Everything about Romania totally explained
Romania (:
Rumania,
Roumania;, ) is a country located in South-East
Central Europe, North of the
Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower
Danube, within and outside the
Carpathian arch, bordering on the
Black Sea. Almost all of the
Danube Delta is located within its territory. It shares a border with
Hungary and
Serbia to the west,
Ukraine and the
Republic of Moldova to the northeast, and
Bulgaria to the south.
Romania is a
semi-presidential unitary state. As a nation-state, the country was formed by the merging of
Moldavia and
Wallachia in 1859 and it gained recognition of its
independence in
1878. Later, in 1918, they were joined by
Transylvania,
Bukovina and
Bessarabia. At the end of
World War II, parts of its territories (roughly the present day
Moldova) were occupied by
USSR and Romania became a member of the
Warsaw Pact. With the fall of the
Iron Curtain in
1989, Romania started a series of political and economic reforms that allowed for Romania to
join the European Union on
January 1 2007.
Romania has the
9th largest territory and the
7th largest population (with 22 million people) among the
European Union member states. Its capital and largest city is
Bucharest, the
6th largest city in the EU with 1.9 million people. In 2007,
Sibiu, a large city in Transylvania, was chosen as a
European Capital of Culture. Romania also joined
NATO on
March 29,
2004, and is also a member of the
Latin Union, of the
Francophonie and of
OSCE.
Etymology
The name of
Romania (
Rumania or
România) comes from
Român (Romanian) which is a derivative of the word
Romanus ("
Roman") from
Latin. The fact that Romanians have said the name is a derivative of
Romanus is mentioned as early as the 16th century by many authors, including
Italian Humanists travelling in
Transylvania,
Moldavia and
Wallachia. The oldest surviving document written in the
Romanian language is a 1521 letter (known as "
Neacşu'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" in a Romanian written text,
Wallachia being here named The Rumanian Land -
Ţeara Rumânească (
Ţeara from the land). In the following centuries, Romanian documents use interchangeably two spelling forms:
Român and
Rumân. Socio-linguistic evolutions in the late 17th century led 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 serfdom in 1746, the form "rumân" gradually 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. This name has been officially in use since December 11, 1861.
English-language sources still used the term "Rumania", borrowed from the French spelling "
Roumania", as recently as
World War II, but since then the term has disappeared entirely.
History
Prehistory and Antiquity
The oldest modern human remains in Europe were discovered in the "
Cave With Bones" in present day Romania. The remains are approximately 42,000 years old and as Europe’s oldest remains of
Homo sapiens, they may represent the first such people to have entered the continent. The remains are especially interesting because they present a mixture of archaic, early modern human and Neanderthal morphological features.
The earliest written evidence of people living in the territory of the present-day Romania comes from
Herodotus in 513 BC. In one of his books, he writes that the tribal confederation of the
Getae were defeated by the
Persian Emperor
Darius the Great during his campaign against the
Scythians.
Dacians were a branch of
Thracians that inhabitanted
Dacia (corresponding to modern Romania,
Moldova and northern
Bulgaria). The
Dacian kingdom reached its maximum expansion during King
Burebista, around 82 BC. Later, The region came under the scrutiny of
Rome when the
Roman province, bordering along the Danube,
Moesia, was attacked by the Dacians in 87 AD during Emperor
Domitian's reign.
The Dacians were eventually defeated by the
Roman Empire under Emperor
Trajan in
two campaigns stretching from 101 AD to 106 AD, and the core of their kingdom was turned into the province of
Roman Dacia.
Because the province was rich in ores, and especially silver and gold, the Romans heavily colonized the province, brought with them
Vulgar Latin and started a period of intense
romanization (giving birth to proto-
Romanian). But in the 3rd century AD, with the invasions of migratory populations such as
Goths, the
Roman Empire was forced to pull out of
Dacia around 271 AD, thus making it the first province to be abandoned.
Several competing theories have been generated to explain the
origin of modern Romanians. Linguistic and geo-historical analyses tend to indicate that
Romanians have coalesced as a major ethnic group both South and North of the
Danube.
For further discussion, see Origin of Romanians.
Middle Ages
In either 271 or 275, the Roman army and administration left Dacia, which was invaded by the
Goths. The Goths lived with the local people until the 4th century, when a nomadic people, the
Huns, arrived. The
Gepids and the
Avars and their Slavic subjects ruled
Transylvania until the 8th century. It was then invaded by
Bulgarians, thereafter being incorporated into the
First Bulgarian Empire (marking the end of Romania's Dark Age), where it remained part of until the 11th century. The
Pechenegs, the
Cumans and
Uzes were also mentioned by historic chronicles on the territory of Romania, until the founding of the Romanian principalities of
Wallachia by
Basarab I around 1310 in the
High Middle Ages, and
Moldavia by
Dragoş around 1352.
