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Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to the east, and the Black Sea to the southeast. It has a mainly continental climate, and an area of with a population of 19 million people. Romania is the List of European countries by area, twelfth-largest country in Europe and the List of European Union member states by population, sixth-most populous member state of the European Union. Europe's second-longest river, the Danube, empties into the Danube Delta in the southeast of the country. The Carpathian Mountains cross Romania from the north to the southwest and include Moldoveanu Peak, at an altitude of . Bucharest is the country's Bucharest metropolitan area, largest urban area and Economy of Romania, financial centre. Other major urban centers, urban areas include Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Iași, Constanța and Brașov.
Settlement in the territory of modern Romania began in the Lower Paleolithic, later becoming the Dacian Kingdom before Trajan's Dacian Wars, Roman conquest and Romanization (cultural), Romanisation. The modern Romanian state formed in 1859 with Unification of Moldavia and Wallachia, the unification of Moldavia and Wallachia under Alexandru Ioan Cuza, becoming Kingdom of Romania in 1881 under Carol I. Romania Romanian War of Independence, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877, formalised by the Treaty of Berlin (1878), Treaty of Berlin. After World War I, Transylvania, Banat, Bukovina, and Bessarabia joined the Romanian Old Kingdom, Old Kingdom, forming Greater Romania, which reached its largest territorial extent. In 1940, under Axis powers, Axis pressure, Romania lost territories to Kingdom of Hungary, Hungary, Kingdom of Bulgaria, Bulgaria, and the Soviet Union. Following the 1944 Romanian coup d'état, Romania switched sides to join Allies of World War II, the Allies. After World War II, it regained Northern Transylvania through the Paris Peace Treaties, 1947, Paris Peace Treaties. Under Soviet occupation of Romania, Soviet occupation, King Michael I was Michael I of Romania#Forced abdication, forced to abdicate, and Romania became a Socialist Republic of Romania, socialist republic and Warsaw Pact member. After the Romanian revolution, 1989 Revolution, Romania Transition economy, began a transition to liberal democracy and a market economy.
Romania is a developing country with a World Bank high-income economy, high-income economy, classified as a middle power in Foreign relations of Romania, international relations. It is a unitary republic with a multi-party system and a semi-presidential representative democracy. It is home to List of World Heritage Sites in Romania, 11 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and has become an increasingly popular tourist destination, attracting Tourism in Romania, 14 million foreign visitors in 2024. Romania is a List of countries by vehicle exports, net exporter of automotive and vehicle parts worldwide and has established a growing reputation as a List of technology centers, technology centre, with some of the List of sovereign states by Internet connection speeds, fastest internet speeds globally. Romania is a member of several international organizations, international organisations, including the European Union, NATO, and the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, BSEC.
It is believed that the tribes responsible for creating the Bronze Age culture on the territory of modern Romania belonged to the Indo-European group of Thracians. Strabo, in ''Geographica'', notes that the Getae spoke the same language as the Thracians, and the Dacians the same language as the Getae. However, the earliest account of the Getae is attributed to Herodotus. The Roman conquest of Dacia, conquest of Dacia by the Romans led to the fusion of two cultures—the Daco-Romans became the ancestors of the Romanians, Romanian people. After Dacia became a province of the Roman Empire, elements of Roman culture and civilisation—most notably Vulgar Latin, which laid the foundation for the development of the Romanian language—were introduced.
Based on information from the inscription at Dionysupolis and the account of Iordanes, it is known that under the rule of Burebista, assisted by the great priest Deceneu, the first Geto-Dacian state was formed. In 44 BC, Burebista was assassinated by one of his servants. After his death, the Geto-Dacian state fragmented into four, and later five, kingdoms. The core of the state remained in the area of the Șureanu Mountains, where successive rulers such as Deceneu, Comosicus, and Coryllus held power. The centralised Dacian state reached the peak of its development under Decebalus.Small Encyclopedia of Universal History, p. 284 – Marcel D. Popa, Horia C. Matei – Editura Politică, Bucharest, 1988. During this period, a series of conflicts with the Roman Empire continued, with part of the Dacian state being conquered in 106 AD by the Roman emperor Trajan. Between 271 and 275 AD, the Aurelian retreat took place.
The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca authorised the Russian ambassador in Istanbul to defend the autonomy of Moldavia and Wallachia (known as the Danubian Principalities) in 1774. Taking advantage of the Greek War of Independence, 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 Russo-Turkish War (1828–29), new Russo-Turkish War, the Treaty of Adrianople (1829), 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, 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.
, 24 January 2009, ''Jurnalul Național'', accessed 6 July 2012 After carrying out numerous reforms that laid the foundations for the modernisation of the state, he was forced in 1866 by a broad coalition of the political parties of the time, also known as the "Monstrous coalition", to abdicate and leave the country.Constantiniu, Florin: ''A Sincere History of the Romanian People'', Bucharest, Editura Univers Enciclopedic, 1997 – ISBN 973-9243-07-X The union was at one time in peril, but the political leaders of the era succeeded in placing on the princely throne Carol I of Romania, who accepted the Constitution and took the oath on 10 May 1866. Eleven years later, on 10 May 1877, Romania proclaimed its independence—achieved on the battlefield—and in 1881, on the same day of the year, Carol was crowned as King of Romania. In 1913, Romania entered the Second Balkan War against Bulgaria, at the end of which it obtained Southern Dobruja. In 1914, King Carol I of Romania, King Carol I died, and his nephew, Ferdinand I of Romania, Ferdinand I, succeeded him on the throne.
