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(opens in new window) 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-right 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 - to fulfill the requirements for EU accession,
scheduled to take place in 2007 or 2008. Romania joined NATO in
March of 2004.
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and
Ukraine 46 00 N, 25 00 E
total: 237,500 sq km total: 2,508 km 225 km territorial sea: 12 nm temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny
summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms 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 lowest point: Black Sea 0 m petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore,
salt, arable land, hydropower
arable land: 39.49% 30,770 sq km (2003)
earthquakes, most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure
and climate promote landslides
soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in
south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta
wetlands controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans,
Moldova, and Ukraine
22,303,552 (July 2006 est.)
0-14 years: 15.7% (male 1,799,072/female 1,708,030) total: 36.6 years -0.12% (2006 est.)
10.7 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
11.77 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
-0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female total: 25.5 deaths/1,000 live births total population: 71.63 years 1.37 children born/woman (2006 est.)
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
6,500 (2001 est.)
350 (2001 est.)
noun: Romanian(s) 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) 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) Romanian (official), Hungarian, German
definition: age 15 and over can read and write conventional long form: none republic Bucharest 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
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) Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918)
8 December 1991; revision effective 29 October 2003
former mixture of civil law system and communist legal theory; is
now based on the constitution of France's Fifth Republic 18 years of age; universal
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 Camera Deputatilor (332 seats; members are
elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation
basis to serve four-year terms) Supreme Court of Justice (comprised of 11 judges appointed for
three-year terms by the president in consultation with the Superior
Council of Magistrates, which is comprised of the minister of
justice, the prosecutor general, two civil society representatives
appointed by the Senate, and 14 judges and prosecutors elected by
their peers); a separate body, the Constitutional Court, validates
elections and makes decisions regarding the constitutionality of
laws, treaties, ordinances, and internal rules of the Parliament; it
is comprised of nine members serving nine-year terms, with three
members each appointed by the president, the Senate, and the Chamber
of Deputies 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 GDP 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. IMF concerns
about Romania's tax policy and budget deficit led to a breakdown of
this agreement in 2005. In the past, the IMF has criticized the
government's fiscal, wage, and monetary policies. Meanwhile,
macroeconomic gains have only recently started to spur creation of a
middle class and address Romania's widespread poverty, while
corruption and red tape continue to handicap the business
environment. Romanian government confidence in continuing
disinflation was underscored by its currency revaluation in 2005,
making 10,000 "old" lei equal 1 "new" leu.
$186.7 billion (2005 est.)
$72.09 billion (2005 est.)
4.5% (2005 est.)
$8,400 (2005 est.)
agriculture: 13.1% 9.31 million (2005 est.)
agriculture: 31.6% 5.5% (2005 est.)
25% (2005 est.)
lowest 10%: 2.4% 28.8 (2003)
8.6% (2005) 23.5% of GDP (2005 est.)
revenues: $29.97 billion 21.1% of GDP (2005 est.)
wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes;
eggs, sheep textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining,
timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food
processing, petroleum refining 2.5% (2005 est.)
51.7 billion kWh (2003)
45.16 billion kWh (2003)
3.3 billion kWh (2003)
380 million kWh (2003)
119,000 bbl/day (2005 est.)
235,000 bbl/day (2003 est.)
1.055 billion bbl (1 January 2002)
12.3 billion cu m (2003 est.)
18 billion cu m (2003 est.)
5.4 billion cu m (2001 est.)
100.7 billion cu m (1 January 2002)
-$9.541 billion (2005 est.)
$27.72 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
textiles and footwear, metals and metal products, machinery and
equipment, minerals and fuels, chemicals, agricultural products
Italy 21.4%, Germany 15%, France 8.5%, Turkey 7%, UK 6.6% (2004)
$38.15 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
machinery and equipment, fuels and minerals, chemicals, textile and
products, basic metals, agricultural products Italy 17.2%, Germany 14.9%, France 7.1%, Russia 6.8%, Turkey 4.2%
(2004) $22.77 billion (2005 est.)
$29.47 billion (2005 est.)
leu (ROL) is being phased out in 2006; "new" leu (RON) was
introduced in 2005 due to currency revaluation: 10,000 ROL = 1 RON
calendar year
4,389,100 (2004)
10,215,400 (2004)
general assessment: rapidly improving domestic and
international service, especially in wireless telephony AM 40, FM 202, shortwave 3 (1998)
48 (plus 392 repeaters) (1995)
.ro 56,188 (2005) 4.5 million (2004)
61 (2005) total: 25 total: 36 1 (2005) gas 3,508 km; oil 2,427 km (2004)
total: 11,385 km (3,888 km electrified) total: 198,817 km 1,731 km total: 24 ships (1000 GRT or over) 204,803 GRT/255,382 DWT
Braila, Constanta, Galati, Tulcea
Land Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces (AMR), Special
Operations, Civil Defense (2005) 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
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 |
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