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 (all with Serbia), Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (south) 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

Land use:
arable land: 41%
permanent crops: 3%
permanent pastures : 21%
forests and woodland: 29%
other: 6%(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, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Antarctic-Environmental Protocol

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

Population: 22,317,730 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 17.4% (male 1,992,505; female 1,898,122)
15-64 years : 68.8% (male 7,618,801; female 7,726,300)
65 years and over: 13.8% (male 1,274,881; female 1,807,121) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.21% (2002 est.)

Birth rate: 10.81 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate: 12.27 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate:-0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 18.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.39 years
male : 66.62 years
female: 74.39 years (2002 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.35 children born/woman (2002 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Romanian(s)
adjective: Romanian

Ethnic groups: Romanian 89.5%, Hungarian 7.1%, Roma 1.8%, German 0.5%, Ukrainian 0.3%, other 0.8% (1992)

Religions: Romanian Orthodox 70%, Roman Catholic 6%, Protestant 6%, unaffiliated 18%

Languages: Romanian, Hungarian, German

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97%
male : 98%
female: 95% (1992 est.)

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

Data code: RO

Government type: republic

National 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)
head of government: Prime Minister Adrian NASTASE (since 29 December 2000)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
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
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 37.1%, PRM 21.0%, PD 7.6%, PNL 7.5%, UDMR 6.9%; seats by party - PDSR 65, PRM 37, PD 13, PNL 13, UDMR 12; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PDSR 36.6%, PRM 19.5%, PD 7.0%, PNL, 6.9%, UDMR 6.8%; seats by party - PDSR 155, PRM 84, PD 31, PNL 30, UDMR 27, ethnic minorities 18

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice, judges are appointed by the president on 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 [Valeriu STOICA]; Party of Social Democracy or PSD [Adrian NASTASE]; note - used to be known as the Party of Social Democracy in Romania or PDSR; Romania Mare Party (Greater Romanian Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR]

Political pressure groups and leaders: various human rights and professional associations

International organization participation: ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Sorin Dumitru DUCARU
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

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission : Ambassador Michael GUEST
embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest
mailing address: American Consulate General (Bucharest), Unit 1315, APO AE 09213-1315
telephone: [40] (1) 210 01 49, 210 40 42
FAX: [40] (1) 210 03 95
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 - overview: Romania, one of the poorest countries of Central and Eastern Europe, began the transition from Communism in 1989 with a largely obsolete industrial base and a pattern of output unsuited to the country's needs. Over the past decade economic restructuring has lagged behind most other countries in the region. Consequently, living standards have continued to fall - real wages are down perhaps 40%. The country emerged in 2000 from a punishing three-year recession thanks to strong demand in EU export markets, and despite the global slowdown in 2001, strong domestic activity in construction, agriculture, and consumption led to 4.8% growth. A standby agreement with the IMF - covering the period October 2001 to March 2003 - provides a key opportunity for vigorous privatization, regulatory reform, deficit reduction, and the curbing of inflation. The government in the past has not been able to fully implement IMF agreements; its degree of success in this case will affect prospects for joining the EU.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $152.7 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 4.8% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 15%
industry: 30%
services: 55% (2000)

Inflation rate - consumer price index: 34.5% (2001 est.)

Labor force:
total : 9.9 million (1999 est.)
by occupation: agriculture 40%, industry 25%, services 35% (1998)

Unemployment rate: 9.1% (2001)

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

Industries: mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, machine building, food processing, petroleum production and refining

Industrial production growth rate: 6.5% (2001)

Electricity - capacity: 22.06 million kW (1994)

Electricity - production: 49.787 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - consumption per capita: 45.677 billion kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products: wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; milk, eggs, meat

Exports:
total value: $11.5 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
commodities: textiles and footwear 25.2%, metals and metal products 19.4%, fuels and mineral products 10.0%, chemicals 9.4%, other 36.0% (1995)
partners : Italy 22%, Germany 16%, France 7%, Turkey 6%, US (2000)

Imports:
total value : $14.4 billion (f.o.b., 2001 est.)
commodities: fuels and minerals 25.1%, machinery and transport equipment 19.4%, food and agricultural goods 6.1%, chemicals 9.0%, other 40.4% (1995)
partners: Italy 19%, Germany 15%, Russia 9%, France 6% (2000)

Debt - external: $11.6 billion (2001 est.)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $81 million (1993)

Currency: 1 leu (ROL) = 100 bani

Exchange rates:lei per US dollar - 35,052.0 (January 2002), 29,060.8 (2001), 21,708.7 (2000), 15,332.8 (1999), 8,875.6 (1998), 7,167.9 (1997); note - lei is the plural form of leu

Fiscal year: calendar year

Telephones: 3.777 million (1997)

Telephone system: 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)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 40, FM 202, shortwave 3 (1998)

Radios: 7.2 million (1997)

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

Televisions: 5.25 million (1997)

Railways:
total : 11,385 km (3,888 km electrified)
broad gauge: 60 km 1.524-m gauge
standard gauge: 10,898 km 1.435-m gauge
narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (2001)

Highways:
total : 153,359 km
paved: 103,671 km (including 133 km of expressways)
unpaved: 49,688 km (1998 est.)

Waterways: 1,724 km (1984)

Pipelines: crude oil 2,800 km; petroleum products 1,429 km; natural gas 6,400 km (1992)

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

Merchant marine:
total: 70 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 561,470 GRT/754,836 DWT
ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 47, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, railcar carrier 2, roll on/roll off 4
note : includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Greece 1, Italy 5 (2002 est.)

Airports: 61 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 24
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 9
1,524 to 2,437 m:11 (2001)

Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 37
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 12
under 914 m: 23 (2001)

Military branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Paramilitary Forces, Civil Defense

Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 5,906,601 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males: 4,970,496 (2002 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 179,951 (2002 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $985 million (2002)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.47% (2002)

Disputes - international: Romania and Ukraine have yet to resolve claims over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and delimitation of Black Sea maritime boundary, despite 1997 bilateral treaty to find a solution in two years and numerous talks; because of a shift in the Danube course since the last correction of the boundary in 1920, a joint Bulgarian-Romanian team will recommend sovereignty changes to several islands and redefine the boundary

Illicit drugs: important transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and small amounts of Latin American cocaine bound for Western Europe