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Romania (Romanian: România ) is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Hungary and Serbia in the west and Bulgaria to the south along the Danube River, Ukraine and Moldova in the northeast. Romania has also a stretch of sea coast on the Black Sea and the eastern and southern Carpathian mountains run through its centre. Historic Bucharest (Romanian: Bucureşti Ro-Bucureşti.ogg), a major tourist attraction, is its capital and largest city. Romania has been an active member of NATO since 2004, and is also an acceding country to the European Union. The EU Accession Treaty was signed in early 2005, and Romania is due to join the European Union on January 1, 2007. Starting from January 1, 2007, Romania will have the seventh largest population in the EU.

Name

Main article: Etymology of Romania

The name of Romania (România) comes from Român (Romanian) which is a derivative of the word Romanus ("Roman") from Latin.

The oldest surviving document written in the Romanian language is a 1521 letter (known as "Neacsu's Letter from Câmpulung") which notifies the mayor of Braşov about the imminent attack of the Ottoman Turks. This document is also notable for having the first occurrence of "Rumanian", Wallachia being here named The Rumanian Land - Ţeara Rumânească (Ţeara < Latin Terra = land). In the following centuries, Romanian documents use both forms: Român and Rumân. Socio-linguistic evolutions in the late Middle Ages lead to a process of semantic differentiation: the form "rumân", presumably usual among lower classes, got the meaning of "bondsman", while the form "român" kept an ethno-linguistic meaning. After the abolition of the serfage in 1746, the form "rumân" disappears and the spelling definitively stabilises to the form "român", "românesc". The name "România" as common homeland of all Romanians is documented in the early 19th century. Many Romanians take pride in being the most eastern Romance people, completely surrounded by non-Latin peoples ("a Latin island in a Slavic sea").

History

Main article: History of Romania

Dacia

In 513 BC, south of the Danube, the tribal confederation of the Getae were defeated by the Persian emperor Darius the Great during his campaign against the Scythians (Herodotus IV.93). Over half a millennium later, the Getae (also named Daci by Romans) were defeated by the Roman Empire under Emperor Trajan in two campaigns stretching from 101 to 106, and the core of their kingdom was turned into the Roman province of Dacia. The Gothic and Carpic campaigns in the Balkans during 238–256 forced the Roman Empire to reorganize a new Roman province of Dacia south of Danube, inside former Moesia Superior.

Romania in the Dark Ages

In 271 or 275 the Roman army and administration left Dacia, which was invaded by the Goths, who lived with the local people until the fourth century, when another nomadic people arrived, the Huns. The Gepids and the Avars ruled Transylvania until the 8th century, after which the Bulgars included the southern part of Romania in their Empire until 1018. Transylvania was under control of the Kingdom of Hungary from the 10-11th century until the 16th century when the independent Principality of Transylvania was formed. But from the destructions and the financial burdens, the local people were not influenced by the migrators in their culture and way of life. The Pechenegs, the Cumans and Uzes were also mentioned by historic chronicles on the territory of Romania, until the founding of the Vlachian principalities of Wallachia by Basarab I, and Moldavia by Dragoş during the 13th and 14th centuries respectively. In the Middle Ages, Romanians lived in two distinct independent Romanian principalities: Wallachia (Rom.:Ţara Românească - Romanian Land), Moldavia (Rom.: Moldova) as well as in the Hungarian-ruled principality of Transylvania.

Romania in the Middle Ages

In 1475, Stephen the Great of Moldavia scored a decisive victory over the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui. Wallachia and Moldavia would later come gradually under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire during the 15th and 16th centuries (1476 for Wallachia, 1514 for Moldavia), as vassal tributary states with complete internal autonomy and an external independence which was finally lost in the 18th century. In 1812 the Russian Empire annexed the eastern half side Bessarabia of Moldavia (though partially regained it with the Treaty of Paris in 1856), the Habsburg Monarchy annexed in 1775 its northern part Bukovina and the Ottoman Empire its south-eastern part Budjak .

