Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...
,
Eastern, and
Southeastern Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...
. It borders
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
to the south,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
to the north,
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...
to the west,
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
to the southwest,
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...
to the east, and the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
to the southeast. It has a predominantly
temperate
In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout ...
-
continental climate
Continental climates often have a significant annual variation in temperature (warm summers and cold winters). They tend to occur in the middle latitudes (40 to 55 north), within large landmasses where prevailing winds blow overland bringing so ...
, and an area of , with a population of around 19 million. Romania is the
twelfth-largest country in Europe and the
sixth-most populous member state of the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
. Its capital and largest city is
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...
, followed by
Iași
Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
,
Cluj-Napoca
; hu, kincses város)
, official_name=Cluj-Napoca
, native_name=
, image_skyline=
, subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County
, subdivision_name1 = Cluj County
, subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status
, subdivision_name2 ...
,
Timișoara
), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor)
, image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg
, map_caption = Location in Timiș County
, pushpin_map = Romania#Europe
, pushpin_ ...
,
Constanța
Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...
,
Craiova
Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...
,
Brașov
Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County.
According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a pop ...
, and
Galați
Galați (, , ; also known by other alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the Danube River. It has been the only port for the most pa ...
.
The
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
, Europe's second-longest river, rises in Germany's
Black Forest
The Black Forest (german: Schwarzwald ) is a large forested mountain range in the state of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany, bounded by the Rhine Valley to the west and south and close to the borders with France and Switzerland. It is ...
and flows in a southeasterly direction for , before emptying into Romania's
Danube Delta
The Danube Delta ( ro, Delta Dunării, ; uk, Дельта Дунаю, Deľta Dunaju, ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Ro ...
. The
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretche ...
, which cross Romania from the north to the southwest, include
Moldoveanu Peak
Moldoveanu Peak ( ro, Vârful Moldoveanu, ; "Moldavian Peak"), at , is the highest mountain peak in Romania. , at an altitude of .
Settlement in what is now Romania began in the
Lower Paleolithic
The Lower Paleolithic (or Lower Palaeolithic) is the earliest subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. It spans the time from around 3 million years ago when the first evidence for stone tool production and use by hominins appears i ...
, with written records attesting the kingdom of
Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It ...
,
its conquest and subsequent Latinization by the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...
. The modern Romanian state was formed in 1859 through a
personal union
A personal union is the combination of two or more states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, would involve the constituent states being to some extent interli ...
of the
Danubian Principalities
The Danubian Principalities ( ro, Principatele Dunărene, sr, Дунавске кнежевине, translit=Dunavske kneževine) was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th c ...
of
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
and
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
. The new state, officially named Romania since 1866, gained independence from the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
in 1877. During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, after declaring its
neutrality in 1914, Romania
fought together with the
Allied Powers from 1916. In the aftermath of the war,
Bukovina
Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berge ...
,
Bessarabia
Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds o ...
,
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...
, and parts of
Banat
Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of ...
,
Crișana
Crișana ( hu, Körösvidék, german: Kreischgebiet) is a geographical and historical region in north-western Romania, named after the Criș (Körös) River and its three tributaries: the Crișul Alb, Crișul Negru, and Crișul Repede. In Rom ...
, and
Maramureș
or Marmaroshchyna ( ro, Maramureș ; uk, Мармарощина, Marmaroshchyna; hu, Máramaros) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northern Romania and western Ukraine. It is situated in the northeastern Carpathians, alon ...
became part of the
Kingdom of Romania
The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...
. In June–August 1940, as a consequence of the
Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact
, long_name = Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
, image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg
, image_width = 200
, caption = Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking ...
and
Second Vienna Award
The Second Vienna Award, also known as the Vienna Diktat, was the second of two territorial disputes that were arbitrated by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. On 30 August 1940, they assigned the territory of Northern Transylvania, including all o ...
, Romania was compelled to cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
and
Northern Transylvania
Northern Transylvania ( ro, Transilvania de Nord, hu, Észak-Erdély) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of ...
to Hungary. In November 1940, Romania signed the
Tripartite Pact
The Tripartite Pact, also known as the Berlin Pact, was an agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940 by, respectively, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Galeazzo Ciano and Saburō Kurusu. It was a defensive milit ...
and, consequently, in June 1941 entered
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
on the
Axis side,
fighting against the Soviet Union until August 1944, when it
joined the
Allies
An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
and recovered Northern Transylvania. Following the war and occupation by the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian language, Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist R ...
, Romania became a
socialist republic and a member of the
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...
. After the
1989 Revolution, Romania
began a transition towards
democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose g ...
and a
market economy
A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand, where all suppliers and consumers ...
.
Romania is a
developing country
A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreeme ...
with a
high-income economy
A high-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a nation with a gross national income per capita of US$12,696 or more in 2020, calculated using the Atlas method. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with " First Worl ...
,
ranking 53rd in the
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, w ...
. It has the world's
47th largest economy by nominal GDP. Romania experienced rapid economic growth in the early 2000s; its economy is now based predominantly on services. It is a producer and net exporter of machines and electric energy through companies like
Automobile Dacia
S.C. Automobile Dacia S.A., commonly known as Dacia (), is a Romanian car manufacturer that takes its name from the historical region that constitutes present-day Romania. The company was established in 1966. In 1999, after 33 years, the Roma ...
and OMV
Petrom
OMV Petrom S.A. is a Romanian integrated oil company, controlled by Austria's OMV. It is one of the largest corporations in Romania and the largest oil and gas producer in Southeast Europe. Since 2004 it is a subsidiary of OMV.
History
In l ...
. Romania has been a member of the United Nations since 1955,
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
since 2004 and the European Union (EU) since 2007. The majority of Romania's population are ethnic
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
** Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
and religiously identify themselves as
Eastern Orthodox Christians
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first millennium, the mainstream (or "canonical") ...
, speaking
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
** Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
, a
Romance language
The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language ...
. The
Romanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates ...
is the largest (and most traditional) church of the country.
Etymology
"Romania" derives from the local name for
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
** Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
( ro, român), which in turn derives from
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...
''romanus'', meaning "
Roman
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
* Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...
" or "of
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus ( legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
". This ethnonym for Romanians is first attested in the 16th century by Italian humanists travelling in
Transylvania
Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...
,
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
, and
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
. The oldest known surviving document written in
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
** Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
, a 1521 letter known as the "
Letter of Neacșu from Câmpulung", is notable for including the first documented occurrence of ''Romanian'' in a country name: Wallachia is mentioned as .
Two spelling forms: and were used interchangeably until sociolinguistic developments in the late 17th century led to semantic differentiation of the two forms: came to mean "
bondsman", while retained the original ethnolinguistic meaning. After the abolition of
serfdom
Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...
in 1746, the word ''rumân'' gradually fell out of use and the spelling stabilised to the form .
[In his literary testament writes: ""]
In the "" a writes: " Tudor Vladimirescu, a revolutionary leader of the early 19th century, used the term to refer exclusively to the principality of Wallachia.
The use of the name ''Romania'' to refer to the common homeland of all Romanians—its modern-day meaning—was first documented in the early 19th century.
[In 1816, the Greek scholar ]Dimitrie Daniel Philippide Daniel Philippidis ( el, Δανιήλ Φιλιππίδης; ro, Dimitrie Daniil Philippide; c. 1750 – 1832) was a Greek scholar, figure of the modern Greek Enlightenment and member of the patriotic organization Filiki Etaireia. He was one of the ...
published his work ''The History of Romania'' in Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
, followed by ''The Geography of Romania''.
On the tombstone of Gheorghe Lazăr
Gheorghe Lazăr (5 June 1779 – 17 September 1823), born and died in Avrig, Sibiu County, was a Transylvanian, later Romanian scholar, the founder of the first Romanian language school in Bucharest, 1817.
Biography
A Habsburg Empire subject, ...
in Avrig
Avrig (; german: Freck/Fryck, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Freck/Fraek'', hu, Felek) is a town in Sibiu County, Transylvania, central Romania. It has a population of 12,815 and the first documents attesting its existence date to 1346. It officially ...
(built in 1823) there is the inscription: ""
In English, the name of the country was formerly spelt ''Rumania'' or ''Roumania''. ''Romania'' became the predominant spelling around 1975. ''Romania'' is also the official English-language spelling used by the Romanian government. A handful of other languages (including Italian, Hungarian, Portuguese, and Norwegian) have also switched to "o" like English, but most languages continue to prefer forms with ''u'', e.g. French , German and Swedish , Dutch (oe pronounced as Spanish u), Spanish (the archaic form is still in use in Spain), Polish , Russian (), and Japanese ().
History
Prehistory
![Oase 2 skull (Homo sapiens)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c8/Oase_2_skull_%28Homo_sapiens%29.jpg)
Human remains found in
Peștera cu Oase ("Cave with Bones"), radiocarbon date from circa 40,000 years ago, and represent the oldest known ''
Homo sapiens
Humans (''Homo sapiens'') are the most abundant and widespread species of primate, characterized by bipedalism and exceptional cognitive skills due to a large and complex brain. This has enabled the development of advanced tools, culture ...
'' in Europe.
Neolithic
The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several pa ...
agriculture spread after the arrival of a mixed group of people from
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...
in the 6th millennium BC. Excavations near a
salt spring
A brine spring or salt spring is a saltwater spring.
Brine springs are not necessarily associated with halite deposits in the immediate vicinity. They may occur at valley bottoms made of clay and gravel which became soggy with brine seeped downslo ...
at
Lunca yielded the earliest evidence for salt exploitation in Europe; here salt production began between the 5th and 4th millennium BC. The first permanent settlements developed into "proto-cities", which were larger than . The
Cucuteni–Trypillia culture
The Cucuteni–Trypillia culture, also known as the Tripolye culture, is a Neolithic–Chalcolithic archaeological culture ( 5500 to 2750 BCE) of Eastern Europe.
It extended from the Carpathian Mountains to the Dniester and Dnieper regions, cent ...
—the best known
archaeological culture
An archaeological culture is a recurring assemblage of types of artifacts, buildings and monuments from a specific period and region that may constitute the material culture remains of a particular past human society. The connection between thes ...
of
Old Europe—flourished in
Muntenia
Muntenia (, also known in English as Greater Wallachia) is a historical region of Romania, part of Wallachia (also, sometimes considered Wallachia proper, as ''Muntenia'', ''Țara Românească'', and the seldom used ''Valahia'' are synonyms in R ...
, southeastern Transylvania and northeastern Moldavia in the 3rd millennium BC.
The first fortified settlements appeared around 1800 BC, showing the militant character of
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a historic period, lasting approximately from 3300 BC to 1200 BC, characterized by the use of bronze, the presence of writing in some areas, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the second pri ...
societies.
Antiquity
![Dacia 82 vChr](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Dacia_82_vChr.png)
Greek colonies established on the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...
coast in the 7th century BC became important centres of commerce with the local tribes. Among the native peoples,
Herodotus
Herodotus ( ; grc, , }; BC) was an ancient Greek historian and geographer from the Greek city of Halicarnassus, part of the Persian Empire (now Bodrum, Turkey) and a later citizen of Thurii in modern Calabria ( Italy). He is known f ...
listed the
Getae
The Getae ( ) or Gets ( ; grc, Γέται, singular ) were a Thracian-related tribe that once inhabited the regions to either side of the Lower Danube, in what is today northern Bulgaria and southern Romania. Both the singular form ''Get'' an ...
of the Lower Danube region, the
Agathyrsi
The Agathyrsi (Ancient Greek: ; Latin: ) were a people belonging to the Scythian cultures. The Agathyrsi were a people of mixed Iranian Scythic and Geto-Thracian origin whose bulk were Thracian while their aristocracy was closely related to the ...
of Transylvania and the
Syginnae of the plains along the river
Tisza
The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders.
