Official Name
ROMANIA
State Organization
The Constitution*) adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 1991 proclaims " Romania is a national, sovereign and independent, unitary and indivisible state".
*) Romanian citizens were called to validate by referendum, on 2003, October 18-19, the modifications brought by the Parliament to the Constitution, our fundamental law, meaning to apply the stamp of legitimacy on the “Constitution of the Romanian European Integration”.
Form of Government
Republic
President of Romania
The President of Romania is elected directly by citizens, for maximum two five-years mandates. The President of Romania nominates a candidate for the post of Prime Minister and appoints the Government on the basis of the confidence vote granted by Parliament.
The Parliament
Two chambers Parliament (the Deputies’ Chamber and the Senate) is elected by universal vote for a four-years term.
Prime Minister
Prime Minister is appointed by the President of Romania at the proposal of the Governmental Party.
National Flag
Three equal vertical stripes, next to the staff blue, yellow and red.
National
Coat-of-Arms (since 1992)
An eagle holding a cross in its beak and a sword and a scepter in its claws as well as the symbols of the historical provinces, Wallachia, Moldavia, Transylvania, Banat and Dobrudja.
State Anthem (since 1990)
"Awake, Thee, Romanian", lyrics Andrei Muresanu, music Anton Pann.
National Day (since 1990)
The 1st of December (anniversary of the 1918 Union of all Romanians into one single state).
Legal holidays
January 1 and 2; 2nd Easter Day; May 1; December 1, December 25 and 26.
Geographical Location
Romania is located in SE Central Europe, on the lower Danube and bordering on the Black Sea. The 45o parallel of North latitude and the 25o East line of longitude is crossing Romania.
Boundaries
Total length 3149.9 km; Borders: NE and E on the Republic of Moldova (681.3 km); N and E on the Ukraine (649.4 km); SE on the Black Sea (193.5 km); S on Bulgaria (631.3 km); SW on Yugoslavian Federation (546.4 km); W on Hungary (448.0 km).
Area
238,391 sq. km (12th in Europe and 81st in the world).
Official Language
Romanian. The Eastern most representative of the family Romance languages, Romanian descends from the Latin spoken in Dacia and Moesia in ancient times.
Standard Time
GMT +2 hours. From the last Sunday in March to last Sunday in October, Daylight Saving Time applies.
Weights and Measures
The metric system, in force since 1866.
Currency
1 LEU (plural - LEI) = 100 BANI (singular - BAN).
As of 1 July 2005, Romania's legal tender, previously coded as ROL, has been redenominated so that ROL 10,000 are exchanged for 1 new leu (RON).
The exchange rate
The exchange rate is set on the interbank currency market on a daily basis, reference currency is Euro.
Capital
Bucharest - Divided into six administrative districts. Situated in the South of the country, in the Romanian Plain, at an altitude of 70-90m, on the rivers Dambovita and Colentina, the city dates from the 14th century. Capital of Wallachia in the 17th - 19th centuries, then of Romania since 1862. Population - 1,924,959 inhabitants on July 1, 2005.
Administrative Division
County; town; commune. There are: 41 counties plus the capital, Bucharest (with a county status); 319 towns (of which 103 municipalities); 2,851 communes (with about 12,946 villages).
Main Cities: Bucharest, Iasi, Constanta,
Timisoara, Cluj-Napoca, Brasov, Craiova, Galati, Ploiesti, Braila.
The town situated at the highest average altitude is Predeal (Brasov
county), at 1060 m.
The town situated at the lowest average altitude is Sulina (Tulcea
county) at 4 m.
The first ten towns in the
country by number of inhabitants,
on July 1, 2005
| Town 1) | Number of inhabitants |
|
| 1 | Bucharest | 1924959 |
| 2 | Cluj-Napoca | 310194 |
| 3 | Iasi | 307377 |
| 4 | Constanta | 306332 |
| 5 | Timisoara | 303640 |
| 6 | Craiova | 300182 |
| 7 | Galati | 298366 |
| 8 | Brasov | 282517 |
| 9 | Ploiesti | 233699 |
| 10 | Braila | 218744 |
| 1) Municipality (county residence). |
Ports
On the Black Sea - Constanta; Mangalia.
- Moldova Noua; Orsova; Drobeta-Turnu Severin; Calafat; Corabia; Turnu Magurele; Zimnicea; Giurgiu; Oltenita; Calarasi; Cernavoda; Hârsova; Macin; Braila; Galati; Tulcea and Sulina.On the Danube
Airports
Bucharest-Otopeni (“Henri Coanda”); Bucharest-Baneasa; Constanta - Mihail Kogalniceanu; Timisoara ("Traian Vuia"); Bacau; Baia Mare; Caransebes; Cluj-Napoca; Craiova; Deva; Iasi; Oradea; Satu Mare; Târgu Mures; Tulcea; Suceava; Arad; Sibiu.
Population
Total number - 21,623,849 inhabitants, on July 1, 2005; Density: 90.7 inhabitants/ km2, on July 1, 2005.
Romania’s population structure by nationality is: Romanians 89.5%; Hungarians 6.6%; Germans 0.3%; Ukrainians 0.3%; Jews 0.04%; Others 3.26%.
Outside the country’s borders live some 10,938 thou. Romanians, in Europe:in the Republic of Moldova, in Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, Greece, and Albania. There are also Romanian communities in France, Germany and in other countries. In the United States of America and Canada live about 2.9 million Romanians.
Per groups of age the distribution of the population is the following: 0-14 years - 15.7%; 15-59 years - 65.3% ; over 60 years - 19.0%.
Men account for 48.6% of the country’s population and women for 51.4%.
The rural population: 44.9%; urban population:55.1%.Population structure by nationality
Source: National Institute of Statistics
Religion
Orthodox: 86.8%; Roman-Catholic: 4.7%; Reformed: 3.2%; Greek-Catholic: 0.9%; Others: 4.4%.
Population structure by religion
Source: National Institute of Statistics
Labor force
Romanian labor force is well skilled, particularly in engineering. In 2005, economically active population was 9,851 thou. persons out of which 44.9% of total economically active population was represented by women and 54.4% was in living in urban area. Number of unemployed registered at the end of October 2006 was 453.5 thou. Average number of pensioners in the first quarter of 2006 was 5,828 thou persons.
Education
Education has a long and rich tradition in Romania. It is to be noted that before 1990 the literacy rate was close to 100 %. At present, education is undergoing a radical restructuring and adaptation to the new realities.
The first private educational establishments were set up in 1990 after more than 40 years of full state ownership.
The system of state education comprises pre-school education (for children aged 3 to 7), primary school (grades I-IV), secondary school (grades V-VIII), high school (grades IX-XII).
Vocational and foremen’s schools have 1 - 3 years and higher education 3-6 years.
In the school year 2005/2006 school attendance was 4,360 thou.persons.
Source: National Institute of Statistics
Health care