History of Romania
”. Encarta. Accessed 14 March 2009.
Eugen Denize. Accessed 15 March 2009. Following Antonescu's outright refusal, King Mihai I ordered the dismissal and arrest of the marshal, and Romania switched sides to join the Allies.
Accessed 16 August 2010. In the early 1960s, the Romanian government began asserting a certain degree of independence from the Soviet Union in its foreign policy,History
ICI. Accessed 15 March 2009. although it did not abandon its repressive policies (which it labeled "revolutionary conquests") in domestic affairs. In 1965, communist leader Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej died, ushering in a period of change in Romania."History » Communist Romania"
''Encyclopaedia Britannica''. Accessed 15 March 2009. After a brief power struggle, Nicolae Ceaușescu emerged as the head of the communist party, becoming General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party in 1965, President of the State Council of Romania, State Council in 1967, and President of the Socialist Republic of Romania in 1974. Ceaușescu's rule from 1965 to 1989 grew increasingly authoritarian during the 1980s.
In the context of the fall of communism throughout Eastern Europe during the revolutions of 1989, a protest in support of Reformed Church in Romania, Reformed pastor László Tőkés that began in December 1989 in Timișoara quickly escalated into a national uprising against the communist regime, ultimately resulting in the Trial and execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu, execution of Ceaușescu and his wife Elena Ceaușescu, Elena on 25 December 1989.
An interim council composed of figures from civil society and former communist officials assumed control of the government, and Ion Iliescu became the provisional president of the country. The new government reversed many of the authoritarian communist policies and dismissed several leaders of the former regime, although still influenced by members of the former regime (the basis for the Golaniad'','' and Mineriads).
. 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. Since 2014, Romania launched an anti-corruption effort that led to the prosecution of medium- and high-level political, judicial and administrative offenses by the National Anticorruption Directorate. In 2015, massive 2015 Romanian protests, anti-corruption protests which developed in the wake of the Colectiv nightclub fire led to the resignation of prime minister Victor Ponta. During 2017–2019, in response to measures which were perceived to weaken the fight against corruption, some of the 2017–2019 Romanian protests, biggest post-1989 protests took place in Romania, with over 500,000 people protesting nationwide. The 2021 Romanian political crisis led to the outsting of Florin Cîțu's Cîțu Cabinet, incumbent government. The Ciucă Cabinet then took power, with Romania since having experienced a shift towards authoritarianism and illiberalism, as well as an increased Corruption in Romania, corruption. Around this time, Romania was also hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania, COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2024 Romanian presidential election, 2024 presidential election, Independent candidate Călin Georgescu achieved a surprise win in the first round. However, the Constitutional Court of Romania, Constitutional Court annulled the election results, citing Accusations of Russian interference in the 2024 Romanian presidential election, Russian meddling. The cancellation led to 2024–2025 Romanian election annulment protests, far-right protests, 2025 JD Vance speech at the Munich Security Conference, criticism by the Second presidency of Donald Trump, Trump administration, and Ilie Bolojan becoming acting president in February 2025 as Iohannis resigned to political pressure.
Since December 1989, Romania has pursued a policy of strengthening relations with the West in general, more specifically with the United States and the EU, albeit with limited Romania–Russia relations, relations involving the Russian Federation. It joined NATO on 29 March 2004, the 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. Romania is recognised as a middle power for its military capabilities, as well as its active diplomatic engagement on the global stage.
In the past, recent governments have stated that one of their goals is to strengthen ties with and helping other countries (in particular Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia (country), Georgia) and better 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 applied to join to the Schengen Area in 2007, acquiring full membership in 2025 along with Bulgaria. 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 2009, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton referred to Romania as "one of the most trustworthy and respectable" US allies". However, by 2025, relations had worsen, with US vice president JD Vance in February 2025 JD Vance speech at the Munich Security Conference, scolding "Accusations of Russian interference in the 2024 Romanian presidential election, flimsy suspicions" and "enormous pressure from its continental neighbours" for causing the annulment of the 2024 Romanian presidential election, 2024 Romanian presidential election in which Călin Georgescu won the first round.
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 Moldova and Romania, movement for unification of Moldova and Romania 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.
The Romanian Armed Forces consist of Romanian Land Forces, land, Romanian Air Force, air, and Romanian Naval Forces, naval forces led by a Chief of the Romanian General Staff, Commander-in-chief under the supervision of the Ministry of National Defence (Romania), Ministry of National Defence, and by the President of Romania, president as the Supreme Commander during wartime. The Armed Forces consist of approximately 55,000 reservists and 71,500 active military personnel—35,800 for land, 10,700 for air, 6,600 for naval forces, and 16,500 in other fields. Total defence spending in 2023 accounted for 2.44% of total national GDP, or approximately US$8.48 billion, with a total of $9 billion intended to be spent until 2026 for modernisation and acquisition of new equipment. Conscription stopped in 2007, when Romania switched to a volunteer army.
