Inflation
The pace at which prices rise: the higher it is, the less each leu buys.
What is inflation?
Inflation is the pace at which the things a household buys get more expensive, on average. If inflation was 5% in a year, a basket of shopping that cost 100 lei at the start of the year costs 105 lei at the end. The money in your wallet is the same, but it buys less.
In Romania inflation is measured by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). Every month its staff record the prices of hundreds of goods and services, from bread and rent to train tickets, and weight each price by its share of an ordinary family's spending.
A basket that cost 100 lei at the start of 2007 cost 256 lei in July 2026. Anyone who kept 100 lei in a drawer all that time can buy with it about what 39 lei bought at the start of 2007.
Low, steady inflation is not a problem in itself. The National Bank of Romania aims for 2.5% a year, give or take one percentage point. The trouble starts when savings stand still and prices do not.
At 5% inflation a year, 1,000 lei kept in cash buys, after ten years, what 614 lei buys today.
Inflation calculator: what an old sum is worth today
100 lei in 2005 had the same buying power as 256 lei in 2025.
Calculated with annual averages of the consumer price index (INS). Sums before July 2005 are in new lei: divide old lei by 10,000.
Inflation in Romania, year by year
| Year | Average inflation | 100 lei of that year, in 2025 lei |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 7.3% | 100 lei |
| 2024 | 5.6% | 107 lei |
| 2023 | 10.4% | 113 lei |
| 2022 | 13.8% | 125 lei |
| 2021 | 5.1% | 142 lei |
| 2020 | 2.6% | 150 lei |
| 2019 | 3.8% | 154 lei |
| 2018 | 4.6% | 159 lei |
| 2017 | 1.3% | 167 lei |
| 2016 | −1.5% | 169 lei |
| 2015 | −0.6% | 166 lei |
| 2014 | 1.1% | 165 lei |
| 2013 | 4.0% | 167 lei |
| 2012 | 3.3% | 174 lei |
| 2011 | 5.8% | 180 lei |
| 2010 | 6.1% | 190 lei |
| 2009 | 5.6% | 202 lei |
| 2008 | 7.9% | 213 lei |
| 2007 | 4.8% | 230 lei |
| 2006 | 6.5% | 241 lei |
| 2005 | 9.1% | 256 lei |
| 2004 | 11.8% | 280 lei |
| 2003 | 15.2% | 313 lei |
| 2002 | 22.5% | 360 lei |
| 2001 | 34.5% | 441 lei |
| 2000 | 45.6% | 594 lei |
| 1999 | 45.9% | 865 lei |
| 1998 | 59.1% | 1,261 lei |
| 1997 | 154.8% | 2,006 lei |
| 1996 | 38.9% | 5,111 lei |
| 1995 | 32.3% | 7,097 lei |
| 1994 | 136.8% | 9,385 lei |
| 1993 | 256.1% | 22,220 lei |
| 1992 | 210.4% | 79,130 lei |
| 1991 | 222.8% | 245,586 lei |
For 1991, the rise from December 1990 to December 1991. Source: INS.
What has inflation been in Romania in recent years?
Average annual inflation was 13.8% in 2022, 10.4% in 2023, 5.6% in 2024 and 7.3% in 2025, from INS indices. The table below has every year since 1991.
How do I work out what an old sum is worth today?
Divide today's price level by the level in the year of the sum and multiply. The calculator on this page does it with INS indices for any year from 1991 to 2025.
Is low inflation a bad thing?
Not necessarily. The National Bank of Romania targets 2.5% a year, give or take a percentage point. What matters is whether your savings grow faster than prices.
Related terms
Sources
- INS, TEMPO-Online: consumer price indices (IPC101A, IPC102A, IPC102B, IPC102E) · statistici.insse.ro:8077
- BNR inflation target: 2.5% ± 1 percentage point · www.bnr.ro
This page explains mechanisms and shows what happened in the past. It does not recommend products, say what to buy, or take your situation into account.