Romania

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

agricultural land:

60.7%;

• arable land 39.1%;
• permanent crops 1.9%;
• permanent pasture 19.7%

forest:

28.7%

other:

10.6% (2011 est.)

• urbanization is not particularly high, and a fairly even population distribution can be found throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations;
• Hungarians, the country's largest minority, have a particularly strong presence in eastern Transylvania

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

party to:

Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

• controls the most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine;
• the Carpathian Mountains dominate the center of the country, while the Danube River forms much of the southern boundary with Serbia and Bulgaria

noun:

Romanian(s)

adjective:

Romanian

• urbanization is not particularly high, and a fairly even population distribution can be found throughout most of the country, with urban areas attracting larger and denser populations;
• Hungarians, the country's largest minority, have a particularly strong presence in eastern Transylvania

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.05 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.88 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.68 male(s)/female

total population:

0.95 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

conventional long form:

none

conventional short form:

Romania

local long form:

none

local short form:

Romania

etymology:

the name derives from the Latin "Romanus" meaning "citizen of Rome" and was used to stress the common ancient heritage of Romania's three main regions - Moldavia, Transylvania, and Wallachia - during their gradual unification between the mid-19th century and early 20th century

name:

Bucharest

geographic coordinates:

44 26 N, 26 06 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

• 41 counties (judete, singular - judet) and 1 municipality* (municipiu);
• Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor, Bistrita-Nasaud, Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti (Bucharest)*, Buzau, Calarasi, Caras-Severin, Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dambovita, Dolj, Galati, Gorj, Giurgiu, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi, Ilfov, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Valcea, Vrancea

• 9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from the Ottoman Empire; 13 July 1878 independence recognized by the Treaty of Berlin);
• 26 March 1881 (kingdom proclaimed);
• 30 December 1947 (republic proclaimed)

history:

several previous; latest adopted 21 November 1991, approved by referendum and effective 8 December 1991

amendments:

• initiated by the president of Romania through a proposal by the government, by at least one-fourth of deputies or senators in Parliament, or by petition of eligible voters representing at least one-half of Romania’s counties;
• passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by both chambers or – if mediation is required - by three-fourths majority vote in a joint session, followed by approval in a referendum;
• articles including those on national sovereignty, form of government, political pluralism, and fundamental rights and freedoms cannot be amended;
• amended 2003 (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Romania

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

5 years

chief of state:

President Klaus Werner IOHANNIS (since 21 December 2014)

head of government:

Prime Minister Mihai TUDOSE (since 29 June 2017); Deputy Prime Minister Sevil SHHAIDEH and Deputy Premier Gratiela GAVRILESCU (since 3 April 2017)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 2 November 2014 with a runoff on 16 November 2014 (next to be held in November 2019);
• prime minister appointed by the president with consent of Parliament

election results:

• Klaus IOHANNIS elected president;
• percent of vote in runoff - Klaus IOHANNIS (PNL) 54.4%, Victor PONTA (PSD) 45.6%;
• Mihai TUDOSE approved as prime minister 275-102

description:

• bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (136 seats, 2 reserved for the diaspora; members serve 4-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera Deputatilor (329 seats, 17 reserved for non-Hungarian national minorities and 4 for the diaspora; members serve 4-year terms);
• in 2016, the elections returned to a party list vote-proportional representation voting system

elections:

• Senate - last held on 11 December 2016 (next to be held by December 2020);
• Chamber of Deputies - last held on 11 December 2016 (next to be held by December 2020)

election results:

• Senate - percent of vote by party - PSD 45.7%, PNL 20.4%, USR 8.9%, UDMR 6.2%, ALDE 6%, PMP 5.7%, other 7.1%;
• seats by party - PSD 67, PNL 30, USR 13, UDMR 9, ALDE 9, PMP 8;
• Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PSD 45.5%, PNL 20%, USR 8.9%, UDMR 6.2%, ALDE 5.6%, PMP 5.4%, other 8.4%;
• seats by party - PSD 154, PNL 69, USR 30, UDMR 21, ALDE 20, PMP 18, minorities 17

highest court(s):

• High Court of Cassation and Justice (consists of 111 judges organized into civil, penal, commercial, contentious administrative and fiscal business, and joint sections);
• Supreme Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members)

judge selection and term of office:

• High Court of Cassation and Justice judges appointed by the president upon nomination by the Superior Council of Magistracy, a 19-member body of judges, prosecutors, and law specialists;
• judges appointed for 6-year renewable terms;
• Constitutional Court members - 6 elected by Parliament and 3 appointed by the president;
• members serve 9-year, nonrenewable terms

subordinate courts:

• Courts of Appeal;
• regional tribunals;
• first instance courts;
• military and arbitration courts