The Air Force operates General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon variants#F-16AM/BM Block 15 MLU, F-16AM/BM MLU fighters, C-27J Spartan and C-130 Hercules Military transport aircraft, transport aircraft, as well as IAR 330 and IAR 316 helicopters. A Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II procurement#Romania, procurement programme for F-35 fifth-generation fighters is also currently being carried out. The Naval Forces operate three frigates, of which two are Type 22 frigates acquired from the British Royal Navy, as well as four corvettes. The Romanian Danube Flotilla, River Flotilla operates Mihail Kogălniceanu-class river monitor, Mihail Kogălniceanu and Smârdan-class river monitors.
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. The Aegis Ashore missile system based at Deveselu Military Base, Deveslu became operational in 2016.
In 2024, construction work started on expanding the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base (RoAF 57th Air Base). The air base is set to become the largest NATO base in Europe after the implementation of a project spanning 20 years.
In 2024, Romania has a GDP (PPP) of around $894 billion and a List of countries by GDP per capita (PPP), GDP per capita (purchasing power parity, PPP) of $47,203. According to the World Bank, Romania is a World Bank high-income economy, high-income economy. According to Eurostat, Romania's GDP per capita (PPS) was 77% of the EU average (100%) in 2022, 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.
The Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) is the stock exchange of Romania, located in Bucharest. In 2024, the BVB boasted a $74 billion market capitalization, market capitalisation and a trading volume of $7.2 billion. As of 2024, 86 companies were listed on the exchange. In September 2020, FTSE Russell upgraded the BVB from a Frontier market to a Emerging market, Secondary Emerging Market.
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 onwards, 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 programme. According to The World Bank, GDP per capita in purchasing power parity grew from $13,703 in 2007 to $47,903 in 2023.
Romania's main exports are vehicles, software, clothing and textiles, Machine industry, industrial machinery, Electrical device, electrical and Electronics, electronic equipment, Metallurgy, metallurgic products, raw materials, military equipment, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and Agriculture, agricultural products (fruits, vegetables, and flowers). Trade is mostly centred on the member states of the EU, with Germany, Italy and France being the country's single largest trading partners.
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 EU. 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.
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 plans to adopt the euro in 2029.
According to the Romania's National Institute of Statistics (INS), Romania's total road network was estimated in 2015 at . The World Bank estimates the railway network at of track, the fourth-largest railway 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 2021 of 720,000 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. 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 EU, 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 ranked among the highest in the world.
, 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, Sibiu, Brașov, Alba Iulia, Baia Mare, Bistrița, Mediaș, Cisnădie, Sebeș, 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 (falsely) advertised as being Dracula in popular culture, Dracula's Castle. Other attractions include the Danube Delta or the Sculptural Ensemble of Constantin Brâncuși at Târgu Jiu. Rural tourism, focusing on getting visitors acquainted with local folklore and Tradition, customs, 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. The Via Transilvanica long-distance hiking and cycling trail, which crosses 10 counties in the Transylvania, Banat and Bukovina regions of the country further promotes rural slow tourism. 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.
The official language is Romanian, a Romance 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''), totalling 31.
Romanian is spoken as a first language by 91.55% of the entire population, while Hungarian language, Hungarian and Vlax Romani are spoken by 6.28% and 1.20% of the population, respectively. There are also 40,861 native speakers of Ukrainian language, Ukrainian (concentrated in some compact regions near the border, where they form local majorities), 17,101 native speakers of Turkish language, Turkish, 15,943 native speakers of German language, German, and 14,414 native speakers of Russian language, Russian 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 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%.
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#Peer tutoring, 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.
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, 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. From the late 2000s through the early 2010s, the Romanian Popcorn (Romanian music style), popcorn music style had established itself in the international mainstream. 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 in 2005, while ''4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days'' by Cristian Mungiu won the festival's top prize, the , 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".
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 ' 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 ', ' (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: ', ' and ' at Christmas; ', ' and ' 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.
The Ancient History of Herodotus
' (Translated by William Beloe) (1859). Derby & Jackson. *
' (Translated by John Selby Watson) (1886). George Bell and Sons. * * * * * *
excerpt
* Hitchins, Keith. ''Rumania 1866-1947'' (1994) (Oxford History of Modern Europe
excerpt
* * * * * * * * * * * * * Stavrianos, L.S. '' The Balkans Since 1453'' (1958), major scholarly history
online free to borrow
* *
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
{{Coord, 46, N, 25, E, type:country, display=title Romania, 1859 establishments in Europe Balkan countries Countries in Europe Member states of the United Nations Member states of NATO Member states of the European Union Member states of the Union for the Mediterranean Member states of the Three Seas Initiative Republics Countries and territories where Romanian is an official language States and territories established in 1859
Etymology
''Romania'' derives from the local name for Romanians, Romanian (), which in turn derives from Latin wikt:romanus, ''romanus'', meaning "Roman people, Roman" or "of Ancient Rome, Rome". This ethnonym for Romanians is first attested in the 16th century by Italian humanists travelling in Transylvania, Moldavia, and Wallachia. The oldest known surviving document written in Romanian language, Romanian that can be precisely dated, a 1521 letter known as the "Neacșu's letter, Letter of Neacșu from Câmpulung", is notable for including the first documented occurrence of ''Romanian'' in a country name: Wallachia is mentioned as .History
Dacia and the Roman Empire
It is believed that the tribes responsible for creating the Bronze Age culture on the territory of modern Romania belonged to the Indo-European group of Thracians. Strabo, in ''Geographica'', notes that the Getae spoke the same language as the Thracians, and the Dacians the same language as the Getae. However, the earliest account of the Getae is attributed to Herodotus. The Roman conquest of Dacia, conquest of Dacia by the Romans led to the fusion of two cultures—the Daco-Romans became the ancestors of the Romanians, Romanian people. After Dacia became a province of the Roman Empire, elements of Roman culture and civilisation—most notably Vulgar Latin, which laid the foundation for the development of the Romanian language—were introduced.