The Tisza be ...
at the beginning of the 5th century BC. Centuries later,
Strabo
Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...
associated the Getae with the
Dacians
The Dacians (; la, Daci ; grc-gre, Δάκοι, Δάοι, Δάκαι) were the ancient Indo-European inhabitants of the cultural region of Dacia, located in the area near the Carpathian Mountains and west of the Black Sea. They are often consid ...
who dominated the lands along the southern
Carpathian Mountains
The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians () are a range of mountains forming an arc across Central Europe. Roughly long, it is the third-longest European mountain range after the Urals at and the Scandinavian Mountains at . The range stretche ...
in the 1st century BC.
Burebista
Burebista ( grc, Βυρεβίστας, Βοιρεβίστας) was the king of the Getae and Dacian tribes from 82/61BC to 45/44BC. He was the first king who successfully unified the tribes of the Dacian kingdom, which comprised the area locat ...
was the first Dacian ruler to unite the local tribes. He also conquered the Greek colonies in
Dobruja
Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...
and the neighbouring peoples as far as the Middle Danube and the
Balkan Mountains
The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border betw ...
between around 55 and 44 BC. After Burebista was murdered in 44 BC, his kingdom collapsed.
![Sarmizegetusa Regia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/ff/Sarmizegetusa_Regia.jpg)
The Romans reached
Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It ...
during Burebista's reign and conquered Dobruja in 46 AD.
Dacia
Dacia (, ; ) was the land inhabited by the Dacians, its core in Transylvania, stretching to the Danube in the south, the Black Sea in the east, and the Tisza in the west. The Carpathian Mountains were located in the middle of Dacia. It ...
was again united under
Decebalus
Decebalus (), sometimes referred to as Diurpaneus, was the last Dacians, Dacian king. He is famous for fighting three wars, with varying success, against the Roman Empire under two emperors. After raiding south across the Danube, he defeated a Rom ...
around 85 AD. He resisted the Romans for decades, but the Roman army defeated his troops in 106 AD. Emperor
Trajan
Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
transformed
Banat
Banat (, ; hu, Bánság; sr, Банат, Banat) is a geographical and historical region that straddles Central and Eastern Europe and which is currently divided among three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania (the counties of ...
,
Oltenia
Oltenia (, also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions, with the alternative Latin names ''Wallachia Minor'', ''Wallachia Alutana'', ''Wallachia Caesarea'' between 1718 and 1739) is a historical province and geographical region of Romania ...
and the greater part of Transylvania into a new
province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...
called
Roman Dacia
Roman Dacia ( ; also known as Dacia Traiana, ; or Dacia Felix, 'Fertile/Happy Dacia') was a province of the Roman Empire from 106 to 271–275 AD. Its territory consisted of what are now the regions of Oltenia, Transylvania and Banat (today ...
, but Dacian,
Germanic and
Sarmatian
The Sarmatians (; grc, Σαρμαται, Sarmatai; Latin: ) were a large confederation of Ancient Iranian peoples, ancient Eastern Iranian languages, Eastern Iranian peoples, Iranian Eurasian nomads, equestrian nomadic peoples of classical ant ...
tribes continued to dominate the lands along the Roman frontiers. The Romans pursued an organised colonisation policy, and the provincials enjoyed a long period of peace and prosperity in the 2nd century. Scholars accepting the Daco-Roman continuity theory—one of the main theories about the
origin of the Romanians
Several theories address the issue of the origin of the Romanians. The Romanian language descends from the Vulgar Latin dialects spoken in the Roman provinces north of the "Jireček Line" (a proposed notional line separating the predominantly ...
—say that the cohabitation of the native Dacians and the Roman colonists in Roman Dacia was the first phase of the Romanians'
ethnogenesis
Ethnogenesis (; ) is "the formation and development of an ethnic group".
This can originate by group self-identification or by outside identification.
The term ''ethnogenesis'' was originally a mid-19th century neologism that was later introdu ...
.
The
Carpians
The Carpi or Carpiani were a Dacian tribe that resided in the eastern parts of modern Romania in the historical region of Moldavia from no later than c. AD 140 and until at least AD 318.
The ethnic affiliation of the Carpi remains disputed, as ...
,
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
and other neighbouring tribes made regular raids against Dacia from the 210s. The Romans could not resist, and Emperor
Aurelian
Aurelian ( la, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; 9 September 214 October 275) was a Roman emperor, who reigned during the Crisis of the Third Century, from 270 to 275. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited t ...
ordered the evacuation of the province
Dacia Trajana in 271. Scholars supporting the continuity theory are convinced that most Latin-speaking commoners stayed behind when the army and civil administration was withdrawn. The Romans did not abandon their fortresses along the northern banks of the Lower Danube for decades, and Dobruja (known as
Scythia Minor
Scythia Minor or Lesser Scythia (Greek: , ) was a Roman province in late antiquity, corresponding to the lands between the Danube and the Black Sea, today's Dobruja divided between Romania and Bulgaria. It was detached from Moesia Inferior by t ...
) remained an integral part of the Roman Empire until the early 7th century.
Middle Ages
![Gutthiuda](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Gutthiuda.jpg)
The Goths were expanding towards the Lower Danube from the 230s, forcing the native peoples to flee to the Roman Empire or to accept their
suzerainty
Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...
. The Goths' rule ended abruptly when the
Huns
The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European tradition, they were first reported living east of the Volga River, in an area that was part ...
invaded their territory in 376, causing new waves of migrations. The Huns forced the remnants of the local population into submission, but their empire collapsed in 454. The
Gepids
The Gepids, ( la, Gepidae, Gipedae, grc, Γήπαιδες) were an East Germanic tribe who lived in the area of modern Romania, Hungary and Serbia, roughly between the Tisza, Sava and Carpathian Mountains. They were said to share the religion a ...
took possession of the former Dacia province. The nomadic
Avars defeated the Gepids and established a powerful empire around 570. The
Bulgars
The Bulgars (also Bulghars, Bulgari, Bolgars, Bolghars, Bolgari, Proto-Bulgarians) were Turkic semi-nomadic warrior tribes that flourished in the Pontic–Caspian steppe and the Volga region during the 7th century. They became known as nomad ...
, who also came from the
Eurasian steppes
The Eurasian Steppe, also simply called the Great Steppe or the steppes, is the vast steppe ecoregion of Eurasia in the temperate grasslands, savannas and shrublands biome. It stretches through Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova and Transnistria ...
, occupied the Lower Danube region in 680.
Place names that are of
Slavic origin abound in Romania, indicating that a significant Slavic-speaking population lived in the territory. The first
Slavic groups settled in Moldavia and Wallachia in the 6th century, in Transylvania around 600. After the
Avar Khaganate
The Pannonian Avars () were an alliance of several groups of Eurasian nomads of various origins. The peoples were also known as the Obri in chronicles of Rus, the Abaroi or Varchonitai ( el, Βαρχονίτες, Varchonítes), or Pseudo-Avars ...
collapsed in the 790s, Bulgaria became the dominant power of the region, occupying lands as far as the river
Tisa
The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa, is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. Once, it was called "the most Hungarian river" because it flowed entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national borders.
The Tisza be ...
. The
Council of Preslav The People's Council of Preslav ( bg, Преславски народен събор) took place in 893. It was among the most important events in the history of the First Bulgarian Empire and was a cornerstone of the Christianization of Bulgaria un ...
declared
Old Church Slavonic
Old Church Slavonic or Old Slavonic () was the first Slavic languages, Slavic literary language.
Historians credit the 9th-century Byzantine Empire, Byzantine missionaries Saints Cyril and Methodius with Standard language, standardizing the lan ...
the language of liturgy in the
First Bulgarian Tsardom in 893. The Romanians also adopted Old Church Slavonic as their liturgical language.
The
Magyars
Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic ...
(Hungarians) took control of the steppes north of the Lower Danube in the 830s, but the Bulgarians and the
Pechenegs
The Pechenegs () or Patzinaks tr, Peçenek(ler), Middle Turkic: , ro, Pecenegi, russian: Печенег(и), uk, Печеніг(и), hu, Besenyő(k), gr, Πατζινάκοι, Πετσενέγοι, Πατζινακίται, ka, პა ...
jointly forced them to abandon this region for the
lowlands along the Middle Danube around 894. Centuries later, the ''
Gesta Hungarorum
''Gesta Hungarorum'', or ''The Deeds of the Hungarians'', is the earliest book about Hungarian history which has survived for posterity. Its genre is not chronicle, but ''gesta'', meaning "deeds" or "acts", which is a medieval entertaining li ...
'' wrote of the invading Magyars' wars against three dukes—
Glad,
Menumorut
Menumorut or Menumorout (Modern hu, Ménmarót) was the ruler of the lands between the rivers Mureș River, Mureș, Someș River, Someș and Tisza at the time of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin around 900, according to the ''Gesta ...
and the Vlach
Gelou
Gelou ( ro, Gelu; hu, Gyalu) was the Vlach ruler of Transylvania at the time of the Hungarian conquest of the Carpathian Basin around 900 AD, according to the ''Gesta Hungarorum''. Although the ''Gesta Hungarorum'', which was written after 115 ...
—for Banat, Crișana and Transylvania. The ''Gesta'' also listed many peoples—Slavs, Bulgarians, Vlachs,
Khazars
The Khazars ; he, כּוּזָרִים, Kūzārīm; la, Gazari, or ; zh, 突厥曷薩 ; 突厥可薩 ''Tūjué Kěsà'', () were a semi-nomadic Turkic people that in the late 6th-century CE established a major commercial empire coverin ...
, and
Székelys
The Székelys (, Székely runes: 𐳥𐳋𐳓𐳉𐳗), also referred to as Szeklers,; ro, secui; german: Szekler; la, Siculi; sr, Секељи, Sekelji; sk, Sikuli are a Hungarian subgroup living mostly in the Székely Land in Romania. ...
—inhabiting the same regions. The reliability of the ''Gesta'' is debated. Some scholars regard it as a basically accurate account, others describe it as a literary work filled with invented details. The Pechenegs seized the lowlands abandoned by the Hungarians to the east of the Carpathians.
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
missionaries proselytised in the lands east of the Tisa from the 940s and Byzantine troops occupied Dobruja in the 970s. The first
king of Hungary
The King of Hungary ( hu, magyar király) was the ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Apostoli Magyar Király'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...
,
Stephen I, who supported Western European missionaries, defeated the local chieftains and established
Roman Catholic bishoprics (office of a bishop) in Transylvania and Banat in the early 11th century. Significant Pecheneg groups fled to the Byzantine Empire in the 1040s; the
Oghuz Turks
The Oghuz or Ghuzz Turks (Middle Turkic languages, Middle Turkic: ٱغُز, ''Oγuz'', ota, اوغوز, Oġuz) were a western Turkic people that spoke the Oghuz languages, Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages, Turkic language family. In th ...
followed them, and the nomadic
Cumans
The Cumans (or Kumans), also known as Polovtsians or Polovtsy (plural only, from the Russian language, Russian Exonym and endonym, exonym ), were a Turkic people, Turkic nomadic people comprising the western branch of the Cuman–Kipchak confede ...
became the dominant power of the steppes in the 1060s. Cooperation between the Cumans and the Vlachs against the Byzantine Empire is well documented from the end of the 11th century. Scholars who reject the Daco-Roman continuity theory say that the first Vlach groups left their
Balkan
The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
homeland for the mountain pastures of the eastern and southern Carpathians in the 11th century, establishing the Romanians' presence in the lands to the north of the Lower Danube.