In the
Middle Ages, Romanians lived in three distinct principalities:
Wallachia (
Romanian:
Ţara Românească—"Romanian Land"),
Moldavia (
Romanian:
Moldova) and
Transylvania. Transylvania was part of the
Kingdom of Hungary from the 10-11th century until the 16th century, when it became the independent
Principality of Transylvania until 1711.
Independent
Wallachia has been on the border of the
Ottoman Empire since the 14th century and slowly fell under the
suzerainty of the
Ottoman Empire during the 15th century. One famous ruler in this period was
Vlad III the Impaler (also known as
Vlad Dracula or
Vlad Ţepeş, ),
Prince of
Wallachia in 1448, 1456–62, and 1476. In the
English-speaking world, Vlad is best known for the legends of the exceedingly cruel punishments he imposed during his reign and for serving as the primary inspiration for the
vampire main character in
Bram Stoker's 1897 novel
Dracula. As king, he maintained an independent policy in relation to the
Ottoman Empire, and in Romania he's viewed by many as a prince with a deep sense of justice, and a defender of both Wallachia and European
Christianity against
Ottoman expansionism.
The principality of
Moldavia reached its most glorious period under the rule of
Stephen the Great between 1457 and 1504. His rule of 47 years was unusually long, especially at that time - only
13 rulers were recorded to have ruled for at least 50 years until the end of 15th century. He was a very successful military leader (winning 47 battles and losing only 2),) and after each victory, he raised a church, managing to build 48 churches or monasteries, some of them with unique and very interesting painting styles.
For more information see Painted churches of northern Moldavia listed in UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites. Stephen's most prestigious victory was over the
Ottoman Empire in 1475 at the
Battle of Vaslui for which he raised the
Voroneţ Monastery. For this victory,
Pope Sixtus IV deemed him
verus christianae fidei athleta (
true Champion of Christian Faith). However, after his death,
Moldavia would also come under the
suzerainty of the
Ottoman Empire in the 16th century.
Michael the Brave (Romanian: Mihai Viteazul) was the
Prince of Wallachia (1593-1601), of
Transylvania (1599-1600), and of
Moldavia (1600). Briefly, during his reign the three principalities largely inhabited by Romanians were for the first time united under a single rule. After his death, as vassal tributary states,
Moldova and
Wallachia had complete internal autonomy and an external independence, which was finally lost in the 18th century.
Independence and monarchy
During the period of
Austro-Hungarian rule in
Transylvania, and
Ottoman suzerainty over
Wallachia and
Moldavia, most
Romanians were in the situation of being
second-class citizens (or even non-citizens) in a territory where they formed the majority of the population. In some Transylvanian cities, such as
Braşov (at that time the
Transylvanian Saxon citadel of Kronstadt), Romanians were
not even allowed to reside within the city walls.
After the failed
1848 Revolution, the
Great Powers didn't support the Romanians' expressed desire to officially unite in a single state, forcing Romania to proceed alone against the Turks. The electors in both
Moldavia and
Wallachia chose in 1859 the same person –
Alexandru Ioan Cuza – as
prince (
Domnitor in
Romanian). Thus, Romania was created as a personal union, albeit a Romania that didn't include Transylvania, where the upper class and the aristocracy remained mainly Hungarian, although Romanian nationalism inevitably ran up against Hungarian nationalism at the end of the 19th century. As in the previous 900 years, Austria-Hungary, especially under the
Dual Monarchy of 1867, kept the Hungarians firmly in control, even in parts of Transylvania where Romanians constituted a local majority.
In a 1866
coup d'état,
Cuza was exiled and replaced by Prince Karl of
Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen, who became known as
Prince Carol of Romania. During the
Russo-Turkish War, Romania fought on the Russian side; in the 1878
Treaty of Berlin, Romania was recognized as an
independent state by the
Great Powers. In return, Romania ceded three southern districts of
Bessarabia to
Russia and acquired
Dobruja. In 1881, the
principality was raised to a
kingdom and Prince Carol became
King Carol I.
The 1878-1914 period was one of
stability and progress for Romania. During the
Second Balkan War, Romania joined
Greece,
Serbia,
Montenegro and
Turkey against
Bulgaria. In the peace
Treaty of Bucharest (1913) Romania gained
Southern Dobrudja - the Quadrilateral (the Durostor and Caliacra counties).
World Wars and Greater Romania
(1916-1947)
In August 1914, when World War I broke out, Romania declared neutrality. Two years later, under the pressure of Allies (especially France desperate to open a new front), on August 14/27 1916 it joined the Allies, for which they were promised support for the accomplishment of national unity, Romania declared war on Austria-Hungary.
The Romanian military campaign ended in disaster for Romania as the Central Powers conquered two-thirds of the country and captured or killed the majority of its army within four months. Nevertheless, Moldova remained in Romanian hands after the invading forces were stopped in 1917 and since by the war's end, Austria-Hungary and the Russian Empire had collapsed, Bessarabia, Bukovina and Transylvania were allowed to unite with the Kingdom of Romania in 1918. By the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, Hungary renounced in favour of Romania all the claims of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy over Transylvania. The union of Romania with Bukovina was ratified in 1919 in the Treaty of Saint Germain, and with Bessarabia in 1920 by the Treaty of Paris.
