NUTS-3 RO116 · Romania
Sălaj
Sălaj generates €2.9bn of GDP across 211.1k residents. Its Opportunity Index of 25.3/100 sits in the lower tier of EU regions, led by economic growth and livability. Its economy has grown +8.8%/yr over five years, with the employment rate down 1.5pp. On quality of life it ranks strongest for safety (69.7th EU percentile) and weakest for education (3.5th).
Long-run trajectory · EU percentile of real GDP per head, 1995–2024
Persistent laggard3 → 6 EU percentile since 1995 (+3 ranks)
Yearly EU-wide percentile of real GDP per head (ARDECO regional accounts, constant 2020 prices, derived over population). 50 = the EU median that year; percentiles are scale-free, so decades are directly comparable. See the backtest for what long-run prosperity ranks do — and don't — anticipate.
Mandate pillar profile · EU percentiles (screener dimensions)
Cost advantage96
Industrial base73
Resilience56
Energy cost52
Growth momentum49
Digital readiness39
Freight intensity28
Connectivity27
Quality of life24
Economic base16
Talent & skills14
Labour market13
Demographic outlook4
Governance2
Each bar is this region's EU percentile on a screener pillar (higher = better for siting; cost & energy are inverted so cheap scores high). These are the exact weights you tune in the Site Screener.
Opportunity Index · composite triage (experimental)
25.3
/ 100 · blends growth, livability, market access & scale · 4/4 pillars
Growth49
Livability24.1
Market access14
Economic scale14
Equal-weighted mean of four EU-percentile pillars (deliberately orthogonal: growth=trend, livability=quality, market=distance-weighted demand proxy, scale=absolute GDP). Experimental — a screening triage, not investment advice.
Resilience Index · downside / risk lens (experimental)
56.3
/ 100 · higher = more resilient to downturns · 4/4 pillars
GDP stability16
Labour stability74
Diversification84
Demographic stability51
Inverse of GDP-growth & unemployment volatility (since 2008, incl. 2009/2020 shocks), economic diversification (inverse HHI) and population stability — each EU-percentile-ranked. Higher withstands downturns better. Experimental.
Connectivity Index · transit · air · market access (experimental)
26.7
/ 100 · higher = better-connected · 3/3 facets
Transit density28
Airport access38
Market access14
Public-transport stop density, proximity to a major airport, and gravity access to surrounding economic mass — each EU-percentile-ranked. Higher = better-connected. Experimental.
Talent & Human Capital Index · skills base (experimental)
13.8
/ 100 · higher = deeper skills base than more EU regions · 4/4 facets
Young tertiary4
Lifelong learning20
Knowledge workers4
Scientists & engineers27
Young tertiary attainment (25–34), adult lifelong learning, knowledge-worker share and scientists & engineers — each EU-percentile-ranked. Higher = deeper talent pool. Experimental.
Quality of Life · composite (experimental)
24.1
/ 100 · EU-relative · 6/7 pillars
Economy10
Jobs23
Education3.5
Health5
Safety69.7
Connectivity33.5
Environment—
Equal-weighted percentile across 6 pillars vs all EU NUTS-3; lower-is-better indicators (crime, unemployment, mortality) inverted. Experimental — regional screening only.
Growth momentum · trend analytics
49
/ 100 momentum · EU-relative · 5/5 signals
GDP growth · 5-yr
+8.8%
CAGR, nominal
GDP growth · 10-yr
+8.5%
CAGR, nominal
Acceleration
+0.3 pp
5-yr vs 10-yr
vs country avg
-0.3 pp
inflation-adj.
Population · 5-yr
+0.1%
CAGR
Employment rate
-1.5 pp
5-yr change
Unemployment
+2.1 pp
5-yr change
Compound annual growth to the latest available year vs all EU NUTS-3; GDP is nominal EUR (“vs country avg” removes most national inflation). Screening signal, not a forecast.
Economic structure · gross value added by sector
Dominant: Trade · transport · ICT · 24.9%Diversified · HHI 2041
Agriculture 4.2%Industry 24.7%Construction 8.4%Trade · transport · ICT 24.9%Finance · real estate · prof. 16.7%Public · health · education 21.1%
Share of total GVA (latest year). HHI = sum of squared sector shares ×10,000; higher means a more concentrated, single-sector-dependent economy (more cyclicality risk).
Trends · 2009–2024
GDP (current prices)
€2,938M2024
9.3% 1y 8.8% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 14
Real GDP (2020 prices)
€2,198M2025
0.3% 1y 3.8% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 12
Population
211,1402025
0.2% 1y 0.1% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 43
Unemployment rate
5.8%2025
26.1% 1y 8.8% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 67
Employment
96,9902024
0.6% 1y 1.7% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 43
Productivity / employee
€33,7212025
11.3% 1y 10.0% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 5
Gross value added
€2,662M2024
8.5% 1y 8.8% 5y CAGR
EU percentile 14
All indicators · 86 more metrics (Eurostat, all-EU)
Economy
Gross value added, total (current prices)
€2,662M
2024 · EU pctl 14
GVA — agriculture, forestry & fishing (A)
€112M
2024 · EU pctl 41
GVA — industry (B–E)
€657M
2024 · EU pctl 20
GVA — manufacturing (C)
€616M
2023 · EU pctl 27
GVA — construction (F)
€225M
2024 · EU pctl 23
GVA — wholesale/retail, transport, ICT (G–J)
€663M
2024 · EU pctl 23
Net disposable household income per capita (NUTS-2 source)
€9,100
2023 · EU pctl 4 · NUTS-2 src
GDP per capita in PPS (purchasing-power adjusted)
23,100 PPS
2024 · EU pctl 16
GDP per capita (current prices, EUR)
€13,900
2024 · EU pctl 7
Gross fixed capital formation — investment (total economy)
€8,805M
2023 · EU pctl 30 · NUTS-2 src
Investment in manufacturing capex (GFCF, NACE C)
€1,026M
2023 · EU pctl 24 · NUTS-2 src
Compensation of employees (total wage bill)
€16,038M
2023 · EU pctl 25 · NUTS-2 src
GVA — real estate activities (L)
€294M
2024 · EU pctl 19
GVA — information & communication (J)
€39M
2024 · EU pctl 25
GVA — finance, real estate & professional (K–N)
€445M
2024 · EU pctl 12
GVA — public admin, health & education (O–U)
€561M
2024 · EU pctl 12
Real GDP (constant 2020 prices, incl. short-term forecast)
€2,198M
2025 · EU pctl 12
Labour productivity per person employed (EUR)
€33,721
2025 · EU pctl 5
Gross fixed capital formation, NUTS-3 (ARDECO)
€680M
2025 · EU pctl 14
Labour market
Employment, total persons
96,990
2024 · EU pctl 43
Self-employed persons
27,320
2023 · EU pctl 67
Employment in manufacturing (C)
18,180
2023 · EU pctl 52
Activity rate, 15–64 (NUTS-2 source)
68.4%
2025 · EU pctl 9 · NUTS-2 src
Youth unemployment rate (15–24)
28.3%
2025 · EU pctl 91 · NUTS-2 src
Unemployment rate 15-74, NUTS-3 native (ARDECO)
5.8%
2025 · EU pctl 67
Labour force aged 15+ (ARDECO)
90,800
2025 · EU pctl 37
Business demography
Active enterprises (business economy, all sizes)
12,203
2023 · EU pctl 46
Enterprise births
1,256
2023 · EU pctl 51
Enterprise deaths
923
2023 · EU pctl 47
3-year enterprise survival rate
8.9%
2023 · EU pctl 100
Innovation & R&D
R&D expenditure as % of GDP
0.3%
2023 · EU pctl 3 · NUTS-2 src
Employment in high-tech sectors (% of total)
3.3%
2025 · EU pctl 25 · NUTS-2 src
R&D personnel (% of active population, FTE)
0.2%
2023 · EU pctl 2 · NUTS-2 src
Education
Tertiary education attainment, age 25–64
18.6%
2025 · EU pctl 4 · NUTS-2 src
Tertiary attainment, age 25–34 (young talent pool)
22.8%
2025 · EU pctl 4 · NUTS-2 src
Adult participation in learning, age 25–64 (last 4 weeks)
7.5%
2025 · EU pctl 20 · NUTS-2 src
Knowledge workers — tertiary-educated & in science/tech (% of labour force)
15.4%
2025 · EU pctl 4 · NUTS-2 src
Scientists & engineers (% of labour force)
7.1%
2025 · EU pctl 27 · NUTS-2 src
Digital
Households with internet access
94.5%
2025 · EU pctl 39 · NUTS-2 src
Tourism
Nights spent at tourist accommodation (total)
75,068
2025 · EU pctl 2
Mobility
Passenger cars per 1,000 inhabitants
436 /1k pop
2024 · EU pctl 9 · NUTS-2 src
Distinct public-transport stop locations within the region (GTFS feeds, deduplicated across overlapping feeds by coordinate). A measure of transit-network extent.