Exposed to nomadic incursions, Transylvania developed into an important border province of the
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
. The Székelys—a community of free warriors—settled in central Transylvania around 1100 and moved to the easternmost regions around 1200. Colonists from the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
—the
Transylvanian Saxons
The Transylvanian Saxons (german: Siebenbürger Sachsen; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjer Såksen''; ro, Sași ardeleni, sași transilvăneni/transilvani; hu, Erdélyi szászok) are a people of German ethnicity who settled in Transylvania ( ...
' ancestors—came to the province in the 1150s. A high-ranking royal official, styled
voivode
Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...
, ruled the Transylvanian
counties
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
from the 1170s, but the Székely and Saxon
seats
A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense.
Types of seat
The following are examples of different kinds of seat:
* Armchair, a chair equ ...
(or districts) were not subject to the voivodes' authority. Royal charters wrote of the "Vlachs' land" in southern Transylvania in the early 13th century, indicating the existence of
autonomous Romanian communities. Papal correspondence mentions the activities of Orthodox prelates among the Romanians in Muntenia in the 1230s. Also in the 13th century, during one of its greatest periods of expansion, the
Republic of Genoa
The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...
started establishing many
colonies
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
and commercial and military ports on the Black Sea, in the current territory of Romania. The largest Genoese colonies in present-day Romania were
Calafat
Calafat () is a city in Dolj County, southern Romania, in the region of Oltenia. It lies on the river Danube, opposite the Bulgarian city of Vidin, to which it is linked by the Calafat-Vidin Bridge, opened in 2013. After the destruction of the bri ...
(still known as such),
Constanța
Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...
(Costanza),
Galați
Galați (, , ; also known by other alternative names) is the capital city of Galați County in the historical region of Western Moldavia, in eastern Romania. Galați is a port town on the Danube River. It has been the only port for the most pa ...
(Caladda),
Giurgiu
Giurgiu (; bg, Гюргево) is a city in southern Romania. The seat of Giurgiu County, it lies in the historical region of Muntenia. It is situated amongst mud-flats and marshes on the left bank of the Danube facing the Bulgarian city ...
(San Giorgio),
Licostomo
Chilia Veche (Romanian pronunciation: /kiˈlija ˈveˈke/; meaning ''Old Chilia''; uk, Стара Кілія, translit=Stara Kiliia) is a commune in Tulcea County, Northern Dobruja, Romania, in the Danube Delta. It gave its name to the Chilia ...
and
Vicina (unknown modern location). These would last until the 15th century.
The Mongols destroyed large territories during
their invasion of Eastern and Central Europe in 1241 and 1242. The Mongols'
Golden Horde
The Golden Horde, self-designated as Ulug Ulus, 'Great State' in Turkic, was originally a Mongols, Mongol and later Turkicized khanate established in the 13th century and originating as the northwestern sector of the Mongol Empire. With the fr ...
emerged as the dominant power of Eastern Europe, but
Béla IV of Hungary's land grant to the
Knights Hospitallers
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...
in Oltenia and Muntenia shows that the local Vlach rulers were subject to the king's authority in 1247.
Basarab I of Wallachia united the Romanian polities between the southern Carpathians and the Lower Danube in the 1310s. He defeated the Hungarian royal army in the
Battle of Posada
The Battle of Posada (9–12 November 1330)Djuvara, pp. 19– "''... marea bătălie zisă de la Posada (9–12 noiembrie 1330)''". was fought between Basarab I of Wallachia and Charles I of Hungary (also known as Charles Robert).
The small Wall ...
and secured the independence of
Wallachia
Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...
in 1330. The second Romanian principality,
Moldavia
Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Centr ...
, achieved full autonomy during the reign of
Bogdan I around 1360. A local dynasty ruled the
Despotate of Dobruja
The Despotate of Dobruja or Principality of Karvuna ( bg, Добруджанско деспотство or ; ro, Despotatul Dobrogei or ) was a 14th-century quasi-independent polity in the region of modern Dobruja, that split off from the Second ...
in the second half of the 14th century, but the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...
took possession of the territory after 1388.
![Vlad Tepes 002](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Vlad_Tepes_002.jpg)
Princes
Mircea I and
Vlad III of Wallachia, and
Stephen III of Moldavia defended their countries' independence against the Ottomans. Most Wallachian and Moldavian princes paid a regular tribute to the Ottoman sultans from 1417 and 1456, respectively. A military commander of Romanian origin,
John Hunyadi
John Hunyadi (, , , ; 1406 – 11 August 1456) was a leading Hungarian military and political figure in Central and Southeastern Europe during the 15th century. According to most contemporary sources, he was the member of a noble family of ...
, organised the defence of the Kingdom of Hungary until his death in 1456. Increasing taxes outraged the Transylvanian peasants, and
they rose up in an open rebellion in 1437, but the Hungarian nobles and the heads of the Saxon and Székely communities jointly suppressed their revolt. The formal alliance of the Hungarian, Saxon, and Székely leaders, known as the
Union of the Three Nations, became an important element of the self-government of Transylvania. The Orthodox Romanian ''
knezes'' ("chiefs") were excluded from the Union.
Early Modern Times and national awakening
The Kingdom of Hungary collapsed, and the Ottomans occupied parts of Banat and Crișana in 1541. Transylvania and
Maramureș
or Marmaroshchyna ( ro, Maramureș ; uk, Мармарощина, Marmaroshchyna; hu, Máramaros) is a geographical, historical and cultural region in northern Romania and western Ukraine. It is situated in the northeastern Carpathians, alon ...
, along with the rest of Banat and Crișana developed into a new state under Ottoman suzerainty, the
Principality of Transylvania. Reformation spread and four denominations—
Calvinism
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...
,
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
,
Unitarianism
Unitarianism (from Latin ''unitas'' "unity, oneness", from ''unus'' "one") is a nontrinitarian branch of Christian theology. Most other branches of Christianity and the major Churches accept the doctrine of the Trinity which states that there i ...
, and Roman Catholicism—were officially acknowledged in 1568. The Romanians' Orthodox faith remained only tolerated, although they made up more than one-third of the population, according to 17th-century estimations.
The princes of Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia joined the
Holy League against the Ottoman Empire in 1594. The Wallachian prince,
Michael the Brave
Michael the Brave ( ro, Mihai Viteazul or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593 – 1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Transylvania (1599 – 1600). ...
, united the three principalities under his rule in May 1600. The neighboring powers forced him to abdicate in September, but he became a symbol of the unification of the Romanian lands in the 19th century. Although the rulers of the three principalities continued to pay tribute to the Ottomans, the most talented princes—
Gabriel Bethlen
Gabriel Bethlen ( hu, Bethlen Gábor; 15 November 1580 – 15 November 1629) was Prince of Transylvania from 1613 to 1629 and Duke of Opole from 1622 to 1625. He was also King-elect of Hungary from 1620 to 1621, but he never took control of th ...
of Transylvania,
Matei Basarab
Matei Basarab (; 1588, Brâncoveni, Olt – 9 April 1654, Bucharest) was a Wallachian Voivode (Prince) between 1632 and 1654.
Reign
Much of Matei's reign was spent fighting off incursions from Moldavia, which he successfully accomplished in 1637 ...
of Wallachia, and
Vasile Lupu
Lupu Coci, known as Vasile Lupu (; 1595–1661), was a List of Moldavian rulers, Voivode of Moldavia of Albanians, Albanian origin between 1634 and 1653. Lupu had secured the Moldavian throne in 1634 after a series of complicated intrigues and man ...
of Moldavia—strengthened their autonomy.
The united armies of the
Holy League expelled the Ottoman troops from Central Europe between 1684 and 1699, and the Principality of Transylvania was integrated into the
Habsburg monarchy
The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...
. The Habsburgs supported the Catholic clergy and persuaded the Orthodox Romanian prelates to accept the
union with the Roman Catholic Church in 1699. The Church Union strengthened the Romanian intellectuals' devotion to their Roman heritage. The Orthodox Church was restored in Transylvania only after Orthodox monks stirred up revolts in 1744 and 1759. The organization of the
Transylvanian Military Frontier
The Transylvanian Military Frontier ( ro, Granița Militară Transilvăneană; german: link=no, Siebenbürgische Militärgrenze; hu, Erdélyi határőrvidék) was a territory in the Habsburg monarchy. It was a section of the Habsburg Military F ...
caused further disturbances,
especially among the Székelys in 1764.
Princes
Dimitrie Cantemir
Dimitrie or Demetrius Cantemir (, russian: Дмитрий Кантемир; 26 October 1673 – 21 August 1723), also known by other spellings, was a Romanian prince, statesman, and man of letters, regarded as one of the most significant e ...
of Moldavia and
Constantin Brâncoveanu
Constantin Brâncoveanu (; 1654 – August 15, 1714) was Prince of Wallachia between 1688 and 1714.
Biography
Ascension
A descendant of the Craiovești boyar family and heir through his grandfather Preda of a considerable part of Matei Ba ...
of Wallachia concluded alliances with the Habsburg Monarchy and Russia against the Ottomans, but they were dethroned in 1711 and 1714, respectively. The sultans lost confidence in the native princes and appointed Orthodox merchants from the
Phanar
Fener (; Greek: Φανάρι, ''Phanári''; in English also: Phanar) is a quarter midway up the Golden Horn in the district of Fatih in Istanbul, Turkey. Its name is a Turkish transliteration of the word "phanarion" (Medieval Greek: Φανάρι ...
district of Istanbul to rule Moldova and Wallachia. The
Phanariot
Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots ( el, Φαναριώτες, ro, Fanarioți, tr, Fenerliler) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumen ...
princes pursued oppressive fiscal policies and dissolved the army. The neighboring powers took advantage of the situation: the Habsburg Monarchy annexed the northwestern part of Moldavia, or
Bukovina
Bukovinagerman: Bukowina or ; hu, Bukovina; pl, Bukowina; ro, Bucovina; uk, Буковина, ; see also other languages. is a historical region, variously described as part of either Central or Eastern Europe (or both).Klaus Peter Berge ...
, in 1775, and the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...
seized the eastern half of Moldavia, or
Bessarabia
Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds o ...
, in 1812.
A census revealed that the Romanians were more numerous than any other ethnic group in Transylvania in 1733, but legislation continued to use contemptuous adjectives (such as "tolerated" and "admitted") when referring to them. The
Uniate bishop,
Inocențiu Micu-Klein
Ioan Inocențiu Micu-Klein, also known by his lay name Ioan Micu (1692 – 22 September 1768), was a Bishop of Făgăraș and Primate of the Romanian Greek Catholic Church from 1730 to his resignation in 1751. He played an instrumental role in th ...
who demanded recognition of the Romanians as the fourth privileged nation was forced into exile. Uniate and Orthodox clerics and laymen jointly signed a
plea for the Transylvanian Romanians' emancipation in 1791, but the monarch and the local authorities refused to grant their requests.
Independence and monarchy
![RomaniaBorderHistoryAnnimation 1859-2010](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/RomaniaBorderHistoryAnnimation_1859-2010.gif)
The
Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca
The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca ( tr, Küçük Kaynarca Antlaşması; russian: Кючук-Кайнарджийский мир), formerly often written Kuchuk-Kainarji, was a peace treaty signed on 21 July 1774, in Küçük Kaynarca (today Kayna ...
authorised the Russian ambassador in Istanbul to defend the autonomy of Moldavia and Wallachia (known as the
Danubian Principalities
The Danubian Principalities ( ro, Principatele Dunărene, sr, Дунавске кнежевине, translit=Dunavske kneževine) was a conventional name given to the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, which emerged in the early 14th ce ...
