2009, at the Wayback Machine (Eurostat, 13 March 2012)
  3. ^ Major economic indicators of Romania in the period 1 January 2005-30 October 2005[permanent dead link], National Institute of Statistics of Romania, 9 December 2005 (in Romanian)
  4. ^ Toti bucurestenii vor avea dosar fiscal din 2006[permanent dead link], Averea, 15 December 2005
  5. ^ "Median City Speeds December 2023". Speedtest.net. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  6. ^ Home page. Air Bucharest. Retrieved on 31 December 2010. "Address: Str. Amidonului Street, No. 28 , Sector 2, Postal Code 023808, Bucuresti / Romania" Address in Romanian Archived 2010-10-18 at the Wayback Machine: "Adresa: Str. Amidonului nr 28 , Sector 2, Cod postal 023808, Bucuresti / Romania."
  7. ^ "Contact." Blue Air. Retrieved on 26 December 2010. "Romania, Bucharest, Sector 1, Buzesti,l street 71, 5th floor, Tax reg no 16091846"