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Romania
Geography
People
Government
Economy
Communications
Transportation

 

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: 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:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 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: 40.57%
permanent crops: 2.4%
other: 57.03% (1998 est.)

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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol

Geography—note: controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine

People

Population: 22,271,839 (July 2003 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 16.9% (male 1,932,204; female 1,838,240)
15-64 years: 69% (male 7,634,481; female 7,739,232)
65 years and over: 14% (male 1,290,343; female 1,837,339) (2003 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.21% (2003 est.)

Birth rate: 10.79 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate: 12.25 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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: 0.7 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.62 years
male: 66.88 yea rs
female: 74.59 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.36 children born/woman (2003 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

Country name:
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Romania
local long form: none
local short form: Romania

Data code: RO

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

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 NA November/December 2004); 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 in the fall of 2004); Chamber of Deputies - last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held in the fall of 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 [Theodor STOLOJAN]; 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, ECE, 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, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, 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
chancery: 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851
FAX: [1] (202) 232-4748

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael E. GUEST
embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest
mailing address: American Embassy Bucharest, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5260 (pouch)
telephone: [40] (21) 210-4042
FAX: [40] (21) 210-0395
branch office: 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 flags of Andorra and Chad

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. Nonetheless, recent macroeconomic gains have done little to address Romania's widespread poverty, while corruption and red tape hinder foreign investment.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $169.3 billion (2002 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: 4.9% (2002 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2002 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 15%
industry: 35%
services: 50% (2001)

Population below poverty line: 44.5% (2000)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 25% (1998)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 22.5% (2002 est.)

Labor force: 9.9 million (1999 est.)

Labor force—by occupation: agriculture 40%, industry 25%, services 35% (1998)

Unemployment rate: 9% (1998 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $11.7 billion
expenditures: $12.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.)

Industries: textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food processing, petroleum refining

Industrial production growth rate: 6% (2002)

Electricity—production: 50.86 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity—production by source:
fossil fuel: 62.5%
hydro: 27.6%
nuclear: 9.9%
other: 0% (2001)

Electricity—consumption: 46.1 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity—exports: 1.6 billion kWh (2001)

Electricity—imports: 400 million kWh (2001)

Agriculture—products: wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; eggs, sheep

Exports: $13.7 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Exports—commodities: textiles and footwear, metals and metal products, machinery and equipment, minerals and fuels

Exports—partners: Italy 24.4%, Germany 15.5%, France 7.7%, UK 5.4%, US 5%, Turkey 4.4% (2002)

Imports: $16.7 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)

Imports—commodities: machinery and equipment 23%, fuels and minerals 12%, chemicals 9%, textile and products 19% (1999)

Imports—partners: Italy 20.2%, Germany 18.1%, France 6.6%, Russia 5.6%, Austria 4.9%, Hungary 4.1% (2002)

Debt—external: $13.7 billion (2002 est.)

Currency: leu (ROL)

Exchange rates: lei per US dollar - 33,055.4 (2002), 29,060.8 (2001), 21,708.7 (2000), 15,332.8 (1999), 8,875.58 (1998)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Communications

Telephones: 3.777 million (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 645,500 (1999)

Telephone system:
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: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)

Television broadcast stations: 48 (plus 392 repeaters) (1995)

Internet country code: .ro

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 38 (2000)

Internet users: 1 million (2002)

Transportation

Railways:
total: 11,385 km (3,888 km electrified)
standard gauge: 10,898 km 1.435-m gauge
broad gauge: 60 km 1.524-m gauge
narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (2002)

Highways:
total: 198,603 km
paved: 98,308 km (including 113 km of expressways)
unpaved: 100,295 km (2000)

Waterways: 1,724 km (1984)

Pipelines: gas 3,508 km; oil 2,427 km (2003)

Ports and harbors: Braila, Constanta, Galati, Mangalia, Sulina, Tulcea

Merchant marine:
total: 61 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 494,670 GRT/650,863 DWT
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Greece 1, Italy 5 (2002 est.)
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 39, container 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, railcar carrier 2, roll on/roll off 4

Airports: 65 (2002)

Airports—with paved runways:
total: 26
over 3,047 m: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 (2002)

Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 39
under 914 m: 25 (2002)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 12

Heliports: 1 (20002 est.)


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