ROMANIA - This name was adopted in 1862, after the nation-state had been founded through the union of the two ROMANIANS principalities of Wallachia (including Muntenia, Oltenia and Dobrogea) and Moldavia (including Moldavia, Bucovina and Basarabia, the present independend Republic Moldavia) in 1859.
Form of government - Parlamentar republic
Area - 238.391 km² (92.043 sq mi) / 82nd in the world
Area Distribution - Arable area (39.2%), forests (28%), pastures and hayfields (20.5%), vineyards and orchards (2.3%), buildings, roads and railways (4.5%), waters and ponds (3.7%), other areas (1.8%)
Climate - Temperate-continental with 4 seasons
Population - 22.276.056 (july 2007 estimate) / 21.680.974 (2002 census) / 49th in the world
Density - 93 inh/km² (236 inh/sq mi) / 104th in the world
Ethnic structure - ROMANIANS - 89.5% / Hungarians (including Szecklers)- 6.5% / Romales (gipsy) - 2.5% / other ethnic groups -1.5%
Religious structure - Eastern Orthodox - 86.7% / Roman-Catholic-4.7% / Protestant - 3.2% / Greek-Catholic - 0.9% / Evangelical - 0.1% / Unitarian - 0.3% / other religions - 0.4%
Official language - ROMANIAN
National Day - December 1, the Union Day / The Union of Transilvania with ROMANIA - formed at that time by Wallachia (Muntenia, Oltenia and Dobrogea) and Moldavia (Moldavia, Bucovina and Basarabia, the present independend Republic Moldavia) - was declared on December 1, 1918
Capital - Bucharest / 238 km² (92 sq mi) / 1.924.959 inh. (in 2005) / the 6th largest city in the EU
Currency - Leu (pl. “lei”)
Time - EET (UTC+2) / summer (DST): EEST (UTC+3)
Calling code - +40
Internet code - .ro (The “.eu” domain is also used, as it is shared with other European Union member states)
Member of the European Union up to January 1, 2007, ROMANIA joined NATO on March 29, 2004.
Position of ROMANIA in Europe
@ With a surface area of 238,391 km², ROMANIA is the largest country in southeastern Europe and the 12th-largest in Europe. ROMANIA has an oval shape, the west-to-east straight line measuring 735 km and the north-to-south one 530 km. ROMANIA is located in South-East Central Europe, north of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. It lies between 43º 37′ 07" and 48º 15′ 06" latitude north and 20º 15′ 44" and 29º 41′ 24" longitude east. The parallel of 45º north latitude (midway between the Equator and the North Pole) crosses ROMANIA 70 km north of the capital, and the meridian of 25º east longitude (midway between the shore of the Atlantic and the Ural Mountains) passes 90 km west of Bucharest.
@ ROMANIA is situated at the contact of Central Europe with Eastern Europe and the Balkan Peninsula, at the junction of major west-east and north-south European routes. Three elements have decisively marked the destiny of this area: the Carpathians Mountains, the Lower Danube and the opening to the Black Sea. With their arched form, the Carpathians determined the position of three big historical regions - the intra-Carpathian space, opening to Central Europe, the area east of the mountains, opening to the North Pontic steppes and the one south of the mountains, facing the Balkan Peninsula. The Danube (Europe’s second longest river), which separates the Carpathian area from the Balkan world, has always provided a connection between Central Europe and the Black Sea, and has opened a gate towards the Mediterranean and the eastern world. Therefore, ROMANIA equally belongs with the Danubian and the Black Sea states, its territory constituting a bridge between Central and Southeastern Europe and the Near East.
@ ROMANIA’S borders total 3,149.9 km. Two thirds of them (2,064.4 km) are marked by rivers — the Danube, the Prut, and the Tisa — or follow the Black Sea shoreline, while the remaining one third (1,085.5 km) is traced over land. ROMANIA’S territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles into the Black Sea.
@ ROMANIA borders on five countries, its sixth neighbour being the Black Sea. To the NE and E it borders on the Republic of Moldavia (681.3 km), to the N and E on Ukraine (649.4 km), to the SE on the Black Sea (193.5 km), to the S on Bulgaria (631.3 km), to the SW on Serbia (546,4 km) and to the W on Hungary (448.0 km). Between 1918 and 1991, over 40% of the borderline separated ROMANIA from the USSR, at the time the largest country in Europe and the world.
@ A large part of ROMANIA’S border with Serbia and Bulgaria is formed by the Danube River. The Danube is joined by the Prut River, which forms the border with the Republic of Moldavia (olso ROMANIAN region, temporary separate from mother-land since 1940, when it was kidnaped by Soviet Union thru Ribentrop-Molotov pact). The Danube flows into the Black Sea on ROMANIAN territory, forming the Danube Delta, an unique region by its pictoresque, the largest delta in Europe, which is currently a biosphere reserve and World Heritage-listed site due to its biodiversity.
@ The country’s most significant rivers are the Danube, which marks most part of the border between ROMANIA and Bulgaria in the south, the Siret - running vertically through Moldova, the Olt - running from the oriental Carpathian Mountains to Oltenia, the Tisa - marking a part of the border between ROMANIA and Hungary in the west, the Mures - running through Transilvania from east to west, and the Somes.
@ The ROMANIAN Black Sea Riviera stretches from Danube Delta in north down to the Bulgarian border in south, along 60 km of coastline.
@ ROMANIA’S terrain is distributed roughly equally between mountainous, hilly and lowland territories. The Carpathians Mountains dominate the centre of ROMANIA, with fourteen of its peaks reaching above the altitude of 2,000 metres. The highest mountain in ROMANIA is Moldoveanu Peak (2544 m). In south-central ROMANIA, the Carpathians sweeten into hills, towards the Baragan Plains. ROMANIA’S geographical diversity has led to an accompanying diversity of flora and fauna. The country has the largest brown bear population in Europe, while chamois are also known to live in the Carpathians Mountains, which dominate the centre of ROMANIA.
