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NAVIGATION
Romania
GOVERNMENT
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Country name:
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conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Romania local short form: Romania local long form: none |
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Government type:
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republic |
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Capital:
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Bucharest |
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Administrative divisions:
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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 |
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Independence:
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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) |
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National holiday:
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Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918) |
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Constitution:
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8 December 1991 |
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Legal system:
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former mixture of civil law system and communist legal theory; is now based on the constitution of France's Fifth Republic |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President Ion ILIESCU (since 20 December 2000)
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 head of government: Prime Minister Adrian NASTASE (since 29 December 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister election results: percent of vote - Ion ILIESCU 66.84%, Corneliu Vadim TUDOR 33.16% |
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Legislative branch:
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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 |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistrates) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Democratic Party or PD [Traian BASESCU]; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; National Liberal Party or PNL [Valeriu STOICA]; Romania Mare Party (Greater Romanian Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Adrian NASTASE], formerly known as the Party of Social Democracy in Romania or PDSR |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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various human rights and professional associations |
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International organization participation:
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ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Sorin Dumitru DUCARU
consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York FAX: [1] (202) 232-4748 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851 chancery: 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Michael GUEST
embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest mailing address: American Embassy Bucharest, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5260 (pouch) telephone: [40] (21) 210-4042 FAX: [40] (21) 210-0395 branch office(s): Cluj-Napoca |
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Flag description:
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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 flag of Chad, also resembles the flags of Andorra and Moldova |
ECONOMY
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Economy - overview:
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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. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $152.7 billion (2001 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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4.8% (2001 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2001 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 15%
industry: 30% services: 55% (2000) |
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Population below poverty line:
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45% (2000) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 23% (1994) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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31 (1997) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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34.5% (2001 est.) |
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Labor force:
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9.9 million (1999 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 40%, industry 25%, services 35% (1998) |
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Unemployment rate:
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9.1% (2001) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $11.7 billion
expenditures: $12.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
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Industries:
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textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food processing, petroleum refining |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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6.5% (2001) |
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Electricity - production:
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49.787 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 53%
hydro: 37% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 10% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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45.677 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - exports:
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1.4 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - imports:
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775 million kWh (2000) |
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Agriculture - products:
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wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; eggs, sheep |
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Exports:
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$11.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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textiles and footwear 26%, metals and metal products 15%, machinery and equipment 11%, minerals and fuels 6% (1999) |
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Exports - partners:
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Italy 22%, Germany 16%, France 7%, Turkey 6%, US (2000) |
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Imports:
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$14.4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and equipment 23%, fuels and minerals 12%, chemicals 9%, textile and products 19% (1999) |
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Imports - partners:
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Italy 19%, Germany 15%, Russia 9%, France 6% (2000) |
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Debt - external:
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$11.6 billion (2001 est.) |
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Currency:
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leu (ROL) |
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Currency code:
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ROL |
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Exchange rates:
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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 |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |