The GBMA is part of the South East Region, ranking second in the national top of foreign direct investments, after the capital Bucharest, having a dynamic and diverse economy, based mainly on industry, trade and services, the latter representing a continuously expanding domain, the development trend of  the local economic environment  targeting mainly the services sector.
Economic activities are concentrated in urban centers, almost 80% of companies are in the cities of Galati and Braila, 99% of which having private capital, most of them conductig their activities in trade (around 50%), followed by manufacturing ( around 10%) and construction (around 8%). Together with the agriculture (around 4% by the number of companies), the share of economic activities in Galati-Braila area is about 4% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at national level and  about 33% at regional level, taking into account that the two cities recorded a GDP per capita below  4,000 €- the national average - in 2009, data provided by the National Institute of Statistics of Romania.
 
According to the existing data in the Central Registry of Commerce, in December 2010, Galati-Braila Area ranked 13 nationwide regarding the number of companies with foreign capital and the 6th place nationwide in terms of capital value of the companies with foreign capital.
 
Agriculture
The share of the agriculture in the GBMA’s economy declined in the latest years, reaching about 9%, confirming the gradual transition towards a service-based economy. Braila county has the highest percentage, with more than 10%, while the national share of the agriculture in economy is about 7% and at the European level is about 2%.
In terms of farmland production sectors, Braila stands out for animal production and agricultural services which far exceed the national average, while Galati has seen a significant increase in crop production, exceeding Braila, which also has values above the national average. Regarding the goods production, Galati-Braila area recorded outstanding results in the production of vegetables and leguminous plants (1st place nationally), vineyards and wine (3rd place nationally), cereals and industrial plants (3rd place nationally), pork and mutton (1st place nationally).
Due to the high potential of this area and the upward trend of agriculture, the local authorities are developing a project for transforming Tecuci area into a center for collecting, sorting and redistribution  the agricultural production, project that implies building a platform and infrastructure for this activity.
 
Industry
The share of industry in the economy of Galati-Braila area has been gradually reduced, reaching at the end of 2009 about 39%, the industry of Galati having a significant contribution, with a share of over 42%, as the national share is about 38% and the share of industry in economy at European level is about 20%.
As structure, the industry of Galati-Braila area is characterized by the dominance of manufacturing (3rd place nationally), benefiting in 2009 of 41% of the total local investments, followed by the shipping industry (2nd place nationally).
As the local industry recorded restrictions of the activity and even closing some business sectors, the new trend is to support the development of new technologies, cutting-edge technologies, such as non-conventional energy, IT, innovative industries, which together with telecommunications have been recording an upward trend.The most important investments in the Galati-Braila area:

       > the takeover of the Galati steel plant by Liberty Stell Group (GFG Alliance), operates in over 12 countries;
       > Damen Shipyard Galati - Damen Shipyard Galati, part of the Dutch Damen group;
       > Yazaki - auto parts factory, operates in over 46 countries.

Another sector of activity in which significant investments have been made is retail trade, through the emergence of large store chains such as Selgros, Kaufland, Penny Market, Metro, Carrefour, Brico, Winmarkt, Euromall.

In addition, the local authorities were involved in major projects to support the business environment by:

• creating specialized univerisities and research institutions;
• developing the Software Park in Galati - representing a  local economic strength and an attraction for foreign investors, having as objectives: the development of industry leading technologies, the development of the scientific technological and economy potential at regional level, to facilitate technology transfer and stimulate innovative technical and scientific potential;
• developing the Free Trade Zone and Industrial Park of Galati - to support and develop companies with innovative potential. The area's location  near the free zone and the border with Moldova and Ukraine, allows both river access, as well as rail and road acess;
• Intermodal Terminal, highlights the strategic position and technical facilities of the three ports of Galati with the creation of an intermodal fluvial maritime-railway terminal that will become a hub for the transport of goods between Asia and Western Europe, through the channel of Rhin-Main-Danube.