Economy of Bucharest

Bucharest is the most economically-developed and industrialised city in Romania, producing around 21% of the country's GDP and about one-quarter of its industrial production, while only accounting for 9% of the country's population. [ [http://www.erionet.org/JIM%20Romania.htm Joint Inclusion Memorandum of Romania] ] Almost one third of national taxes is paid by Bucharest's citizens and companies. Based on local purchasing power, Bucharest has a per-capita GDP of 64.5% that of the European Union average (2004), and more than twice the Romanian average. [ [http://europa.eu.int/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=IP/05/935&type=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en Danuta Hübner pays a visit to Romania] (European Commission Press Release, 14 July 2005)] Based on the fact that Bucharest produces around 21% of Romanian GDP for a population of around 2 million, the GDP (PPP) per capita of the city would be US$30,057. The city's strong economic growth has revitalised infrastructure and led to the development of many shopping malls and modern residential towers and high-rise office buildings. In September 2005, Bucharest had an unemployment rate of 2.6%, significantly lower than the national unemployment rate of 5.7%. [ [http://www.insse.ro/ComuNou_sinteze/a05/sic10r05.pdf Major economic indicators of Romania in the period 1 January 2005-30 October 2005] , National Institute of Statistics of Romania, 9 December 2005 ro icon]

Bucharest's economy is mainly centred on industry and services, with services particularly growing in importance in the last ten years. The city serves as the headquarters of 186,000 firms, including nearly all large Romanian companies. [ [http://www.averea.ro/display.php?data=2005-12-16&id=13365 Toti bucurestenii vor avea dosar fiscal din 2006] , "Averea", 15 December 2005] An important source for growth since 2000 has been the city's property and construction boom, which has resulted in a significant growth in the construction sector. Bucharest is also Romania's largest centre for information technology and communications and is home to several software companies operating offshore delivery centers. Bucharest contains Romania's largest stock exchange, the Bucharest Stock Exchange, which was merged in December 2005 with the Bucharest-based electronic stock exchange, Rasdaq.

The city has a number of international supermarket chains such as Carrefour, Cora and METRO. At the moment, the city is undergoing a retail boom, with a large number of supermarkets, and hypermarkets, constructed every year. For more information, see supermarkets in Romania. The biggest modern shopping centres in Bucharest are Bucharest Mall, Plaza Romania, City Mall, Jolie Ville Galleria and Unirea Shopping Center. However, there are also a large number of traditional markets; the one at Obor covers about a dozen city blocks, and numerous large stores that are not officially part of the market effectively add up to a market district almost twice that size.

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