Romania

Soviet occupation following World War II led to the formation of a communist Peoples Republic in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of President Nicolae CEAUSESCU became increasingly draconian through the 1980s. He was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former communists dominated the government until 1996 when they were swept from power. Much economic restructuring remains to be carried out before Romania can achieve its hope of joining the EU.

• temperate;
• cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog;
• sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms

• soil erosion and degradation;
• water pollution;
• air pollution in south from industrial effluents;
• contamination of Danube delta wetlands

party to:

Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol

0-14 years:

18% (male 2,111,320; female 2,015,347)

15-64 years:

68% (male 7,597,958; female 7,707,498)

65 years and over:

14% (male 1,237,368; female 1,741,630) (2000 est.)

at birth:

1.05 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 (2000 est.)

noun:

Romanian(s)

adjective:

Romanian

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Romania

local long form:

none

local short form:

Romania

• 40 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, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea

chief of state:

President Emil CONSTANTINESCU (since 29 November 1996)

head of government:

Prime Minister Mugur ISARESCU (since 22 December 1998)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister

elections:

• president elected by popular vote for a four-year term;
• election last held 3 November 1996, with runoff between the top two candidates held 17 November 1996 (next to be held NA November/December 2000);
• prime minister appointed by the president

election results:

percent of vote - Emil CONSTANTINESCU 54.4%, Ion ILIESCU 45.6%

• Agrarian Democratic Party of Romania or PDAR [Mihai BERCA];
• Alliance Party for Romania or APR [Tedor MELESCANU];
• Civic Alliance Party or PAC [Nicolae MANOLESCU, chairman];
• Democratic Party or PD [Petre ROMAN];
• Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO];
• Liberal Party '93 or PL-93 [Dinu PATRICIU];
• National Liberal Party or PNL [Mircea IONESCU-QUINTUS];
• National Liberal Party-Democratic Convention or PNL-CD [Nicolae CERVENI];
• National Peasants' Christian and Democratic Party or PNTCD [Ion DIACONESCU];
• Party of Social Democracy in Romania or PDSR [Ion ILIESCU];
• Romania Mare Party (Greater Romanian Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR];
• Romanian National Unity Party or PUNR [Valeriu TABARA];
• Romanian Social Democratic Party or PSDR [Alexamdru ATHANASIU];
• Socialist Labor Party or PSM [Ilie VERDET];
• Socialist Party or PS [Tudor MOHORA];
• The Democratic Convention or CDR [Ion DIACONESCU]

note: to increase their voting strength several of the above-mentioned parties united under umbrella organizations: PNTCD, PNL, and PNL-CD form the bulk of the Democratic Convention or CDR [Ion DIACONESCU];

PD and PSDR form the Union of Social Democrats or USD [Petre ROMAN]; and PAC and PL-93 form the National Liberal Alliance or ANL [Nicolae MANOLESCU]; PSM, PS, ANL, and numerous other small parties failed to gain representation in the most recent election

chief of mission:

Ambassador Mircea Dan GEOANA

chancery:

1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851

FAX:

[1] (202) 232-4748

consulate(s) general:

Los Angeles and New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador James C. ROSAPEPE

embassy:

Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest

mailing address:

American Embassy Bucharest, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5260 (pouch)

telephone:

[40] (1) 210 01 49, 210 40 42

FAX:

[40] (1) 210 03 95

branch office:

Cluj-Napoca

• 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

lowest 10%:

3.8%

highest 10%:

20.2% (1992)

domestic:

• poor service;
• 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)

total:

11,385 km (3,888 km electrified)

standard gauge:

10,898 km

narrow gauge:

487 km (1996)

total:

153,359 km

paved:

103,671 km (including 133 km of expressways)

unpaved:

49,688 km (1998 est.)

total:

142 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,154,127 GRT/1,612,314 DWT

ships by type:

bulk 15, cargo 110, container 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 5, rail car carrier 2, roll-on/roll-off 6, specialized tanker 1 (1999 est.)

• dispute with Ukraine over continental shelf of the Black Sea under which significant gas and oil deposits may exist;
• agreed in 1997 to two-year negotiating period, after which either party can refer dispute to the ICJ