Based on information from the inscription at Dionysupolis and the account of Iordanes, it is known that under the rule of Burebista, assisted by the great priest Deceneu, the first Geto-Dacian state was formed. In 44 BC, Burebista was assassinated by one of his servants. After his death, the Geto-Dacian state fragmented into four, and later five, kingdoms. The core of the state remained in the area of the Șureanu Mountains, where successive rulers such as Deceneu, Comosicus, and Coryllus held power. The centralised Dacian state reached the peak of its development under Decebalus.Small Encyclopedia of Universal History, p. 284 – Marcel D. Popa, Horia C. Matei – Editura Politică, Bucharest, 1988. During this period, a series of conflicts with the Roman Empire continued, with part of the Dacian state being conquered in 106 AD by the Roman emperor Trajan. Between 271 and 275 AD, the Aurelian retreat took place.
Period of the Principalities and the Phanariot Era
In the first millennium, waves of nomads swept across the territory of Romania: the Goths during the 3rd–4th centuries, the Huns in the 4th century, the Gepids in the 5th century, the Avars (Caucasus), Avars in the 6th century, the Slavs in the 7th century, the Magyars in the 9th century, the Pechenegs, the Cumans, the Uzes (people), Uzes and the Alans during the 10th–12th centuries, and the Tatars in the 13th century. In 1054, a series of Eastern Orthodox – Roman Catholic ecclesiastical differences, ecclesiastical differences and Theological differences between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, theological disputes between the Greek East and Latin West caused the East–West Schism, Great Schism, eventually resulting in Romania adopting Orthodoxy. In the 13th century, the first bearers of the Medieval Serbian noble titles, Slavic noble title Knyaz south of the Carpathian Mountains are attested. Later, in the context of the crystallisation of feudal relations, as a result of the creation of favourable internal and external conditions (the weakening of Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian pressure and the diminishing of Tatars domination), autonomous feudal states emerged south and east of the Carpathians – Wallachia in 1310, under Basarab I, and Moldova in 1359, under Bogdan I. Among the Romanian rulers who played a more important role can be mentioned: Alexander the Good, Stephen the Great, Petru Rareș, and Dimitrie Cantemir in Moldova; Mircea the Elder, Vlad the Impaler, Michael the Brave, and Constantin Brâncoveanu in Wallachia; and John Hunyadi in Transylvania. Beginning in the late 15th century, the two principalities gradually came under the influence of the Ottoman Empire. Transylvania, which throughout the Middle Ages was part of the Kingdom of Hungary, governed by voivodes, became a self-governing principality and a vassal of the Ottoman Empire from 1526. At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, Michael the Brave for a very brief period ruled over a large part of the territory of present-day Romania.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, along with the rest of Banat and Crișana developed into a new state under Ottoman suzerainty, the Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Principality of Transylvania. The Reformation, initiated in Germany by Martin Luther in 1517, encouraged the rise of Protestantism and four denominations—Reformed Church in Romania, Calvinism, Evangelical Church of Augustan Confession in Romania, Lutheranism, Unitarian Church of Transylvania, Unitarianism, 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 estimates. The princes of Transylvania, Wallachia, and Moldavia joined the Holy League (1594), Holy League against the Ottoman Empire in 1594. The Wallachian prince, Michael the Brave, united the three principalities under his rule in May 1600. The neighbouring 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 of Transylvania, Matei Basarab of Wallachia, and Vasile Lupu of Moldavia—strengthened their autonomy. The united armies of the Holy League (1684), 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 Habsburgs supported the Catholic clergy and persuaded the Orthodox Romanian prelates to accept the church union, union with the Roman Catholic Church in 1699. In the 18th century, Moldavia and Wallachia maintained their internal autonomy, but in 1711 and 1716, respectively, the period of the Phanariots began, with rulers appointed directly by the Porte from among the noble families of Greeks, Greek origin in Constantinople. With the signing of the Ausgleich in 1867, Transylvania quickly lost its remaining political autonomy, being politically and administratively incorporated into the Kingdom of Hungary. 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 organisation of the Transylvanian Military Frontier caused further disturbances, Siculicidium, especially among the Székelys in 1764. Princes Dimitrie Cantemir of Moldavia and Constantin Brâncoveanu 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 Fener, Phanar district of Istanbul to rule Moldova and Wallachia. The Phanariotes, Phanariot princes pursued oppressive fiscal policies and dissolved the army. The neighbouring powers took advantage of the situation: the Habsburg Monarchy annexed the northwestern part of Moldavia, or Bukovina, in 1775, and the Russian Empire seized the eastern half of Moldavia, or Bessarabia, 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 Romanian Greek Catholic Church, Uniate bishop, Inocențiu Micu-Klein who demanded recognition of the Romanians as the fourth privileged nation was forced into exile. Uniate and Orthodox clerics and laymen jointly signed a Supplex Libellus Valachorum, plea for the Transylvanian Romanians' emancipation in 1791, but the monarch and the local authorities refused to grant their requests.
The Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca authorised the Russian ambassador in Istanbul to defend the autonomy of Moldavia and Wallachia (known as the Danubian Principalities) in 1774. Taking advantage of the Greek War of Independence, 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 Russo-Turkish War (1828–29), new Russo-Turkish War, the Treaty of Adrianople (1829), 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, 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.
Unification and the Kingdom of Romania
From the Little Union to the Great War
The modern Romanian state was created through the Unification of the Romanian Principalities, unification of the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, accepted as a federative structure by the Great Powers following the Paris Convention of 1858, and later cemented by the simultaneous election as ruler of both states of the unionist Alexandru Ioan Cuza.150 de ani de la Unirea Principatelor Române, 24 January 2009, ''Jurnalul Național'', accessed 6 July 2012 After carrying out numerous reforms that laid the foundations for the modernisation of the state, he was forced in 1866 by a broad coalition of the political parties of the time, also known as the "Monstrous coalition", to abdicate and leave the country.Constantiniu, Florin: ''A Sincere History of the Romanian People'', Bucharest, Editura Univers Enciclopedic, 1997 – ISBN 973-9243-07-X The union was at one time in peril, but the political leaders of the era succeeded in placing on the princely throne Carol I of Romania, who accepted the Constitution and took the oath on 10 May 1866. Eleven years later, on 10 May 1877, Romania proclaimed its independence—achieved on the battlefield—and in 1881, on the same day of the year, Carol was crowned as King of Romania. In 1913, Romania entered the Second Balkan War against Bulgaria, at the end of which it obtained Southern Dobruja. In 1914, King Carol I of Romania, King Carol I died, and his nephew, Ferdinand I of Romania, Ferdinand I, succeeded him on the throne.
World War I and the Great Union
In 1916, Romania entered World War I on the side of the Entente Powers. Although the Romanian forces did not perform well militarily, by the end of the war the Austrian and Russian Empires had disintegrated; the National Assembly in Transylvania, and the Sfatul Țării in Bessarabia and Bukovina proclaimed their union with Romania, and Ferdinand I of Romania, King Ferdinand I and Queen Maria of Romania, Queen Maria were crowned sovereign of all Romanians in Alba Iulia on 15 October 1922. The Treaty of Versailles recognised all the union proclamations in accordance with the right to self-determination established by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s ''Fourteen Points''.Interwar period
After having left the country and renounced his claim to the throne in 1925, Carol II of Romania, Carol II returned in 1930 and usurped his son’s throne; influenced by his inner circle—referred to by historians as the "Royal Camarilla"—he gradually undermined the democratic system, and in 1938 he assumed dictatorial powers. Although he was pro-Western (especially Anglophile), Carol attempted to appease extreme centrifugal forces by appointing nationalist governments that adopted anti-Semitic measures, such as the Goga cabinet and the one led by the Orthodox Patriarch Miron Cristea.World War II: Positions and territorial losses
Following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of 1939, in June 1940 Romania accepted the loss of Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina and the Hertsa region in favour of the USSR (as stipulated in the Soviet ultimatum of 28 June 1940). Unaware of the details of the Soviet–German pact, Carol attempted to secure an alliance with Nazi Germany, and appointed Ion Gigurtu as President of the Council of Ministers, who declared that he would pursue a Nazi pro-Axis (Berlin–Rome) policy that was anti-Semitic and fascist-totalitarian in nature. Between 4 July and 4 September 1940, by accepting Second Vienna Award, Hitler's arbitration over Transylvania (after Gigurtu declared on radio that Romania must make territorial sacrifices to justify its Nazi orientation and full adherence to the Berlin–Rome Axis), Romania ceded Northern Transylvania—including the city of Cluj—to Hungary. The vast territories in Transylvania ceded by Ion Gigurtu to Hungary contained important natural resources, including gold mines. Ion Gigurtu also initiated negotiations to cede 8,000 km2 of Southern Dobruja to Bulgaria, these negotiations were interrupted by Antonescu's unconditional acceptance of the territorial cession. In response to the chaotic withdrawal from Bessarabia, the territorial cessions, public discontent, and protests from political leaders, King Carol II suspended the 1938 Constitution of Romania and appointed General Ion Antonescu as Prime Minister. This measure, supported by the Iron Guard, demanded that the king abdicate in favour of his son, Mihai I of Romania, Mihai. Subsequently, Antonescu assumed dictatorial powers and became President of the Council of Ministers, self-titling himself as the "Leader" of the state.Constantiniu, Florin: ''Hitler, Stalin and Romania – Romania and the Genesis of Operation “Barbarossa”'', Bucharest, Univers Enciclopedic, 2002History of Romania
”. Encarta. Accessed 14 March 2009.
World War II
In 1941, as an ally of Nazi Germany, Romania entered World War II by declaring war on the Soviet Union. A shift in fortunes only became discernible after the defeat at Stalingrad and the subsequent change of the USSR from a defensive to an offensive posture. On 23 August 1944, with the Soviet army having been present in northern Moldova since March, Mihai I of Romania, King Mihai I forcibly removed Marshal Ion Antonescu from power, as he refused to sign an armistice with the Allies of World War II.''Memoria''Eugen Denize. Accessed 15 March 2009. Following Antonescu's outright refusal, King Mihai I ordered the dismissal and arrest of the marshal, and Romania switched sides to join the Allies.
