1994 Edition

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

Agriculture

accounts for 18% of GDP and 28% of labor force; major wheat and corn producer; other products - sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, milk, eggs, meat, grapes

Airports

total: 234 usable: 74 with permanent-surface runways: 26 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 21 with runways 1,060-2,439 m: 24 note: a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip

Area

total area: 237,500 sq km land area: 230,340 sq km comparative area: slightly smaller than Oregon

Birth rate

13.66 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Branches

Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Paramilitary Forces, Civil Defense

Budget

revenues: $19 billion expenditures: $20 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.1 billion (1991 est.)

Capital

Bucharest

Climate

temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms

Coastline

225 km

Constitution

8 December 1991

Currency

1 leu (L) = 100 bani

Death rate

10.02 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Defense expenditures

137 billion lei, 3% of GDP (1993); note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

Digraph

RO

Diplomatic representation in US

chief of mission: (vacant) chancery: 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851

Economic aid

$NA

Electricity

capacity: 22,500,000 kW production: 59 billion kWh consumption per capita: 2,540 kWh (1992)

Environment

current issues: soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta wetlands natural hazards: earthquakes most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea

Ethnic divisions

Romanian 89.1%, Hungarian 8.9%, German 0.4%, Ukrainian, Serb, Croat, Russian, Turk, and Gypsy 1.6%

Exchange rates

lei (L) per US$1 - 1,387.16 (January 1994), 760.05 (1993), 307.95 (1992), 76.39 (1991), 22.432 (1990), 14.922 (1989)

Executive branch

chief of state: President Ion ILIESCU (since 20 June 1990, previously President of Provisional Council of National Unity since 23 December 1989); election last held 27 September 1992 - with runoff between top two candidates on 11 October 1992 (next to be held NA 1996); results - Ion ILIESCU 61.4%, Emil CONSTANTINESCU 38.6% head of government: Prime Minister Nicolae VACAROIU (since November 1992) cabinet: Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister

Exports

$4 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: metals and metal products 24%, mineral products 14%, textiles 10.7%, electric machines and equipment 9.3%, transport materials 9.2% (1993) partners: EC 36.1%, developing countries 27.4%, East and Central Europe 14.9%, EFTA 5.1%, Russia 5%, Japan 1.4%, US 1.3% (1993)

External debt

$4 billion (1993)

FAX

(202) 232-4748 consulate(s) general: New York

[40] (1) 210-0395

Fiscal year

calendar year

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

Highways

total: 72,799 km paved: 35,970 km unpaved: gravel, crushed stone, stabilized earth 27,729 km; unsurfaced earth 9,100 km (1985)

House of Deputies (Adunarea Deputatilor)

elections last held 27 September 1992 (next to be held NA 1996); results - PDSR 27.5%, CDR 22.5%, PP-(FSN) 11%, others 39%; seats - (341 total) PDSR 117, CDR 82, PP-(FSN) 43, PUNR 30, UDMR 27, PRM 16, PSM 13, other 13

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for southwest Asian heroin and Latin American cocaine transiting the Balkan route

Imports

$5.4 billion (f.o.b., 1993) commodities: minerals 29%, machinery and equipment 17.2%, textiles 10%, agricultural goods 9% (1993) partners: EC 45.8%, East and Central Europe 8.6%, developing countries 22.6%, Russia 11%, EFTA 6.2%, US 5.0%, Japan 0.8% (1993)

Independence

1881 (from Turkey; republic proclaimed 30 December 1947)

Industrial production

growth rate -1% (1993 est.); accounts for 45% of GDP

Industries

mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, machine building, food processing, petroleum production and refining

Infant mortality rate

19.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

6% per month (March 1994)

Inland waterways

1,724 km (1984)

International disputes

no official territorial claim by either Moldova or Romania, but nationalists in Romania seek the merger of Moldova with Romania; potential future dispute by Moldova and Romania against Ukraine over former southern and northern Bessarabian areas

Irrigated land

34,500 sq km (1989 est.)

Judicial branch

Supreme Court of Justice, Constitutional Court

Labor force

10,945,700 by occupation: industry 38%, agriculture 28%, other 34% (1989)

Land boundaries

total 2,508 km, Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km, Serbia and Montenegro 476 km (all with Serbia), Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (south) 169 km

Land use

arable land: 43% permanent crops: 3% meadows and pastures: 19% forest and woodland: 28% other: 7%

Languages

Romanian, Hungarian, German

Legal system

former mixture of civil law system and Communist legal theory is being revised to conform with European norms

Legislative branch

bicameral Parliament

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 71.74 years male: 68.81 years female: 74.84 years (1994 est.)

