The general crisis that characterized the regime culminated in the last years of communism. The 1970s saw massive investments being made at a loss, as well as food shortages and a general lack of any type of product on the market.

In spite of limited resources, Nicolae Ceauşescu started a vast program of systematization. Entire neighborhoods were demolished and concrete blocks of flats were built instead. In the countryside, around 6.000 villages were destroyed. The 1966 decree banning abortion led to a population boom, but also to a rise in the number of institutionalized children, who had to endure disastrous conditions in care centers. At the same time, the mortality rate was high.

Although officially the regime denied the existence of political prisoners, during Ceauşescu's regime, there were people who were imprisoned for political reasons in Aiud penitentiary. In some cases, opponents and dissidents were forcibly thrown into psychiatric wards or convicted on charges of criminal offences.