:Romania Geography

Total area:
    237,500 km2
Land area:
    230,340 km2
Comparative area:
    slightly smaller than Oregon
Land boundaries:
    2,508 km total; Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km, Serbia and
    Montenegro 476 km, Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (south) 169 km
Coastline:
    225 km
Maritime claims:
  Continental shelf:
    200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation
  Exclusive economic zone:
    200 nm
  Territorial sea:
    12 nm
Disputes:
    none
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:
    crude oil (reserves being exhausted), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore,
    salt
Land use:
    arable land 43%; permanent crops 3%; meadows and pastures 19%; forest and
    woodland 28%; other 7%; includes irrigated 11%
Environment:
    frequent earthquakes most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure
    and climate promote landslides; air pollution in south
Note:
    controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova,
    and the Ukraine

:Romania People

Population:
    23,169,914 (July 1992), growth rate 0.0% (1992)
Birth rate:
    14 births/1,000 population (1992)
Death rate:
    10 deaths/1,000 population (1992)
Net migration rate:
    -3 migrants/1,000 population (1992)
Infant mortality rate:
    22 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth:
    68 years male, 74 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate:
    1.8 children born/woman (1992)
Nationality:
    noun - Romanian(s); adjective - Romanian
Ethnic divisions:
    Romanian 89.1%, Hungarian 8.9%, German 0.4%, Ukrainian, Serb, Croat,
    Russian, Turk, and Gypsy 1.6%
Religions:
    Romanian Orthodox 70%, Roman Catholic 6%, Greek Catholic (Uniate) 3%,
    Protestant 6%, unaffiliated 15%
Languages:
    Romanian, Hungarian, German
Literacy:
    96% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1970 est.)
Labor force:
    10,945,700; industry 38%, agriculture 28%, other 34% (1989)
Organized labor:
    until December 1989, a single trade union system organized by the General
    Confederation of Romanian Trade Unions (UGSR) under control of the Communist
    Party; since CEAUSESCU'S overthrow, newly created trade and professional
    trade unions are joining umbrella organizations, including the Organization
    of Free Trade Unions, Fratia (Brotherhood), and the Alfa Cartel; many other
    trade unions have been formed

:Romania Government

Long-form name:
    none
Type:
    republic
Capital:
    Bucharest
Administrative divisions:
    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
Independence:
    1881 (from Turkey); republic proclaimed 30 December 1947
Constitution:
    8 December 1991
Legal system:
    former mixture of civil law system and Communist legal theory that
    increasingly reflected Romanian traditions is being revised
National holiday:
    National Day of Romania, 1 December (1990)
Executive branch:
    *** No entry for this item ***
    president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
Legislative branch:
    bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate (Senat) and a
    lower house or House of Deputies (Adunarea Deputatilor)
Judicial branch:
    Supreme Court of Justice
Leaders:
  Chief of State:
    President Ion ILIESCU (since 20 June 1990, previously President of
    Provisional Council of National Unity since 23 December 1989)
  Head of Government:
    Prime Minister Teodor STOLOJAN (since 2 October 1991)
Political parties and leaders:
    National Salvation Front (FSN), Petre ROMAN; Democratuc National Salvation
    Front (DNSF), Olivia GHERMAN; Magyar Democratic Union (UDMR), Geza DOMOKOS;
    National Liberal Party (PNL), Radu CAMPEANU; National Peasants' Christian
    and Democratic Party (PNTCD), Corneliu COPOSU; Ecology Movement (MER), Toma
    Gheorghe MAIORESCU; Romanian National Unity Party (PUNR), Radu CEONTEA;
    there are now more than 100 other parties; note - although the Communist
    Party has ceased to exist, small proto-Communist parties, notably the
    Socialist Labor Party, have been formed
Suffrage:
    universal at age 18
Elections:
  President:
    last held 20 May 1990 (next to be held NA 1992); results - Ion ILIESCU 85%,
    Radu CAMPEANU 10.5%, Ion RATIU 3.8%
  Senate:
    last held 20 May 1990 (next to be held NA 1992); results - FSN 67%, other
    33%; seats - (118 total) FSN 92, UDMR 12, PNL 9, PUNR 2, PNTCD 1, MER 1,
    other 1
  House of Deputies:
    last held 20 May 1990 (next to be held NA 1992); results - FSN 66%, UDMR 7%,
    PNL 6%, MER 2%, PNTCD 2%, PUNR 2%, other 15%; seats - (387 total) FSN 263,
    UDMR 29, PNL 29, PNTCD 12, MER 12, PUNR 9, other 33

:Romania Government

Member of:
    BIS, CCC, CSCE, ECE, FAO, G-9, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBEC, IBRD, ICAO, IFAD,
    IFC, IIB, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), PCA, UN,
    UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation:
    Ambassador Aurel MUNTEANU; Chancery at 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC
    20008; telephone (202) 232-4747
  US:
    Ambassador John R. DAVIS; Embassy at Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest
    (mailing address is APO AE 09213-5260); telephone [40] (0) 10-40-40; FAX
    [40] (0) 12-03-95
Flag:
    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