) in 1774. Taking advantage of the
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...
, a Wallachian lesser nobleman, Tudor Vladimirescu, stirred up a revolt against the Ottomans in January 1821, but he was murdered in June by Phanariot Greeks. After a
new Russo-Turkish War, the
Treaty of Adrianople strengthened the autonomy of the Danubian Principalities in 1829, although it also acknowledged the sultan's right to confirm the election of the princes.
Mihail Kogălniceanu
Mihail Kogălniceanu (; also known as Mihail Cogâlniceanu, Michel de Kogalnitchan; September 6, 1817 – July 1, 1891) was a Romanian liberal statesman, lawyer, historian and publicist; he became Prime Minister of Romania on October 11, 1863, ...
, Nicolae Bălcescu and other leaders of the Moldavian Revolution of 1848, 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachian Revolution of 1848, Wallachia demanded the emancipation of the peasants and the union of the two principalities, but Russian and Ottoman troops crushed their revolt. The Wallachian revolutionists were the first to adopt the blue, yellow and red Tricolour (flag), tricolour as the Flag of Romania, national flag. In Transylvania, most Romanians supported the imperial government against the Hungarian Revolution of 1848, Hungarian revolutionaries after the Diet passed a law concerning the union of Transylvania and Hungary. Bishop Andrei Șaguna proposed the unification of the Romanians of the Habsburg Monarchy in a separate duchy, but the central government refused to change the internal borders.
![Alexander Johann Cuza Kriehuber (cropped)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Alexander_Johann_Cuza_Kriehuber_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The Treaty of Paris (1856), Treaty of Paris put the Danubian Principalities under the collective guardianship of the International relations of the Great Powers (1814–1919), Great Powers in 1856. After Ad hoc Divans, special assemblies convoked in Moldavia and Wallachia urged Unification of Moldavia and Wallachia, the unification of the two principalities, the Great Powers did not prevent the election of Alexandru Ioan Cuza as their collective ''domnitor'' (or ruling prince) in January 1859. The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, united principalities officially adopted the name Romania on 21 February 1862. Cuza's government carried out a series of reforms, including the secularisation of the property of monasteries and agrarian reform, but a coalition of conservative and radical politicians forced him to abdicate in February 1866.
Cuza's successor, a German prince, Carol I of Romania, Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (or Carol I), was elected in May. The parliament adopted the 1866 Constitution of Romania, first constitution of Romania in the same year. The Great Powers acknowledged Romania's full independence at the Congress of Berlin and Carol I was crowned king in 1881. The Congress also granted the Danube Delta and Dobruja to Romania. Although Romanian scholars strove for the unification of all Romanians into a Greater Romania, the government did not openly support their Irredentism, irredentist projects.
The Transylvanian Romanians and Saxons wanted to maintain the separate status of Transylvania in the Habsburg Monarchy, but the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, Austro-Hungarian Compromise brought about the union of the province with Hungary in 1867. Ethnic Romanian politicians sharply opposed the Hungarian government's attempts to transform Hungary into a national state, especially the laws prescribing the obligatory teaching of Hungarian. Leaders of the Romanian National Party proposed the federalisation of Austria-Hungary and the Romanian intellectuals established a cultural association to promote the use of Romanian.
World Wars and Greater Romania
![Austria-Hungary (ethnic)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Austria-Hungary_%28ethnic%29.jpg)
Fearing Russian expansionism, Romania secretly joined the Triple Alliance (1882), Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy in 1883, but public opinion remained hostile to Austria-Hungary. Romania seized Southern Dobruja from Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War in 1913. German and Austrian-Hungarian diplomacy supported Bulgaria during the war, bringing about a rapprochement between Romania and the Triple Entente of France, Russia and the United Kingdom. The country remained neutral when World War I broke out in 1914, but Prime Minister Ion I. C. Brătianu started negotiations with the Entente Powers. After they promised Austrian-Hungarian territories with a majority of ethnic Romanian population to Romania in the Treaty of Bucharest (1916), Treaty of Bucharest, Romania entered the war against the Central Powers in 1916. The German and Austrian-Hungarian troops defeated the Romanian army and occupied three-quarters of the country by early 1917. After the October Revolution turned Russia from an ally into an enemy, Romania was forced to sign a Treaty of Bucharest (1918), harsh peace treaty with the Central Powers in May 1918, but the collapse of Russia also enabled the union of Bessarabia with Romania. Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand again mobilised the Romanian army on behalf of the Entente Powers a day before Armistice of 11 November 1918, Germany capitulated on 11 November 1918.
![King Carol I of Romania with his nephew and great nephew](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/King_Carol_I_of_Romania_with_his_nephew_and_great_nephew.jpg)
Austria-Hungary quickly disintegrated after the war. The General Congress of Bukovina proclaimed Union of Bukovina with Romania, the union of the province with Romania on 28 November 1918, and the 1918 Romanian National Assembly election, Grand National Assembly proclaimed Union of Transylvania with Romania, the union of Transylvania, Banat, Crișana and Maramureș with the kingdom on 1 December. Peace treaties with Austria, Bulgaria and Hungary delineated the new borders in 1919 and 1920, but the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
did not acknowledge the loss of Bessarabia. Romania achieved its greatest territorial extent, expanding from the pre-war . A new electoral system granted voting rights to all adult male citizens, and a series of radical agrarian reforms transformed the country into a "nation of small landowners" between 1918 and 1921. Gender equality as a principle was enacted, but women could not vote or be candidates. Calypso Botez established the National Council of Romanian Women to promote feminist ideas. Romania was a multiethnic country, with ethnic minorities making up about 30% of the population, but the 1923 Constitution of Romania, new constitution declared it a unitary national state in 1923. Although minorities could establish their own schools, Romanian language, history and geography could only be taught in Romanian.
Agriculture remained the principal sector of economy, but several branches of industry—especially the production of coal, oil, metals, synthetic rubber, explosives and cosmetics—developed during the interwar period. With oil production of 5.8 million tons in 1930, Romania ranked sixth in the world. Two parties, the National Liberal Party (Romania, 1875), National Liberal Party and the National Peasants' Party, dominated political life, but the Great Depression in Romania brought about significant changes in the 1930s. The democratic parties were squeezed between conflicts with the fascist and anti-Semitic Iron Guard and the authoritarian tendencies of Carol II of Romania, King Carol II. The King promulgated a 1938 Constitution of Romania, new constitution and dissolved the political parties in 1938, replacing the parliamentary system with a royal dictatorship.
![PérdidasTerritorialesRumanas1940-ro](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/P%C3%A9rdidasTerritorialesRumanas1940-ro.svg)
The 1938 Munich Agreement convinced King Carol II that France and the United Kingdom could not defend Romanian interests. German preparations for a new war required the regular supply of Romanian oil and agricultural products. The two countries concluded a treaty concerning the coordination of their economic policies in 1939, but the King could not persuade Adolf Hitler to guarantee Romania's frontiers. Romania was forced to Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union on 26 June 1940,
Northern Transylvania
Northern Transylvania ( ro, Transilvania de Nord, hu, Észak-Erdély) was the region of the Kingdom of Romania that during World War II, as a consequence of the August 1940 territorial agreement known as the Second Vienna Award, became part of ...
to Hungary on 30 August, and Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria in September. After the territorial losses, the King was forced to abdicate in favour of his minor son, Michael I of Romania, Michael I, on 6 September, and Romania was transformed into a National Legionary State, national-legionary state under the leadership of General Ion Antonescu. Antonescu signed the
Tripartite Pact
The Tripartite Pact, also known as the Berlin Pact, was an agreement between Germany, Italy, and Japan signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940 by, respectively, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Galeazzo Ciano and Saburō Kurusu. It was a defensive milit ...
of Germany, Italy and Japan on 23 November. The Iron Guard staged a coup against Antonescu, but he crushed the riot with German support and introduced a military dictatorship in early 1941.
![Operation Tidal Wave in 1943](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/Operation_Tidal_Wave_in_1943.jpg)
Romania entered World War II soon after the Operation Barbarossa, German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941. The country regained Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, and the Germans placed Transnistria Governorate, Transnistria (the territory between the rivers Dniester and Dnieper) under Romanian administration. Romanian and German troops massacred at least 160,000 local Jews in these territories; more than 105,000 Jews and about 11,000 Gypsies died during their deportation from Bessarabia to Transnistria.
Most of the Jewish population of Moldavia, Wallachia, Banat and Southern Transylvania survived, but their fundamental rights were limited. After the Operation Margarethe, German occupation of Hungary in March 1944, about 132,000 Jews – mainly Hungarian-speaking – were deported to extermination camps from Northern Transylvania with the Hungarian authorities' support.
After the Soviet victory in the Battle of Stalingrad in 1943, Iuliu Maniu, a leader of the opposition to Antonescu, entered into secret negotiations with British diplomats who made it clear that Romania had to seek reconciliation with the Soviet Union. To facilitate the coordination of their activities against Antonescu's regime, the National Liberal and National Peasants' parties established the National Democratic Bloc, which also included the Romanian Social Democratic Party (1927–48), Social Democratic and Romanian Communist Party, Communist parties. After a successful Soviet offensive, the young King Michael's Coup, King Michael I ordered Antonescu's arrest and appointed politicians from the National Democratic Bloc to form a new government on 23 August 1944. Romania switched sides during the war, and nearly 250,000 Romanian troops joined the Red Army's military campaign against Hungary and Germany, but Joseph Stalin regarded the country as an occupied territory within the Soviet sphere of influence. Stalin's deputy instructed the King to make the Communists' candidate, Petru Groza, the prime minister in March 1945. The Romanian administration in Northern Transylvania was soon restored, and Groza's government carried out an agrarian reform. In February 1947, the Paris Peace Treaties, 1947, Paris Peace Treaties confirmed the return of Northern Transylvania to Romania, but they also legalised the presence of units of the Red Army in the country.
Communism
![Mihai I](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Mihai_I.jpg)
During the Soviet occupation of Romania, the communist-dominated government called for new 1946 Romanian general election, elections in 1946, which they Electoral fraud, fraudulently won, with a fabricated 70% majority of the vote. Thus, they rapidly established themselves as the dominant political force. Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej, a communist party leader imprisoned in 1933, escaped in 1944 to become Romania's first communist leader. In February 1947, he and others forced King Michael I to Abdication, abdicate and leave the country and proclaimed Romania a people's republic. Romania remained under the direct military occupation and economic control of the USSR until the late 1950s. During this period, Romania's vast natural resources were drained continuously by mixed Soviet-Romanian companies (SovRoms) set up for unilateral exploitative purposes.
In 1948, the state began to nationalization in Romania, nationalise private firms and to collectivization in Romania, collectivise agriculture. Until the early 1960s, the government severely curtailed political liberties and vigorously suppressed any dissent with the help of the Securitate—the Romanian secret police. During this period the regime launched several campaigns of purges during which numerous "enemies of the state" and "parasite elements" were targeted for different forms of punishment including: deportation, internal exile, internment in forced labour camps and prisons—sometimes for life—as well as extrajudicial killing. Nevertheless, Romanian anti-communist resistance movement, anti-communist resistance was one of the most long-lasting and strongest in the Eastern Bloc. A Presidential Commission for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in Romania, 2006 commission estimated the number of direct victims of the Communist repression at two million people.
