Background: Soviet occupation following World War II led to the formation of a communist Peoples Republic in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of President Nicolae CEAUSESCU became increasingly draconian through the 1980s. He was overthrown and executed in late 1989.

Area
Total: 237,500 km²
Land: 230,340 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon

Land boundaries:

Coastline: 225 km

Maritime claims
Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: none

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

Terrain:

Natural resources: crude oil (reserves being exhausted), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt

Land use: arable land: 43%; permanent crops: 3%; meadows and pastures 19%; forest and woodland 28%; other 7%; includes irrigated 11%

Population: 23,169,914 (July 1992), growth rate 0.0% (1992)

Nationality: noun - Romanian(s; adjective - Romanian

Ethnic groups:

Languages: Romanian, Hungarian, German

Religions: Romanian Orthodox 70%, Roman Catholic 6%, Greek Catholic (Uniate) 3%, Protestant 6%, unaffiliated 15%

Birth rate: 14 births/1000 population (1992)

Death rate: 10 deaths/1000 population (1992)

Net migration rate: -3 migrants/1000 population (1992)

Environment
Current issues: frequent earthquakes most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides; air pollution in south
Current issues note:

Infant mortality rate: 22 deaths/1000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth: 68 years male, 74 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (1992)

Literacy: 96% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write (1970 est.)

Country name
Conventional long form: none

Government type: republic

Capital: Bucharest

Administrative divisions:

Independence: 1881 (from Turkey; republic proclaimed 30 December 1947

National holiday:

Constitution: 8 December 1991

Legal system: former mixture of civil law system and Communist legal theory that increasingly reflected Romanian traditions is being revised

Suffrage: universal at age 18
President:
Senate:
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%, PUNR 2%, other 15%; seats - (387 total) FSN 263, UDMR 29, PNL 29, PNTCD 12, MER 12, PUNR 9, other 33

Legislative branch:

Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Justice

International organization participation:
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Aurel MUNTEANU; Chancery at 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008; telephone (202) 232-4,747
US:

Flag description: 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

Economy overview: Industry, which accounts for about one-third of the labor force and generates over half the GDP, suffers from an aging capital plant and persistent shortages of energy. The year 1991 witnessed about a 17% drop in industrial production because of energy and input shortages and labor unrest. In recent years the agricultural sector has had to contend with flooding, mismanagement, shortages of inputs, and disarray caused by the dismantling of cooperatives. A shortage of fuel and equipment in 1991 contributed to a lackluster harvest, a problem compounded by corruption and a poor distribution system. The new government is loosening the tight central controls of CEAUSESCU'S command economy. It has instituted moderate land reforms, with more than one-half of cropland now in private hands, and it has liberalized private agricultural output. Also, the new regime is permitting the establishment of private enterprises, largely in services, handicrafts, and small-scale industry. A law providing for the privatization of large state firms has been passed. Most of the large state firms have been converted into joint-stock companies, but the selling of shares and assets to private owners has been delayed. While the government has halted the old policy of diverting food from domestic consumption to hard currency export markets, supplies remain scarce in some areas. Furthermore, real wages in Romania fell about 20% in 1991, contributing to the unrest which forced the resignation of ROMAN in September. The new government continues to impose price ceilings on key consumer items.
GDP: purchasing power equivalent - $71.9 billion, per capita $3,100; real growth rate - 12% (1991 est.)

Agriculture products: accounts for 15% of GDP and 28% of labor force; major wheat and corn producer; other products - sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, milk, eggs, meat, grapes

Industries: mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, machine building, food processing, petroleum

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate -17% (1991 est.)

Labor force: 10,945,700; industry 38%, agriculture 28%, other 34% (1989)
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 umbrella organizations, including the Organization of Free Trade Unions, Fratia (Brotherhood), and the Alfa Cartel; many other trade unions have been formed

Unemployment rate: 4% (1991 est.)

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

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports: $4.0 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
Commodoties: machinery and equipment 29.3%, fuels, minerals and metals 32.1%, manufactured consumer goods 18.1%, agricultural materials and forestry products 9.0%, other 11.5% (1989)
Partners: USSR 27%, Eastern Europe 23%, EC 15%, US 5%, China 4% (1987)

Imports: $5.4 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
Commodoties: fuels, minerals, and metals 56.0%, machinery and equipment 25.5%, agricultural and forestry products 8.6%, manufactured consumer goods 3.4%, other 6.5% (1989)
Partners: Communist countries 60%, non-Communist countries 40% (1987)

Exchange rates: lei (L) per US$1 - 198.00 (March 1992), 76.39 (1991), 22.432 (1990), 14.922 (1989), 14.277 (1988), 14.557 (1987)

Electricity
Production: 22,700,000 kW capacity; 64,200 million kWh produced, 2,760 kWh per capita (1990)

Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: exchange rate conversion - 50 billion lei (unofficial), NA% of GDP (1991; note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results

Airports:

Pipelines: crude oil 2,800 km, petroleum products 1,429 km, natural gas 6,400 km

Waterways: 1,724 km (1984)

Merchant marine:
Civil air: 59 major transport aircraft

Illicit drugs: transshipment point for southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route