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Introduction | Romania

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 full 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 | Romania

Location: | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine
Geographic coordinates: | 46 00 N, 25 00 E
Map references: | Europe
Area: | total: 237,500 sq km land: 230,340 sq km water: 7,160 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries: | total: 2,508 km border countries: Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km, Serbia and Montenegro 476 km, Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (east) 169 km
Coastline: | 225 km
Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
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: Black Sea 0 m highest point: Moldoveanu 2,544 m
Natural resources: | petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt, arable land, hydropower
Land use: | arable land: 40.82% permanent crops: 2.25% other: 56.93% (2001)
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: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
Geography - note: | controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine

People | Romania

Population: | 22,355,551 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 16.2% (male 1,861,801; female 1,770,746) 15-64 years: 69.4% (male 7,712,612; female 7,791,900) 65 years and over: 14.4% (male 1,330,994; female 1,887,498) (2004 est.)
Median age: | total: 36.1 years male: 34.7 years female: 37.5 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate: | -0.11% (2004 est.)
Birth rate: | 10.69 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate: | 11.69 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate: | -0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 27.24 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 30.41 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 71.12 years male: 67.63 years female: 74.82 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 1.35 children born/woman (2004 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: Romanian(s) adjective: Romanian
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)
Religions: | Eastern Orthodox (including all sub-denominations) 87%, Protestant 6.8%, Catholic 5.6%, other (mostly Muslim) 0.4%, unaffiliated 0.2% (2002)
Languages: | Romanian (official), Hungarian, German
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.4% male: 99.1% female: 97.7% (2003 est.)

Government | Romania

Country name: | conventional long form: none conventional short form: Romania local short form: Romania local long form: none
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*, 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 Turkey; 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 came into force 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: President Traian BASESCU (since 20 December 2004) elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 2004, with runoff between the top two candidates held 12 December 2004 (next to be held 28 November 2009 and 12 December 2009); prime minister appointed by the president head of government: Prime Minister Calin Popescu TARICEANU (since 29 December 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister election results: percent of vote - Traian BASESCU 51.23%, Adrian NASTASE 48.77%
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: Senate - last held 28 November 2004 (next to be held 28 November 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 28 November 2004 (next to be held 28 November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by alliance/party - PSD-PUR 37.1%, PNL-PD 31.8%, PRM 13.6%, UDMR 6.2%; seats by party - PSD 46, PNL 28, PD 21, PRM 21, PUR 11, UMDR 10; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by alliance/party - PSD-PUR 36.6%, PNL-PD 31.3%%, PRM 12.9%, UDMR 6.2%; seats by party - PSD 113, PNL 64, PD 48, PRM 48, UDMR 22, PUR 19, ethnic minorities 18
Judicial branch: | Supreme Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistrates)
Political parties and leaders: | Democratic Party or PD [Emil BOC]; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; Humanist Party or PUR [Dan VOICULESCU]; National Liberal Party or PNL [Calin Popescu TARICEANU]; Romania Mare Party (Greater Romanian Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Adrian NASTASE], formerly known as the 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), NSG, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, 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: Ambassador Sorin Dumitru DUCARU consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York FAX: [1] (202) 232-4748 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851 chancery: 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Jack Dyer CROUCH II embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest mailing address: American Embassy Bucharest, Department of State, 5260 Bucharest Place, Washington, DC 20521-5260 (pouch) telephone: [40] (21) 210-4042 FAX: [40] (21) 210-0395 branch office(s): Cluj-Napoca
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 | Romania

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, was 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 had successfully concluded an IMF agreement since the 1989 revolution. In July 2004, the Executive Board of the IMF approved a 24-month standby arrangement for $367 million. The Romanian authorities do not intend to draw on this arrangement, viewing it as a precaution. Meanwhile, recent macroeconomic gains have done little to address Romania's widespread poverty, and corruption and red tape handicap the business environment.
GDP: | purchasing power parity - $155 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 4.9% (2003 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $7,000 (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 13.1% industry: 38.1% services: 48.8% (2003)
Investment (gross fixed): | 22.5% of GDP (2003)
Population below poverty line: | 44.5% (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 25% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 31.1 (1998)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 15.3% (2003)
Labor force: | 9.28 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 41.4%, industry 27.3%, services 31.3% (2000)
Unemployment rate: | 7.2% (2003)
Budget: | revenues: $17.06 billion expenditures: $18.38 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
Public debt: | 25.5% of GDP (2003)
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: | 2.3% (2003)
Electricity - production: | 50.86 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - consumption: | 46.1 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: | 1.6 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: | 400 million kWh (2001)
Oil - production: | 127,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 215,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: | NA (2001)
Oil - imports: | NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves: | 1.055 billion bbl (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production: | 14.3 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 19.7 billion cu m (2001 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: | $-3.368 billion (2003)
Exports: | $17.63 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Exports - commodities: | textiles and footwear, metals and metal products, machinery and equipment, minerals and fuels, chemicals, agricultural products
Exports - partners: | Italy 24.3%, Germany 15.7%, France 7.4%, UK 6.7%, Turkey 5.1% (2003)
Imports: | $22.17 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities: | machinery and equipment, fuels and minerals, chemicals, textile and products, basic metals, agricultural products
Imports - partners: | Italy 19.6%, Germany 14.9%, Russia 8.3%, France 7.3% (2003)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold: | $10.37 billion (2003)
Debt - external: | $18.34 billion (2003 est.)
Currency: | leu (ROL)
Currency code: | ROL
Exchange rates: | lei per US dollar - 33,200.1 (2003), 33,055.4 (2002), 29,060.8 (2001), 21,708.7 (2000), 15,332.8 (1999)
Fiscal year: | calendar year

Communications | Romania

Telephones - main lines in use: | 4.3 million (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 6.9 million (2003)
Telephone system: | general assessment: poor domestic service, but improving domestic: 90% of telephone network is automatic; trunk network is mostly microwave radio relay, with some fiber-optic cable; about one-third of exchange capacity is digital; roughly 3,300 villages have no service international: country code - 40; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; new digital, international, direct-dial exchanges operate in Bucharest; note - Romania is an active participant in several international telecommunication network projects (1999)
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 | Romania

Railways: | total: 11,385 km (3,888 km electrified) standard gauge: 10,898 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (2003) broad gauge: 60 km 1.524-m gauge
Highways: | total: 198,603 km paved: 98,308 km (including 113 km of expressways) unpaved: 100,295 km (2000)
Waterways: | 1,731 km (2004)
Pipelines: | gas 3,508 km; oil 2,427 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: | Braila, Constanta, Galati, Mangalia, Sulina, Tulcea
Merchant marine: | total: 45 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 395,350 GRT/510,232 DWT registered in other countries: 39 (2004 est.) foreign-owned: Greece 1, Italy 2 by type: bulk 7, cargo 26, container 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 4, rail car carrier 2, roll on/roll off 4
Airports: | 62 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 25 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 36 under 914 m: 24 (2004 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10
Heliports: | 1 (2003 est.)

Military | Romania

Military branches: | Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces (AMR), Civil Defense
Military manpower - military 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)
Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 5,952,834 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 5,007,375 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 163,577 (2004 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $985 million (2002)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 2.47% (2002)

Transnational Issues | Romania

Disputes - international: | has not resolved claims to Ukrainian-administered Zmyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary despite ongoing talks based on 1997 friendship treaty to find a solution in two years; Hungary amended status law extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Romania, who had objected to the law
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

This page was last updated on 10 February, 2005