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For other uses, see Romania (disambiguation).

"ROU" redirects here. For other uses, see Rou.
Coordinates: 46N 25E

Romania
Romnia (Romanian)

Flag Coat of arms

Anthem: Deteapt-te, romne!

'"Awaken thee, Romanian!"

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Location of Romania (dark green)

in Europe (green & dark grey)
in the European Union (green) [Legend]

Capital Bucharest
and largest city 4425N 2606E

Official languages Romanian[1]

Recognised minority Albanian

 languages[2] Armenian
Bulgarian
Czech
Croatian
German
Greek
Italian
Macedonian
Hungarian
Polish
Romani
Russian
Rusyn
Serbian
Slovak
Tatar
Turkish
Ukrainian
Yiddish

Ethnic groups(2011[3])
88.9% Romanians

6.1% Hungarians

3.0% Roma

0.2% Ukrainians

0.2% Germans

Demonym Romanian

Government Unitary semi-presidential

republic

President Klaus Iohannis

Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu
President of the Senate Clin Popescu-Triceanu
President of the Chamber of Liviu Dragnea
Deputies

Legislature Parliament

Upper house Senate

Lower house Chamber of Deputies
 Formation
Kingdom of Dacia 168 BC
Roman conquest 106
Migration Period 275 10th century
First Romanian polities 10th century 1330
Principality of Wallachia 1330
Principality of Moldavia 1346
Principality of Transylvania 1570
First union under Michael the 1600
Brave
United Principalitiesa 24 January 1859
Independence from 9 May 1877 / 1878b
the Ottoman Empire
Kingdom of Romania 14 March 1881
Great Unionc 1 December 1918d
Proclamation of the Romanian 30 December 1947
People's Republic

Area
Total 238,391 km2(92,043 sq mi)
(83rd)
Water (%) 3

Population
2015 estimate 19,511,000[4] (59th)
2011 census 20,121,641[3] (58th)
Density 84.4/km2 (218.6/sq mi) (117th)

GDP (PPP) 2017 estimate

Total $467.436 billion [5] (43rd)
Per capita $23,709 (61st)

GDP (nominal) 2017 estimate

Total $197.004 billion [5] (49th)
Per capita $9,992 (67th)

Gini (2013) 34[6]

medium

HDI (2015) 0.802[7]

very high 50th
 Currency Romanian leu (RON)

Time zone EET (UTC+2)

Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)

Date format dd.mm.yyyy (AD)

Drives on the right

Calling code +40

Patron saint Saint Andrew

ISO 3166 code RO

Internet TLD .roe

a The double election of Alexandru Ioan

Cuza in Moldavia and Wallachia (respectively, 5 and 24 January 1859).

a Independence proclaimed on 9 May 1877, internationally recognised in 1878.

a The union of Romania with Bessarabia, Bukovina and Transylvania in 1918.

a Monarchy was abolished on 30 December 1947 upon the proclamation of

the People's Republic and was changed with the new constitution upon its
adoption on 21 August 1965 as the Socialist Republic. The Communist
regime fell on 22 December 1989, the new democratic government was
installed on 20 May 1990 and the new post-communist constitution was
adopted on 21 November 1991. Romania joined the European Union on 1
January 2007.

a Also .eu, shared with other European Union member states.

Romania[a] ( /romeni/ roh-MAY-nee-; Romanian: Romnia [romni.a]) is a sovereign

i i

state located in Southeastern Europe. It borders the Black Sea, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia,
and Moldova. It has an area of 238,391 square kilometres (92,043 sq mi) and a temperate-
continental climate. With over 19 million inhabitants, the country is the seventh-most-
populous member state of the European Union. Its capital and largest city, Bucharest, is the sixth-
largest city in the EU, with 1,883,425 inhabitants as of 2011.[8]
The River Danube, Europe's second-longest river, rises in Germany and flows in a general southeast
direction for 2,857 km (1775 mi), coursing through ten countries before emptying into
Romania's Danube Delta. The Carpathian Mountains, which cross Romania from the north to the
southwest are marked by one of their tallest peaks, Moldoveanu, at 2,544 m (8,346 ft).[9]
Modern Romania was formed in 1859 through a personal union of the Danubian Principalities
of Moldavia and Wallachia. The new state, officially named Romania since 1866, gained
independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877. At the end of World War
 I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the sovereign Kingdom of Romania.
During World War II, Romania was an ally of Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union, fighting side
by side with the Wehrmacht until 1944, when it joined the Allied powers and faced occupation by
the Red Army forces. Romania lost several territories, of which Northern Transylvania was regained
after the war. Following the war, Romania became a socialist republic and member of the Warsaw
Pact. After the 1989 Revolution, Romania began a transition back towards democracy and a
capitalist market economy.
Following rapid economic growth in the early 2000s, Romania has an economy predominantly based
on services, and is a producer and net exporter of machines and electric energy, featuring
companies like Automobile Dacia and OMV Petrom. It has been a member of NATO since 2004, and
part of the European Union since 2007. A strong majority of the population identify themselves
as Eastern Orthodox Christians and are native speakers of Romanian, a Romance language. The
cultural history of Romania is often referred to when dealing with
influential artists, musicians, inventors and sportspeople. For similar reasons, Romania has been the
subject of notable tourist attractions.

Contents
[hide]

1Etymology

o 1.1Official names

2History

o 2.1Early history

o 2.2Middle Ages

o 2.3Independence and monarchy

o 2.4World Wars and Greater Romania

o 2.5Communism

o 2.6Contemporary period

o 2.7NATO and EU integration

3Geography and climate

o 3.1Climate

4Governance

o 4.1Foreign relations

o 4.2Military
 o 4.3Administrative divisions

5Economy

o 5.1Infrastructure

o 5.2Tourism

o 5.3Science and technology

6Demographics

o 6.1Languages

o 6.2Religion

o 6.3Urbanization

o 6.4Education

o 6.5Healthcare

7Culture

o 7.1Arts and monuments

o 7.2Holidays, traditions and cuisine

o 7.3Sports

8See also

9Notes

10References

11Sources

o 11.1Primary sources

o 11.2Secondary sources

12External links

o 12.1Government

o 12.2Culture and history links

 o 12.3Travel

Etymology[edit]
Main article: Name of Romania
Romania derives from the Latin romanus, meaning "citizen of Rome".[10] The first known use of the
appellation was attested in the 16th century by Italian humanists travelling in Transylvania, Moldavia,
and Wallachia.[11][12][13][14]

Neacu's letter from 1521, the oldest surviving document written in Romanian.

The oldest known surviving document written in Romanian, a 1521 letter known as the "Letter of
Neacu from Cmpulung",[15] is also notable for including the first documented occurrence of the
country's name: Wallachia is mentioned as eara Rumneasc (old spelling for "The Romanian
Land"; eara from the Latin terra, "land"; current spelling: ara Romneasc).
Two spelling forms: romn and rumn were used interchangeably [b] until sociolinguistic
developments in