1991 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1991 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Climate
temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms
Coastline
225 km
Comparative area
slightly smaller than Oregon
Environment
frequent earthquakes most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides, air pollution in south
Land boundaries
2,904 km total; Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, USSR 1,307 km, Yugoslavia 546 km
Land use
arable land 43%; permanent crops 3%; meadows and pastures 19%; forest and woodland 28%; other 7%; includes irrigated 11%
Maritime claims
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation; Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
crude oil (reserves being exhausted), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt
Note
controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans and western USSR
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
Total area
237,500 km2; land area: 230,340 km2
People and Society
Birth rate
16 births/1,000 population (1991)
Death rate
10 deaths/1,000 population (1991)
Ethnic divisions
Romanian 89.1%; Hungarian 8.9%; German 0.4%; Ukrainian, Serb, Croat, Russian, Turk, and Gypsy 1.6%
Infant mortality rate
18 deaths/1,000 live births (1991)
Labor force
10,690,000; industry 34%, agriculture 28%, other 38% (1987)
Language
Romanian, Hungarian, German
Life expectancy at birth
69 years male, 75 years female (1991)
Literacy
96% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1970 est.)
Nationality
noun--Romanian(s); adjective--Romanian
Net migration rate
- 1 migrant/1,000 population (1991)
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 three umbrella organizations--Organization of Free Trade Unions, Fratia (Brotherhood), and the Alfa Cortel; many other trade unions have been formed
Population
23,397,054 (July 1991), growth rate 0.5% (1991)
Religion
Romanian Orthodox 70%, Roman Catholic 6%, Greek Catholic (Uniate) 3%, Protestant 6%, unaffiliated 15%
Total fertility rate
2.1 children born/woman (1991)
Government
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
Capital
Bucharest
Communists
3,400,000 (November 1984); Communist Party has ceased to exist
Constitution
21 August 1965; new constitution being drafted
Diplomatic representation
Ambassador Virgil CONSTANTINESCU; Chancery at 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 232-4747; US--Ambassador Alan GREEN, Jr.; Embassy at Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest (mailing address is APO New York 09213); telephone [40] (0) 10-40-40
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, AUR 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%, AUR 2%, other 15%; seats--(387 total) FSN 263, UDMR 29, PNL 29, PNTCD 12, MER 12, AUR 9, other 33
Executive branch
president, vice president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)
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
Independence
1881 (from Turkey); republic proclaimed 30 December 1947
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)
Legal system
former mixture of civil law system and Communist legal theory that increasingly reflected Romanian traditions is being revised
Legislative branch
bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate (Senat) and a lower house or House of Deputies (Adunarea Deputatilor)
Long-form name
none
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
National holiday
National Day of Romania, 1 December (1990)
Political parties and leaders
National Salvation Front (FSN), Ion STOICA; Magyar Democratic Union (UDMR), Geza DOMOKOS; National Liberal Party (PNL), Radu CAMPEANU; National Peasants' Christian and Democratic Party (PNTCD), Corneliu COPOSU; Ecology Movement (MER), leader NA; Romanian National Unity Party (AUR), Radu CEONTEA; there are now more than 100 other parties; note--although the Communist Party has ceased to exist, a small proto-Communist party, the Socialist Labor Party, has been formed
Suffrage
universal at age 18
Type
in transition from Communist state to republic
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 15% of GNP and 28% of labor force; major wheat and corn producer; other products--sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, milk, eggs, meat, grapes
Budget
revenues $28.4 billion; expenditures $28.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $12.3 billion (1989)
Currency
leu (plural--lei); 1 leu (L) = 100 bani
Economic aid
donor--$4.4 billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed countries (1956-89)
Electricity
22,700,000 kW capacity; 64,200 million kWh produced, 2,760 kWh per capita (1990)
Exchange rates
lei (L) per US$1--60.00 (June 1991), 22.432 (1990), 14.922 (1989), 14.277 (1988), 14.557 (1987), 16.153 (1986), 17.141 (1985)
Exports
$9.2 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.); commodities--machinery and equipment 34.7%, fuels, minerals and metals 24.7%, manufactured consumer goods 16.9%, agricultural materials and forestry products 11.9%, other 11.6% (1986); partners--USSR 27%, Eastern Europe 23%, EC 15%, US 5%, China 4% (1987)
External debt
$400 million (mid-1990)
Fiscal year
calendar year
GNP
$69.9 billion, per capita $3,000; real growth rate - 10.8% (1990 est.)
Imports
$10.9 billion (f.o.b., 1990 est.); commodities--fuels, minerals, and metals 51.0%, machinery and equipment 26.7%, agricultural and forestry products 11.0%, manufactured consumer goods 4.2% (1986); partners--Communist countries 60%, non-Communist countries 40% (1987)
Industrial production
growth rate - 20% (1990 est.)
Industries
mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, machine building, food processing, petroleum
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
50% (1990 est.)
Overview
Industry, which accounts for one-third of the labor force and generates over half the GNP, suffers from an aging capital plant and persistent shortages of energy. The year 1990 witnessed about a 20% drop in industrial production because of energy and input shortages and labor unrest. In recent years the agricultural sector has had to contend with drought, mismanagement, and shortages of inputs. A drought in 1990 contributed to a lackluster harvest, a problem compounded by corruption and a poor distribution system. The new government is slowly loosening the tight central controls of Ceausescu's command economy. It has instituted moderate land reforms, with close to one-half of cropland now in private hands, and it has allowed changes in prices for private agricultural output. Also, the new regime is permitting the establishment of private enterprises, largely in services, handicrafts, and small-scale industry. New laws providing for the privatization of large state firms have been passed. However, most of the early privatization will involve converting state firms into joint-stock companies. The selling of shares to the public has not yet been worked out. Furthermore, the government has halted the old policy of diverting food from domestic consumption to hard currency export markets. So far, the government does not seem willing to adopt a thoroughgoing market system, that is, there is great caution in decontrolling prices because of public opposition. The government has sharply raised price ceilings instead of lifting them entirely.
Unemployment rate
NA%
Communications
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
Civil air
59 major transport aircraft
Highways
72,799 km total; 15,762 km concrete, asphalt, stone block; 20,208 km asphalt treated; 27,729 km gravel, crushed stone, and other paved surfaces; 9,100 km unpaved roads (1985)
Inland waterways
1,724 km (1984)
Merchant marine
294 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,767,465 GRT/5,893,700 DWT; includes 1 passenger-cargo, 191 cargo, 2 container, 1 rail-car carrier, 11 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 2 livestock carrier, 15 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 69 bulk, 2 combination ore/oil
Pipelines
2,800 km crude oil; 1,429 km refined products; 6,400 km natural gas
Ports
Constanta, Galati, Braila, Mangalia; inland ports are Giurgiu, Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Orsova
Railroads
11,275 km total; 10,860 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 370 km narrow gauge, 45 km broad gauge; 3,411 km electrified, 3,060 km double track; government owned (1987)
Telecommunications
about 2.3 million telephone customers; 89% of phone network is automatic; present phone density is 9.85 per 100 residents; roughly 3,300 villages with no service (February 1990); stations--39 AM, 29 FM, 39 TV (1990)
Military and Security
Branches
French--Army, Navy, Air Force, Gendarmerie
Defense expenditures
15 billion lei (unofficial), NA% of GDP (1991); note--conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the official administratively set exchange rate would produce misleading results _%_
Manpower availability
males 15-49, 5,801,986; 4,912,789 fit for military service; 192,996 reach military age (20) annually