:Romania Economy

Overview:
    Industry, which accounts for about one-third of the labor force and
    generates over half the GDP, suffers from an aging capital plant and
    persistent shortages of energy. The year 1991 witnessed about a 17% drop in
    industrial production because of energy and input shortages and labor
    unrest. In recent years the agricultural sector has had to contend with
    flooding, mismanagement, shortages of inputs, and disarray caused by the
    dismantling of cooperatives. A shortage of fuel and equipment in 1991
    contributed to a lackluster harvest, a problem compounded by corruption and
    a poor distribution system. The new government is loosening the tight
    central controls of CEAUSESCU'S command economy. It has instituted moderate
    land reforms, with more than one-half of cropland now in private hands, and
    it has liberalized private agricultural output. Also, the new regime is
    permitting the establishment of private enterprises, largely in services,
    handicrafts, and small-scale industry. A law providing for the privatization
    of large state firms has been passed. Most of the large state firms have
    been converted into joint-stock companies, but the selling of shares and
    assets to private owners has been delayed. While the government has halted
    the old policy of diverting food from domestic consumption to hard currency
    export markets, supplies remain scarce in some areas. Furthermore, real
    wages in Romania fell about 20% in 1991, contributing to the unrest which
    forced the resignation of ROMAN in September. The new government continues
    to impose price ceilings on key consumer items.
GDP:
    purchasing power equivalent - $71.9 billion, per capita $3,100; real growth
    rate - 12% (1991 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
    215% (1991 est.)
Unemployment rate:
    4% (1991 est.)
Budget:
    revenues $19 billion; expenditures $20 billion, including capital
    expenditures of $2.1 billion (1991 est.)
Exports:
    $4.0 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
  commodities:
    machinery and equipment 29.3%, fuels, minerals and metals 32.1%,
    manufactured consumer goods 18.1%, agricultural materials and forestry
    products 9.0%, other 11.5% (1989)
  partners:
    USSR 27%, Eastern Europe 23%, EC 15%, US 5%, China 4% (1987)
Imports:
    $5.4 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
  commodities:
    fuels, minerals, and metals 56.0%, machinery and equipment 25.5%,
    agricultural and forestry products 8.6%, manufactured consumer goods 3.4%,
    other 6.5% (1989)
  partners:
    Communist countries 60%, non-Communist countries 40% (1987)
External debt:
    $2 billion (1991)
Industrial production:
    growth rate -17% (1991 est.)
Electricity:
    22,700,000 kW capacity; 64,200 million kWh produced, 2,760 kWh per capita
    (1990)
Industries:
    mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, machine
    building, food processing, petroleum

:Romania Economy

Agriculture:
    accounts for 15% of GDP and 28% of labor force; major wheat and corn
    producer; other products - sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, milk,
    eggs, meat, grapes
Illicit drugs:
    transshipment point for southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route
Economic aid:
    donor - $4.4 billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed
    countries (1956-89)
Currency:
    leu (plural - lei); 1 leu (L) = 100 bani
Exchange rates:
    lei (L) per US$1 - 198.00 (March 1992), 76.39 (1991), 22.432 (1990), 14.922
    (1989), 14.277 (1988), 14.557 (1987)
Fiscal year:
    calendar year

:Romania Communications

Railroads:
    11,275 km total; 10,860 km 1.435-meter gauge, 370 km narrow gauge, 45 km
    broad gauge; 3,411 km electrified, 3,060 km double track; government owned
    (1987)
Highways:
    72,799 km total; 35,970 km paved; 27,729 km gravel, crushed stone, and other
    stabilized surfaces; 9,100 km unsurfaced roads (1985)
Inland waterways:
    1,724 km (1984)
Pipelines:
    crude oil 2,800 km, petroleum products 1,429 km, natural gas 6,400 km
Ports:
    Constanta, Galati, Braila, Mangalia; inland ports are Giurgiu, Drobeta-Turnu
    Severin, Orsova
Merchant marine:
    262 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,320,373 GRT/5,207,580 DWT; includes
    1 passenger-cargo, 174 cargo, 2 container, 1 rail-car carrier, 9
    roll-on/roll-off cargo, 13 petroleum tanker, 60 bulk, 2 combination ore/oil
Civil air:
    59 major transport aircraft
Airports:
    165 total, 165 usable; 25 with permanent-surface runways; 15 with runways
    2,440-3,659 m; 15 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
    poor service; about 2.3 million telephone customers; 89% of phone network is
    automatic; cable and open wire; trunk network is microwave; present phone
    density is 9.85 per 100 residents; roughly 3,300 villages with no service
    (February 1990); broadcast stations - 12 AM, 5 FM, 13 TV (1990); 1 satellite
    ground station using INTELSAT

:Romania Defense Forces

Branches:
    Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Paramilitary Forces, Civil Defense
Manpower availability:
    males 15-49, 5,799,837; 4,909,642 fit for military service; 184,913 reach
    military age (20) annually
Defense expenditures:
    exchange rate conversion - 50 billion lei (unofficial), NA% of GDP (1991);
    note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current
    exchange rate could produce misleading results