One of the greatest Hungarian kings, Matthias Corvinus (known in Romanian as Matei Corvin - with romanian origin, ruled 1458–1490)— was born in Transylvania, and is claimed by the Romanians because of his half-Romanian father, Iancu de Hunedoara (Hunyadi János in Hungarian), and by the Hungarians because of his Hungarian mother. ruled 1458–1490)— was born in Transylvania. Later, in 1541, Transylvania became a multi-ethnic principality under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire following the Battle of Mohács.

Early Modern Romania

Michael the Brave (Romanian: Mihai Viteazul) (1558-9 August 1601) was the Prince of Wallachia (1593-1601), of Transylvania (1599-1600), and of Moldavia (1600). During his reign the three principalities largely inhabited by Romanians were for the first time united under a single rule. He is regarded as one of Romania's greatest national heroes. At the end of the 18th century, the Habsburg Monarchy incorporated Transylvania into what successively became the Austrian Empire. During the time of the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary (1867-1918), Romanians in Transylvania experienced one of the worst oppression in the form of the Magyarization policies of the Hungarian government.

Kingdom of Romania

The modern state of Romania was formed by the merging of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859 under the Moldavian domnitor Alexandru Ioan Cuza. He was replaced by Prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in 1866. During the Russo-Turkish War, Romania fought on the Russian side; in the Treaty of Berlin in 1878 Romania was recognized as an independent state by the Great Powers. In return for ceding to Russia the three southern districts of Bessarabia which had been regained by Moldavia after the Crimean War in 1852, the Kingdom of Romania acquired Dobruja. In 1881 the principality was raised to a kingdom and Prince Carol I became King Carol I.

In spite of its previous alliance with Imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary, Romania entered World War I on the side of the Triple Entente in a move aimed at acquiring Transylvania. The war was a disaster for Romania as the Central Powers conquered most of the country and captured or killed the majority of its army within four months. By war's end Austria-Hungary and the Russian Empire had collapsed, allowing Bessarabia, Bukovina and Transylvania to unite with the Kingdom of Romania in 1918. The union of Transylvania with Romania was ratified in the Treaty of Trianon in 1920.

Romania during World War II

In 1940 during World War II, Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia, Northern Transylvania, and southern Dobrudja were occupied by the Soviet Union, Hungary and Bulgaria respectively (see Romania during World War II). The authoritarian King Carol II abdicated in 1940 and the subsequent year Romania entered the war joining Nazi Germany, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria. Because Romania participated in the invasion of the Soviet Union, the country recovered Bessarabia and northern Bukovina under the leadership of general Ion Antonescu. During the Second World War, the Antonescu regime, allied with Nazi Germany, played a role in the Holocaust, following its policy of oppression and massacre of the Jews, and, to a lesser extent, Roma. According to a quite controversial report released in 2004 by a commission appointed by former Romanian president Ion Iliescu and chaired by Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel, the Romanian authorities were the main perpetrators in the planning and implementation of the killing of between 280,000 to 380,000 Jews, primarily in the Eastern territories Romania recovered or occupied from the Soviet Union and in Moldavia, though some estimates are even higher.

In August 1944 the Antonescu regime was toppled, and Romania joined the Red Army against Nazi Germany, but its role in the defeat of Germany was not recognized by the Paris Peace Conference of 1947.

Communist Romania

With the Red Army forces still stationed in the country and exerting defacto control, communists and their allied parties claimed 80% of the vote in the 1946 Romanian elections, through a combination of vote manipulation, elimination and forced mergers of competing parties, establishing themselves as the dominant force; Western democracies left Romania in the hands of the Soviet Union. In 1947, King Michael I was forced by the communists to abdicate and leave the country.

Romania was proclaimed a communist state, under direct military and economic control of the USSR until 1958. During this period, Romania's scarce resources left after WWII were drained by the "SovRom" agreements: mixed Soviet-Romanian companies established in the aftermath of World War II to mask the looting of Romania by the Soviet Union, in addition to excessive war reparations paid to the USSR. During this period, up to two million people were arbitrarily imprisoned for political, economical or unknown reasons. There were hundreds of thousands of abuses, deaths and incidents of torture against a large range of people, from political opponents to ordinary citizens, bringing gloom over Romania. At least 200,000 people lost their lives as a result of communist influences in Romania between 1948 and 1964.

