Romania has moved up four positions in a ranking of the 33 most appealing countries in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) for private companies, as per the PwC EMEA Entrepreneurial & Private Business Heatmap. This year, the country has moved up to 28th place from 32nd in the previous edition of the report.
Macroeconomics, private business landscape, tax and regulatory regime, sustainability and climate, social responsibility and governance, public health, education/skills/talent, technology and infrastructure, and startup ecosystem are the nine categories that make up the rankings.
Romania has made a slight improvement in its overall score from the previous edition. It scored highest on tax and regulatory frameworks and macroeconomic indicators. However, these factors have a relatively low impact on how companies evaluate and choose a country for business development. Furthermore, the analysis was conducted at the end of last year, so the tax indicator may not show the effects of the significant changes coming in 2024, which are expected to be reflected in the next edition,” stated Dinu Bumbăcea, Country Managing Partner at PwC Romania.
Out of the 33 countries examined, Romania performs the best in macroeconomics (7th) and tax and regulatory regimes (8th).
In the remaining categories, Romania ranks poorly in technology and infrastructure (18th), social responsibility and governance (20th), sustainability and climate (21st), education/skills and talent (22nd), private business landscape (24th), startup ecosystem (24th), and public health (33rd, the last place).
Romania is positioned in the fourth category of emerging markets, following Greece and preceding Bulgaria, Slovakia, and Croatia, according to PwC.
Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, the United Kingdom, Finland, Ireland, Spain, and France are considered highly attractive countries, while Luxembourg, Austria, Belgium, Portugal, Italy, and Estonia are classified as advanced countries.
In the third category of the analysis, the developing countries include Poland, Lithuania, Cyprus, Malta, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, and Slovenia.