230
CURRENT · EU pctl 27
Road freight loaded (annual, thousand tonnes)
4,051 kt
2025 · EU pctl 29
Public-transport stops per 100,000 inhabitants — transit service density relative to population (GTFS feeds, coordinate-deduplicated).
109
CURRENT · EU pctl 28
Motorway density (km per 1,000 km²)
3 km/1000km²
2024 · EU pctl 11 · NUTS-2 src
Distance from the region centroid to the nearest major (large) airport, in km - air-connectivity accessibility. Lower is better.
65
CURRENT · EU pctl 62
Number of major (large) airports within 100 km of the region centroid - air-hub catchment richness.
2
CURRENT · EU pctl 50
Demography
Population aged 15–64 (working age)
133,106
2025 · EU pctl 44
Population aged 65+
43,140
2025 · EU pctl 36
Population aged under 15
34,894
2025 · EU pctl 50
Median age of population
44.2 yrs
2025 · EU pctl 28
Old-age dependency ratio (65+ / 15–64)
32.4%
2025 · EU pctl 24
Crude rate of total population change
2.3 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 58
Crude rate of net migration plus adjustment
6.3 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 63
Crude birth rate
9.3 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 89
Crude death rate
13.4 /1k
2024 · EU pctl 77
Live births
1,970
2024 · EU pctl 53
Deaths
2,822
2024 · EU pctl 47
Total age-dependency ratio (young+old / 15-64)
58.6%
2025 · EU pctl 46
Total fertility rate (births per woman)
1.80
2024 · EU pctl 98
Population density (persons per km²)
55 /km²
2024 · EU pctl 19
Projected population, 2030–2040 (EUROPOP2019 baseline)
151,685
2100 · EU pctl 35
Health
Hospital beds per 100k inhabitants
753 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 93 · NUTS-2 src
Mortality, all causes (age-standardised rate)
1,857 /100k
2021 · EU pctl 95 · NUTS-2 src
Cancer mortality (age-standardised rate)
255 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 84 · NUTS-2 src
Safety & crime
Intentional homicides per 100k inhabitants
0.0 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 0
Robberies per 100k inhabitants
6.7 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 14
Burglaries per 100k inhabitants
93.5 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 18
Thefts per 100k inhabitants
149 /100k
2024 · EU pctl 7
Road traffic deaths per million inhabitants
65 /M pop
2024 · EU pctl 84 · NUTS-2 src
Governance & institutions
Government effectiveness, WGI score -2.5..2.5 (country)
0.20
2022 · EU pctl 2
Regulatory quality, WGI score -2.5..2.5 (country)
0.39
2022 · EU pctl 6
Rule of law, WGI score -2.5..2.5 (country)
0.44
2022 · EU pctl 12
Control of corruption, WGI score -2.5..2.5 (country)
0.07
2022 · EU pctl 4
Political stability & absence of violence, WGI score (country)
0.55
2022 · EU pctl 75
Energy
Industrial electricity price, 2-20 GWh band, excl. taxes (national)
€0.155/kWh
2025-S2 · EU pctl 48
Industrial gas price, 10-100k GJ band, excl. taxes (national)
€0.051/kWh
2025-S2 · EU pctl 39
Climate
Elevation at region centroid (Copernicus DEM)
326 m
CURRENT · EU pctl 64
Hot days ≥30°C (avg per year)
12 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 65
Frost days ≤0°C (avg per year)
87 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 80
Heavy-precipitation days ≥20mm (avg per year)
3 days/yr
CLIM_2014_2023 · EU pctl 44
Environment
Industrial facilities per 100k inhabitants (E-PRTR)
10.0 /100k
2023 · EU pctl 17
Population in the 100-year river floodplain (% of residents, EFAS × census grid)
3.2%
2021 · EU pctl 52
Similar regions · nearest peers on standardised NUTS-3 indicators
Other Romania regions