The Romanian economy grew by 0.8% last year, compared to a 1.3% growth forecast in June of last year and a 2.1% growth estimated at the beginning of last year, according to the latest report on the “Global Economic Prospects” published by the World Bank.
Also, this year, Romania’s GDP is expected to grow by 1.3%, compared to a 1.9% growth forecast in June of last year and a 2.6% growth estimated in January 2025 by the World Bank.
The growth rate of the Romanian economy is expected to improve in 2027, to a 1.9% growth, less than the 2.5% growth forecast by the World Bank in the middle of last year, Agerpres writes.
According to the international financial institution, “economic growth in Central Europe is expected to improve to 2.6% in 2026-2027, supported by strong investment, especially in Poland and Romania, thanks to increased financing from the European Union”. On the other hand, “fiscal challenges will persist, especially in Romania, where fiscal consolidation is expected to affect economic growth”.
Overall, the World Bank is counting on weak growth of 2.6% in the global economy, an outcome that it nevertheless considers a sign of resilience to trade tensions.
The World Bank’s semi-annual “Global Economic Prospects” report shows that global GDP growth is expected to slow slightly to 2.6% this year, from 2.7% in 2025, before returning to 2.7% growth in 2027.
The latest forecast for global GDP growth in 2026 is two-tenths of a percentage point higher than the previous forecast, published in June last year, while growth in 2025 will exceed previous forecasts by four-tenths of a percentage point.
The World Bank pointed out that about two-thirds of the upward revision reflects better-than-expected growth in the United States, despite trade disruptions caused by additional tariffs. The international institution forecasts that the advance of the US GDP will reach 2.2% in 2026, compared with 2.1% in 2025, an increase of two and a half tenths compared to the forecasts in June.
After the sharp increase in imports, intended to overcome customs tariffs in early 2025, slowed the economic advance of the US for 2025, the higher fiscal stimulus will boost growth in 2026, counteracting the impact of customs tariffs on investment and consumption, the World Bank assessed.
However, the international financial institution emphasized that, if the current forecasts are maintained, the decade 2020-2029 would be the weakest for global growth since the 1960s and too weak to avoid stagnation and unemployment in countries with emerging markets and developing.
“With each passing year, the global economy has become less capable of generating growth and appears more resilient to political uncertainty. But economic dynamism and resilience cannot diverge for long without affecting public finances and credit markets,” said World Bank Chief Economist Indermit Gill.
Growth in emerging and developing economies will slow to 4 percent in 2026, from 4.2 percent in 2025, two-tenths and three-tenths of a percentage point better than its June forecast. But excluding China, the growth rate for this group in 2026 will be 3.7 percent, unchanged from 2025, the World Bank estimated.
China’s economic growth will slow to 4.4% in 2026, from 4.9%, but both forecasts are up four-tenths of a percentage point from June, driven by fiscal stimulus and a surge in exports to markets outside the US.
The World Bank warns that risks to its forecast are tilted to the downside, particularly given persistent geopolitical tensions linked to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Additional risks include an escalation of trade tensions, persistent inflation and the emergence of financial tensions.