romania

=Romania=

__Fast facts__
Population: 22,276,056 Size: 237,500 SQ KM Capital: Bucharest Language: Romanian, Hungarian and German Currency: Leu Head of Country: Chief Of State: President Traian Basescu Head of Government: Prime Minister Calin Popescu Tariceanu

__Location__
Situated in Southeastern Europe, Romania extends over 238,391 square km and is half way between the equator and the North Pole. It is the largest country in south east Europe and twelth largest in Europe. Romania shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and The Republic of Moldova to the north east and Bulgaria to the south. The remainder on the south east is the coast of the Black Sea. The country lies in the lower Danube basin and approximately half of the Danube delta is in Romania. The Danube also forms part of the borders with Serbia and Bulgaria. The country was formed by the uniting of Moldavia and Wallachia in 1859 and in 1918 Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarbia were joined as well.

__Geographical Features__
About half of Romania is mountainous with fourteen ranges reaching over 2000m in height. The highest peak is Moldoveanu at 2544 m tall. The Carpathian Mountains dominate the central region of the country. There are large ice caves in the mountains of Transylvania, the largest being the Scarisoara in the Apuseni Mountains. The Prut River forms the border with Moldova and joins the Danube which flows into the Black Sea. The Danube delta is the largest delta in Europe and is a biosphere reserve and presently World Heritage listed for its biodiversity. Along the Danube where the river separates Romania and Serbia are a series of gorges where the river narrows, The longest of 134 km called the Iron Gate and the most impressive being called the Great Kazan where the river narrows to 150 metres wide and 53 metres deep. Other rivers are the Olt, Mures and the Siret. Romania has the largest undisturbed forest area in all of Europe and these cover about 13% of the land. To the south of the Carpathian Mountains lie the Baragan Plains. The geographical diversity and the natural ecosystems have led to a great variety of flora and fauna in the country.

__Climate__
Romania has a temperate continental climate. It has cold, cloudy winters with snow and fog frequently occuring and temperatures ranging from 2°C to -15°C. Summer is generally warm and sunny with a temperature range of 27°C to 35°C. The minimum temperature to be recorded was - 38.5°C at Bod, and the maximum temperature was + 44.5°C at Ion Sion in the Baragan Plain. Dobrojea is Romania's warmest and driest area, recieving less than 370mm of rainfall each year. The lowlands and regions around Bucharest recieve about 630mm rain annually and the western mountains recieve around 750mm mostly in the form of snow making an excellent skiing industry.

__Economy__
Since 1989 Romania has had a Soviet-style command economy mainly agricultural and industrial. Today the country is still one of the poorest European countries but the economy continues to grow and progress. It is one of the most prosperus and stable economies in Central eastern and South Europe The current GDP stands at $229.89 billion and per capita, $10,661. The Labour force consists of 9.33 million, 31.6% agricultural, 30.7% industry and 37.7% services. In 2006 the unemploymen rate was at 6.1% but by 2007 it has decresed to 3.6%. the population below poverty has also recently decreased in 2005 it stood at 25% and now stands at 12.9%.

Romania mainly trades with Italy Hungary Germany Turkey France US UK Spain Greece Bulgaria Russia and Poland. Exported goods include; textiles and footwear, metals and metal products, machinery and equipment, minerals and fuels, chemicals and agricultural products. This adds up to a total of $52 billion of exports. Romania imports machinery and equipment, fuels and minerals, chemicals, textile and products, basic metals, agricultural products. Resulting of a total of $47.17 billion.

__Government__
The capital of the Republic of Romania is Bucharest. Romania consists of 41 counties and one municipality. Independence from the Ottoman Empire was proclaimed in 1877 and it was declared a republic in 1947. It has been described as a semipresidental democratic republic because executive functions are shared between the President and Prime Minister. Traian Basescu was elected president on the 20/12/04 and Calin Popescu Tariceanu was appointed by the President with Parliamentary consent as Prime Minister. A vote of Parliament resulted in the suspension of the President in April 2007and reinstated in May following a vote by popular referendum. Elections are conducted at 5-year intervals and all citizens over 18 are to vote. The parliament is bicameral with a Senate of 137 members and a Chamber of Deputies with 332 seats who are elected by popular vote. The Judicial system has operated independent of other government branches; it consists of a Supreme Court of Justice (11 judges appointed for 3 year terms appointed by the President) and the Supreme Council of Magistrates.

January first 2007 saw Romania's entry into the European Union and this brought about a significant change in domestic affairs. Romania, along with Bulgaria has recently been described as the most corrupt countries in Europe. Judicial reforms have been instituted and greater co-operation with other member states has resulted. Romania has strong relations with Hungary and good economic relations with Turkey. Although Moldova and Romania share a language they are unable to reach agreement on a basic bilateral treaty, as the Moldavan government has a adopted a pro Russian position. It is currently a member of the World Trade Organization, International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Since 1989 Romania has been endeavouring to improve relations with the west and especially the United States. Romania joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on the 29th of March 2004.