A short-lived period of relative economic well-being and openness followed in late 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s, still regarded by some as a "golden era". This period gradually ended, first politically, and then economically. Some party leaders (such as Ion Iliescu, Corneliu Manescu, or Gheorghe Apostol) who questioned the achievements of the regime during the latter portion of this era, were sent to lower positions. From an economic point of view, Romania's foreign debt sharply increased between 1977 and 1981 (from 3 to 10 billion US dollars). Thus, the influence of international financial organisms such as the IMF or the World Bank grew, conflicting with Nicolae Ceauşescu's autarchic policies. Ceauşescu eventually initiated a project of total reimbursement of the foreign debt (completed in 1989, shortly before his overthrow). To achieve this goal, he imposed policies that impoverished Romanians and exhausted the Romanian economy. He profoundly deepened Romania's police state (see Securitate) and imposed a cult of personality.

One positive achievement during that period was the spread of near-universal literacy and the development of a very efficient education system. However, this educational transformation was not coupled with appropriate industrial development and urbanization policies, so that almost half of Romania's population is still rural (47.3%; see Demography of Romania). Another achievement is the negotiated retreat of Soviet troops from Romania, in 1958. This allowed the country to pursue independent policies, including the condemnation by the Communist Party of Romania of the Soviet-led 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia (Romania was the only country of the Warsaw pact not to take part in the invasion), the continuation of Romanian-Israeli diplomatic relations after the Six-Day War of 1967 (Romania was the only country in the Warsaw pact to do so), the establishment of economic (1963) and diplomatic (1967) relations with the Federal Republic of Germany, and so forth. Close ties between Romania and both Israel and the Arab countries (and the PLO) allowed Romania to play an essential role in the Israel-Egypt and Israel-PLO peace processes.

The Communist dictatorship ended 22 December 1989 (see Romanian Revolution of 1989). During the 1989 revolution, power was taken by a group called the National Salvation Front (FSN), which grouped a large number of former members of the communist party and of the Securitate (Romanian equivalent to KGB), the two were then linked but also a small number of dissidents, other personalities and (then-unknown) persons that participated in the uprising which genuinely thought the FSN to be a anti-communist movment. The FSN assumed the missions of restoring civil order (which it did) and immediately took seemingly democratic measures.

Despite the desperate the efforts of the Securitate to hide the fact that the FSN was in fact just a new name for the same ex-communists, public opinion regarded it as being the new name of Communist Party. Thus Romanians assisted to the resurrection of the traditional parties which were the main parties in Romania before World War 2 and that had been illegalized. These traditional parties are the National Christian Democrat Peasant's Party (PNTCD), the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Romanian Social Democrat Party (PSDR), all of whom were led by non communists and former political prisoners. These parties rallied a great amount of public support in a very short time despite the fact that all of the Romanian media was controlled by the FSN and the directed efforts of the Securitate to discredit its leaders. Their rapidly rising popularity raised concern among FSN leaders which feared losing power and thus having to answer for the crimes committed during the Ceausescu regime. This concern is what prompted the president of the FSN, Ion Iliescu, to call on the coal miners of the Jiu Valley to come to Bucharest to "re-establish public order which had been disturbed by vandals". The vandals, who were in fact supporters of the genuine anti-communist parties which had rallied in order not to see the country fall in the hands of those it was trying to flee. The joint anti-communist movement (composed of the three traditional Romanian parties) was halted and so was Romania's path towards true freedom and genuine democracy in the early 1990's.

Through the clever use of the Securiate's notorious disinformation skills, its network of informants and agents among Romanians and the brut force of the coal miners, Romania's ex-communists managed to stay in power after the revolution. They won the undemocratic elections (the opposition's head quarters had been vandalized and its members severely beaten by miners, the entire media was controlled by the FSN, furthermore large denigration campaigns against opposition leaders were being pursued by the Securitate) they had organised. Since then their names have been seen linked to most of the corruption scandals which plagued Romania.