The Romanian expression România Mare (literal translation "Great Romania", but more commonly rendered "Greater Romania") generally refers to the Romanian state in the interwar period, and by extension, to the territory Romania covered at the time (see map). Romania achieved at that time its greatest territorial extent (almost ), managing to unite all the historic Romanian lands.
During the Second World War, Romania tried again to remain neutral, but on June 28 1940, it received a Soviet ultimatum with an implied threat of invasion in the event of non-compliance. Under pressure from Moscow and Berlin, the Romanian administration and the army were forced to retreat from Bessarabia as well from Northern Bukovina to avoid war. This, in combination with other factors, prompted the government to join the Axis. Thereafter, southern Dobruja was awarded to Bulgaria, while Hungary received Northern Transylvania as result of an Axis arbitration. The authoritarian King Carol II abdicated in 1940, succeeded by the National Legionary State, in which power was shared by Ion Antonescu and the Iron Guard. Within months, Antonescu had crushed the Iron Guard, and the subsequent year Romania entered the war on the side of the Axis powers. During the war, Romania was the most important source of oil for Nazi Germany, which attracted multiple bombing raids by the Allies. By means of the Axis invasion of the Soviet Union, Romania recovered Bessarabia and northern Bukovina from the Soviet Russia, under the leadership of general Ion Antonescu. The Antonescu regime played a major role in the Holocaust, following to a lesser extent the Nazi policy of oppression and massacre of the Jews, and Romas, primarily in the Eastern territories Romania recovered or occupied from the Soviet Union (Transnistria) and in Moldavia.
In August 1944, Antonescu was toppled and arrested by King Michael I of Romania. Romania changed sides and joined the Allies, but its role in the defeat of Nazi Germany wasn't recognized by the Paris Peace Conference of 1947. With the Red Army forces still stationed in the country and exerting de facto control, Communists and their allied parties claimed 80% of the vote, through a combination of vote manipulation, elimination, and forced mergers of competing parties, thus establishing themselves as the dominant force. By the end of the war, the Romanian army had suffered about 300,000 casualties.
Communism
(1947–1989)
In 1947, King Michael I was forced by the Communists to abdicate and leave the country, Romania was proclaimed a republic
, and remained under direct military and economic control of the USSR until the late 1950s. During this period, Romania's resources were drained by the "SovRom" agreements: mixed Soviet-Romanian companies established to mask the looting of Romania by the Soviet Union.
After the negotiated retreat of Soviet troops in 1958, Romania, under the new leadership of Nicolae Ceauşescu, started to pursue independent policies. Such examples are the condemnation of the Soviet-led 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia (being the only Warsaw Pact country not to take part in the invasion), the continuation of diplomatic relations with Israel after the Six-Day War of 1967 (again, the only Warsaw Pact country to do so), the establishment of economic (1963) and diplomatic (1967) relations with the Federal Republic of Germany, and so forth. Also, close ties with the Arab countries (and the PLO) allowed Romania to play a key role in the Israel-Egypt and Israel-PLO peace processes by intermediating the visit of Sadat in Israel. A short-lived period of relative economic well-being and openness followed in the late 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s. As Romania's foreign debt sharply increased between 1977 and 1981 (from 3 to 10 billion US dollars), the influence of international financial organisations 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 greatly extended the authority police state and imposed a cult of personality. These led to a dramatic decrease in Ceauşescu-popularity and culminated in his overthrow and execution in the bloody Romanian Revolution of 1989.
During the 1947–1962 period, many people were arbitrarily killed or imprisoned for political, economic or unknown reasons: detainees in prisons or camps, deported, persons under house arrest, and administrative detainees. There were hundreds of thousands of abuses, deaths and incidents of torture against a large range of people, from political opponents to ordinary citizens. Between 60,000 and 80,000 political prisoners were detained as psychiatric patients and treated in some of the most sadistic ways by doctors. Even though between 1962 and 1964 some political prisoners were freed in a series of amnesties it's estimated that, it total, two million people were direct victims of the communism repression.
Present-day democracy
After the fall of Ceauşescu, the
National Salvation Front (FSN), led by
Ion Iliescu, took partial multi-party democratic and free market measures. Several major political parties of the pre-war era, such as the
National Christian Democrat Peasant's Party (PNŢCD), the
National Liberal Party (PNL) and the
Romanian Social Democrat Party (PSDR) were resurrected. After several major political rallies (especially in January), in April 1990, a sit-in protest contesting the results of the recently held parliamentary elections began in
University Square, Bucharest. The protesters accused the FSN of being made up of former Communists and members of the
Securitate. The protesters didn't recognize the results of the election, which they deemed undemocratic, and were asking for the exclusion from the political life of the former high-ranking Communist Party members. The protest rapidly grew to become an ongoing mass demonstration (known as the
Golaniad). The peaceful demonstrations degenerated into violence. After the police failed to bring the demonstrators to order,
Ion Iliescu called on the "men of good will" to come and defend the State institutions in Bucharest. Coal miners of the
Jiu Valley answered the call and arrived in Bucharest on
June 14. Their violent intervention is remembered as the
June 1990 Mineriad.
