Bloomberg: EU’s Fastest Growth Rate Masks Deepest Level of Deprivation

Romania’s substantial economic growth, of 8.8 percent in the third quarter of 2017, stands in sharp contrast with the high rate of social deprivation recorded in Romania reported earlier this week by Eurostat, Bloomberg writes.

“Romania may have the European Union’s fastest-growing economy, but it’s also unrivaled in a less flattering indicator: social deprivation,” the article reads.

“One in two Romanians cited problems including an inability to keep their homes warm or afford a meal with meat or fish every other day, according to a Eurostat report this week.”

“Despite Bulgaria being the bloc’s poorest country in terms of gross domestic product per capita, Romania fared worse than its neighbor in the annual deprivation survey. The data show some ex-communist EU members will need to maintain their recent economic outperformance to significantly narrow the wealth gap with the continent’s richer west. That may not be easy”, the authors argue.