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EY Attractiveness Survey Romania 2026
Foreign direct investment (FDI) remains one of the clearest tests of confidence that markets apply to an economy.
Romania attracted 109 FDI projects announced in 2025, up 16% from the previous year, which placed the country 11th in Europe and 9th in the European Union by number of projects. More importantly, the investments generated 5,710 jobs, 39% more than in 2024, while Europe as a whole recorded a sharp contraction in jobs created through FDI. This difference suggests that Romania remained relevant not only as a cost destination, but also as an operational platform for manufacturing, services, logistics and regional supply chains.
The strongest signal, however, does not come from the total number of projects, but from their structure. Expansion projects increased from 31 in 2024 to 60 in 2025, representing 55% of the total FDI projects announced. This is an essential performance: investors who already know Romania, who have tested the workforce, costs, suppliers, infrastructure and administration, chose to increase their exposure. For an emerging economy, expansions are often a stronger vote of confidence than new entries, because they are decisions made after direct experience, not only after a promise.
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Chapter 1
CEE: Romania is gaining momentum, but is not yet winning through scale
At regional level, Central and Eastern Europe no longer functions as a homogeneous bloc. The three large economies in the region have different trajectories: Poland remains the regional leader through scale, Romania is gaining momentum, and Hungary remains strong in concentrated industrial projects, but more vulnerable to volatility and to dependence on certain sectors. In 2025, Poland attracted 285 FDI projects, up 10%, Romania 109 projects, up 16%, and Hungary 73 projects, down 9%.
The difference is even clearer in net foreign investment flows. Poland remained the largest recipient among the three economies, with EUR 12.32 billion in 2025, but below the exceptional level of 2023. Romania recorded the most visible recovery, from EUR 5.6 billion in 2024 to EUR 8.1 billion in 2025, equivalent to an increase of 44.6%. Hungary continued to decline, from EUR 3.71 billion in 2024 to EUR 3.49 billion in 2025. This divergence suggests that investors increasingly quickly penalize environments perceived as less predictable and favor markets that combine competitive costs, access to the EU market and European funds, improving infrastructure and nearshoring opportunities.
Romania's sectoral profile is relatively balanced. Of the 109 FDI projects announced in 2025, Machinery and Equipment was the largest sector, followed by Software & IT Services, Transport and Logistics, Transport Manufacturers and Suppliers and Agri-food. This distribution is important because it shows an economy supported simultaneously by digital and industrial investment.
Regionally, Bucharest-Ilfov remains the leader by volume, with 45 projects, but with a reduced job intensity of approximately 17 jobs/project, which reflects its profile of services, logistics and activities with value added that are less personnel-intensive. By contrast, the industrial regions generate a higher employment density. Romania therefore has two different FDI maps: one of volume, dominated by the capital, and one of industrial impact, dominated by regional and peripheral hubs.
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Chapter 2
2026: positive, but conditional confidence
The perception data for 2026 introduces a note of caution. Romania remains attractive, but investors no longer vote with the same enthusiasm as in 2023 or 2024. Only 52% of respondents expect Romania's attractiveness to increase over the next three years, compared with 58% in 2025 and 67% in 2024. At the same time, 18% anticipate a decline, compared with 13% in 2025. The picture is not one of withdrawal, but of conditional confidence: Romania remains on the radar, but no longer receives automatic credit for potential.
The concrete investment appetite confirms the same moderation. The share of companies planning to establish or expand their operations in Romania over the next year fell to 41%, from 44% in 2025 and 63% in 2023. In parallel, 59% do not have such immediate plans. The good part is that the existing investor base appears stable: 66% have not changed their investment plans. The vulnerable part is that new decisions will depend more on policy clarity, macroeconomic stability, the speed of reforms and confidence that the state can deliver infrastructure and coherent rules.
The attractiveness factors remain known: availability and quality of the workforce, competitive taxation, labor and input costs, geographical position and access to markets. But investors' message is that these strengths are no longer sufficient. In a Europe where companies constantly compare the cost of energy, political risk, regulatory complexity, access to financing and the quality of infrastructure, Romania must compete less through promise and more through execution.
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Chapter 3
AI, Romania's next investment test: from digital talent to competitiveness
A new layer of competitiveness is AI. The perception is encouraging, but incomplete. 53% of respondents say that Romania's approach to AI has increased the country's attractiveness over the last three years.
Compared with global leaders such as the US and China, 39% see Romania as less attractive for AI investment, innovation and implementation, while 33% see it as more attractive. Romania is on the AI map, but it is not yet a convincing alternative to established ecosystems.
The priorities indicated by investors are very practical: 44% call for the improvement of technological infrastructure, including data centers and open databases, 41% indicate the need for more advanced technological skills, 40% call for better access to capital for AI companies at the scaling stage, 35% call for the simplification of AI regulation, and 32% want support for entrepreneurship through grants, incentives and innovation hubs. The cost of energy, mentioned by 29%, completes the picture. AI is not built only on IT talent, but needs energy, capital, clear regulation and public and private demand.
Summary
The lesson for 2026 is simple: investors are not looking for perfect markets, but credible markets. Romania demonstrated in 2025 that it can win projects in a weak European cycle, that it can generate jobs and that it can convince existing investors to expand. But in order to transform this recovery into a sustainable cycle, the country must reduce uncertainty, accelerate infrastructure, make public administration more efficient, keep energy competitive and better connect European funds, state aid and industrial priorities. Romania's attractiveness no longer depends only on how good the story is, but on how quickly it can be delivered.