Romania since 1989

Following the end of the Cold War in 1989, Romania developed closer ties with Western Europe, the country quickly applied for membership in the EU in June 1993, becoming in 1995 Associated State of EU, joined NATO in 2004 and became an Acceding Country to the European Union, being at an advanced stage to join on January 1, 2007. The Treaty of Accession of Romania has been signed by EU member states' representatives in Luxembourg, Abbaye de Neumünster, on April 25 2005. Ratification of the Romanian and Bulgarian Accession Treaty is ongoing in the parliaments of all member states.

The subsequent disintegration of the FSN, which did not have a clear political platform (given the fact that the only thing that united them was their greed for power and fear of being prosecuted), produced several political parties including the Democratic Party (PD), which for a time retained the FSN name), the Social Democratic Party (PSD, formerly known as the Romanian Democrat Social Party (PDSR) or the Democratic National Salvation Front-FDSN), and the Alliance for Romania (APR). Throughout several elections, coalitions, and governments, parties that emerged from the FSN governed or participated in the government of Romania from 1990 until today.

In 1996, the CDR entered power on a "Contract with Romania" platform which would have required the CDR to resign en masse after 200 days from a mixed coalition government. Some members had signed on to the contract programme, while others had not; once in power, the "Contract" was repudiated. The major CDR parties were electorally eviscerated in 2000, and the Social Democrats returned to power, with Ion Iliescu once again president of Romania and Adrian Năstase, the president of the Social-Democratic Party (PSD), as prime minister.

On December 12, 2004, Traian Băsescu was elected president of Romania, with campaign promises to stop corruption by bringing the corrupt to justice and by unmasking all former Securitate members. He was supported during elections by a coalition, called Justice and Truth Alliance (DA), formed of his Democratic Party and of the National-Liberal Party. The government was formed by a larger coalition which also included the Romanian Humanist Party (now called Conservative Party) and the ethnic Hungarian party UDMR.

Romanian heads of state (from the Unification of 1859)

Politics

The legislative branch of the Romanian government consists of two chambers, Senatul (The Senate), which has 137 members (as of 2004), and Camera Deputaţilor (The Chamber of Deputies), which has 332 members (as of 2004). The members of both chambers are elected every four years.

The President is also elected by popular vote, every five years (until 2004, four years).

The President appoints the Prime Minister, who heads the Government, and the members of the Government, who are chosen by the Prime Minister. In fact the Prime Minister is a member of the party or of the coallition that holds the majority in The Parliament. The President can choose the Prime minister only if none of the parties hold 50% + 1 of the total number of the members of the Parliament. The Government is subject to a parliamentary vote of approval.

The judicial power belongs to a hierarchical system of courts culminating with the supreme court-Înalta Curte de Justiţie şi Casaţie (The High Court of Justice and Casation). The Romanian judicial system is an inquisitorial system, of strong French influence.

The Curtea Constituţională (The Constitutional Court) judges the exceptions of non-constitutionality when invoked in any judicial court and judges the compliance of laws or other state regulations to the Romanian Constitution , if these are brought before it. It follows the tradition of the French Constitutional Council in requiring 9 judges to hold a 9 year, non-renewable term. Following the 2003 revision of the Constitution, its decisions cannot be defeated by any majority of the Parliament.

Administrative divisions

Main article: Counties of Romania

Romania is divided into 41 judeţe, or counties, and the municipality of Bucharest (Bucureşti) - the capital. See also Administrative divisions of Romania.

The counties are (in alphabetical order):

Geography

Main article: Geography of Romania

A large part of Romania's borders with Serbia and Bulgaria is formed by the Danube. The Danube is joined by the Prut River, which forms the border with Moldova. The Danube flows into the Black Sea forming the Danube Delta which is a reservation of the Biosphere.

Because many of Romania's borders are defined by natural, sometimes shifting rivers, and because the Danube Delta is constantly expanding towards the sea, about 2-5 linear metres (6–16 ft) yearly, Romania's surface area has changed over the past few decades, generally increasing. The number has increased from about 237,500 square kilometres (91,699 sq mi) in 1969 to 238,391 square kilometres (92,043 sq mi) in 2005.

