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Coface: Romania ranks second in region for lowest ratio of companies per 1000 inhabitants
Romania ranks second in Central and Eastern Europe for the lowest ratio of number of companies per 1000 inhabitants, according to a study carried out by Coface Romania regarding the maturity level of the Romanian business environment.
"After Serbia, Romania records the lowest ratio of companies per 1000 inhabitants in Central and European Europe, respectively 23. Still, that does not mean that the "entrepreneurship ratio" of Romania is only 2.3 pct. By "entrepreneurship ratio" we understand the number of individuals who have been shareholders at least one company, against the population of Romania. Thus, according to official records at the Registry of Commerce, approximately 3.22 million individuals have been direct shareholders of at least one company. Out of these, approximately 8 pct are individuals living abroad. That leaves us with 2,96 million Romanians who have owned at least a company in Romania, which implies a shareholding rate of almost 15 pct, one of the highest in Central and Eastern Europe. How can one explain this paradox: Romania records one of the highest rates of entrepreneurship, but, at the same time, the lowest proportion of the number of companies to the overall population," reads the document.
According to Coface, the Romanian entrepreneur is one of the most "combinative" in the region, the average number of shareholders involved in a company being of 2.5 individuals.
"The number of people actually capable to be involved in a company has dropped significantly in the last 20 years. Thus, according to the figures published by the National Statistics Institute (INS), the overall population in the group range 20-60 years in Romania was of 12.3 million in 1990, while their number decreased to 11.6 million in 2011 (according to the latest census), but the real level of those that are in Romania is probably of maximum 9 million. 6 out of 10 companies that are newly registered are owned by shareholders who have previously owned other companies or are directly/indirectly involved in a group of companies that activate alongside the respective firm. Therefore, we are not talking about new companies but about the same people who are engaged in the same activity with a different company. Half of the companies newly registered close down 5 to 10 years from their registration," mentions the cited source.