The subsequent disintegration of the FSN produced several political parties including the Romanian Democrat Social Party (PDSR, later
Social Democratic Party, PSD), the
Democratic Party (PD) and the ApR (
Alliance for Romania). The PDSR party governed Romania from 1990 until 1996 through several coalitions and governments with Ion Iliescu as head of state. Since then there have been three democratic changes of government: in 1996, the democratic-liberal opposition and its leader
Emil Constantinescu acceded to power; in 2000 the Social Democrats returned to power, with
Iliescu once again president; and in 2004
Traian Băsescu was elected president, with an electoral coalition called
Justice and Truth Alliance (DA). The government was formed by a larger coalition which also includes the
Conservative Party and the
ethnic Hungarian party.
Post-
Cold War Romania developed closer ties with
Western Europe, eventually joining
NATO in 2004. The country applied in June 1993 for membership in the
European Union (EU). It became an Associated State of the EU in 1995, an Acceding Country in 2004, and a member on
January 1,
2007.
Following the free travel agreement and politic of the post-Cold War period, as well as hardship of the life in the post 1990s economic depression, Romania has an
increasingly large diaspora, estimated at over 2 million people. The main emigration targets are Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, UK, and the USA.
Geography
With a surface area of, Romania is the largest country in
southeastern Europe and the
twelfth-largest in Europe. A large part of Romania's border with
Serbia and
Bulgaria is formed by the
Danube. The
Danube is joined by the
Prut River, which forms the border with the
Republic of Moldova. The Danube flows into the
Black Sea within Romania's territory forming the
Danube Delta, the second largest and the best preserved delta in Europe, and a biosphere reserve and a biodiversity
World Heritage Site. Other important rivers are the
Siret, running north-south through
Moldavia, the
Olt, running from the oriental Carpathian Mountains to
Oltenia, and the
Mureş, running through
Transylvania from East to West.
Romania's terrain is distributed roughly equally between mountainous, hilly and lowland territories. The
Carpathian Mountains dominate the center of Romania, with
fourteen of its mountain ranges reaching above the altitude of 2,000 meters. The highest mountain in Romania is
Moldoveanu Peak . In south-central Romania, the Carpathians sweeten into hills, towards the
Bărăgan Plains. Romania's geographical diversity has led to an accompanying diversity of flora and fauna.
Environment
A high percentage of natural ecosystems (47% of the land area of the country) is covered with natural and semi-natural ecosystems. Since almost half of all forests in Romania (13% of the country) have been managed for watershed conservation rather than production, Romania has one of the largest areas of undisturbed forest in Europe. There are also almost 400 unique species of mammals (of which Carpathian
chamois are best known), birds, reptiles and amphibians in Romania.
There are almost (almost 5% of the total area) of protected areas in Romania. Of these,
Danube Delta Reserve Biosphere is the largest and least damaged wetland complex in Europe, covering a total area of .
The significance of the biodiversity of the Danube Delta has been internationally recognised. It was declared a Biosphere Reserve in September 1990, a Ramsar site in May 1991, and over 50% of its area was placed on the
World Heritage List in December 1991. Within its boundaries is one of the most extensive
reed bed systems in the world. There are two other biosphera reserves:
Retezat National Park and
Rodna National Park.
Climate
Owing to its distance from the open sea and position on the southeastern portion of the European continent, Romania has a climate that's transitional between
temperate and
continental with four distinct seasons. The average annual temperature is 11°C in the south and in the north. The
extreme recorded temperatures are in
Ion Sion 1951 and in
Bod 1942.
Spring is pleasant with cool mornings and nights and warm days. Summers are generally very warm to hot, with summer (June to August) average maximum temperatures in Bucharest being around, with temperatures over fairly common in the lower-lying areas of the country.
Minima in Bucharest and other lower-lying areas are around, but at higher altitudes both maxima and minima decline considerably. Autumn is dry and cool, with fields and trees producing colorful foliage. Winters can be cold, with average maxima even in lower-lying areas being no more than and below in the highest mountains, where some areas of
permafrost occur on the highest peaks.
Precipitation is average with over per year only on the highest western mountains — much of it falling as
snow which allows for an extensive skiing industry. In the south-centern parts of the country (around Bucharest) the level of precipitation drops to around, while in the Danube Delta, rainfall levels are very low, and average only around 370 mm.
Demographics
According to the 2002 census, Romania has a population of 21,698,181 and, similarly to other countries in the region, is expected to gently decline in the coming years as a result of
sub-replacement fertility rates.