Romania's terrain is distributed roughly equally among between mountainous, hilly and lowland territories.

The Carpathian Mountains dominate the centre of Romania surrounding the Transylvanian Plateau, 14 peaks reaching above the altitude of 2,000 metres (6,560 ft), the highest being Moldoveanu Peak. In the south, the Carpathians sweeten into hills, towards the Bărăgan Plains.

The three highest mountains in Romania are:

- bgcolor=#DDDDDD 		   Name  Height  Range
- bgcolor=#EEEEEE 		   1 Moldoveanu Peak    2,544 m   8,346 ft   Făgăraş Mountains
- bgcolor=#EEEEEE 		   2 Negoiu    2,535 m   8,317 ft   Făgăraş Mountains
- bgcolor=#EEEEEE 		   3 Viştea Mare    2,527 m   8,291 ft   Făgăraş Mountains
- bgcolor=#EEEEEE

Major cities are the capital Bucharest, Iaşi, Timişoara, Cluj-Napoca, Constanţa, Craiova, Braşov, and Galaţi.

See also:

Largest cities

# City Population County
1. Bucharest / Bucureşti 2,082,334 Bucharest
2. Iaşi 320,888 Iaşi County
3. Cluj-Napoca 317,953 Cluj County
4. Timişoara 317,660 Timiş County
5. Constanţa 310,471 Constanţa County
6. Craiova 302,601 Dolj County
7. Galaţi 298,861 Galaţi County
8. Braşov 284,595 Braşov County
9. Ploieşti 232,527 Prahova County
10. Brăila 216,292 Brăila County
11. Oradea 206,616 Bihor County
12. Arad 183,939 Arad County
13. Bacău 175,500 Bacău County

Source: National Institute of Statistics, 2002 Census

Unofficially, sociologists say that in its 228 square kilometres (88 sq mi), Bucharest has more than 3.5 million people, coming from every corner of the country.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Romania

After Romania's Communist regime was overthrown in late 1989, the country experienced a decade of economic instability and decline, led in part by an obsolete industrial base as well as a lack of structural reform. Starting from 2000, however, the economy was transformed into one of relative macreconomic stability, high growth, low unemployment and increasing foreign investment, and is currently among the most developed in Southeastern Europe. Economic growth since 2000 has averaged 4-5%, rising to 8.3% in 2004. This has characterised Romania as a boom economy and one of the fastest growing in Europe. Romania was granted in October 2004 the much desired 'functional market economy' status by EU officials, and is expected to join the EU in January 2007. Romania's per-capita GDP, calculated by purchasing power parity is estimated to be $9,446 in 2006. The national budget is €38.1 billion euro (for year 2006), which represents 33.1% of GDP, estimated to be RON 322.5 billion (€90,8 billions) according to the Prime-Minister Tăriceanu. Strong aspects of Romania are the technologically advanced market economy with substantial government participation. Having its own natural resources, Romania has intensively developed its agricultural and industrial sectors over the past 20 years. Romania is largely self-sufficient in food production. Clothing and textiles, industrial machinery, electrical and electronic equipment, metallurgic products, raw materials, cars, military equipment, software, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and agricultural products (fruits, vegetables, and flowers) are leading exports. Romania possesses extensive facilities for oil refining and semiconductor fabrication.

Inflation in 2005 dropped to 7.5%. It is expected to fall further to 5.8% at the end of 2006, and 3.8% for 2007. Unemployment in Romania is at 6.2% (May 2006) , which is very low compared to other large European countries such as Poland, France, or Germany.

