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Romania

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Romania (formerly spelled Rumania or Roumania) is a country in southeastern Europe. The name Romania comes from Rome or the (Eastern) Roman Empire and represents the country's origins. Romania is bordered by Ukraine and Moldova in the northeast, Hungary and Serbia in the west and Bulgaria to the south. Romania also has a small sea coast on the Black Sea.

Some Greek intellectuals have argued that the medieval Byzantine Empire should more properly be called Romania, but this has not caught on.

România
Flag of Romania Romanian Coat of Arms
(In Detail) (Full size)
National motto: none
Location of Romania
Official languageRomanian
CapitalBucharest
PresidentIon Iliescu
Prime MinisterAdrian Năstase
Area
 - Total
 - % water		Ranked 78th
238,391 km²
3.0%
Population
 - Total (2002)
 - Density		Ranked 49th
21,698,181
91.3/km²
IndependenceMay 9, 1877
CurrencyLeu
Time zoneUTC +2/+3
National anthemDeşteaptă-te, Române!
Internet TLD.RO
Calling Code40

History

Main article: History of Romania

The Dacians were defeated by the Roman Empire in 106, which marked the beginning of a succession of invasions of Romania, although the rulers usually allowed a high degree of autonomy.

In the Middle Ages Romanians lived in three distinct principalities: Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania. The first two were under the influence of the Ottoman Empire, but with internal autonomy, the third at first belonged to Hungary, also having a large autonomy, then to Austria-Hungary.

The modern Romania was born when the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia merged in 1859, and became independent in 1877. The country was expanded after World War I, when Transylvania, Bucovina and Bassarabia were included.

Parts of Romania were incorporated by the Soviet Union in 1940, mostly comprising the present-day country of Moldova with small portions assigned to Ukraine. After the Second World War, Romania became a communist nation under pressure of the Soviet Union.

The decades-long reign of president Nicolae Ceauşescu was ended with an uprising in late 1989, although ex-communists continue to be present in the democratically elected government.

See also: Kings of Romania

Politics

Main article: Politics of Romania

The legislative branch of the Romanian government consists of two chambers, the Senat (Senate), which has 143 members, and the Camera Deputaţilor (Chamber of Deputies), which has 343 members. The members of both chambers are chosen in elections held every four years.

The president, the head of the executive branch, is also elected by popular vote, every five years (until 2004 - four years). The president appoints a prime minister, who will head the council of ministers, whom are in turn appointed by the prime minister.

Counties

Administrative map of Romania
Administrative map of Romania | full-size version

Main article: Counties of Romania

Romania is divided into 41 judeţe, or counties, and the municipality of Bucharest (Bucureşti) - the capital.

The counties are (in alphabetical order):


Geography

Map of Romania with cities
Map of Romania with cities

Main article: Geography of Romania

A large part of Romania's borders with Yugoslavia and Bulgaria is formed by the Danube. The Danube is joined by the Prut River, which forms the border with Moldova.

The Carpathian Mountains dominate the western part of Romania, with peaks up to 2,500 m, the highest, Moldoveanu, reaching 2,544 m.

Major cities are the capital Bucharest, Braşov, Timişoara, Cluj-Napoca, Constanţa, Craiova, and Iaşi (Jassy).

See also:

Economy

Main article: Economy of Romania

After the collapse of the Soviet Bloc in 1989-91, Romania was left with an obsolete industrial base and a pattern of industrial capacity wholly unsuited to its needs.

In February 1997, Romania embarked on a comprehensive macroeconomic stabilisation and structural reform programme, but reform subsequently has been a frustrating stop-and-go process. Restructuring programs include liquidating large energy-intensive industries and major agricultural and financial sector reforms. In 1999 Romania's economy contracted for a third straight year - by an estimated 4.8%.

Romania reached an agreement with the IMF in August for a US $547 million loan, but release of the second tranche was postponed in October because of unresolved private sector lending requirements and differences over budgetary spending.

Bucharest avoided defaulting on mid-year lump-sum debt payments, but had to significantly draw down reserves to do so; reserves rebounded to an estimated $1.5 billion by year end 1999.

The government's priorities include: obtaining renewed IMF lending, tightening fiscal policy, accelerating privatisation, and restructuring unprofitable firms.

2002 and 2003 were successful economic years, and currently GDP growth is forecast at 4.9% per annum. The average gross wage per month in Romania is 8,065,813 lei as of January 2004, an increase of a significant 7.8% over the previous month. This equates to US$236.06, 197.48 Euro and 327.38 AUD. The average net salary per month in January 2004 was 5,857,482 lei.

Romania was invited by the European Union in December 1999 to begin accession negotiations. It is expected to join the EU in 2007 along with Bulgaria.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Romania

The official language is Romanian, a Latin language member of the Romance group of the Italic subfamily of the Indo-European family of languages, which are also called Romanic, and are spoken by about 670 million people in many parts of the world, but mainly in Europe and the Western Hemisphere. Romania is the only Eastern Bloc country where a Romance language is dominant (Greece, Serbia, and Bulgaria have small isolated pockets which are gradually being assimilated into the respective national ethnic majority).

Sizeable minorities of Hungarian (according to the 2002 census, 6.6% of the population) and German descent, mostly in Transylvania, also speak Hungarian and German. Other ethnic groups include Roma gypsies and natives of Romania's neighbouring countries. The true size of the Roma population is unknown because it is undercounted in national censuses (for various reasons, some gypsies choose to declare themselves as Romanians or Hungarians; usually the criterion is the language they speak). There is also small Polish minority (numbering over ten thousand people) living in Suceava County.

Most Romanians are members of the Romanian Orthodox Church, which is one of the churches of Eastern Orthodox Christianity. Catholicism (both Roman Catholic and Romanian Catholic) and Protestantism are also represented, mostly in the areas inhabited by population of Hungarian descent, mostly in the western part of the country.

In Dobrogea, the region lying on the shore of the Black Sea, there is a small Muslim minority, a remnant of the Ottoman colonization of that province in the past.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Romania

See also:

Miscellaneous topics

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