Romanians make up 89.5% of the population. The largest
ethnic minorities are
Hungarians, who make up 6.6% of the population and
Roma, or Gypsies, who make up 2.46% of the population. By the official census 535,250
Roma live in Romania. Hungarians, who are a sizeable minority in
Transylvania, constitute a majority in the counties of
Harghita and
Covasna.
Ukrainians,
Germans,
Lipovans,
Turks,
Tatars,
Serbs,
Slovaks,
Bulgarians,
Croats,
Greeks,
Russians,
Jews,
Czechs,
Poles,
Italians,
Armenians, as well as other ethnic groups, account for the remaining 1.4% of the population.
The overall density figures conceal considerable regional variation. Population densities are naturally highest in the towns, with the plains (up to altitudes of some ) having the next highest density, especially in areas with intensive agriculture or a traditionally high birth rate (for example, northern
Moldavia and the “contact” zone with the
Subcarpathians); areas at altitudes of 700 to, rich in mineral resources,
orchards,
vineyards, and
pastures, support the lowest densities. The number of Romanians and individuals with ancestors born in Romania living abroad is estimated at around 12 million.
The official language of Romania is
Romanian, an
Eastern Romance language related to
Italian,
French,
Spanish,
Portuguese and
Catalan. Romanian is spoken as a first language by 91% of the population, with
Hungarian and
Rroma, being the most important minority languages, spoken by 6.7% and 1.1% of the population, respectively. Historically, French was the predominant foreign language spoken in Romania, even though English has since superseded it. Consequently, Romanian English-speakers tend to be younger than Romanian French-speakers. Romania is, however, a full member of
La Francophonie, and hosted the Francophonie Summit in 2006. German has been taught predominantly in Transylvania, due to traditions tracing back to the Austro-Hungarian rule in this province.
Religion
Romania is a
secular state, thus having no
national religion. The dominant religious body is the
Romanian Orthodox Church, an
autocephalous church within the
Eastern Orthodox communion; its members make up 86.7% of the population according to the 2002 census. Other important
Christian denominations include
Roman Catholicism (4.7%),
Protestantism (3.7%),
Pentecostalism (1.5%) and the
Romanian Greek-Catholic Church (0.9%). Based on the 2002 census data, there are also 6,179
Jews, 23,105 people who are of no religion and/or
atheist, and 11,734 who refused to answer. On
December 27,
2006, a new Law on Religion was approved under which religious denominations can only receive official registration if they've at least 20,000 members, or about 0.1 percent of Romania's total population.
Largest cities
Bucharest is the capital and the largest city in Romania. At the census in 2002, its population was over 1.9 million. The
metropolitan area of
Bucharest has a population of about 2.2 million. There are several plans to increase further its metropolitan area to about 20 times the area of the
city proper.
There are 5 more cities in Romania, with a population of around 300,000, that are also present in
EU top 100 most populous cities. These are:
Iaşi,
Cluj-Napoca,
Timişoara,
Constanţa, and
Craiova. The other cities with populations over 200,000 are
Galaţi,
Braşov,
Ploieşti,
Brăila and
Oradea. Another 13 cities have populations over 100,000.
Until now, several of the largest cities have a
metropolitan area:
Constanţa (550,000 people),
Braşov,
Iaşi (both with around 400,000) and
Oradea (260,000) and several others are planned:
Timişoara (400,000),
Cluj-Napoca (400,000),
Brǎila-Galaţi (600,000),
Craiova (370,000),
Bacau and
Ploieşti.
Education
Since the
Romanian Revolution of 1989, the Romanian education system has been in a continuous process of
reformation that has been both praised and criticized. According to the Law on Education adopted in 1995, the Educational System is regulated by the
Ministry of Education and Research. Each level has its own form of organization and is subject to different legislations.
Kindergarten is optional between 3 and 6 years old.
Schooling starts at age 7 (sometimes 6), and is compulsory until the 10th grade (which usually corresponds to the age of 17 or 16).
Primary and
secondary education are divided in 12 or 13 grades.
Higher education is aligned onto the
European higher education area.
Aside from the official schooling system, and the recently-added private equivalents, there exists a semi-legal, informal, fully
private tutoring system (
meditaţii). Tutoring is mostly used during
secondary as a preparation for the various examinations, which are notoriously difficult. Tutoring is wide-spread, and it can be considered a part of the Education System. It has subsisted and even prospered during the Communist regime.
In
2004, some 4.4 million of the population was enrolled in school. Out of these, 650,000 in kindergarten, 3.11 million (14% of population) in primary and secondary level, and 650,000 (3% of population) in tertiary level (universities). In the same year, the adult literacy rate was 97.3% (45th worldwide), while the combined gross enrollment ratio for primary, secondary and tertiary schools was 75% (52nd worldwide). The results of the
PISA assessment study in schools for the year 2000 placed Romania on the 34th rank out of 42 participant countries with a general weighted score of 432 representing 85% of the mean
OECD score. According to the
Academic Ranking of World Universities, in 2006 no Romanian university was included in the first 500 top universities world wide. Using similar methodology to these rankings, it was reported that the best placed Romanian university,
Bucharest University, attained the half score of the last university in the world top 500.