![Ceausescu Anul Nou](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Ceausescu_Anul_Nou.jpg)
In 1965, Nicolae Ceaușescu came to power and started to conduct the country's foreign policy more independently from the Soviet Union. Thus, communist Romania was the only
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...
country which refused to participate in the Soviet-led Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia. Ceaușescu even Ceaușescu's speech of 21 August 1968, publicly condemned the action as "a big mistake, [and] a serious danger to peace in Europe and to the fate of Communism in the world". It was the only Communist state to maintain diplomatic relations with Israel after 1967's Six-Day War and established diplomatic relations with West Germany the same year. At the same time, close ties with the Arab world, Arab countries and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) allowed Romania to play a key role in the Israel–Egypt and Israel–PLO peace talks.
![Revolutia Bucuresti 1989 000](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Revolutia_Bucuresti_1989_000.JPG)
As Romania's foreign debt increased sharply between 1977 and 1981 (from US$3 billion to $10 billion), the influence of international financial organisations—such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank—grew, gradually conflicting with Ceaușescu's autocracy, autocratic rule. He eventually initiated a policy of total reimbursement of the foreign debt by imposing 1980s austerity policy in Romania, austerity steps that impoverished the population and exhausted the economy. The process succeeded in repaying all of Romania's foreign government debt in 1989. At the same time, Ceaușescu greatly extended the authority of the Securitate secret police and imposed a severe Nicolae Ceaușescu's cult of personality, cult of personality, which led to a dramatic decrease in the dictator's popularity and culminated in his overthrow in the violent Romanian Revolution of December 1989 in which thousands were killed or injured.
After a trial, Ceaușescu and his wife were executed by firing squad at a military base outside Bucharest on December 25, 1989. The charges for which they were executed were, among others, genocide by starvation.
Contemporary period
![RO B University square rally](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/RO_B_University_square_rally.jpg)
After the 1989 revolution, the National Salvation Front (Romania), National Salvation Front (FSN), led by Ion Iliescu, took partial and superficial multi-party democratic and free market measures after seizing power as an ad interim governing body. In April 1990, a sit-in protest contesting the results of 1990 Romanian general election, that year's legislative elections and accusing the FSN, including Iliescu, of being made up of former Communists and members of the Securitate grew rapidly to become what was called the Golaniad. Peaceful demonstrations degenerated into violence, prompting the intervention of coal miners summoned by Iliescu. This episode has been documented widely by both local and foreign media, and is remembered as the June 1990 Mineriad.
The subsequent disintegration of the Front produced several political parties, including most notably the Social Democratic Party (Romania), Social Democratic Party (PDSR then PSD) and the Democratic Party (Romania), Democratic Party (PD and subsequently PDL). The former governed Romania from 1990 until 1996 through several coalitions and governments, with Ion Iliescu as head of state. Since then, there have been several other democratic changes of government: in 1996 Emil Constantinescu was elected president, in 2000 Iliescu returned to power, while Traian Băsescu was elected in 2004 and narrowly re-elected in 2009.
In 2009, the country was bailed out by the International Monetary Fund as an aftershock of the Great Recession in Europe.
In November 2014, Sibiu (german: link=no, Hermannstadt) former Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania, FDGR/DFDR mayor Klaus Iohannis was elected president, unexpectedly defeating former Prime Minister Victor Ponta, who had been previously leading in the opinion polls. This surprise victory was attributed by many analysts to the implication of the Romanian diaspora in the voting process, with almost 50% casting their votes for Klaus Iohannis in the first round, compared to only 16% for Ponta. In 2019, Iohannis was re-elected president in a landslide victory over former Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă.
![Protest against corruption - Bucharest 2017 - Piata Universitatii - 5](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/Protest_against_corruption_-_Bucharest_2017_-_Piata_Universitatii_-_5.jpg)
The post–1989 period is also characterised by the fact that most of the former industrial and economic enterprises which were built and operated during the communist period were closed, mainly as a result of the policies of privatisation of the post–1989 regimes.
Corruption has also been a Corruption in Romania, major issue in contemporary Romanian politics. In November 2015, massive 2015 Romanian protests, anti-corruption protests which developed in the wake of the Colectiv nightclub fire led to the resignation of Romania's Prime Minister Victor Ponta. During 2017–2018, in response to measures which were perceived to weaken the fight against corruption, some of the 2017–2018 Romanian protests, biggest protests since 1989 took place in Romania, with over 500,000 people protesting across the country.
Nevertheless, there have been efforts to tackle corruption. A National Anticorruption Directorate was formed in the country in 2002. Relatively recently, in Transparency International's 2019 Corruption Perceptions Index, Romania's public sector corruption score deteriorated to 44 out of 100, reversing gains made in previous years.
NATO and EU integration
![Tratado de Lisboa 13 12 2007 (081)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/Tratado_de_Lisboa_13_12_2007_%28081%29.jpg)
After the end of the Cold War, Romania developed closer ties with Western Europe and the United States, eventually joining
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
in 2004, and hosting the 2008 Bucharest summit, 2008 summit in Bucharest.
The country applied in June 1993 for membership in the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...
and became an Associated State of the EU in 1995, an Acceding Country in 2004, and a 2007 enlargement of the European Union, full member on 1 January 2007.
During the 2000s, Romania enjoyed one of the highest economic growth rates in Europe and has been referred at times as "the Tiger of Eastern Europe".
This has been accompanied by a significant improvement in living standards as the country successfully reduced domestic poverty and established a functional democratic state.
[Human Development Report 2009 – Country Fact Sheets – Romania](_blank)
. Hdrstats.undp.org. Retrieved on 21 August 2010. However, Romania's development suffered a major setback during the Great Recession, late 2000s' recession leading to a large gross domestic product contraction and a budget deficit in 2009.
This led to Romania borrowing from the International Monetary Fund. Worsening economic conditions led to 2012 Romanian constitutional crisis, unrest and triggered a political crisis in 2012.
![2008 Bucharest summit (5)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/2008_Bucharest_summit_%285%29.JPG)
Romania still faces problems related to infrastructure, medical services, Education in Romania, education, and corruption. Near the end of 2013, ''The Economist'' reported Romania again enjoying "booming" economic growth at 4.1% that year, with wages rising fast and a lower unemployment than in Britain. Economic growth accelerated in the midst of government liberalisations in opening up new sectors to competition and investment—most notably, energy and telecoms. In 2016, the
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy, education (mean years of schooling completed and expected years of schooling upon entering the education system), and per capita income indicators, w ...
ranked Romania as a nation of "Very High Human Development".
Following the experience of economic instability throughout the 1990s, and the implementation of a free travel agreement with the EU, a great number of Romanians emigrated to Western Europe and North America, with particularly large communities in Italy, Germany, and Spain. In 2016, the Romanian diaspora was estimated to be over 3.6 million people, the fifth-highest emigrant population in the world.
Geography and climate
![Romania general map](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Romania_general_map-en.png)
Romania is the largest country in
Southeastern Europe
Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (a ...
and the List of European countries by area, twelfth-largest in Europe, having an area of .
It lies between latitudes 43rd parallel north, 43° and 49th parallel north, 49° N and longitudes 20th meridian east, 20° and 30th meridian east, 30° E. The terrain is distributed roughly equally between mountains, hills, and plains. The Carpathian Mountains dominate the centre of Romania, with List of mountain peaks in Romania, 14 mountain ranges reaching above —the highest is
Moldoveanu Peak
Moldoveanu Peak ( ro, Vârful Moldoveanu, ; "Moldavian Peak"), at , is the highest mountain peak in Romania. at .
They are surrounded by the Moldavian Plateau, Moldavian and Transylvanian Plateau, Transylvanian plateaus, the Carpathian Basin and the Wallachian Plain, Wallachian plains.
Romania is home to six terrestrial ecoregions: Balkan mixed forests, Central European mixed forests, East European forest steppe, Pannonian mixed forests, Carpathian montane conifer forests, and Pontic steppe.
Natural and semi-natural ecosystems cover about 47% of the country's land area.
There are almost (about 5% of the total area) of Protected areas of Romania, protected areas in Romania covering 13 national parks and three biosphere reserves. The
Danube
The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...
river forms a large part of the border with
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia ( Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hu ...
and
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
, and flows into the Black Sea, forming the Danube Delta, which is the second-largest and best-preserved delta in Europe, and a biosphere reserve and a biodiversity World Heritage Site. At , the
Danube Delta
The Danube Delta ( ro, Delta Dunării, ; uk, Дельта Дунаю, Deľta Dunaju, ) is the second largest river delta in Europe, after the Volga Delta, and is the best preserved on the continent. The greater part of the Danube Delta lies in Ro ...
is the largest continuous marshland in Europe,
and supports 1,688 different plant species alone.
Romania has one of the largest areas of undisturbed forest in Europe, covering almost 27% of its territory. The country had a 2019 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 5.95/10, ranking it 90th globally out of 172 countries.
Some 3,700 plant species have been identified in the country, from which to date 23 have been declared natural monuments, 74 extinct, 39 endangered, 171 vulnerable, and 1,253 rare.
The fauna of Romania consists of 33,792 species of animals, 33,085 invertebrate and 707 vertebrate,
with almost 400 unique species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, including about 50% of Europe's (excluding Russia) brown bears
and 20% of its wolf, wolves.
Climate
Owing to its distance from open sea and its position on the southeastern portion of the European continent, Romania has a climate that is temperate climate, temperate and continental climate, continental, with four distinct seasons. The average annual temperature is in the south and in the north.
In summer, average maximum temperatures in Bucharest rise to , and temperatures over are fairly common in the lower-lying areas of the country.
In winter, the average maximum temperature is below .
Precipitation is average, with over per year only on the highest western mountains, while around Bucharest it drops to approximately .
There are some regional differences: in western sections, such as Banat, the climate is milder and has some Mediterranean influences; the eastern part of the country has a more pronounced continental climate. In Dobruja, the Black Sea also exerts an influence over the region's climate.
Governance
The Constitution of Romania is based on Constitution of France, the constitution of France's Fifth Republic and was approved in a national referendum on 8 December 1991 and amended in October 2003 to bring it into conformity with EU legislation. The country is governed on the basis of a multi-party democratic system and the separation of powers between the legislative, executive and judicial branches. It is a semi-presidential republic where executive functions are held by both the Government of Romania, government and the President of Romania, president. The latter is elected by popular vote for a maximum of two terms of five years and appoints the prime minister who in turn appoints the Romanian Cabinet, Council of Ministers. The legislative branch of the government, collectively known as the Parliament of Romania, Parliament (residing at the Palace of the Parliament), consists of Bicameralism, two chambers (Senate of Romania, Senate and Chamber of Deputies (Romania), Chamber of Deputies) whose members are elected every four years by Plurality voting system, simple plurality.
The justice system is independent of the other branches of government and is made up of a hierarchical system of courts with the High Court of Cassation and Justice being the supreme court of Romania. There are also courts of appeal, county courts and local courts. The Romanian judicial system is strongly influenced by the French law, French model, is based on Civil law (legal system), civil law and is inquisitorial system, inquisitorial in nature. The Curtea Constituțională, Constitutional Court (''Curtea Constituțională'') is responsible for judging the compliance of laws and other state regulations with the constitution, which is the fundamental law of the country and can only be amended through a public referendum.
Romania's 2007 entry into the EU has been a significant influence on its domestic policy, and including judicial reforms, increased judicial cooperation with other member states, and measures to combat corruption.
Foreign relations
![Diplomatic missions of Romania](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Diplomatic_missions_of_Romania.PNG)
Since December 1989, Romania has pursued a policy of strengthening relations with the West in general, more specifically with the United States and the European Union, albeit with limited Romania–Russia relations, relations involving the Russian Federation. It joined the NATO on 29 March 2004, the European Union (EU) on 1 January 2007, while it joined the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in 1972, and is a founding member of the World Trade Organization.