• Christian-Democratic National Peasants' Party or PNT-CD [Aurelian PAVELESCU]
• Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Hunor KELEMEN]
• Ecologist Party of Romania or PER [Danut POP]
• Greater Romania Party or PRM [Adrian POPESCU]
• M10 Party [Monica MACOVEI]
• National Liberal Party or PNL [Ludovic ORBAN]
• New Republic Party or NR [Alin Ioan BOTA]
• Our Romania Alliance [Marian MUNTEANU]
• Popular Movement Party or PMP [Traian BASESCU]
• Alliance of Liberals and Democrats or ALDE [Calin POPESCU TARICEANU]
• Romanian Social Party or PSRo [Mircea GEOANA]
• Save Romania Union Party or USR [Elek LEVENTE, interim]
• Social Democratic Party or PSD [Liviu DRAGNEA]
• United Romania Party or PRU [Andrei PITICAS]

chief of mission:

Ambassador George Cristian MAIOR (since 17 September 2015)

chancery:

1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851, 4852

FAX:

[1] (202) 232-4748

consulate(s) general:

Chicago, Los Angeles, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador Hans G. KLEMM (since 21 September 2015)

embassy:

4-6, Dr. Liviu Librescu Blvd., District 1, Bucharest, 015118

mailing address:

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

telephone:

[40] (21) 200-3300

FAX:

[40] (21) 200-3442

• three equal vertical bands of cobalt blue (hoist side), chrome yellow, and vermilion red;
• modeled after the flag of France, the colors are those of the principalities of Walachia (red and yellow) and Moldavia (red and blue), which united in 1862 to form Romania;
• the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellow band has been removed

note: now similar to the flag of Chad, whose blue band is darker; also resembles the flags of Andorra and Moldova

name:

"Desteapta-te romane!" (Wake up, Romanian!)

lyrics/music:

Andrei MURESIANU/Anton PANN

note: adopted 1990; the anthem was written during the 1848 Revolution

agriculture:

28.3%

industry:

28.9%

services:

42.8% (2014)

lowest 10%:

15.3%

highest 10%:

7.6% (2014 est.)

general assessment:

the telecommunications sector is being expanded and modernized; domestic and international service improving rapidly, especially mobile-cellular services

domestic:

• fixed-line teledensity is about 20 telephones per 100 persons;
• mobile market served by five mobile network operators;
• mobile-cellular teledensity over 105 telephones per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 40;
• the Black Sea Fiber-Optic Cable System provides connectivity to Bulgaria and Turkey;
• satellite earth stations - 10;
• digital, international, direct-dial exchanges operate in Bucharest (2016)

• a mixture of public and private TV stations;
• there are 7 public TV stations (2 national, 5 regional) using terrestrial broadcasting and 187 private TV stations (out of which 171 offer local coverage) using terrestrial broadcasting, plus 11 public TV stations using satellite broadcasting and 86 private TV stations using satellite broadcasting;
• state-owned public radio broadcaster operates 4 national networks and regional and local stations, having in total 20 public radio stations by terrestrial broadcasting plus 4 public radio stations by satellite broadcasting;
• there are 502 operational private radio stations using terrestrial broadcasting and 26 private radio stations using satellite broadcasting (2014)

number of registered air carriers:

5; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 51

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

3,636,642

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

4,691,280 mt-km (2015)

total:

11,268 km

broad gauge:

60 km 1.524-m gauge

standard gauge:

10,781 km 1.435-m gauge (3,292 km electrified)

narrow gauge:

427 km 0.760-m gauge (2014)

country comparison to the world: 23

total:

84,185 km

paved:

49,873 km (includes 337 km of expressways)

unpaved:

34,312 km (2012)

country comparison to the world: 57

total:

5

by type:

cargo 1, passenger/cargo 2, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1

foreign-owned:

1 (Russia 1)

registered in other countries:

31 (Georgia 7, Liberia 3, Malta 7, Marshall Islands 2, Moldova 2, Panama 3, Russia 1, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1, Sierra Leone 2, Tanzania 1, Togo 1, unknown 1) (2010)

country comparison to the world: 128

major seaport(s):

Constanta, Midia

river port(s):

Braila, Galati (Galatz), Mancanului (Giurgiu), Tulcea (Danube River)

• conscription ended 2006;
• 18 years of age for male and female voluntary service;
• all military inductees (including women) contract for an initial 5-year term of service, with subsequent successive 3-year terms until age 36 (2015)

• the ICJ ruled largely in favor of Romania in its dispute submitted in 2004 over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy/Serpilor (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary delimitation;
• Romania opposes Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the Danube border through Ukraine to the Black Sea

• 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