Romanian high school curricula have recently been
censored and restructured, owing to a growing trend of religious conservatism. In 2006, the
theory of evolution, which has been taught since the country's Communist era, has been dropped from the compulsory curriculum nationwide. Philosophical writers critical of religion, such as Voltaire and Camus have also been removed from the philosophy curriculum. Instead, students are taught
7-day Creationism in Orthodox religion classes, which under a new proposal would become compulsory.
Economy
With a
GDP of around $264 billion and a
GDP per capita (
PPP) of $12,285 estimated for 2008, Romania is considered an upper-middle income economy and has been part of the
European Union since
January 1,
2007. After the
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 and a lack of structural reform. From 2000 onwards, however, the Romanian economy was transformed into one of relative
macroeconomic stability, characterised by high growth, low
unemployment and declining
inflation. In 2006, according to the
Romanian Statistics Office, GDP growth in real terms was recorded at 7.7%, one of the highest rates in Europe. The growth dampened to 6.1% in 2007, and is expected to exceed 8% in 2008 because of a high production forecasted in agriculture (30-50% higher then in 2007). The GDP grew by 7.5 % in the first quarter of 2008. Unemployment in Romania was at 3.9% in September 2007 which is very low compared to other middle-sized or large European countries such as
Poland,
France,
Germany and
Spain. Foreign debt is also comparatively low, at 20.3% of GDP. Exports have increased substantially in the past few years, with a 25% year-on-year rise in exports in the first quarter of 2006. Romania's main exports are 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). Trade is mostly centred on the member states of the European Union, with
Germany and
Italy being the country's single largest trading partners. The country, however, maintains a large trade deficit, which increased sharply during 2007 by 50%, to 15 billon euros. In 2005, the government replaced Romania's
progressive tax system with a
flat tax of 16% for both personal income and corporate profit, resulting in the country having the lowest fiscal burden in the European Union, a factor which has contributed to the growth of the private sector. The economy is predominantly based on services, which account for 55% of GDP, even though industry and agriculture also have significant contributions, making up 35% and 10% of GDP, respectively. Additionally, 32% of the Romanian population is employed in agriculture and primary production, one of the highest rates in Europe. According to a 2006
World Bank report, Romania currently ranks 49th out of 175 economies in the ease of doing business, scoring higher than other countries in the region such as
Hungary,
Poland and the
Czech Republic. Additionally, the same study judged it to be the world's second-fastest economic reformer (after
Georgia) in 2006. The average gross wage per month in Romania is 1411 lei in September 2007, equating to €403.3 (US$597.3) based on international exchange rates, and $1001.1 based on purchasing power parity.
Transportation
Due to its location, Romania is a major crossroad for International economic exchange in
Europe. However, because of insufficient investment, maintenance and repair, the transport infrastructure doesn't meet the current needs of a
market economy and lags behind
Western Europe. Nevertheless, these conditions are rapidly improving and catching up with the standards of
Trans-European transport networks. Several projects have been started with funding from grants from
ISPA and several loans from
International Financial Institutions (
World Bank,
IMF, etc.) guaranteed by the state, to upgrade the
main road corridors. Also, the Government is actively pursuing new external financing or public-private partnerships to further upgrade the main roads, and especially the country's
motorway network.
World Bank estimates that the railway network in Romania comprised in 2004 of track, which would make it the fourth largest railroad network in Europe. The
railway transport experienced a dramatic fall in freight and passenger volumes from the peak volumes recorded in 1989 mainly due to the decline in GDP and competition from road transport. In 2004, the railways carried 8.64 billion passenger-km in 99 million passenger journeys, and 73 million metric tonnes, or 17 billion ton-km of freight. The combined total transportation by rail constituted around 45% of all passenger and freight movement in the country.
Tourism
Tourism focuses on the country's natural landscapes and its rich history and is a significant contributor to the Romania's economy. In 2006, the domestic and international
tourism generated about 4.8% of gross domestic product and 5.8% of the total jobs (about half a million jobs). Following commerce, tourism is the second largest component of the services sector. Tourism is one of the most dynamic and fastest developing sectors of the economy of Romania and characterized by a huge potential for development. According to the
World Travel and Tourism Council Romania is the fourth fastest growing country in the world in terms of travel and tourism total demand with a yearly potential growth of 8% from 2007-2016. Number of tourists grew from 4.8 million in 2002 to 6.6 million in 2004. but the number for 2007 is expected to increase even more.
Tourism in Romania attracted €400 million in investments in 2005.
