Nine out of ten Romanians cannot calculate an interest rate, do not know the difference between nominal and real value and do not understand what risk diversification means, according to the results of a commissioned study of financial well-being and financial literacy in Romania. Institute of World Economy (IEM)

Dragos Petrescu, RBLSPhoto: Hotnews

Only 8% of Romania’s population has basic financial knowledge, according to the results of the Romanian Business Standards Barometer published on Tuesday.

The level of financial literacy in Romania is low, with significant differences even compared to developing countries in the region, and is directly related to education, income and age.

At the same time, almost 40% of respondents claim that they are not interested in receiving free information about financial concepts and concepts. The level of financial literacy is a mirror of the education system, and low results are accentuated by low levels of financial inclusion.

Starting from 2021, Romanian Business Leaders evaluates Romania’s economic progress in 14 areas that entrepreneurs consider important for the development of our country. Of these 14 industries this year, 10 have a tendency to increase, 3 to a decrease and one area is in stagnation.

Impressive progress is being made in:

  • the field of European funds, where the absorption rate has doubled compared to 2019, reaching almost 67%, and where we expect it to grow further, taking into account the implementation of the PNRR;
  • the energy sector, where interest in renewables is growing despite controversial consumer debates, and where we also see a significant increase in electric vehicle market share from 1.9% to 7.9%;
  • the agricultural sector, where in 2021 the export of agricultural products increased by 26% compared to 2020;
  • the IT&C industry, regarding the trade balance, where we have a significant growth of 29% in the first 8 months of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, from €2,399 billion to €3,357 billion. However, Romania still has a significant gap with the European average in terms of digital skills;

And last but not least, Romanians’ trust in entrepreneurs continues to grow dramatically from year to year. In 2022, 63.4% of Romanians believe that entrepreneurs are fairly honest, compared to 47.9% in 2021 and 23% in 2011.

Instead, we have disappointing regressions in:

  • in the area of ​​taxation with a huge and growing VAT gap – 35% in 2019 compared to 34% in 2018. The entire business environment is looking forward to the digitization of ANAF to achieve a significant reduction in this gap and reduce the tax burden on business;
  • the field of the labor market, where in 2022 the labor shortage increased by 14% compared to 2021.

“Overall, in 2022 compared to 2021, it seems that Romania has accelerated development in many areas, although we still have many gaps to restore. It is clear that we need to press for the acceleration of the modernization of public administration with the aim, on the one hand, of simplifying the lives of citizens and companies, and on the other hand, of reducing injustice by more effectively collecting taxes from all contributors. On the other hand, we are happy to note that 11 years of work and projects of Romanian business leaders are bearing fruit, the image of entrepreneurs is improving, and Romanians’ appetite for entrepreneurship is growing,” said Dragos Petrescu, president of the Romanian organization. Business leaders.

Read the full version of Baromet here