In the past, recent governments have stated that one of their goals is to strengthen ties with and helping other countries (in particular
Moldova
Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...
,
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
, and Georgia (country), Georgia) with the process of integration with the rest of the West.
Romania has also made clear since the late 1990s that it supports NATO and EU membership for the democratic former Soviet republics in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.
Romania also declared its public support for Turkey, and Croatia joining the European Union.
Romania opted on 1 January 2007, to accede to the Schengen Area, and its bid to join was approved by the European Parliament in June 2011, but was rejected by the Council of the European Union, EU Council in September 2011. As of August 2019, its acceptance into the Schengen Area is hampered because the European Council has misgivings about Romania's adherence to the rule of law, a fundamental principle of EU membership.
In December 2005, President Traian Băsescu and United States 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. In May 2009, Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, declared that "Romania is one of the most trustworthy and respectable partners of the USA."
Romanian-Moldovan relations, Relations with Moldova are a special case given that the two countries share the same language and a History of Moldavia, common history.
A Unification of Romania and Moldova, movement for unification of Romania and Moldova appeared in the early 1990s after both countries achieved emancipation from communist rule
but lost ground in the mid-1990s when a new Moldovan government pursued an agenda towards preserving a Moldovan republic independent of Romania.
After the 2009 Moldovan protests, 2009 protests in Moldova and the subsequent removal of Communists from power, relations between the two countries have improved considerably.
Military
![Mircea Geoana la reuniunea BPN - 02](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/de/Mircea_Geoana_la_reuniunea_BPN_-_02.12.2013_%2811173070964%29_%28cropped%29.jpg)
The Romanian Armed Forces consist of Romanian Land Forces, land, Romanian Air Force, air, and Romanian Naval Forces, naval forces led by a Commander-in-chief under the supervision of the Ministry of National Defence (Romania), Ministry of National Defence, and by the president as the Supreme Commander during wartime. The Armed Forces consist of approximately 15,000 civilians and 75,000 military personnel—45,800 for land, 13,250 for air, 6,800 for naval forces, and 8,800 in other fields. Total defence spending in 2007 accounted for 2.05% of total national GDP, or approximately US$2.9 billion, with a total of $11 billion spent between 2006 and 2011 for modernization and acquisition of new equipment.
The Air Force operates modernised Soviet MiG-21 Lancer fighters. The Air Force purchased seven new C-27J Spartan tactical airlifters, while the Naval Forces acquired two modernised Type 22 frigates from the British Royal Navy.
Romania contributed troops to the international coalition in War in Afghanistan (2001–present), Afghanistan beginning in 2002, with a peak deployment of 1,600 troops in 2010 (which was the 4th largest contribution according to the US). Its combat mission in the country concluded in 2014. Romanian troops participated in the History of Iraq (2003–2011), occupation of Iraq, reaching a peak of 730 soldiers before being slowly drawn down to 350 soldiers. Romania terminated its mission in Iraq and withdrew its last troops on 24 July 2009, among the last countries to do so. The frigate the ''Regele Ferdinand frigate, Regele Ferdinand'' participated in the 2011 military intervention in Libya.
In December 2011, the Romanian Senate unanimously adopted the draft law ratifying the Romania–United States relations, Romania-United States agreement signed in September of the same year that would allow the establishment and operation of a US land-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System, ballistic missile defence system in Romania as part of NATO's efforts to build a continental NATO missile defence system, missile shield.
Administrative divisions
Romania is divided into 41 Counties of Romania, counties (''județe'', pronounced judetse) and the municipality of
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north o ...
. Each county is administered by a county council, responsible for local affairs, as well as a Prefect (Romania), prefect responsible for the administration of national affairs at the county level. The prefect is appointed by the central government but cannot be a member of any political party.
Each county is subdivided further into cities of Romania, cities and Communes of Romania, communes, which have their own mayor and local council. There are a total of 320 cities and 2,861 communes in Romania.
A total of 103 of the larger cities have Municipalities of Romania, municipality status, which gives them greater administrative power over local affairs. The municipality of Bucharest is a special case, as it enjoys a status on par to that of a county. It is further divided into six sectors of Bucharest, sectors
and has a prefect, a general mayor (''primar''), and a general city council.
The NUTS-3 (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) level divisions of the European Union reflect Romania's administrative-territorial structure and correspond to the 41 counties plus Bucharest.
The cities and communes correspond to the NUTS-5 level divisions, but there are no current NUTS-4 level divisions. The NUTS-1 (four macroregions of Romania, macroregions) and NUTS-2
(eight Development regions of Romania, development regions) divisions exist but have no administrative capacity and are used instead for coordinating regional development projects and statistical purposes.
Economy
![Romania Product Exports (2019)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Romania_Product_Exports_%282019%29.svg)
In 2019, Romania has a GDP (PPP) of around $547 billion and a List of countries by GDP per capita (PPP), GDP per capita (purchasing power parity, PPP) of $28,189.
[, IMF World Economic Outlook Database, April 2017] According to the World Bank, Romania is a
high-income economy
A high-income economy is defined by the World Bank as a nation with a gross national income per capita of US$12,696 or more in 2020, calculated using the Atlas method. While the term "high-income" is often used interchangeably with " First Worl ...
.
According to Eurostat, Romania's GDP per capita (PPS) was 70% of the EU average (100%) in 2019, an increase from 44% in 2007 (the year of Romania's accession to the EU), making Romania one of the fastest growing economies in the EU.
After 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 onward, 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 National Institute of Statistics (Romania), Romanian Statistics Office, GDP growth in real terms was recorded at 7.7%, one of the highest rates in Europe. However, the Great Recession forced the government to borrow externally, including an IMF €20 billion bailout program. According to The World Bank, GDP per capita in purchasing power parity grew from $13,687 in 2007 to $28,206 in 2018. Romania's net average monthly wage increased to 666 euro as of 2020, and an inflation rate of −1.1% in 2016.
Unemployment in Romania was at 4.3% in August 2018, which is low compared to other EU countries.
![Bucharest - Smârdan Street (28547822606)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Bucharest_-_Sm%C3%A2rdan_Street_%2828547822606%29.jpg)
Industrial output growth reached 6.5% year-on-year in February 2013, the highest in the Europe. The largest local companies include car maker
Automobile Dacia
S.C. Automobile Dacia S.A., commonly known as Dacia (), is a Romanian car manufacturer that takes its name from the historical region that constitutes present-day Romania. The company was established in 1966. In 1999, after 33 years, the Roma ...
,
Petrom
OMV Petrom S.A. is a Romanian integrated oil company, controlled by Austria's OMV. It is one of the largest corporations in Romania and the largest oil and gas producer in Southeast Europe. Since 2004 it is a subsidiary of OMV.
History
In l ...
, Rompetrol, Ford Romania, Electrica, Romgaz, RCS & RDS and Banca Transilvania. As of 2020, there are around 6000 exports per month. Romania's main exports are: cars, software, clothing and textiles, industrial machinery, electrical and electronic equipment, metallurgic products, raw materials, military equipment, 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 account balance in 2012 was estimated to be 4.52% of GDP.
After a series of privatizations and reforms in the late 1990s and 2000s, government intervention in the Romanian economy is somewhat less than in other European economies. In 2005, the government replaced Romania's progressive tax system with a flat tax of 16% for both personal income and corporate profit, among the lowest rates in the European Union. The economy is based predominantly on services, which account for 56.2% of the country's total GDP as of 2017, with industry and agriculture accounting for 30% and 4.4% respectively.
Approximately 25.8% of the Romanian workforce is employed in agriculture, one of the highest rates in Europe.
Romania has attracted increasing amounts of foreign investment following the end of Communism, with the stock of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Romania rising to €83.8 billion in June 2019.
Romania's FDI outward stock (an external or foreign business either investing in or purchasing the stock of a local economy) amounted to $745 million in December 2018, the lowest value among the 28 EU member states.
Some companies that have invested in Romania include Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Procter & Gamble, Citibank, and IBM.
According to a 2019 World Bank report, Romania ranks 52nd out of 190 economies in the ease of doing business, one place higher than neighbouring Hungary and one place lower than Italy.
The report praised the consistent enforcement of contracts and access to credit in the country, while noting difficulties in access to electricity and dealing with construction permits.
![Dacia Duster Salon de l'Auto](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Dacia_Duster_Salon_de_l%27Auto.jpg)
Since 1867 the official currency has been the Romanian leu, Romanian ''leu'' ("lion") and following a denomination in 2005. After joining the EU in 2007, Romania is expected to adopt the Euro in 2024.
In January 2020, Romania's external debt was reported to be US$122 billion according to CEIC data.
Infrastructure
![Graph Romania electricity supply mix 2015](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/Graph_Romania_electricity_supply_mix_2015.svg)
According to the Romania's National Institute of Statistics (INSSE), Romania's total road network was estimated in 2015 at .
The World Bank estimates the railway network at of track, the fourth-largest railroad network in Europe.
Romania's Căile Ferate Române, rail transport experienced a dramatic decline after 1989 and was estimated at 99 million passenger journeys in 2004, but has experienced a recent (2013) revival due to infrastructure improvements and partial privatisation of lines,
accounting for 45% of all passenger and freight movements in the country.
Bucharest Metro, the only rapid transit, underground railway system, was opened in 1979 and measures with an average ridership in 2007 of 600,000 passengers during the workweek in the country. There are List of airports in Romania, sixteen international commercial airports in service today. Over 12.8 million passengers flew through Bucharest's Henri Coandă International Airport in 2017.
Romania is a net exporter of electrical energy and is 52nd worldwide in terms of consumption of electric energy. Around a third of the produced energy comes from renewable sources, mostly as hydroelectric power. In 2015, the main sources were coal (28%), hydroelectric (30%), nuclear (18%), and hydrocarbons (14%). It has one of the largest refining capacities in Eastern Europe, even though oil and natural gas production has been decreasing for more than a decade. With one of the largest reserves of crude oil and shale gas in Europe it is among the most energy-independent countries in the European Union, and is looking to expand its nuclear power plant at Cernavodă Nuclear Power Plant, Cernavodă further.
There were almost 18.3 million connections to the Internet in June 2014. According to Bloomberg L.P., Bloomberg, in 2013 Romania ranked fifth in the world, and according to ''The Independent'', it ranks number one in Europe at Internet speeds, with
Timișoara
), City of Roses ( ro, Orașul florilor), City of Parks ( ro, Orașul parcurilor)
, image_map = Timisoara jud Timis.svg
, map_caption = Location in Timiș County
, pushpin_map = Romania#Europe
, pushpin_ ...
ranked among the highest in the world.
Tourism
Tourism is a significant contributor to the Romanian economy, generating around 5% of GDP. The number of tourists has been rising steadily, reaching 9.33 million foreign tourists in 2016, according to the Worldbank.
Tourism in Romania attracted €400 million in investments in 2005. More than 60% of the foreign visitors in 2007 were from other EU countries.
The popular summer attractions of Mamaia and other Romanian Black Sea resorts, Black Sea Resorts attracted 1.3 million tourists in 2009.
[Criza ne strică vacanța](_blank)
, 9 July 2010, jurnalul.ro, accessed on 21 August 2010
Most popular skiing resorts are along the Valea Prahovei and in Poiana Brașov. List of castles in Romania, Castles, fortifications, or strongholds as well as preserved medieval Transylvanian cities or towns such as
Cluj-Napoca
; hu, kincses város)
, official_name=Cluj-Napoca
, native_name=
, image_skyline=
, subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County
, subdivision_name1 = Cluj County
, subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status
, subdivision_name2 ...
