16/01/2022
Romania (/roʊˈmeɪniə/ (audio speaker iconlisten) ro-MAY-nee-ə; Romanian: România [romɨˈni.a] (audio speaker iconlisten)) is a country at the crossroads of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east and the Black Sea to the southeast. It has a predominantly temperate-continental climate, and an area of 238,397 km2 (92,046 sq mi), with a population of around 19 million. Romania is the twelfth-largest country in Europe, and the sixth-most populous member state of the European Union. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest, and other major urban areas include Iași, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Constanța, Craiova, Brașov, and Galați.
The Danube, Europe's second-longest river, rises in Germany's Black Forest and flows in a southeasterly direction for 2,857 km (1,775 mi), before emptying into Romania's Danube Delta. The Carpathian Mountains, which cross Romania from the north to the southwest, include Moldoveanu Peak, at an altitude of 2,544 m (8,346 ft).
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.[14] During World War I, after declaring its neutrality in 1914, Romania fought together with the Allied Powers from 1916. In the aftermath of the war, Bukovina, Bessarabia, Transylvania and parts of Banat, Crișana, and Maramureș became part of the Kingdom of Romania.[15] In June–August 1940, as a consequence of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and Second Vienna Award, Romania was compelled to cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union, and Northern Transylvania to Hungary. In November 1940, Romania signed the Tripartite Pact and, consequently, in June 1941 entered World War II on the Axis side, fighting against the Soviet Union until August 1944, when it joined the Allies and recovered Northern Transylvania. Following the war and occupation by the Red Army, Romania became a socialist republic and a member of the Warsaw Pact. After the 1989 Revolution, Romania began a transition towards democracy and a market economy.
Romania is a developing country, with a high-income economy,[16] ranking 49th in the Human Development Index. It has the world's 47th largest economy by nominal GDP. Romania experienced rapid economic growth in the early 2000s; its economy is now based predominantly on services. It is a producer and net exporter of machines and electric energy through companies such as Automobile Dacia and OMV Petrom. Romania has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, NATO since 2004, and the European Union since 2007. The majority of Romania's population are ethnic Romanian and Eastern Orthodox Christians, speaking Romanian, a Romance language.
The topic of the origin of Romanian culture began to be discussed by the end of the 18th century among the Transylvanian School scholars.[404] 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.[405]
In the 20th century, a number of Romanian artists and writers achieved international acclaim, including: Tristan Tzara, Marcel Janco,[406] Mircea Eliade, Nicolae Grigorescu, Marin Preda, Liviu Rebreanu,[407] 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.[408][409] Romanian-born Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1986, while Banat Swabian writer Herta Müller received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Literature.
In 2019, Romania has a GDP (PPP) of around $547 billion and a GDP per capita (PPP) of $28,189.[284] According to the World Bank, Romania is a high-income economy.[16] According to Eurostat, Romania's GDP per capita (PPS) was 70% of the EU average (100%) in 2019, an increase from 44% in 2007 (the year of Romania's accession to the EU), making Romania one of the fastest growing economies in the EU.
After 1989 the country experienced a decade of economic instability and decline, led in part by an obsolete industrial base and a lack of structural reform. From 2000 onward, however, the Romanian economy was transformed into one of relative macroeconomic stability, characterised by high growth, low unemployment and declining inflation. In 2006, according to the Romanian Statistics Office, GDP growth in real terms was recorded at 7.7%, one of the highest rates in Europe.[286] However, the Great Recession forced the government to borrow externally, including an IMF €20 billion bailout program.[287] According to The World Bank, GDP per capita in purchasing power parity grew from $13,687 in 2007 to $28,206 in 2018.[288] Romania's net average monthly wage increased to 666 euro as of 2020,[289] and an inflation rate of −1.1% in 2016.[290] Unemployment in Romania was at 4.3% in August 2018, which is low compared to other EU countries.