Literacy

age 15 and over can read and write (1978 est.) total population: 98% male: NA% female: NA%

Location

Balkan State, Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea between Bulgaria and Ukraine

Manpower availability

males age 15-49 5,888,452; fit for military service 4,972,834; reach military age (20) annually 193,901 (1994 est.)

Map references

Ethnic Groups in Eastern Europe, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World

Maritime claims

contiguous zone: 24 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm

Member of

ACCT (observer), BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI (participating), CSCE, EBRD, ECE, FAO, G-9, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOSOM, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Merchant marine

241 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,626,421 GRT/4,017,380 DWT, bulk 49, cargo 167, container 2, oil tanker 14, passenger-cargo 1, rail-car carrier 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 7

Names

conventional long form: none conventional short form: Romania local long form: none local short form: Romania

National holiday

National Day of Romania, 1 December (1990)

National product

GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $63.7 billion (1993 est.)

National product per capita

$2,700 (1993 est.)

National product real growth rate

1% (1993)

Nationality

noun: Romanian(s) adjective: Romanian

Natural resources

petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt

Net migration rate

-3.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)

Note

controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine

Other political or pressure groups

various human rights and professional associations

Overview

Despite the continuing difficulties in moving away from the former command system, the Romanian economy seems to have bottomed out in 1993. Market oriented reforms have been introduced fitfully since the downfall of CEAUSESCU in December 1989, with the result a growing private sector, especially in services. The slow pace of structural reform, however, has exacerbated Romania's high inflation rate and eroded real wages. Agricultural production rebounded in 1993 from the previous year's drought-reduced harvest; food supplies are adequate, but expensive. Bucharest resisted pressure to devalue its currency despite a $638 million trade deficit in the first half of 1993 and the emergence of a black market for hard currency. Unable to support the currency, the national bank, nonetheless, was forced to depreciate the currency 65% over the course of the year. The return of winter revealed that much of Romania's infrastructure had deteriorated over the last four years due to reduced levels of public investment. Residents of the capital reported frequent disruptions of heating and water services.

Pipelines

crude oil 2,800 km; petroleum products 1,429 km; natural gas 6,400 km (1992)

Political parties and leaders

Democratic Party (PD-(FSN)), Petre ROMAN; Party of Social Democracy in Romania (PDSR), Adrian NASTASE; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR), Bela MARKO; National Liberal Party (PNL), Mircea IONESCU-QUINTUS; National Peasants' Christian and Democratic Party (PNTCD), Corneliu COPOSU; Romanian National Unity Party (PUNR), Gheorghe FUNAR; Socialist Labor Party (PSM), Ilie VERDET; Agrarian Democratic Party of Romania (PDAR), Victor SURDU; The Democratic Convention (CDR), Emil CONSTANTINESCU; Romania Mare Party (PRM), Corneliu Vadim TUDOR note: numerous other samll parties exist but almost all failed to gain representation in the most recent election

Population

23,181,415 (July 1994 est.) note: the Romanian census of January 1992 gives the population for that date as 22.749 million; the government estimates that population declined in 1993 by 0.3%

Population growth rate

0.06% (1994 est.)

Ports

Constanta, Galati, Braila, Mangalia; inland ports are Giurgiu, Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Orsova

Railroads

11,275 km total; 10,860 km 1.435-meter gauge, 370 km narrow gauge, 45 km broad gauge; 3,411 km electrified, 3,060 km double track; government owned (1987)

Religions

Romanian Orthodox 70%, Roman Catholic 6% (of which 3% are Uniate), Protestant 6%, unaffiliated 18%

Senate (Senat)

elections last held 27 September 1992 (next to be held NA 1996); results - PDSR 27.5%, CDR 22.5%, PP-(FSN) 11%, others 39%; seats - (143 total) PDSR 49, CDR 34, PP-(FSN) 18, PUNR 14, UDMR 12, PRM 6, PDAR 5, PSM 5

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Telecommunications

poor service; about 2.3 million telephone customers; 89% of phone network is automatic; cable and open wire; trunk network is microwave; present phone density is 9.85 per 100 residents; roughly 3,300 villages with no service (February 1990); new digital international direct dial exchanges are in Bucharest (1993); broadcast stations - 12 AM, 5 FM, 13 TV (1990); 1 satellite ground station using INTELSAT

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 fertility rate

1.82 children born/woman (1994 est.)

Type

republic

Unemployment rate

11% (March 1994)

US diplomatic representation

chief of mission: Ambassador John R. DAVIS, Jr. embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest mailing address: AmEmbassy (Buch), Unit 1315, Bucharest; APO AE 09213-1315 telephone: [40] (1) 210-4042