General information about Romania
The official name is Romania. Located in southeastern Europe. The area is 238.4 thousand km2, the population is 22.4 million people. (2002). The official language is Romanian. The capital is Bucharest (2.1 million people). Public holiday – National Day of Romania on December 1. The monetary unit is the leu.
Member of the UN (since 1955), IAEA (since 1957), FAO (since 1961), IMF (since 1972), WTO (since 1995), associate member of the EU (since 1995), member of CESST (since 1997).
Geography of Romania
According to ALLCITYCODES, Romania is located between 20°15′ and 29°41′ East longitude and 43°37′ and 48°15′ North latitude. In the southeast it is washed by the Black Sea; in the north and east it borders with Ukraine (169 km), Moldova (450 km), in the northwest with Hungary (433 km), in the southwest with Serbia (476 km), in the south with Bulgaria (608 km).
Approximately 1/3 of the territory is occupied by the Carpathian Mountains, which are divided into Eastern, Southern Carpathians and Western Romanian Mountains. The most elevated part of the Carpathian arc, running from the north to the center to the west of the country, is the Southern Carpathians, where the peaks of Moldovyanu (2544 m), Negoyu (2535 m), Paryngu Mare (2519 m) are located. From the inner and outer sides of the Carpathians stretches a chain of subcarpathian hills and plateaus (average height 400-700 m). In the west of the country there is the Middle Danube Plain, in the south – the Lower Danube Plain, 600 km long from the city of Kalafat to the city of Galati. The country’s rivers belong to the Danube basin, which flows from west to east along the border with Bulgaria for a distance of 1075 km. The main tributaries are the Prut (716 km), Siret (598 km), Argesh (344 km), Olt (736 km), Timish (383 km), Muresh (760 km), and others. There are more than 2 thousand lakes; the largest are the estuaries of the Black Sea (Razelm 415 km2, Sinoe 171 km2). All types of zonal soils are represented: in the lowlands steppe, forest-steppe, in hilly areas – brown forest; starting from a height of 1400 m – mountain forest. Almost 2/3 of the lands used in agriculture have fertile soils (chernozems, chernozems, brown forests). Forests occupy 27% of the country’s territory. Romania is rich in minerals, including oil (industrial reserves of 200-300 million tons), natural gas (500-600 billion m3), coal, slates (4.5-5 billion tons of balance reserves), ores of non-ferrous, rare and precious metals. The climate is transitional from temperate oceanic, Western Europe, to continental, Eastern Europe. Average annual temperatures range from +8°С in the north to +11°С in the south of the country. Average annual precipitation is 637 mm (in the northwest – 800-1000 mm,
The flora and fauna of Romania is diverse. Forest areas are concentrated mainly in areas above 200 m above sea level. The coniferous forests of the Carpathian Mountains (1800-1900 m above sea level) are of the greatest economic value. Hardwoods (beech, hornbeam, oak) are also used in the woodworking industry. In terms of stocks and timber harvesting, Romania occupies a prominent place in Europe. The fauna of the country is peculiar. Bears, wolves, roe deer are found in mountainous regions; the fauna of the Danube Delta is unique (marsh and waterfowl, fish of valuable commercial species).
Population of Romania
Since 1989, the population has decreased by 750 thousand people, or 4%. The proportion of women is 51.1%, men – 48.9%. The urban population is 54%, rural – 46%. The official language is Romanian. The birth rate of the population has fallen from 16‰ in the early 1990s. to 9.8‰ in 2001, mortality increased from 10.7‰ to 11.6‰, infant mortality was 20.2 pers. per 1000 newborns. Average life expectancy – 69.7 years, incl. women – 73.7 years, men – 66 years. The population is aging; the proportion of ages 60 and over rose from 15.5% in 1990 to 17.3% in 2001.
The retirement age for women is 57, for men it is 62; The 2002 law provides for a gradual increase in the age to 60 and 65, respectively. Ethnically, Romanians predominate (89%), Hungarians (7%), Gypsies, Ukrainians, Turks, Greeks, Russians, and Armenians are also represented. From con. 1980s there was an intensive outflow mainly of Hungarians and Germans. Several million Romanians live outside the country’s borders.
The leading confessions are Orthodoxy (83% of the population), Catholicism (7%), incl. Greek Catholic, the so-called. Uniate, Church (Romanians of Transylvania), Roman Catholic (Hungarians, Germans in Transylvania and Banat). Protestants, Lutherans, Calvinists (6%). Muslims, Jews, Old Believers (the Russian population in the Danube Delta) are represented.