Since the late 1990s, there have been several economic reforms, spurred on by the country's bid to join the EU, including the liquidation of large energy-intensive industries and major reforms in the agricultural and financial sectors. As of 2005, a significant amount of Romania's major companies have been privatised, including the majority of banks, the largest oil companies Petrom and Rompetrol, energy distributors and telecommunications companies. The country continues to privatise remaining state enterprises, including Romanian Post and the Romanian Commercial Bank. In comparison to its neighbours, Romania has a high number of small to medium sized enterprises (SMEes). Foreign investment has increased significantly since 2003, reaching € 5.1 billion in 2004. ERSTE BANK A.G. will be the new majority shareholder of Romanian Commercial Bank following the acquisition of a 61.88 percent stake at a price of Euro 7.65 per share, resulting in a total price for the 490,399,321 shares sold of Euro 3,751,554,805 (3.75 Billion €). This is considered the biggest Austrian foreign investment abroad. This is also considered the biggest FDI in Romania. Total FDI in Romania for 2005 was 6.3 Billion €. In the top of investor's country, Austria is leading with more then 6,7 Billion € from 1990 until 2005.

Romania's economy grew 4.1% in 2005, less then half the growth of the previous year, according to the National Statistics Office. The construction sector increased by 9.9% while the service sector showed an increase of 8.1%Monthly Statistical Indicators, January 2006, National Institute of Statistics. Currently GDP growth is forecast at 5.9% per annum. Romania's economy is characterized by a huge potential of tourism. Tourism of Romania has attracted 880 millions € investments in 2005 and doubled the amount of money invested in Romanian resorts. Turismul a atras în 2005 investiţii de 400 milioane de euro, Gândul, January 11, 2006

Despite Romania's rapid economic development, poverty is still a pervasive problem, and modernization's effects are only slowly being felt in the country's rural areas. Entrance to the European Union, however, should further speed up the country's development.

Trade

The majority of Romania's trade is oriented towards the countries of the European Union. For the first 3 months of 2006, Romania's exports rose 24.8%, while imports rose 31%, in part due to a rise in real wages. In March 2006, Romanian exports grew to a record value of €3.5 billion/month. The trade deficit was about €1.2 billion (US$1.8 billion) in the first three months of the year, well within the target for 2006. In present, at a series of economical indicators, Romania has a similar situation of the new member states of EU, the export of highly technological products being of 4.5% from total exports, comparatively higher than Poland which has only 2.7% from exports. In December 2005 the National Strategy for Export for 2005-2009 was adopted. Foreign trade is estimated to top 79 Billion € for 2006, compared with 58 Billion € in 2005.

Main indicators of the exports and imports of Romania's economy:

# 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
1. Exports 20 Bn€ 31 Bn€ 37.5 Bn€ (est.) 45 Bn€ (est.) 53 Bn€(est.)
2. Imports 28 Bn€ 38 Bn€ 48 Bn€ (est.) 59 Bn€ (est.) 74 Bn€(est.)
3. Average gross wage (RON)/€ 950RON/ 275 € 1000RON/ 285 € 1100RON/ 315€ (est.)1200RON/ 355€ (est.) 1350 RON/ 385€ (est.)

Taxation

In January 2005, Romania's new Tăriceanu government imposed major fiscal reforms, replacing Romania's progressive tax system with a 16% flat tax on both personal income and company profit. Romania now has one of the most liberal taxation systems in Europe, and it is expected that this, along with increased foreign investment, will boost economic growth in the coming years, as well as lower corruption and bring to light the grey economy. The tax cuts have led a 12 percent jump in household consumption, which was also boosted by a 15 percent rise in wages.

Debt

Romania's level of international debt is estimated at $24.59 billion in 2004, or 23.6% of GDP which is considered very low. However, as Romania is currently going through an economic boom and is undertaking several major infrastructure projects, especially in the context of its EU accession, debt is expected to rise in absolute terms.

During the latter part of the Ceauşescu period, Romania earned significant credits from several Arab countries, notably Iraq, for work related to the oil industry. In August 2005, Romania forgave US$2 billion of the US$2.5 billion debt owed it by an Iraq still largely occupied by the military forces of the U.S.-led "Coalition of the Willing", making Romania the first country outside of the Paris Club of wealthy creditor nations to forgive Iraqi debts. Romania has the largest international reserves in the region, estimated at € 25 billion (by April 2006), covering more than 7 months of imports. Romania Forgives $2 Billion of Iraq Debt, Arab News, August 19, 2005 Aurul, petrolul şi regăţenii, Gândul, August 24, 2005

Wages

The average gross wage per month in Romania is 1217 new lei as of March 2006, an increase of 25,6% over the previous year. This equates to €456.38, based on international exchange rates; the purchasing power parity (PPP) would be about €930. The average net salary per month in March 2006 was 983 new lei (€319.55, about €712 PPP). The Comisia Nationala de Prognoza (CNP) calculates that the average gross wage per month will reach €534 (€962 PPP) in 2007 and €623 (1121€ PPP) in 2009.