Socialist Romania (1947–1989)
Less than three years after the Soviet occupation of Romania, in 1947, Mihai I of Romania, King Michael I was forced to abdicate and the People's Republic of Romania—a state of "popular democracy"—was proclaimed. The newly established communist regime, led by the Romanian Workers' Party, consolidated its power through a Stalinist-type policy aimed at suppressing any political opposition and transforming the economic and social structures of the old bourgeois regime.Final Report of the Presidential Commission for the Analysis of the Communist Dictatorship in RomaniaAccessed 16 August 2010. In the early 1960s, the Romanian government began asserting a certain degree of independence from the Soviet Union in its foreign policy,History
ICI. Accessed 15 March 2009. although it did not abandon its repressive policies (which it labeled "revolutionary conquests") in domestic affairs. In 1965, communist leader Gheorghe Gheorghiu-Dej died, ushering in a period of change in Romania."History » Communist Romania"
''Encyclopaedia Britannica''. Accessed 15 March 2009. After a brief power struggle, Nicolae Ceaușescu emerged as the head of the communist party, becoming General Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party in 1965, President of the State Council of Romania, State Council in 1967, and President of the Socialist Republic of Romania in 1974. Ceaușescu's rule from 1965 to 1989 grew increasingly authoritarian during the 1980s.
Romania since 1989
In the context of the fall of communism throughout Eastern Europe during the revolutions of 1989, a protest in support of Reformed Church in Romania, Reformed pastor László Tőkés that began in December 1989 in Timișoara quickly escalated into a national uprising against the communist regime, ultimately resulting in the Trial and execution of Nicolae and Elena Ceaușescu, execution of Ceaușescu and his wife Elena Ceaușescu, Elena on 25 December 1989.
An interim council composed of figures from civil society and former communist officials assumed control of the government, and Ion Iliescu became the provisional president of the country. The new government reversed many of the authoritarian communist policies and dismissed several leaders of the former regime, although still influenced by members of the former regime (the basis for the Golaniad'','' and Mineriads).
Return to democracy
In 1990 Romanian general election, May 1990, the first free elections in Romania since 1937 Romanian general election, 1937 elections were held, with Iliescu of the National Salvation Front (Romania), National Salvation Front winning the presidency with 85% of the vote. In 1992 Romanian general election, 1992, he was reelected in the first election after the adoption of Constitution of Romania, a permanent constitution via 1991 Romanian constitutional referendum, a referendum held 1991 Romanian constitutional referendum, the previous year. Illiescu lost the 1996 Romanian general election, 1996 election to Emil Constantinescu, but returned to power in 2000 Romanian general election, 2000. Traian Băsescu was elected president in 2004 Romanian general election, 2004 and 2009 Romanian presidential election, 2009, serving until 2014 Romanian presidential election, 2014 at which point Klaus Iohannis succeeded him, being re-elected in 2019 Romanian presidential election, 2019 and serving until 2025 Romanian presidential election, 2025. During these years several events occurred. In 2009, the country was bailed out by the International Monetary Fund as result of the Great Recession in Europe following the 2008 financial crisis. The post-1989 period has been characterised by the privatisation and closure of several former industrial and economic enterprises from the communist period were closed, while Corruption in Romania, corruption has been a Corruption in Romania, major issue in contemporary politics. A National Anticorruption Directorate was formed in the country in 2002. During the 2000s, Romania had 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. 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. Since 2014, Romania launched an anti-corruption effort that led to the prosecution of medium- and high-level political, judicial and administrative offenses by the National Anticorruption Directorate. In 2015, massive 2015 Romanian protests, anti-corruption protests which developed in the wake of the Colectiv nightclub fire led to the resignation of prime minister Victor Ponta. During 2017–2019, in response to measures which were perceived to weaken the fight against corruption, some of the 2017–2019 Romanian protests, biggest post-1989 protests took place in Romania, with over 500,000 people protesting nationwide. The 2021 Romanian political crisis led to the outsting of Florin Cîțu's Cîțu Cabinet, incumbent government. The Ciucă Cabinet then took power, with Romania since having experienced a shift towards authoritarianism and illiberalism, as well as an increased Corruption in Romania, corruption. Around this time, Romania was also hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania, COVID-19 pandemic. In the 2024 Romanian presidential election, 2024 presidential election, Independent candidate Călin Georgescu achieved a surprise win in the first round. However, the Constitutional Court of Romania, Constitutional Court annulled the election results, citing Accusations of Russian interference in the 2024 Romanian presidential election, Russian meddling. The cancellation led to 2024–2025 Romanian election annulment protests, far-right protests, 2025 JD Vance speech at the Munich Security Conference, criticism by the Second presidency of Donald Trump, Trump administration, and Ilie Bolojan becoming acting president in February 2025 as Iohannis resigned to political pressure.