, Sibiu,
Brașov
Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County.
According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a pop ...
, Bistrița, Mediaș, Cisnădie, or Sighișoara also attract a large number of tourists. Bran Castle, near Brașov, is one of the most famous attractions in Romania, drawing hundreds of thousands of tourists every year as it is often advertised as being Dracula in popular culture, Dracula's Castle.
Rural tourism, focusing on folklore and traditions, has become an important alternative, and is targeted to promote such sites as Bran, Brașov, Bran and its Dracula's Castle, the Churches of Moldavia, painted churches of northern Moldavia, and the wooden churches of Maramureș, or the villages with fortified churches in Transylvania. Other attractions include the Danube Delta or the Sculptural Ensemble of Constantin Brâncuși at Târgu Jiu.
In 2014, Romania had 32,500 companies active in the hotel and restaurant industry, with a total turnover of €2.6 billion. More than 1.9 million foreign tourists visited Romania in 2014, 12% more than in 2013.
According to the country's National Statistics Institute, some 77% came from Europe (particularly from Germany, Italy, and France), 12% from Asia, and less than 7% from North America.
Science and technology
Historically, Romanian researchers and inventors have made notable contributions to several fields. In the history of flight, Traian Vuia built the first airplane to take off under its own power
and Aurel Vlaicu built and flew some of the earliest successful aircraft, while Henri Coandă discovered the Coandă effect of fluidics. Victor Babeș discovered more than 50 types of bacteria; biologist Nicolae Paulescu developed an extract of the pancreas and showed that it lowers blood sugar in diabetic dogs, thus being significant in the history of insulin; while Emil Palade received the Nobel Prize for his contributions to cell biology. Lazăr Edeleanu was the first chemist to synthesise amphetamine, and he also invented the procedure of separating valuable petroleum components with selective solvents.
During the 1990s and 2000s, the development of research was hampered by several factors, including: corruption, low funding, and a considerable brain drain. In recent years, Romania has ranked the lowest or second-lowest in the European Union by research and development spending as a percentage of GDP, standing at roughly 0.5% in 2016 and 2017, substantially below the EU average of just over 2%. The country joined the European Space Agency (ESA) in 2011, and CERN in 2016. In 2018, however, Romania lost its voting rights in the ESA due to a failure to pay €56.8 million in membership contributions to the agency.
In the early 2010s, the situation for science in Romania was characterised as "rapidly improving" albeit from a low base. In January 2011, Parliament passed a law that enforces "strict quality control on universities and introduces tough rules for funding evaluation and peer review". Romania was ranked 48th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021, up from 50th in 2019.
The nuclear physics facility of the European Union's proposed Extreme Light Infrastructure (ELI) laser will be built in Romania. In early 2012, Romania launched its first Goliat, satellite from the Centre Spatial Guyanais in French Guiana.
Starting in December 2014, Romania became a co-owner of the International Space Station.
Demographics
![Romania 1930 ethnic map EN](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/da/Romania_1930_ethnic_map_EN.png)
According to the 2011 Romanian census, Romania's population was 20,121,641.
Like other countries in the region, its population is expected to decline gradually as a result of sub-replacement fertility rates and negative net migration rate. In October 2011, Romanians made up 88.9% of the population. The largest Minorities of Romania, ethnic minorities are the Hungarian people, Hungarians, 6.1% of the population, and the Romani people, Roma, 3.0% of the population.
[2002 census data, based o]
population by ethnicity
, gave a total of 535,250 Roma in Romania. Many ethnicities are not recorded, as the
do not have ID cards
. International sources give higher figures than the official census (e.g.
UNDP's Regional Bureau for Europe
World Bank
Hungarians constitute a majority in the counties of Harghita County, Harghita and Covasna County, Covasna. Other minorities include Ukrainians of Romania, Ukrainians, Germans of Romania, Germans, Turks of Romania, Turks, Lipovans, Aromanians in Romania, Aromanians, Tatars of Romania, Tatars, and Serbs of Romania, Serbs.
In 1930, there were 745,421 Germans living in Romania, but only about 36,000 remained in the country to this day.
, there were also approximately 133,000 immigrants living in Romania, primarily from Moldova and China.
The total fertility rate (TFR) in 2018 was estimated at 1.36 children born per woman, which is below the replacement rate of 2.1, and one of the lowest in the world,
it remains considerably below the high of 5.82 children born per woman in 1912. In 2014, 31.2% of births were to unmarried women.
The birth rate (9.49‰, 2012) is much lower than the mortality rate (11.84‰, 2012), resulting in a shrinking (−0.26% per year, 2012) and aging population (median age: 41.6 years, 2018), one of the oldest populations in the world,
with approximately 16.8% of total population aged 65 years and over.
The life expectancy in 2015 was estimated at 74.92 years (71.46 years male, 78.59 years female).
The number of Romanians and individuals with ancestors born in Romania living abroad is estimated at 12 million.
After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, a significant number of Romanians emigrated to other European countries, North America or Australia. For example, in 1990, 96,919 Romanians permanently settled abroad.
Languages
![Limba romana Atlanticul-800px](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Limba_romana_Atlanticul-800px.png)
The official language is Romanian, a
Romance language
The Romance languages, sometimes referred to as Latin languages or Neo-Latin languages, are the various modern languages that evolved from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages in the Indo-European language ...
(the most widely spoken of the Eastern Romance languages, Eastern Romance branch), which presents a consistent degree of similarity to Aromanian language, Aromanian, Megleno-Romanian language, Megleno-Romanian, and Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, but shares many features equally with the rest of the Western Romance languages, specifically Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese, and Catalan language, Catalan.
The Romanian alphabet contains the same 26 letters of the standard Latin alphabet, as well as five additional ones (namely ''ă'',''â'',''î'',''ț'', and ''ș''), totaling 31.
Romanian is spoken as a first language by approximately 90% of the entire population, while Hungarian language, Hungarian and Vlax Romani are spoken by 6.2% and 1.2% of the population, respectively. There are also approximately 50,000 native speakers of Ukrainian language, Ukrainian (concentrated in some compact regions near the border, where they form local majorities),
25,000 native speakers of German, and 32,000 native speakers of Turkish language, Turkish living in Romania.
According to the Constitution, local councils ensure linguistic rights to all minorities. In localities with ethnic minorities of over 20%, that minority's language can be used in the public administration, justice system, and education. Foreign citizens and stateless persons who live in Romania have access to justice and education in their own language. English and French are the main foreign languages taught in schools. In 2010, the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie identified 4,756,100 French speakers in the country. According to the 2012 Eurobarometer, English is spoken by 31% of Romanians, French is spoken by 17%, and Italian and German, each by 7%.
Religion
Romania is a secular state and has no state religion. An overwhelming majority of the population identify themselves as Christians. At the country's 2011 census, 81.0% of respondents identified as Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox Christians belonging to the
Romanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates ...
. Other denominations include Protestantism (6.2%), Roman Catholicism in Romania, Roman Catholicism (4.3%), and Romanian Greek-Catholic Church, Greek Catholicism (0.8%). From the remaining population, 195,569 people belong to other Christian denominations or have another religion, which includes 64,337 Islam in Romania, Muslims (mostly of Turkish and Tatar ethnicity) and 3,519 History of the Jews in Romania, Jewish (Jews once constituted 4% of the Romanian population—728,115 persons in the 1930 census). Moreover, 39,660 people have no religion or are atheism, atheist, whilst the religion of the rest is unknown.
The Romanian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church in full communion with other Orthodox churches, with a Patriarch of All Romania, Patriarch as its leader. It is the third-largest Eastern Orthodox Church in the world, and unlike other Orthodox churches, it functions within a Latin culture and uses a Romance language, Romance liturgical language. Its canonical jurisdiction covers the territories of Romania and Moldova. Romania has the Eastern Orthodoxy by country, world's third-largest Eastern Orthodox population.
Urbanisation
Although 54.0% of the population lived in urban areas in 2011,
this percentage has been declining since 1996. Counties with over urban population are Hunedoara County, Hunedoara, Brașov County, Brașov and Constanța County, Constanța, while those with less than a third are Dâmbovița County, Dâmbovița (30.06%) and Giurgiu County, Giurgiu and Teleorman County, Teleorman.
Bucharest is the capital and the largest city in Romania, with a population of over 1.8 million in 2011. Its larger urban zone has a population of almost 2.2 million, which are planned to be included into a Bucharest metropolitan area, metropolitan area up to 20 times the area of the city proper. Another 19 cities have a population of over 100,000, with Cluj-Napoca and Timișoara of slightly more than 300,000 inhabitants,
Iași
Iași ( , , ; also known by other alternative names), also referred to mostly historically as Jassy ( , ), is the second largest city in Romania and the seat of Iași County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, it has traditionally ...
, Constanța,
Craiova
Craiova (, also , ), is Romania's 6th Cities in Romania, largest city and capital of Dolj County, and situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximatel ...
, and Brașov with over 250,000 inhabitants, and Galați and Ploiești with over 200,000 inhabitants.
Metropolitan areas in Romania, Metropolitan areas have been constituted for most of these cities.
Education
![Bucuresti, Romania](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f0/Bucuresti%2C_Romania._SPITALUL_COLTEA_%28B-II-m-A-18220.02%29.jpg)
Since the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the Romanian educational system has been in a continuous process of reform that has received mixed criticism. In 2004, some 4.4 million individuals were enrolled in school. Of these, 650,000 were in kindergarten (three-six years), 3.11 million in primary and secondary level, and 650,000 in tertiary level (universities). In 2018, the adult literacy rate was 98.8%. Kindergarten is optional between three and five years. Since 2020, compulsory schooling starts at age 5 with the last year of kindergarten (grupa mare) and is compulsory until twelfth grade. Primary and secondary education is divided into 12 or 13 grades. There is also a semi-legal, informal Tutoring#Private tutors, private tutoring system used mostly during secondary school, which prospered during the Communist regime.
Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iași, Babeș-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, University of Bucharest, and West University of Timișoara have been included in the QS World University Rankings' top 800.
Romania ranks fifth in the all-time medal count at the International Mathematical Olympiad with 316 total medals, dating back to 1959. Ciprian Manolescu managed to write a perfect paper (42 points) for a gold medal more times than anybody else in the history of the competition, in 1995, 1996 and 1997. Romania has achieved the highest team score in the competition, after China, Russia, the United States and Hungary. Romania also ranks sixth in the all-time medal count at the International Olympiad in Informatics with 107 total medals, dating back to 1989.
Healthcare
Romania has a universal health care system; total health expenditures by the government are roughly 5% of GDP. It covers medical examinations, any surgical operations, and any post-operative medical care, and provides free or subsidised medicine for a range of diseases. The state is obliged to fund public hospitals and clinics. The most common causes of death are cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Transmissible diseases are quite common by European standards. In 2010, Romania had 428 state and 25 private hospitals, with 6.2 hospital beds per 1,000 people, and over 200,000 medical staff, including over 52,000 doctors. , the emigration rate of doctors was 9%, higher than the European average of 2.5%.
Culture
Arts and monuments
![Universitatea Politehnica Timisoara - Rectorat](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Universitatea_Politehnica_Timisoara_-_Rectorat.jpg)
The topic of the origin of Romanian culture began to be discussed by the end of the 18th century among the Transylvanian School scholars.
