About Romania

Romania is situated in south-eastern Europe between latitudes 43o 37' 07'' north and longitudes 20o 15' 44'' east, extending approximately 480 km north to south and 640 km east to west. The country has an area of 237,750 sq km and a population of over 21,680,974 of which 89% are Romanians, 7% Hungarians, 2% Gypsies, with small minorities of Germans, Slovaks, Turks, Russians, Bulgarians, Croats, Tartars, Czechs, Greeks, Jews, Americans, Poles, Albanians.The Carpathian mountains are in the centre of the country. They are bordered on both sides by hills and plateaus ending in the vast plains of the outer rim. Forests cover over a quarter of the country, and the fauna is one of the richest in Europe including wolves, bears, deer, the lynx and the chamois.The Danube makes the southern boundary; before it flows into the Black Sea, it forms a Delta, renowned for its rare species of both local and migratory exotic birds. Countries sharing borders with Romania are Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.

Climate. Major cities and population

The climate is temperate-continental, characteristic of Central Europe (hot summers, cold winters, very distinct seasons, abundant snowfalls, especially in the mountains). Warmest areas are in the south. Annual average rainfall is 677 mm, more in the mountains (1,000 - 1,400 m), and less on the coast below (400m).

Average temperatures in different parts of the country

	Summer	Winter	Average
Black Sea Coast	20.0 °C	2.4 °C	11.2 °C
Bucharest	21.8 °C	0.6 °C	11.2 °C
Cluj-Napoca	18.2 °C	-2.6 °C	7.8 °C
Predeal	14.5 °C	-4.5 °C	5.0 °C
Danube Delta	20.8 °C	2.3 °C	11.5 °C
Timisoara	21.2 °C	0.0 °C	10.6 °C

 MAJOR CITIES AND POPULATION

• Bucuresti 1.926.334
• Constanta 312.010
• Timisoara 308.765
• Iasi 303.714
• Cluj Napoca 297.014
• Brasov 285.712
• Sibiu 156.261
• Tg. Mures 151.379
• Suceava 108.735

 Language

The official language is Romanian, a Roman language. English, French and German are the most widely spoken foreign languages in Romania.

Religion

Most Romanians are Orthodox Christians (87%). Catholics of Oriental and Roman rites are well represented (5%). There are also Reformed (Lutheran (3%), Unitarian (1%), Neo-Protestant), Armenian, Moslem and Jewish communities. Religious freedom is acknowledged and granted by the Romanian Constitution.

 Romanians' denominations (2002)

•  Population 21.680.974
• Orthodox 18.817.975
• Roman - Catholic 1.026.429
• Reformed 701.077
• Pentecostal 324.462
• Greek - Catholic 191.556
• Baptist 126.693
• Adventist 93.670
• Muslim 67.257
• Unitarian 66.944
• Augustan Evangelical 44.476
• Mosaic 6.057
• Others 214.378

Political system and public administration

In accordance with the Constitution adopted in 1991, Romania is a parliamentary republic, with two chambers. The president of the country, the deputies and the senators are elected every four years by universal secret ballot. Romania is a multi-party state many parties are currently registered, but only a few have representatives in the Parliament. Ethnic minorities are also represented in the Parliament. Democratic rights and freedom are granted by the Constitution.

Romania's coat of arms has as its central element a golden eagle with a cross in its beak. Traditionally, this eagle appears in the coat of arms of the Arges county, the town of Pitesti and the town of Curtea de Arges. It stands for the "nest of the Basarabs," the ruling princely family who set up Wallachia, a province which played a decisive role in the history of Romania.The eagle is a symbol of Latinity and a heraldic bird of the first order, symbolising courage, determination and the soaring towards the sky, power and grandeur. It is to be found also in Transylvania's coat of arms.The shield on which it is placed is blue, standing for the sky. The eagle holds in its talons the emblem of sovereignty a sceptre and a saber; the latter reminds of Moldavia's ruling prince, Stephen the Great (1456-1504), also called "Christ's athlete", because of the many battles that he won against the Turks, whereas the sceptre reminds of Michael the Brave (1593-1601), the first who united the Romanian-speaking countries i.e. Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania. On the bird's chest there is a quartered escutcheon with the symbols of the historical Romanian provinces i.e. Wallachia, Moldavia, Transylvania, the Banat and Crisana, as well as two dolphins relating to the Black Sea Coast. In the first quarter there is again Wallachia's coat of arms against an azure background an eagle holding in its beak a golden Orthodox cross, alongside golden sun on the right side and a golden new moon on the left side. In the second quarter there is Moldavia's traditional coat of arms (gules) an auroch head sable with a mullet between its horns, a cinquefoil rose, and a waning crescent, both argent.The third quarter features the traditional coat of arms of the Banat and Oltenia (gules) over the waves of a river, there is a golden bridge with two arched openings (symbolising Roman emperor Trajan's bridge over the Danube), wherefrom comes out a golden lion holding a broad sword in its right forepaw.The fourth quarter shows the coat of arms of Transylvania with Maramures and Crisana a shield with an eagle sable that has a golden beak, a golden sun and an argent crescent; on the base there are seven crenellated towers, placed four and three. The lands adjacent to the Black Sea alongside two dolphins their heads down, are also represented.

The Romanian Flag is a tricoloured red, yellow and blue (the blue is cobalt, the yellow chrome and the red vermillion). It has not undergone many or major changes in the course of history. Only the distribution of the colours (in point of proportion and position) has changed to a certain extent. After the 1848 Revolution, under the impact of the French revolutionary spirit, many states in Europe adopted the dimensionally standardised three-colour banner for their national flag, and so did Romanians. Sigillography shows that formerly, the Romanian flag had its three colours arranged horizontally with the red in the upper part, the yellow in the middle and the blue in its lower part. Also, the proportion of the colours was different from today, i.e. 33 per cent for each colour. Basically however, the three colours so dear to the Romanians are to be found in banners dating back to the time of Michael the Brave, and even Stephen the Great. Moreover, recent research studies indicate that they existed even on the Dacian standard presented on Trajan's Column in Rome.

Romania's national day is December 1, the day when the national unitary state was founded in 1918. Romania's territory is divided into 40 counties administered by prefects; the mayors of municipalities, towns, communes and villages are subordinated to the county civil services. Bucharest, the capital-city of Romania, has its own civil services, similar to those of the counties.