Geography
Romania is the largest country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe 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 at . They are surrounded by the Moldavian Plateau, Moldavian and Transylvanian Plateau, Transylvanian plateaus, the Pannonian Plain 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 river forms a large part of the border with Serbia and Bulgaria, 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 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 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.Politics
Romania is a Unitary state, unitary Semi-presidential system, semi-presidential Representative democracy, representative democratic republic with a structured system of governance and an active civil society. The President of Romania, President, elected by popular vote, serves as the head of state, representing the country in Foreign relations of Romania, international affairs, safeguarding Constitution of Romania, constitutional order, and acting as Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Romanian Armed Forces. The Prime Minister of Romania, Prime Minister, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Parliament of Romania, Parliament, acts as the head of government, responsible for overseeing the Government of Romania, executive branch, implementing Foreign relations of Romania, domestic and foreign policies, and managing public administration. Legislative, Legislative authority is vested in a Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament, consisting of the Chamber of Deputies of Romania, Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of Romania, Senate, whose members are elected through a proportional representation system. The Judiciary of Romania, judiciary operates Judicial independence, independently, with the High Court of Cassation and Justice as the highest court of appeal.Government
Romania has a democratic, multi-party system, with Legislature, legislative power vested in the government and the Bicameralism, two chambers of the Parliament of Romania, Parliament, more specifically the Chamber of Deputies (Romania), Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of Romania, Senate. The judiciary is Judicial independence, independent of the executive and the legislature. 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 be amended only 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. The Economist Intelligence Unit rated Romania as a "hybrid regime" in 2024.Foreign relations
Since December 1989, Romania has pursued a policy of strengthening relations with the West in general, more specifically with the United States and the EU, albeit with limited Romania–Russia relations, relations involving the Russian Federation. It joined NATO on 29 March 2004, the 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. Romania is recognised as a middle power for its military capabilities, as well as its active diplomatic engagement on the global stage.
In the past, recent governments have stated that one of their goals is to strengthen ties with and helping other countries (in particular Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia (country), Georgia) and better 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 applied to join to the Schengen Area in 2007, acquiring full membership in 2025 along with Bulgaria. 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 2009, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton referred to Romania as "one of the most trustworthy and respectable" US allies". However, by 2025, relations had worsen, with US vice president JD Vance in February 2025 JD Vance speech at the Munich Security Conference, scolding "Accusations of Russian interference in the 2024 Romanian presidential election, flimsy suspicions" and "enormous pressure from its continental neighbours" for causing the annulment of the 2024 Romanian presidential election, 2024 Romanian presidential election in which Călin Georgescu won the first round.
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 Moldova and Romania, movement for unification of Moldova and Romania 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
The Romanian Armed Forces consist of Romanian Land Forces, land, Romanian Air Force, air, and Romanian Naval Forces, naval forces led by a Chief of the Romanian General Staff, Commander-in-chief under the supervision of the Ministry of National Defence (Romania), Ministry of National Defence, and by the President of Romania, president as the Supreme Commander during wartime. The Armed Forces consist of approximately 55,000 reservists and 71,500 active military personnel—35,800 for land, 10,700 for air, 6,600 for naval forces, and 16,500 in other fields. Total defence spending in 2023 accounted for 2.44% of total national GDP, or approximately US$8.48 billion, with a total of $9 billion intended to be spent until 2026 for modernisation and acquisition of new equipment. Conscription stopped in 2007, when Romania switched to a volunteer army.
The Air Force operates General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon variants#F-16AM/BM Block 15 MLU, F-16AM/BM MLU fighters, C-27J Spartan and C-130 Hercules Military transport aircraft, transport aircraft, as well as IAR 330 and IAR 316 helicopters. A Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II procurement#Romania, procurement programme for F-35 fifth-generation fighters is also currently being carried out. The Naval Forces operate three frigates, of which two are Type 22 frigates acquired from the British Royal Navy, as well as four corvettes. The Romanian Danube Flotilla, River Flotilla operates Mihail Kogălniceanu-class river monitor, Mihail Kogălniceanu and Smârdan-class river monitors.
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. The Aegis Ashore missile system based at Deveselu Military Base, Deveslu became operational in 2016.
In 2024, construction work started on expanding the Mihail Kogălniceanu Air Base (RoAF 57th Air Base). The air base is set to become the largest NATO base in Europe after the implementation of a project spanning 20 years.
Administrative divisions
Romania is divided into 41 Counties of Romania, counties (''județe'') and the municipality of Bucharest. 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 general''), and a general city council. The NUTS-3 (Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics) level divisions of the EU 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
In 2024, Romania has a GDP (PPP) of around $894 billion and a List of countries by GDP per capita (PPP), GDP per capita (purchasing power parity, PPP) of $47,203. According to the World Bank, Romania is a World Bank high-income economy, high-income economy. According to Eurostat, Romania's GDP per capita (PPS) was 77% of the EU average (100%) in 2022, 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.
The Bucharest Stock Exchange (BVB) is the stock exchange of Romania, located in Bucharest. In 2024, the BVB boasted a $74 billion market capitalization, market capitalisation and a trading volume of $7.2 billion. As of 2024, 86 companies were listed on the exchange. In September 2020, FTSE Russell upgraded the BVB from a Frontier market to a Emerging market, Secondary Emerging Market.
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 onwards, 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 programme. According to The World Bank, GDP per capita in purchasing power parity grew from $13,703 in 2007 to $47,903 in 2023.
Romania's main exports are vehicles, software, clothing and textiles, Machine industry, industrial machinery, Electrical device, electrical and Electronics, electronic equipment, Metallurgy, metallurgic products, raw materials, military equipment, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and Agriculture, agricultural products (fruits, vegetables, and flowers). Trade is mostly centred on the member states of the EU, with Germany, Italy and France being the country's single largest trading partners.
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 EU. 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.
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 plans to adopt the euro in 2029.
