According to ARICE – The Romanian Agency for Investment and Foreign Trade, the IT sector has recently contributed with 8% of the gross value added of Romania. More than 200000 experts work in IT across the country building up one of the biggest technology talent pools in Central and Eastern Europe. Over more, Romania currently hosts +200 Software development centers and has a 6.9% quota of yearly ICT graduates, among the highest shares in the EU.
The IT services exports were around EURO 10 billion annually in the previous years, showing a mature export-oriented industry serving international clients. The same sector attracted direct investments of EURO 5 billion in 2024.
Data Summary
- ICT sector contribution to economy: 8% of gross value added
- IT services exports: >EURO 10 billion / year
- IT workforce: +200000 professionals
- ICT graduates: 6.9% of total graduates
- Fiber broadband coverage: among top EU countries
What this data indicates? We will outline three distinctive traits in the further paragraphs: talent quality, cost advantages and high-value engineering hub.
Talent Quality
Romania is one of the countries with long tradition in mathematics, engineering and computer science. Universities in Romania yield thousands of graduates each year in software engineering, cybersecurity, IT and related fields. Recently AI has been included in the curricula of elite academic centers such as Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, iași and Timișoara. They also constitute the main pipelines for specialized workforce in the IT field.
That is why Romania strikes as a unique combination of quantity with quality, in terms of labor pool.
Cost Advantages
Definitely no longer, one of the “low cost” destinations, Romania still holds considerable advantages compared to western European economies and to US economy.
- Senior software engineers typically cost around 30% – 40% less than equivalent talent in western European countries, depending on the technology stack and on the location.
- Compared to US, software engineering can be sourced 40% – 50% lower, and still working in a EU legal framework.
The above comparisons are common and well known by software development services procurement specialists. What is new, is that Middle East and Asian companies, also find Romania as a good quality/price ratio for their software development products.
Romania has the strategic position of being in the EU and at the entry-point to the European market. That is why, Romanian companies are also familiar with various taxation conditions and know how to initiate strategic partnerships across continents.
High-Value Engineering Hub
Taking into consideration the academic background, the training culture at the workplace and the cost advantages, Romania shifted from a low-cost outsourcing destination to a high-valua engineering hub.
The main reason for this shift is the strong balance of technical knowledge, multiple languages communication skills, and regulations framework in tandem with process efficiency.
Romania brings along:
- Expertise in custom software development, AI and ML< cloud engineering, cybersecurity and embedded systems.
- English proficiency and additional spoken languages: German, French, Italian, Hungarian, Spanish.
- EU level GDPR compliance
- Easy contracting conditions
- Convenient time zones
- Mature outsourcing and nearshoring ecosystem
- Stable infrastructure
All the above makes Romania attractive for both investors and business partners in the ITC field. More market information is available at request.
Get in touch with our team to learn more about how to start doing software outsourcing, offshoring or nearshoring in Romania, in 2026.
