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Country Guide > Europe > Romania | |
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General Information Area 238,391 sq km (92,043 sq miles).
Population 21,680,974 (2002). Population Density 90.9 per sq km. Capital Bucharest. Population: 1,925,334 (2002). Geography Romania is bordered to the north and east by Moldova and Ukraine, the southeast by the Black Sea, the south by Bulgaria, the southwest by Serbia and Montenegro and in the west by Hungary. The country is divided into four geographical areas. Transylvania (a belt of Alpine massifs and forests) and Moldavia compose the northern half of the country, which is divided down the middle by the north–south strip of the Carpathian Mountains. South of the east–west line of the Carpathians lies the flat Danube plain of Walachia with the capital Bucharest, its border with Bulgaria being defined by the course of the Danube. Romania’s coastline is along the Black Sea, incorporating the port of Constanta and the Danube Delta. Government Democratic Republic since 1991. Head of State: President Traian Basescu since December 2004. Head of Government: Outgoing Prime Minister Adrian Nastase. Language Romanian is the official language. Some Hungarian and German are spoken in border areas, while mainly French and some English are spoken by those connected with the tourist industry. Religion 83 per cent Romanian Orthodox, with Roman Catholic, Reformed/Lutheran, Unitarian, Muslim and Jewish minorities. Time GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Sunday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October). Electricity 220 volts AC, 50Hz. Plugs are of the two-pin type. Communications Telephone IDD is available. Country code: 40. Outgoing international code: 00. Public telephones are widely available and can be used for direct international calls. Hotels often impose a high service charge for long-distance calls, but usually do not charge for local calls. Mobile telephone GSM 900/1800 networks. Network operators include Connex (website: www.connex.ro), Cosmorom (website: www.cosmorom.com) and Orange (website: www.orange.ro). Internet Kappa and PC-Net are two of the largest of the 250-odd ISPs. The former has open-air terminals at Strada Paulescu Nicolae 9, Bucharest, while the latter is at Strada Calderon Jean Louis 1-5, Bucharest. Sweet Internet Cafe, Strada Maria Rosetti 7-9, Bucharest (tel: (21) 212 4111) has 24-hour access, as do a couple others of Bucharest’s many Internet cafes. Fax Facilities are available at most large hotels. Telegram Facilities at post offices and a night telegram service (2000-0700) is available in Bucharest. Telegrams are an inexpensive and efficient form of international communication from Romania. Post Airmail to Western Europe takes one week. Post offices are open daily, including Saturday mornings. Press English newspapers and publications include Bucharest Business Week, Nine O’Clock and Romanian Economic Daily. There are a great number of daily and weekly newspapers published in Romanian, Hungarian and German. Radio BBC World Service (website: www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice) and Voice of America (website: www.voa.gov) can be received. From time to time the frequencies change and the most up-to-date can be found online. |
