Romania
republicIndependence 9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from Turkey
Romania as the 2003 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 125 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Introduction
1 fieldBackground
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 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 Romania can achieve its hope of joining the European Union.
Geography
Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine
18 fieldsLand useshare of 237,500 sq km
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
Natural resources
petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt, arable land, hydropower
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
19 fieldsPer 1,000 population(2003 est.)
Male · female
Ethnic groups(2002)
Religions(2002)
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.)
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:
- 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Government
Republic; President Ion ILIESCU (since 20 December 2000); Prime Minister Adrian NASTASE (since 29 December 2000)
18 fieldsPresidential electionpercent of vote
Senate, 345 seats, elected 26 November 2000seats by party
Country name
- conventional long form:
- none
- conventional short form:
- Romania
- local short form:
- Romania
- local long form:
- none
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)
Legal system
former mixture of civil law system and communist legal theory; is now based on the constitution of France's Fifth Republic
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
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
- 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 Michael E. GUEST
- 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
Economy
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.
42 fieldsGDP - composition by sector(2001)
Trading partnersexports left, imports right
Electricity
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.
Industries
textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food processing, petroleum refining
Agriculture - products
wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; eggs, sheep
Exports - commodities
textiles and footwear, metals and metal products, machinery and equipment, minerals and fuels
Imports - commodities
machinery and equipment 23%, fuels and minerals 12%, chemicals 9%, textile and products 19% (1999)
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)
Communications
8 fieldsTelephone 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:
- 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)
Transportation
10 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right
Networkskm
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 (2002)
- broad gage:
- 60 km 1.524-m gauge
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
Military
Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (AMR), Paramilitary Forces, Civil Defense, Border Guards
7 fieldsMilitary branches
Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (AMR), Paramilitary Forces, Civil Defense, Border Guards
Transnational Issues
2 fieldsDisputes - 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;
- joint boundary commission is rectifying boundary with Bulgaria based on shifts in Danube since last delimitation in 1920;
- Hungary has yet to amend status law extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Romania, who protest 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
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Romania.” The World Factbook 2003. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/romania/2003.