Romania’s national wealth stood at around €637 billion, a 2.6-fold increase over the past 20 years, according to the BNR’s stability report. The wealth of the population amounted to 247 billion euros, that is, almost 40% of the wealth of the entire country.

According to the document, it is recognized that the gross domestic product (GDP) indicator is “a useful, standardized, understandable and applicable unitary indicator that can be compared over time and between countries, but is insufficient to capture a country’s development potential.”

A comprehensive measure of national wealth complements the information provided by GDP and provides a broader picture of a country’s economic and social trends, the Report said.

According to the analysis of the World Bank, human capital is the most important component of national wealth, being an essential engine of sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction, the authors also note.

This averages about two-thirds of the total wealth worldwide. In the case of Romania, World Bank estimates indicate a share of about 63 percent of human wealth in total national wealth.

However, preliminary data from the 2021 Population and Housing Census show that human capital vulnerability has increased in Romania, with the permanent population continuing its downward trend, the phenomenon of demographic aging deepening and the Demographic Aging Index depreciating, and the education level of the population ranking Romania last place in Europe.

In addition to human capital, climate change increases relative to national wealth

In addition to human capital, the importance of climate change in relation to national wealth is increasing, it determines both the potential opportunities for increasing national wealth with relatively modest investments, and the significant risks determined by the increase in the intensity and frequency of external influences. shocks to wealth development.

An analysis of national wealth per capita highlights the relatively low level and strong polarization in Romania, which increases public distrust of state institutions and social tension.

In 2019, the national wealth per capita in Romania was 32.7 thousand euros, an increase of 2.9 times, corresponding to 21.4 thousand euros, compared to 2003 (chart A), which is lower than the average for EU27 (3.1 times higher) and ranks only before Bulgaria (28.3 thousand euros per inhabitant) and Greece (21.2 thousand euros per inhabitant).

Thus, such actions as:

• Supplementing economic growth measures with those aimed at strengthening national wealth. The study considers important industrial, demographic and demographic policies to improve the education of the population as it has a beneficial effect on the components of wealth. In this sense, the National Bank of Romania is considering the possibility of starting some financial education projects also in the field of non-financial companies, as well as increasing the level of professional training of bank employees.

• Strengthening the academic environment’s contribution to the study of the less researched components of Romania’s national wealth, such as human and social capital.

• Last but not least, the analysis considers it important to include land and natural resources in national wealth and a single quantification of the human capital component. The importance of this action becomes even greater in the context of recent demographic developments, as well as the widening of the innovation gap at the global level.

According to European legislation, national wealth is defined as “the accounting situation of the value of assets that are economic property and unpaid liabilities of an institutional unit or group of units.” National wealth traditionally consists of non-financial and financial assets. Non-financial assets include fixed assets, inventories, tangible assets and non-productive assets such as natural resources, while the financial asset category consists of monetary gold and SDRs, cash and deposits, debt securities, loans, participations and units of investment funds, systems insurance, pension and guarantee schemes, financial derivatives, and other receivables/payables.