| World Regions |
|
Africa Middle East Europe Asia North America Central America The Caribbean South America Oceania World Map Cities Maps Flags Embassies Consulates |
| |
| 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. Currently, the Social Democratic Party forms a nominally minority government, which governs with the support of the opposition Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania. Bucharest must address rampant corruption, while invigorating lagging economic and democratic reforms, before it can achieve its hope of joining the European Union. Romania did join NATO in March of 2004. |
| 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; republic proclaimed 30 December 1947) |
| 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 Ion ILIESCU (since 20 December 2000) elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 November 2000, with runoff between the top two candidates held 10 December 2000 (next to be held 28 November 2004 [first round] and 12 December 2004 [second round]); prime minister appointed by the president head of government: Prime Minister Adrian NASTASE (since 29 December 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister election results: percent of vote - Ion ILIESCU 66.84%, Corneliu Vadim TUDOR 33.16% |
| Legislative branch: | bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (140 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 (345 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held 28 November 2004); Chamber of Deputies - last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held 28 November 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDSR (now PSD) 37.1%, PRM 21.0%, PD 7.6%, PNL 7.5%, UDMR 6.9%; seats by party - PSD 65, PRM 36, PNL 13, UDMR 12, PD 9, independents 5; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PDSR (now PSD) 36.6%, PRM 19.5%, PD 7.0%, PNL 6.9%, UDMR 6.8%; seats by party - PSD 171, PRM 69, PD 29, PNL 27, UDMR 27, ethnic minorities 18, independents 4 |
| 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 [Traian BASESCU]; 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 [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), MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, 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 |
| 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 (2003 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 16 December, 2004 |
| Categories | |
|