Currency

Romania's legal tender is the leu (plural lei). On 1 July 2005, the leu was subjected to revaluation so that 10,000 old lei, in circulation on that date, was exchanged for 1 new leu (RON). The existing banknotes and coins, i.e. the old lei, will be legal tender until the end of December 2006. The official exchange rate for 10 August 2005 for 1€=3.39 lei (National Bank of Romania). By 31 December 2006, the existing banknotes and coins, i.e. the old lei, are to be replaced gradually by the new banknotes and coins. The process will prepare Romania for the adoption of the euro, which is expected to take place several years after EU accession. The Romanian government has said that it expects the country will adopt the euro between 2011 and 2012.

Main indicators of Romania's economy:

Romania's GDP over 2005-2007 will go up by 10 billion euros per year, and will stand in 2007 at 96.138 billion euros.

# 2003 2004 2005 2006 20072008
1. GDP 70 Bn€ 77Bn€ 86Bn€ 90Bn€ (est.)96.138 (est.)110(est.)
2. GDP ( %real change pa) +5.3% +8.3% +4.1% +6% (est.)+6(est.)+6(est.)
3. GDP per capita (€) 2350 € 2600 € 3100€ 4000€ (est.) NANA
4. GDP per capita (€ at PPP) 7700 € 8000 € 8500€ 9000€ (est.)NANA
5. Inflation 14% 9.2% 8.5% 5% (est.)3% 2.5%
6. Minimum wage(month) 285 RON=82€ 310 RON=89€ 330RON=95€ 360RON=105€ (est.) NA NA
7. Medium gross wage(month) 765 RON=220€ 870 RON=250€ 995RON=285€ 1145RON=335€ (est.) 1300RON1800RON
8. Unemployment 6.4% 6.3% 5.6% 5% (est.) NANA
9. FDI 3.9bn€ 5.1bn€ 6bn€ 8bn€ (est.) NANA
10. Foreign-exchange reserves (bn€) 14bn€ 16bn€ 20bn€ 30bn€ (est.) NANA
11. Mobile phone users 9,000,000 10,000,000 13,370,000 16,000,000 (est.) NANA
12. Cars production (units) 160,000 240,000 320,000 500,000(est.) NANA
13. Internet users 5,180,000 7,800,000 10,400,000 13,600,000(est.) NANA

National Budget

National budget, about €35 billion, represents about 31,2% of GDP of RON 389,5 billion (EURO 94,8 billion), declared the Prime-Minister Tariceanu, 1 Euro=3,4 RON. National budget is increasing rapidly at about 6 billion EURO each year between 2005-2009. About 2 billion EURO/year are spend on national defense.

National budget of Romania:

# 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
1. National Budget 25 Bn€ 30 Bn€ 38 Bn€ (est.) 47 Bn€ (est.) 64 Bn€(est.)
2. Percentage of GDP% 29% 31% 34%(est.) 36%(est.) 39%(est.)

Romania's development in period 2007-2013 will cost 58,7 billions euro of which 43% represents European Union financial contribution.

National Holidays

The Christian holidays of Christmas and (Orthodox) Easter are celebrated (they are official, non-working, holidays). Unlike some other Eastern Orthodox Churches, the Romanian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas on 25 December; however, they follow the usual Eastern Orthodox practice for the date of Easter. Other official holidays (non-working) are New Year's Day (January 1), Labour Day (May 1), and the National Day of Romania (December 1, the Union Day). For Christmas and for Labour Day, it is common for businesses to shut down more than a single day.