Over the last years, Romania has emerged as a popular tourist destination for many Europeans (more than 60% of the foreign visitors were from EU countries During winter the skiing resorts along the
Valea Prahovei and
Poiana Braşov are booming with visitors. Several cities in
Transylvania (such as
Sibiu,
Braşov,
Sighişoara,
Cluj-Napoca,
Târgu Mureş and several others) have become important touristic attractions for foreign tourists - especially for their medieval atmosphere and
castles. Rural tourism focused on folklore and traditions, has become a major issue for the authorities recently, and is targeted to promote such sites as
Bran and its
Dracula's Castle, the
Painted churches of Northern Moldavia, the
Wooden churches of Maramureş, or the
Merry Cemetery in
Maramureş County. There are several major natural attractions in Romania - such as
Danube Delta, The Romanian identity formed on a substratum of mixed
Roman and quite possibly
Dacian elements, with many other influences. During late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the major influences came from the
Slavic peoples who migrated and settled in nearby
Bulgaria,
Serbia,
Ukraine and eventually
Russia; from medieval
Greeks and the
Byzantine Empire; from a long domination by the
Ottoman Empire; from the
Hungarians; and from the
Germans living in Transylvania. Modern Romanian culture emerged and developed over roughly the last 250 years under a strong influence from
Western culture, particularly
French and
German culture.
Arts
revolutions of 1848 and the union of the two
Danubian Principalities in 1856. The
Origin of the Romanians began to be discussed and
in Transylvania and Romanian scholars began studying in France, Italy and Germany. The German philosophy and French culture were integrated into modern Romanian literature and a new elite of artists lead to the appearance of some of the classics of the Romanian literature such as
Mihai Eminescu,
George Coşbuc,
Ioan Slavici. Although they remain little known outside Romania, they're very appreciated within Romania for giving birth to a true Romanian literature by creating modern lyrics with inspiration from the
old folklore tales. Of them, Eminescu is considered the most important and influential Romanian poet, and is still very much loved for his creations, and especially the poem
Luceafărul. Among other writers that made large contributions around the second half of 19th century are
Mihail Kogălniceanu (also the first prime minister of Romania),
Vasile Alecsandri,
Nicolae Bălcescu,
Ion Luca Caragiale, and
Ion Creangă.
The first half of the 20th century is regarded by many Romanian scholars as the
Golden Age of Romanian culture and it's the period when it reached its main level of international affirmation and a strong connection to the
European cultural trends. The most important artist who had a great influence on the world culture was the
sculptor Constantin Brâncuşi, a central figure of the modern movement and a pioneer of abstraction, the innovator of world sculpture by immersion in the primordial sources of folk creation. His sculptures blend simplicity and sophistication that led the way for
modernist sculptors. As a testimony to his skill, one of his pieces,
"Bird in Space", was sold in an auction for $27.5 million in 2005, a record for any sculpture. In the period between the two world wars, authors like
Tudor Arghezi,
Lucian Blaga,
Eugen Lovinescu,
Ion Barbu,
Liviu Rebreanu made efforts to synchronize Romanian literature with the European literature of the time. From this period comes also
George Enescu, probably the best known Romanian musician. He is a
composer,
violinist,
pianist,
conductor, teacher, and one of the greatest performers of his time, in whose honor is held the annually in Bucharest, the classical music
George Enescu Festival.
After the world wars, communism brough heavy censorship on almost all elements of life and they used the cultural world as a mean to better control the population. The freedom of expression was constantly restricted in various ways, but the likes of
Gellu Naum,
Nichita Stănescu,
Marin Sorescu or
Marin Preda managed to escape censorship, broke with "
socialist realism" and were the leaders of a small "Renaissance" in Romanian literature. While not many of them managed to obtain international acclaim due to the censorship, some like
Constantin Noica,
Tristan Tzara and
Mircea Cărtărescu had their works published abroad even though they got jailed for various political reasons.
Some artists chose to leave the country entirely, and continued to make contributions in exile. Among them
Eugen Ionescu,
Mircea Eliade and
Emil Cioran became renown worldwide for their works. Other literary figures who enjoy acclaim outside of the country include the poet
Paul Celan and Nobel laureate
Elie Wiesel, both survivors of the Holocaust. Some famous Romanian artists musicians are the folk artist
Tudor Gheorghe, and the virtuoso of the
pan flute Gheorghe Zamfir - who is reported to have sold over 120 million albums worldwide.
Romanian cinema has recently achieved worldwide acclaim with the appearance of such films as
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, directed by
Cristi Puiu, (
Cannes 2005 Prix un certain regard winner), and
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, directed by
Cristian Mungiu (
Cannes 2007 Palme d'Or winner). The latter, according to
Variety, is "further proof of Romania's new prominence in the film world."
Monuments
The
UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites includes Romanian sites such as the
Saxon villages with fortified churches in Transylvania, the
Painted churches of northern Moldavia with their fine exterior and interior frescoes, the
Wooden Churches of Maramures unique examples that combine Gothic style with traditional timber construction, the
Monastery of Horezu, the citadel of
Sighişoara, and the
Dacian Fortresses of the Orăştie Mountains. Romania's contribution to the World Heritage List stands out because it consists of some groups of monuments scattered around the country, rather than one or two special landmarks. Also, in 2007, the city of
Sibiu famous for its
Brukenthal National Museum is the
European Capital of Culture alongside the city of
Luxembourg.