Several writers rose to prominence in the 19th century, including: George Coșbuc, Ioan Slavici,
Mihail Kogălniceanu
Mihail Kogălniceanu (; also known as Mihail Cogâlniceanu, Michel de Kogalnitchan; September 6, 1817 – July 1, 1891) was a Romanian liberal statesman, lawyer, historian and publicist; he became Prime Minister of Romania on October 11, 1863, ...
, Vasile Alecsandri, Nicolae Bălcescu, Ion Luca Caragiale, Ion Creangă, and Mihai Eminescu, the later being considered the greatest and most influential Romanian poet, particularly for the poem ''Luceafărul (poem), Luceafărul''.
In the 20th century, a number of Romanian artists and writers achieved international acclaim, including: Tristan Tzara, Marcel Janco, Mircea Eliade, Nicolae Grigorescu, Marin Preda, Liviu Rebreanu, Eugène Ionesco, Emil Cioran, and Constantin Brâncuși. Brâncuși has a sculptural ensemble in Târgu Jiu, while his sculpture ''Bird in Space'', was auctioned in 2005 for $27.5 million. Romanian-born Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, while Banat Swabians, Banat Swabian writer Herta Müller received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Prominent Romanian painters include: Nicolae Grigorescu, Ștefan Luchian, Ion Andreescu Nicolae Tonitza, and Theodor Aman. Notable Romanian classical composers of the 19th and 20th centuries include: Ciprian Porumbescu, Anton Pann, Eduard Caudella, Mihail Jora, Dinu Lipatti, and especially George Enescu. The annual George Enescu Festival is held in Bucharest in honour of the 20th-century composer.
Contemporary musicians like Angela Gheorghiu, Gheorghe Zamfir, Inna, Alexandra Stan, and many others have achieved various levels of international acclaim. At the Eurovision Song Contest Romanian singers achieved third place in 2005 and 2010.
In cinema, several movies of the Romanian New Wave have achieved international acclaim. At the Cannes Film Festival, ''The Death of Mr. Lazarescu'' by Cristi Puiu won the ''Un Certain Regard#Prix Un Certain Regard winners, Prix Un Certain Regard'' in 2005, while ''4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days'' by Cristian Mungiu won the festival's top prize, the ''Palme d'Or'', in 2007. At the Berlin International Film Festival, ''Child's Pose (film), Child's Pose'' by Călin Peter Netzer won the Golden Bear in 2013.
The list of World Heritage Sites includes List of World Heritage Sites in Romania, six cultural sites located within Romania, including eight painted churches of northern Moldavia, eight wooden churches of Maramureș, seven villages with fortified churches in Transylvania, the Horezu Monastery, and the Historic Centre of Sighișoara. The city of Sibiu, with its Brukenthal National Museum, was selected as the 2007 European Capital of Culture and the 2019 European Region of Gastronomy. Multiple castles exist in Romania, including the popular tourist attractions of Peleș Castle, Corvin Castle, and Bran Castle or "Dracula's Castle".
Holidays, traditions, and cuisine
![Piata Universitatii - Targ de Craciun 2014](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Piata_Universitatii_-_Targ_de_Craciun_2014.jpg)
There are 12 non-working public holidays, including the Great Union Day, celebrated on 1 December in commemoration of the 1918 union of Transylvania with Romania. Winter holidays include the Christmas and New Year festivities during which various unique folklore dances and games are common: ''plugușorul'', ''sorcova'', ''ursul'', and ''capra''. The traditional Romanian dress that otherwise has largely fallen out of use during the 20th century, is a popular ceremonial vestment worn on these festivities, especially in rural areas. There are sacrifices of live pigs during Christmas and lambs during Easter that has required a special exemption from EU law after 2007. In the Easter, traditions such as Easter egg, painting the eggs are very common. On 1 March ''mărțișor'' gifting is featured, which is a tradition whereby females are gifted with a type of talisman that is given for good luck.
Romanian cuisine has been influenced by Austrian cuisine, Austrian and German cuisine (especially in the historical regions that had been formerly administered by the Habsburg Monarchy), but also shares some similarities with other cuisines in the Balkans, Balkan region such as the Greek cuisine, Greek, Bulgarian cuisine, Bulgarian, or Serbian cuisine. ''Ciorbă'' includes a wide range of sour soups, while ''mititei'', ''mămăligă'' (similar to polenta), and ''Sarma (food), sarmale'' are featured commonly in main courses.
Pork, chicken, and beef are the preferred types of meat, but lamb and fish are also quite popular. Certain traditional recipes are made in direct connection with the holidays: ''kofta, chiftele'', ''tobă'' and ''tochitură'' at Christmas; ''drob'', ''Paska (bread), pască'' and ''cozonac'' at Easter and other Romanian holidays. ''Țuică'' is a strong plum brandy reaching a 70% alcohol content which is the country's traditional alcoholic beverage, taking as much as 75% of the national crop (Romania is one of the List of countries by plum production, largest plum producers in the world).
Traditional alcoholic beverages also include Romanian wine, wine, ''rakia, rachiu'', ''Pálinka, palincă'' and ''vișinată'', but Beer in Romania, beer consumption has increased dramatically over recent years.
Sports
Association football, Football is the most popular sport in Romania with over 219,000 registered players . The market for professional football in Romania is roughly €740 million according to UEFA.
The governing body is the Romanian Football Federation, which belongs to UEFA. The Romania national football team played its first match in 1922 and is one of only four national teams to have taken part in the first three FIFA World Cups, the other three being Brazil, France, and Belgium. Overall, it has played in seven World Cups and had its most successful period during the 1990s, when it finished 6th at the 1994 FIFA World Cup, eventually being ranked 3rd by FIFA in 1997.
The core player of this golden generation was Gheorghe Hagi, who was nicknamed "Maradona of the Carpathians". Other successful players include the European Golden Shoe winners: Dudu Georgescu, Dorin Mateuț and Rodion Cămătaru, Nicolae Dobrin, Ilie Balaci, Florea Dumitrache,
Mihai Mocanu, Michael Klein (footballer, born 1959), Michael Klein,
Mircea Rednic,
[ Cornel Dinu,][ Mircea Lucescu, Costică Ștefănescu, Ion Dumitru, Liță Dumitru, Lajos Sătmăreanu, Ștefan Sameș, László Bölöni, Ladislau Bölöni,] Anghel Iordănescu, Miodrag Belodedici, Helmuth Duckadam, Marius Lăcătuș,[ Victor Pițurcă and many others, and most recently Gheorghe Popescu, Florin Răducioiu, Dorinel Munteanu, Dan Petrescu, Adrian Mutu,] Cristian Chivu, or Cosmin Contra. Romania's home ground is the Arena Națională in Bucharest.
The most successful club is FCSB, Steaua București, who were the first Eastern European team to win the UEFA Champions League in 1986, and were runners-up in 1989. They were also UEFA Europa League, UEFA Cup semi-finalists in 2006. FC Dinamo București, Dinamo București reached the UEFA Champions League semi-final in 1984 and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup semi-final in 1989–90 European Cup Winners' Cup, 1990. Other important Romanian football clubs are FC Rapid București, Rapid București, FC UTA Arad, UTA Arad, CS Universitatea Craiova, Universitatea Craiova, FC Petrolul Ploiești, Petrolul Ploiești, CFR Cluj, FC Astra Giurgiu, Astra Giurgiu, and FC Viitorul Constanța, Viitorul Constanța (the latter having recently merged with FCV Farul Constanța).
Tennis is the second most popular sport. Romania reached the Davis Cup finals three times in 1969, 1971 and 1972. In singles, Ilie Năstase was the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles tennis players, first year-end World Number 1 in the ATP rankings in 1973, winning several Grand Slam (tennis), Grand Slam titles. Also Virginia Ruzici won the French Open in 1978, and was runner-up in 1980, Simona Halep won the French Open in 2018 and The Championships, Wimbledon, Wimbledon in 2019 after losing her first three Grand Slam finals. She has ended 2017 and 2018 as List of WTA number 1 ranked tennis players, WTA's World Number 1. And in doubles Horia Tecău won three Grand Slams and the ATP Finals final. He was World Number 2 in 2015.
The second most popular team sport is team handball, handball. The Romania men's national handball team, men's team won the World Men's Handball Championship, handball world championship in 1961 World Men's Handball Championship, 1961, 1964 World Men's Handball Championship, 1964, 1970 World Men's Handball Championship, 1970, 1974 World Men's Handball Championship, 1974 making them the third most successful nation ever in the tournament. The Romania women's national handball team, women's team won the IHF World Women's Handball Championship, world championship in 1962 World Women's Handball Championship, 1962 and have enjoyed more success than their male counterparts in recent years. In the club competition Romanian teams have won the EHF Champions League a total of three times, CSA Steaua București (handball), Steaua București won in 1967–68 European Cup (handball), 1968 as well as 1976–77 European Cup (handball), 1977 and CS Dinamo București (men's handball), Dinamo București won in 1964–65 European Cup (handball), 1965. The most notable players include Ștefan Birtalan, Vasile Stîngă (all-time top scorer in the national team) and Gheorghe Gruia who was named the best player ever in 1992. In present-day Cristina Neagu is the most notable player and has a record four IHF World Player of the Year awards. In women's handball, powerhouse CSM București (women's handball), CSM București lifted the Women's EHF Champions League, EHF Champions League trophy in 2016.
Popular individual sports include combat sports,[ martial arts,][ and swimming.][ In professional boxing, Romania has produced many world champions across the weight divisions internationally recognised by governing bodies. World champions include Lucian Bute, Leonard Doroftei, Leonard Dorin Doroftei, Adrian Diaconu, and Mihai Leu, Michael Loewe. Another popular combat sport is kickboxing, professional kickboxing, which has produced prominent practitioners including Daniel Ghiță, and Benjamin Adegbuyi.
Romania's 306 All-time Olympic Games medal table, all-time Summer Olympics medals would rank 12th most among all countries, while its 89 gold medals would be 14th most. The 1984 Summer Olympics was their most successful run, where they won 53 medals in total, 20 of them gold, ultimately placing 2nd to the hosts United States in the 1984 Summer Olympics medal table, medal rankings. Amongst countries who have never hosted the event themselves, they are second in the total number of medals earned.
Artistic gymnastics, Gymnastics is the country's major medal-producing sport, with Olympic and sport icon Nadia Comăneci becoming the first gymnast ever to score a perfect ten in an Olympic event at the 1976 Summer Olympics. Other Romanian athletes who collected five gold medals like Comăneci are rowers Elisabeta Lipa (1984–2004) and Georgeta Damian (2000–2008). The Romanian competitors have won gold medals in other Olympic sports: athletics, canoeing, wrestling, shooting, fencing, swimming, weightlifting, boxing, and judo.]
See also
* Outline of Romania
*''100 Greatest Romanians''
Notes
References
Sources
Secondary sources
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excerpt
* Hitchins, Keith. ''Rumania 1866-1947'' (1994) (Oxford History of Modern Europe
excerpt
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* Stavrianos, L.S. '' The Balkans Since 1453'' (1958), major scholarly history
online free to borrow
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Primary sources
*
The Ancient History of Herodotus
' (Translated by William Beloe) (1859). Derby & Jackson.
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' (Translated by John Selby Watson) (1886). George Bell and Sons.
External links
Country Profile
from BBC News.
Romania Article and Country Profile
from Encyclopædia Britannica
Romania Profile
from Balkan Insight.
România Un Secol de Istorie – statistical data
from National Institute of Statistics (Romania), INS
Romania
''The World Factbook''. Central Intelligence Agency.
;Government
Romanian Presidency
;Culture and history links
Treasures of the national library of Romania
Historic Houses of Romania
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Countries in Europe
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Romanian-speaking countries and territories
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