Minor, but widely observed, holidays include Mărţişor (March 1), marking the start of spring, and International Women's Day (March 8). Many businesses give women employees the day off for International Women's Day. Some holidays celebrated in the United States or in other parts of Europe have recently been gaining some currency in Romania, for example Valentine's Day (February 14).

Tourism

Main article: Tourism in Romania Romanian tourism focuses on the country's natural landscapes and its rich history, from medieval and Saxon villages with fortified churches in Transylvania to hot Black Sea shores and the heights of the Carpathian Mountains.

Annually, more than 7 million tourists from all over the world, most of them from Western Europe and United States, spend their holiday in Romania. Many of the major touristic sites are part of World Heritage Sites.

Sport in Romania

Romania is internationally successful in a number of sports. See List of Romanians (sport section).

The gymnast Nadia Comaneci was the first gymnast to score a perfect "ten" in the 1976 Montreal Olympics. She also won three gold medals, one silver and one bronze - all at the age of fifteen. Her success continued in the 1980 Moscow Olympics when she was awarded two gold medals and two silver medals.

Ilie Năstase, the tennis player, is another internationally known Romanian sports star. He won several Grand Slam titles, dozens of other tournaments and also was a successful doubles player. Romania has also reached the Davis Cup finals three times.

Football (soccer) is popular in Romania with international footballers such as Gheorghe Hagi who played for Steaua Bucuresti (Romania), Real Madrid, FC Barcelona (Spain) and Galatasaray (Turkey) among others. The Romanian soccer club Steaua Bucureşti was the first Eastern European club to ever win the prestigious European Champions Cup title (1986).

Rugby Union is also traditional. Nicolae Ceauşescu was said to have favoured rugby union as the national team sport in Romania during his tenure and financially backed it at the expense at the more widely played and popular association football.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Romania

Ethnicity

Ethnic groups (Census 2002):

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]] Other ethnic groups include natives of Romania's neighbouring countries and some smaller groups like the Polish minority (numbering a few thousand people) living in Suceava County.

According to official declarations, ethnic minorities can use their native language in education. Ethnic minorities are offered native language access to public administration in towns and villages where they make up for more than 20% of the population. In towns and villages where they make up for more than 30% of the population, local council meetings can be held in the minority language, provided that translation into Romanian is provided, and that official minutes are kept in Romanian (cf. the Public Administration Law, link below).

On the other hand, some members and observers of minor ethnic minorities (e.g.) Roma claim that their numbers are undercounted in national censuses *, [http://www.uur.itcnet.ro/history02_eng.htm#demography_real.

Language

The official language is Romanian, a Romance language of the Italic subfamily of the family of Indo-European languages. This language family includes French, Spanish, Catalan, Italian and Portuguese; its languages are spoken by about 670 million people in many parts of the world, but mainly in Europe and the Western Hemisphere. About 24 million people worldwide speak Romanian, mostly in Romania and Moldova.

A sizeable Hungarian minority in Transylvania speaks Hungarian as well as Romanian; until the 1990s, there were also a substantial number of German-speaking Transylvanian Saxons, but in exchange for payments to the Communist regime many left to West Germany and most of the remainder have left the country since the fall of communism and the accompanying opening of borders.

The Romanian educational system puts a strong emphasis on foreign languages, and Radio România Internaţional broadcasts in Arabic, Armenian, Aromanian, Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, and Ukrainian (broadcasts in Bulgarian, Greek, Hungarian, Portuguese and Turkish ended in late March 2004).

According to the Eurobarometer Report "Europeans and Languages" (Sept. 2005) more than a quarter of Romanians understand and speak English and 17% French. Romania is a member of the Organisation de la Francophonie, with Bucharest being the host of the Summit of Francophony in 2006. In terms of foreign languages, 5 million Romanians speak English, 4-5 million speak French, 1.5 million speak German, 2 million speak Italian, and 1 million speak Spanish. *

Historically, French was the leading foreign language for Romanians to study; now it is English, so that, as a group, Romanian English-speakers are generally younger than Romanian French-speakers.

Religion

Religions (2002 Census):

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Romania".

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