Guide to Romania Introduction Background: The principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia - for centuries under the suzerainty of the Turkish Ottoman Empire - secured their autonomy in 1856; they united in 1859 and a few years later adopted the new name of Romania. The country gained recognition of its independence in 1878. It joined the Allied Powers in World War I and acquired new territories following the conflict. In 1940, it allied with the Axis powers and participated in the 1941 German invasion of the USSR. Three years later, overrun by the Soviets, Romania signed an armistice. The post-war Soviet occupation led to the formation of a Communist "people's republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of dictator Nicolae CEAUSESCU, who took power in 1965, and his Securitate police state became increasingly oppressive and draconian through the 1980s. CEAUSESCU was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former Communists dominated the government until 1996, when they were swept from power by a fractious coalition of centrist parties. In 2000, the center-left Social Democratic Party (PSD) became Romania's leading party, governing with the support of the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR). The opposition center-right alliance formed by the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Democratic Party (PD) scored a surprise victory over the ruling PSD in December 2004 presidential elections. The PNL-PD alliance maintains a parliamentary majority with the support of the UDMR, the Humanist Party (PUR), and various ethnic minority groups. Although Romania completed accession talks with the European Union (EU) in December 2004, it must continue to address rampant corruption - while invigorating lagging economic and democratic reforms - before it can achieve its hope of joining the EU, tentatively set for 2007. Romania joined NATO in March of 2004.
Geography Location: Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine
Geographic coordinates: 46 00 N, 25 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total
Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries: total
Coastline: 225 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea
Climate: temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms
Terrain: central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain of Moldavia on the east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated from the Walachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps
Elevation extremes: lowest point
Natural resources: petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt, arable land, hydropower
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 28,800 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: earthquakes, most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides
Environment - current issues: soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta wetlands
Environment - international agreements: party to
Geography - note: controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine
People Population: 22,329,977 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: -0.12% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 10.7 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 11.74 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 1.36 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 6,500 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 350 (2001 est.)
Nationality: noun
Ethnic groups: Romanian 89.5%, Hungarian 6.6%, Roma 2.5%, Ukrainian 0.3%, German 0.3%, Russian 0.2%, Turkish 0.2%, other 0.4% (2002 census)
Religions: Eastern Orthodox (including all sub-denominations) 86.8%, Protestant (various denominations including Reformate and Pentecostal) 7.5%, Roman Catholic 4.7%, other (mostly Muslim) and unspecified 0.9%, none 0.1% (2002 census)
Languages: Romanian (official), Hungarian, German
Literacy: definition
Government Country name: conventional long form
Government type: republic
Capital: Bucharest
Administrative divisions: 41 counties (judete, singular - judet) and 1 municipality* (municipiu); Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor, Bistrita-Nasaud, Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti (Bucharest)*, Buzau, Calarasi, Caras-Severin, Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dimbovita, Dolj, Galati, Gorj, Giurgiu, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi, Ilfov, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea
Independence: 9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from the Ottoman Empire; independence recognized 13 July 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin; kingdom proclaimed 26 March 1881); 30 December 1947 (republic proclaimed)
National holiday: Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918)
Constitution: 8 December 1991; revision effective 29 October 2003
Legal system: former mixture of civil law system and communist legal theory; is now based on the constitution of France's Fifth Republic
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (137 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Adunarea Deputatilor (332 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) elections
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistrates, a board of eleven judges and six prosecutors elected by parliament)
Political parties and leaders: Conservative Party [Dan VOICULESCU], formerly Humanist Party or PUR; Democratic Party or PD [Emil BOC]; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; National Liberal Party or PNL [Calin Popescu TARICEANU]; Romania Mare Party (Greater Romanian Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Mircea Dan GEOANA], formerly Party of Social Democracy in Romania or PDSR
Political pressure groups and leaders: various human rights and professional associations
International organization participation: ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
Flag description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellow band has been removed; now similar to the flag of Chad, also resembles the flags of Andorra and Moldova
Economy Economy - overview: Romania began the transition from Communism in 1989 with a largely obsolete industrial base and a pattern of output unsuited to the country's needs. The country emerged in 2000 from a punishing three-year recession thanks to strong demand in EU export markets. Despite the global slowdown in 2001-02, strong domestic activity in construction, agriculture, and consumption have kept growth above 4%. An IMF standby agreement, signed in 2001, has been accompanied by slow but palpable gains in privatization, deficit reduction, and the curbing of inflation. The IMF Board approved Romania's completion of the standby agreement in October 2003, the first time Romania has successfully concluded an IMF agreement since the 1989 revolution. In July 2004, the executive board of the IMF approved a 24-month standby agreement for $367 million. The Romanian authorities do not intend to draw on this agreement, however, viewing it simply as a precaution. Meanwhile, recent macroeconomic gains have done little to address Romania's widespread poverty, while corruption and red tape continue to handicap the business environment.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $171.5 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 8.1% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $7,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 9.66 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 31.6%, industry 30.7%, services 37.7% (2004)
Unemployment rate: 6.3% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: 28.9% (2002)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 28.8 (2003)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.6% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 23.3% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Public debt: 23.6% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products: wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; eggs, sheep
Industries: textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food processing, petroleum refining
Industrial production growth rate: 4% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production: 56.53 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 57.5 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - exports: 3.046 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - imports: 962 million kWh (2003)
Oil - production: 128,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption: 253,800 bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports: NA
Oil - imports: NA
Oil - proved reserves: 1.055 billion bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production: 12.6 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 18.5 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 5.4 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 111.1 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance: $-3.631 billion (2004 est.)
Exports: $23.54 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: textiles and footwear, metals and metal products, machinery and equipment, minerals and fuels, chemicals, agricultural products
Exports - partners: Italy 21.4%, Germany 15%, France 8.5%, Turkey 7%, UK 6.6% (2004)
Imports: $28.43 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, fuels and minerals, chemicals, textile and products, basic metals, agricultural products
Imports - partners: Italy 17.2%, Germany 14.9%, France 7.1%, Russia 6.8%, Turkey 4.2% (2004)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $16.21 billion (2004)
Debt - external: $24.59 billion (2004 est.)
Currency (code): leu (ROL)
Currency code: ROL
Exchange rates: lei per US dollar - 32,637 (2004), 33,200 (2003), 33,055 (2002), 29,061 (2001), 21,709 (2000)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 4.3 million (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 6.9 million (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: AM 40, FM 202, shortwave 3 (1998)
Radios: 7.2 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 48 (plus 392 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions: 5.25 million (1997)
Internet country code: .ro
Internet hosts: 50,807 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 38 (2000)
Internet users: 4 million (2003)
Transportation Railways: total
Highways: total
Waterways: 1,731 km (2004)
Pipelines: gas 3,508 km; oil 2,427 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Braila, Constanta, Galati, Tulcea
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 61 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Heliports: 1 (2004 est.)
Military Military branches: Land Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces (AMR), Special Operations, Civil Defense (2005)
Military service age and obligation: 20 years of age for compulsory military service, 18 in wartime; conscript service obligation - 12 months; 18 years of age for voluntary military service (2004)
Manpower available for military service: males age 20-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 20-49
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $985 million (2002)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.47% (2002)
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: Romania and Ukraine have taken their dispute over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary to the ICJ for adjudication; Romania also opposes Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the Danube border through Ukraine to the Black Sea; Hungary amended the status law extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Romania, to which Romania had objected
Illicit drugs: major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and small amounts of Latin American cocaine bound for Western Europe; although not a significant financial center, role as a narcotics conduit leaves it vulnerable to laundering which occurs via the banking system, currency exchange houses, and casinos
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
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