III.

Bucharest’s Economy

Bucharest is a major industrial center and the main financial and trade center of Romania. Bucharest’s economy grew rapidly in the 2000s, spurred by Romania’s efforts to achieve full membership in the European Union in 2007. Foreign investment flowed into the country in the 2000s, and a construction boom followed. A severe housing shortage had been one of the legacies of Romania’s Communist era, and many of the apartment complexes begun by the Communist regime were left unfinished at the time of its fall in 1989. Since that time high-rise buildings have gone up in the city and its suburbs.

Bucharest’s industries include machinery and equipment, electronics, chemicals, textiles, and food processing. Service industries have assumed growing importance since the 1990s, and the city has become a center of banking, finance, and telecommunications.