Infrastructure
According to the Romania's National Institute of Statistics (INS), Romania's total road network was estimated in 2015 at . The World Bank estimates the railway network at of track, the fourth-largest railway 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 2021 of 720,000 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. 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 EU, 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 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, 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, Sibiu, Brașov, Alba Iulia, Baia Mare, Bistrița, Mediaș, Cisnădie, Sebeș, 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 (falsely) advertised as being Dracula in popular culture, Dracula's Castle. Other attractions include the Danube Delta or the Sculptural Ensemble of Constantin Brâncuși at Târgu Jiu. Rural tourism, focusing on getting visitors acquainted with local folklore and Tradition, customs, 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. The Via Transilvanica long-distance hiking and cycling trail, which crosses 10 counties in the Transylvania, Banat and Bukovina regions of the country further promotes rural slow tourism. 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, aeroplane 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 EU 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 2024. The nuclear physics facility of the EU'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
According to the 2021 Romanian census, Romania's population was 19,053,815. 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. According to the 2021 Romanian census, Romanians made up 89.33% of the population, Hungarian people, Hungarians 6.05% and the Romani people, Roma 3.44% of the population, but many ethnicities are not recorded, as they do not have ID cards. International sources give higher figures for Roma than the official census. According to the Council of Europe, the Romani people, Roma makes up 8.32% of the population. 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
The official language is Romanian, a Romance 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''), totalling 31.
Romanian is spoken as a first language by 91.55% of the entire population, while Hungarian language, Hungarian and Vlax Romani are spoken by 6.28% and 1.20% of the population, respectively. There are also 40,861 native speakers of Ukrainian language, Ukrainian (concentrated in some compact regions near the border, where they form local majorities), 17,101 native speakers of Turkish language, Turkish, 15,943 native speakers of German language, German, and 14,414 native speakers of Russian language, Russian 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 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 2021 census, 73.60% of respondents identified as Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox Christians, with 73.42% belonging to the Romanian Orthodox Church. Other denominations include Religion in Romania#Protestantism, Protestantism (6.22%), Roman Catholicism in Romania, Roman Catholicism (3.89%), and Romanian Greek Catholic Church, Greek Catholicism (0.61%). From the remaining population 128,291 people belong to other Christian denominations or have another religion, which includes 58,347 Islam in Romania, Muslims (mostly of Turkish and Tatar ethnicity) and 2,708 History of the Jews in Romania, Jewish (Jews once constituted 4% of the Romanian population—728,115 persons in the 1930 census). Additionally, 71,430 people are Irreligion, irreligious, 57,229 are Atheism, atheist, 25,485 are Agnosticism, agnostic, and 2,658,165 people chose to not declare their religion. The Romanian Orthodox Church is an Autocephaly, 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 languages, 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 1.7 million in 2021. 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 17 cities have a population of over 100,000, with Cluj-Napoca, Iași, Constanța and Timișoara of more than 250,000 inhabitants, and Craiova, Brașov and Galați with over 200,000 inhabitants. Metropolitan areas in Romania, Metropolitan areas have been constituted for most of these cities.Education
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#Peer tutoring, 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
Healthcare in Romania is mainly provided by the public sector, which runs most hospitals and offers national health insurance to nearly all citizens. In 2021, healthcare costs were US$16. 7 billion, or US$2,385 per person, making up 5.69€ of GDP. Government spending is higher than in markets like Bulgaria but lower than Hungary. Spending is expected to rise by 7. US$5 billion (+37. 68%) from 2024 to 2028, reaching 27. US$3 billion by 2028. The Romanian National Institute of Statistics reports over 65,000 health units in Romania, with 53,000 in urban areas and 12,000 in rural areas. There are 543 hospitals, including 488 in urban and 55 in rural areas, along with 160 other hospital-like establishments. Nearly 50% of these are large facilities with over 100 beds, while 39% are small with fewer than 50 beds. The total number of inpatient beds is 135,085, allocated mainly to psychiatry, surgery, and internal medicine among other specialties.Culture
Arts and monuments
Architecture
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, 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. From the late 2000s through the early 2010s, the Romanian Popcorn (Romanian music style), popcorn music style had established itself in the international mainstream. 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 in 2005, while ''4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days'' by Cristian Mungiu won the festival's top prize, the , 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
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 ' 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 ', ' (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: ', ' and ' at Christmas; ', ' and ' 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.
Media
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 most successful club is CSA Steaua București (football), Steaua București, who were the first Eastern European team to win the UEFA Champions League in 1986, and were runners-up in 1989. 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. 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. 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. Another popular combat sport is kickboxing, professional kickboxing, which has produced prominent practitioners including. 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,See also
* Outline of RomaniaNotes
References
Sources
*The Ancient History of Herodotus
' (Translated by William Beloe) (1859). Derby & Jackson. *
' (Translated by John Selby Watson) (1886). George Bell and Sons. * * * * * *
excerpt
* Hitchins, Keith. ''Rumania 1866-1947'' (1994) (Oxford History of Modern Europe
excerpt
* * * * * * * * * * * * * Stavrianos, L.S. '' The Balkans Since 1453'' (1958), major scholarly history
online free to borrow
* *
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
{{Coord, 46, N, 25, E, type:country, display=title Romania, 1859 establishments in Europe Balkan countries Countries in Europe Member states of the United Nations Member states of NATO Member states of the European Union Member states of the Union for the Mediterranean Member states of the Three Seas Initiative Republics Countries and territories where Romanian is an official language States and territories established in 1859