Romania is expected to see an economic increase of 1.7 percent this year, and 2.2 percent in 2014, ranking fourth for estimated GDP growth in Central and Eastern Europe in a recent World Bank report. The highest economic increase is expected to come in Latvia, of 3.6 percent, then second and third in Lithuania and Estonia, of 3 percent. Romania is likely to outpace its neighbor Bulgaria in 2013, which as expected to see an economic increase of 1.2 percent.

Should the numbers become reality, Romania's GDP increase will be higher than the EU 11 average – 0.8 percent. With the exception of Latvia, Lithuania, and Romania, the 2013 outlook for all EU11 countries has been downgraded.

In 2014, Romania should again have the fourth highest economic increase in the region, with Bulgaria and Poland very close behind (2.1 percent and 2 percent respectively).

Meanwhile, in the EU 15, an economic decrease of 0.2 percent is expected in 2013, followed by a turn around in 2014 and growth of 1.4 percent.

The same report underlines how Romania is perceived to be the most unfriendly to business country in the area, in a survey carried by the WB, while Romania, the Czech Republic, and Poland were all perceived to have institutional obstacles to doing business and experienced below average employment rates in the observed period. The full report is here.

editor@romania-insider.com