Romania's economy decreased in 2020 by 3.9% compared to 2019, a better result than previous estimates, and in the fourth quarter GDP increased, in real terms, by 5.3% compared to the third quarter, announced Tuesday the National Institute of Statistics.
Compared to the fourth quarter of 2019, in the last three months of 2020, GDP decreased by 1.5%, on a gross series, and by 1.7% on a seasonally adjusted series.

In April, the IMF estimated a 5% decline in Romania's GDP and many analysts had expected a 7-8% decline due to the pandemic. At the August budget adjustment, the Orban government revised the forecast negatively, leading to a 3.8% decrease in GDP in 2020.

In reaching the budget for 2021, the Government estimates for the current year a 4.3% increase in the economy and a GDP of 1.116 billion lei, up 7%, to a level similar to that of 2019.

"The Romanian economy, the performance upsets the apocalyptic estimates! In the fourth quarter of 2020 the Romanian economy grew by 5.3% !!! A fantastic performance. The FASTEST economic recovery in history. We promised. We did. I was right. The return of the V-shaped economy, a certainty! In 2020 the Romanian economy, together with the global one, was hit by the biggest crisis of the last hundred years. However, it contracted ONLY by 3.9% "Prime Minister Florin Cîtu said on his Facebook page on Tuesday.