Cluj expanded rapidly between 2015 and 2023, yet another county tops Romania’s nominal growth table. Mehedinți recorded a 152.08% increase in GDP measured in euros, ahead of Cluj’s 144.12%.
Change the question to output per resident and Bucharest leads, at €48,900 in 2023, almost twice Cluj’s level.
We compared all 41 counties and the municipality of Bucharest using one Eurostat dataset and the same two years. The results distinguish economic size, growth and output per resident.
The complete table and downloadable data make every entry traceable.
Which are Romania’s richest counties? Choose the measure first
GDP per capita places Bucharest first at €48,900, followed by Cluj at €24,700, Timiș at €22,000, Brașov at €19,700 and Gorj at €18,600.
Bucharest is a municipality, listed alongside the 41 counties. At the lower end are Vaslui at €7,500, then Botoșani and Giurgiu, both at €8,000.
This ranking measures output relative to population. Household income, average pay and accumulated wealth answer different questions. Commuters contribute to output where they work, potentially outside their place of residence, while company earnings are distributed differently from wages. A claim about the “richest counties” therefore needs an explicit measure.
Complete county table: GDP in 2015 and 2023
Rows run from highest to lowest GDP per capita in 2023. Ties remain ties; the Eurostat code merely determines their display order. Total GDP is shown in billions of euros, rounded to two decimals. On a phone, scroll horizontally to see the remaining columns.
| County / municipality · code | 2015, €bn | 2023, €bn | Nominal growth | Increase, €bn | €/person 2015 | €/person 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| București · RO321 | 39.81 | 84.23 | 111.57% | 44.42 | 21,500 | 48,900 |
| Cluj · RO113 | 6.99 | 17.05 | 144.12% | 10.07 | 10,000 | 24,700 |
| Timiș · RO424 | 7.61 | 14.55 | 91.23% | 6.94 | 10,900 | 22,000 |
| Brașov · RO122 | 5.29 | 10.94 | 106.73% | 5.65 | 9,600 | 19,700 |
| Gorj · RO412 | 2.54 | 5.77 | 126.82% | 3.23 | 7,700 | 18,600 |
| Sibiu · RO126 | 3.51 | 7.15 | 103.66% | 3.64 | 8,800 | 18,200 |
| Constanța · RO223 | 7.37 | 11.78 | 59.76% | 4.41 | 10,800 | 17,900 |
| Ilfov · RO322 | 4.27 | 9.45 | 121.31% | 5.18 | 9,800 | 16,500 |
| Alba · RO121 | 2.65 | 5.05 | 90.15% | 2.39 | 7,900 | 15,500 |
| Arad · RO421 | 3.48 | 6.29 | 80.67% | 2.81 | 8,200 | 15,300 |
| Prahova · RO316 | 6.89 | 10.47 | 51.89% | 3.58 | 9,300 | 15,200 |
| Argeș · RO311 | 4.38 | 8.18 | 86.88% | 3.80 | 7,300 | 14,500 |
| Iași · RO213 | 4.90 | 10.84 | 121.31% | 5.94 | 6,200 | 14,000 |
| Tulcea · RO225 | 1.25 | 2.65 | 112.29% | 1.40 | 6,100 | 13,900 |
| Caraș-Severin · RO422 | 1.75 | 3.31 | 89.59% | 1.57 | 6,100 | 13,600 |
| Bihor · RO111 | 3.64 | 7.51 | 105.99% | 3.86 | 6,400 | 13,500 |
| Hunedoara · RO423 | 2.49 | 4.77 | 91.82% | 2.28 | 6,200 | 13,400 |
| Mureș · RO125 | 3.51 | 6.86 | 95.40% | 3.35 | 6,400 | 13,200 |
| Vâlcea · RO415 | 2.20 | 4.46 | 102.64% | 2.26 | 6,100 | 13,100 |
| Dolj · RO411 | 3.91 | 7.78 | 99.04% | 3.87 | 6,100 | 13,000 |
| Sălaj · RO116 | 1.36 | 2.69 | 97.54% | 1.33 | 6,200 | 12,700 |
| Mehedinți · RO413 | 1.15 | 2.91 | 152.08% | 1.76 | 4,500 | 12,600 |
| Harghita · RO124 | 1.66 | 3.58 | 116.03% | 1.92 | 5,400 | 12,200 |
| Brăila · RO221 | 1.73 | 3.33 | 92.86% | 1.60 | 5,600 | 12,100 |
| Covasna · RO123 | 1.15 | 2.36 | 105.40% | 1.21 | 5,500 | 11,800 |
| Maramureș · RO114 | 2.71 | 5.31 | 96.10% | 2.60 | 5,800 | 11,700 |
| Satu Mare · RO115 | 1.94 | 3.78 | 94.48% | 1.84 | 5,700 | 11,400 |
| Bacău · RO211 | 3.17 | 6.72 | 112.33% | 3.56 | 5,300 | 11,300 |
| Dâmbovița · RO313 | 2.91 | 5.36 | 84.36% | 2.45 | 5,700 | 11,200 |
| Buzău · RO222 | 2.32 | 4.39 | 89.47% | 2.07 | 5,300 | 11,000 |
| Bistrița-Năsăud · RO112 | 1.70 | 3.19 | 87.55% | 1.49 | 6,000 | 10,800 |
| Ialomița · RO315 | 1.37 | 2.61 | 90.75% | 1.24 | 5,100 | 10,500 |
| Neamț · RO214 | 2.21 | 4.68 | 112.05% | 2.47 | 4,800 | 10,400 |
| Galați · RO224 | 2.83 | 5.08 | 79.79% | 2.26 | 5,400 | 10,300 |
| Teleorman · RO317 | 1.71 | 3.23 | 88.85% | 1.52 | 4,800 | 10,200 |
| Olt · RO414 | 1.95 | 3.71 | 90.58% | 1.76 | 4,700 | 9,800 |
| Vrancea · RO226 | 1.63 | 3.21 | 96.94% | 1.58 | 4,900 | 9,700 |
| Suceava · RO215 | 2.91 | 5.84 | 101.11% | 2.94 | 4,600 | 9,100 |
| Călărași · RO312 | 1.28 | 2.34 | 82.32% | 1.06 | 4,300 | 8,400 |
| Botoșani · RO212 | 1.55 | 3.13 | 102.23% | 1.58 | 3,900 | 8,000 |
| Giurgiu · RO314 | 1.07 | 2.07 | 93.98% | 1.00 | 3,900 | 8,000 |
| Vaslui · RO216 | 1.43 | 2.77 | 94.53% | 1.35 | 3,700 | 7,500 |
The 42 rows keep Bucharest and Ilfov separate. Adding the combined Bucharest–Ilfov region would count them twice. The per-capita columns come directly from Eurostat’s EUR_HAB unit; we have not divided GDP by a separate 1 January population series.
