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Communications

Airports [time series]

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 [time series]

59 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

72,799 km total; 35,970 km paved; 27,729 km gravel, crushed stone, and other stabilized surfaces; 9,100 km unsurfaced roads (1985)

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

1,724 km (1984)

Merchant marine [time series]

262 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,320,373 GRT/5,207,580 DWT; includes 1 passenger-cargo, 174 cargo, 2 container, 1 rail-car carrier, 9 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 13 petroleum tanker, 60 bulk, 2 combination ore/oil

Pipelines [time series]

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

Ports [time series]

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

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

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)

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

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); broadcast stations - 12 AM, 5 FM, 13 TV (1990); 1 satellite ground station using INTELSAT

Defense Forces

Military and security forces (Branches) [time series]

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

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

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

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 5,799,837; 4,909,642 fit for military service; 184,913 reach military age (20) annually

Economy

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

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

Budget [time series]

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

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

leu (plural - lei); 1 leu (L) = 100 bani

Economic aid [time series]

donor - $4.4 billion in bilateral aid to non-Communist less developed countries (1956-89)

Electricity [time series]

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

Exchange rates [time series]

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

Exports [time series]

$4.0 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.) commodities: 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)

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$2 billion (1991)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

purchasing power equivalent - $71.9 billion, per capita $3,100; real growth rate - 12% (1991 est.)

Illicit drugs [time series]

transshipment point for southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route

Imports [time series]

$5.4 billion (f.o.b., 1991 est.) commodities: 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)

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate -17% (1991 est.)

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

215% (1991 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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.

Unemployment rate [time series]

4% (1991 est.)

Geography

Climate [time series]

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

Coastline [time series]

225 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly smaller than Oregon

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

none

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

frequent earthquakes most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides; air pollution in south

Area (Land area) [time series]

230,340 km2

Land boundaries [time series]

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

Land use [time series]

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

Maritime claims [time series]

Continental shelf: 200 m (depth) or to depth of exploitation Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources [time series]

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

Note [time series]

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

Terrain [time series]

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

Area (Total area) [time series]

237,500 km2

Government

Administrative divisions [time series]

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 [time series]

Bucharest

Constitution [time series]

8 December 1991

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Aurel MUNTEANU; Chancery at 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008; telephone (202) 232-4747 US: Ambassador John R. DAVIS; Embassy at Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest (mailing address is APO AE 09213-5260); telephone [40] (0) 10-40-40; FAX [40] (0) 12-03-95

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

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, PUNR 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%, PUNR 2%, other 15%; seats - (387 total) FSN 263, UDMR 29, PNL 29, PNTCD 12, MER 12, PUNR 9, other 33

Executive branch [time series]

*** No entry for this item *** president, prime minister, Council of Ministers (cabinet)

Flag [time series]

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 [time series]

1881 (from Turkey); republic proclaimed 30 December 1947

Judicial branch [time series]

Supreme Court of Justice

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

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 [time series]

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

Legislative branch [time series]

bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or Senate (Senat) and a lower house or House of Deputies (Adunarea Deputatilor)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

none

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

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 [time series]

National Day of Romania, 1 December (1990)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

National Salvation Front (FSN), Petre ROMAN; Democratuc National Salvation Front (DNSF), Olivia GHERMAN; Magyar Democratic Union (UDMR), Geza DOMOKOS; National Liberal Party (PNL), Radu CAMPEANU; National Peasants' Christian and Democratic Party (PNTCD), Corneliu COPOSU; Ecology Movement (MER), Toma Gheorghe MAIORESCU; Romanian National Unity Party (PUNR), Radu CEONTEA; there are now more than 100 other parties; note - although the Communist Party has ceased to exist, small proto-Communist parties, notably the Socialist Labor Party, have been formed

Suffrage [time series]

universal at age 18

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

People

Birth rate [time series]

14 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate [time series]

10 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

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

Infant mortality rate [time series]

22 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force [time series]

10,945,700; industry 38%, agriculture 28%, other 34% (1989)

Languages [time series]

Romanian, Hungarian, German

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

68 years male, 74 years female (1992)

Literacy [time series]

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

Nationality [time series]

noun - Romanian(s); adjective - Romanian

Net migration rate [time series]

-3 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor [time series]

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

Population [time series]

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

Religions [time series]

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

Total fertility rate [time series]

1.8 children born/woman (1992)