Government
Politics
The
Constitution of Romania is based on the
Constitution of France's Fifth Republic and 10% larger by volume than the
Great Pyramid of Giza.]]
The legislative branch of the government, collectively known as the
Parliament (
Parlamentul României), consists of
two chambers – the
Senate (
Senat), which has 140 members, and the
Chamber of Deputies (
Camera Deputaţilor), which has 346 members. There are also courts of appeal, county courts and local courts. The Romanian judicial system is strongly influenced by the
French model, considering that it's based on
civil law and is
inquisitorial in nature. The
Constitutional Court (
Curtea Constituţională) is responsible for judging the compliance of laws and other state regulations to the
Romanian Constitution, which is the fundamental law of the country. The constitution, which was introduced in 1991, can only be amended by a public referendum, the last one being in 2003. Since this amendment, the court's decisions can't be overruled by any majority of the parliament.
The country's entry into the
European Union in 2007 has been a significant influence on its domestic policy. As part of the process, Romania has instituted reforms including
judicial reform, increased judicial cooperation with other member states, and measures to combat corruption. Nevertheless, in 2006 Brussels report, Romania and
Bulgaria were described as the two most corrupt countries in the EU.
Administrative divisions
Romania is divided into forty-one
counties (judeţe), as well as the municipality of
Bucharest (Bucureşti) - which is its own administrative unit. Each county is administered by a county council (
consiliu judeţean), responsible for local affairs, as well as a prefect, who is appointed by the central government but can't be a member of any political party.
The country is further subdivided into 319
cities and 2686
communes (rural localities). Each of these have their own local councils and are headed by a mayor (
primar). 103 of the larger and more urbanised cities have the status of
municipality, which gives them greater administrative power over local affairs.
Alongside the county structure, Romania is also divided into four
NUTS-1 level divisions (Romanian:
Macroregiunea) and eight
development regions corresponding to NUTS-2 divisions in the European Union. These divisions have no administrative capacity and are instead used for co-ordinating regional development projects and statistical purposes. The NUTS-3 level divisions reflect Romania's administrative-territorial structure, and correspond to the 41
counties and the
Bucharest municipality. Because it has a large Hungarian minority, Romania has also developed strong relations with
Hungary - the latter supported Romania's bid to join the EU.
In December 2005, President
Traian Băsescu and U.S.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed an agreement that would allow a U.S. military presence at several Romanian facilities primarily in the eastern part of the country.
Relations with
Moldova are
rather special, considering that the two countries practically share the same language, and a
fairly common historical background. Signs in the early 1990s that Romania and Moldova might unite after both countries achieved emancipation from communist rule, quickly faded away when a pro-Russian government was formed in Moldova. Romania remains interested in Moldovan affairs, but the two countries have been unable even to reach agreement on a basic bilateral treaty; Romania is insistent (against determined Moldovan resistance) that such a treaty would have to refer to Romania and Moldova's 'special relationship'.
For more information see Movement for unification of Romania and Moldova.
Sports
Football (soccer) is by far the most popular sport in Romania. The governing body is the
Romanian Football Federation, which belongs to
UEFA. The top division of the
Romanian Professional Football League attracted an average of 5417 spectators per game in the 2006-07 season. At international level, the
Romanian National Football Team has taken part 7 times in the
Football World Cup, and it had the most successful period throughout the 1990s, when during the
1994 World Cup in
USA, Romania reached the quarter-finals and was ranked by
FIFA on the 6th place. The core player of this "
Golden Generation" and perhaps the best known Romanian player internationally is
Gheorghe Hagi (nicknamed
the Maradona of the Carpathians). Famous currently active players are
Adrian Mutu and
Cristian Chivu. The most famous football club is
Steaua Bucureşti, who in
1986 became the first Eastern European club ever to win the prestigious
European Champions Cup title, and who
played the final again in 1989. Another successful Romanian team
Dinamo Bucureşti played a semifinal in the
European Champions Cup in 1984 and a
Cup Winners Cup semifinal in the 1990. Other important Romanian football clubs are
Rapid Bucureşti,
FC Universitatea Craiova and
CFR 1907 Cluj-Napoca.
Tennis is the second most popular sport in terms of registered sportsmen. In the
1976 Summer Olympics, the gymnast
Nadia Comăneci became the first gymnast ever to score a perfect "ten". She also won three gold medals, one silver and one bronze, all at the age of fifteen. Her success continued in the
1980 Summer Olympics, where she was awarded two gold medals and two silver medals.
Romania participated in for the first time in the
Olympic Games in 1900 and has taken part in 18 of the 24 summer games. Romania has been one of the more successful countries
Summer Olympic Games (
15th overall) with a total of 283 medals won throughout the years, 82 of which are gold medals. Winter sports have received little investments and thus only a single bronze medal was won by Romanian sportsmen in the
Winter Olympic Games.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Romania'.
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