Mehedinți grows fastest; Cluj adds more euros
Mehedinți rose from €1.15 billion to €2.91 billion. Cluj went from €6.99 billion to €17.05 billion. The former has the larger percentage increase; the latter added €10.07 billion, against €1.76 billion in Mehedinți. A small starting economy can move quickly up a percentage-growth ranking.
Gorj follows with growth of 126.82%. Iași and Ilfov are close, both showing 121.31% after rounding. The chart uses unrounded values to determine order. Differences of a few hundredths offer little basis for a story about one county beating another.
Total GDP records an outcome without isolating its causes. Explaining the contribution of industry, services, investment or demographic change would require additional evidence. This table alone cannot attribute growth to a particular sector or local policy.
Bucharest and Cluj-Napoca: geographic boundaries matter
Bucharest produced €84.23 billion in 2023, up from €39.81 billion in 2015: nominal growth of 111.57%. The published Bucharest–Ilfov aggregate reaches €93.68 billion, up 112.52%. Both definitions are useful, provided the geographic unit stays consistent throughout the comparison.
“Cluj-Napoca GDP” is too narrow a label for RO113. That code covers the whole county of Cluj, including places outside the city. Likewise, Timiș is larger than Timișoara. This analysis compares Romanian counties and Bucharest; it does not establish a league table of all European cities.
What growth says about purchasing power
These are nominal figures at each year’s prices, expressed in euros. Price movements and the leu/euro exchange rate contribute to the change alongside output. Cluj’s 144.12% growth does not mean residents can automatically purchase 2.44 times as much.
GDP per capita can also rise when population falls, even with slower output growth. Assessing living standards would require disposable income, housing costs and the distribution of earnings. Euros per resident and purchasing power standards, or PPS, are different units. This comparison uses euros throughout.
From regional growth to a personal budget
Consider a hypothetical renter earning 6,500 lei net each month. Rent costs 2,200 lei, other needs 2,400 lei and planned savings 650 lei, leaving 1,250 lei. A new 900 lei instalment would leave a 350 lei margin. A further 400 lei rent increase would turn that into a 50 lei shortfall.
The county’s GDP could keep growing throughout. A personal budget depends on actual income and outgoings. Regional data supply context; the amount available each month needs its own calculation. This example does not estimate a borrower’s eligibility or interest rate.
Start with personal budgeting and affordable repayments and planning savings. Our Romania GDP analysis separately covers the national picture and the outlook for 2026.
Method, limitations and citation
The source is Eurostat dataset nama_10r_3gdp, annual frequency, units MIO_EUR and EUR_HAB, for 2015 and 2023. The extraction dated 18 October 2026 includes the 42 Romanian NUTS 3 codes shown in the table. The dataset reports an update on 10 February 2026. The period is a historical comparison; 2023 is not presented as the current year.
Percentage growth is (GDP 2023 / GDP 2015 − 1) × 100. The absolute increase is the difference between the two values. For Cluj: (17,052.05 / 6,985.21 − 1) × 100 = 144.12%. The compound annual rate over eight years is about 11.8%, still a nominal euro-based rate.
Calculations use the published figures in millions before display rounding. The CSV retains the source’s two decimals for GDP and eight computed decimals for growth; those extra calculation digits do not create additional statistical precision. Per-capita GDP retains Eurostat’s published precision.
The published RO32 aggregate differs from RO321 + RO322 by €0.01 million in each year. The table uses the separate components, while the regional discussion cites the aggregate. This publication difference does not alter the rounded conclusions. Historical series may be revised.
Suggested citation: “Kreditano, Romanian county GDP 2015–2023, calculations and presentation based on Eurostat nama_10r_3gdp, retrieved 18 October 2026.” Retain the geographic area, year and unit when quoting a number. The CSV and chart below are free to download.