Each Romanian has an average wealth of EUR 1,182, ranking last among the countries in the region, shows a report of the Italian Group UniCredit. The closest ranking country is Kazakhstan, where each person has a financial asset of EUR 1,460.

The wealth of the population in Romania is also low as a ratio of the GDP compared to other countries in the region. Thus, the wealth of the population will climb this year at a new level of 18.9 percent of GDP in Romania, mainly due to higher savings, while debt will stagnate. Population’s financial assets should climb to 39.6 percent of GDP this year, two points above the 2010 level, according to the report.

Bank deposits will remain the main instrument of saving, but their share will drop to 59 percent of the financial assets this year, from 63 percent in 2010.

"Alternative forms of savings, notably pension funds and mutual funds are likely to outperform growth in traditional instruments such as bank deposits, although the latter will retain their majority stake in total financial wealth," said Rozalia Pal, economist with UniCredit, quoted in the report. "We see room for stable accumulation of household financial wealth going forward, backed by a more supportive economic environment," Pal went on.

Read the full report here.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: sxc.hu)