Romania's middle class up by 10pp since EU accession to 61% of total population in 2023
<p>Romania's middle class, defined as the part of the population with disposable income between 75% and 200% of the country's median, has grown by 10 percentage points since joining the EU, accounting for 61% of the country's population in 2023, according to an analysis carried out by Ella Kállai, chief economist of Alpha Bank Romania.</p>

<p>Despite the growth, the largest in the region, the size of the middle class remained the second lowest in the region after Bulgaria.</p>

<p>"The 10pp increase was the largest expansion in the region due to both the reduction in the share of the high-income class from 14% in 2007 to 8% in 2023 and the reduction in the share of the low-income class from 35% in 2007 to 31% in 2023," reads the report cited by <a href="https://cursdeguvernare.ro/clasa-de-mijloc-a-romaniei-urca-la-61-din-populatie-cum-arata-statele-ece-si-cum-a-scazut-inegalitatea-veniturilor-din-romania.html?mc_cid=a47738c6ac&amp;mc_eid=cd1f92f96c" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Cursdeguvernare.ro</a>.</p>

<p>In Hungary, the middle class contracted to 65% in 2023 from 70% in 2007. The middle class is the largest (72%) in the Czech Republic, followed by Poland, where it grew to 67% from 60% in 2007.</p>

<p>"Compared to older EU member states such as Greece and Italy, the middle class in the region tends to be larger and income inequality less," Kállai points out.</p>

<p><em>iulian@romania-insider.com</em></p>

<p><em>(Photo source: Radub85/Dreamstime.com)</em></p>