Romania

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Country summary

Capital

Bucharest

Borders

Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km, Serbia 476 km, Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (east) 169 km

Government type

republic

Population

22,215,421 (July 2010 est.)[1]

Population growth

-0.147% (2010 est.)[1]

Life expectancy

72.45 years[1]

Unemployment

7.8% (2009 est.)[1]

Index of Economic Freedom

63[2]

Corruption Perceptions Index

71[3]

Doing Business ranking

55[4]


The principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia - for centuries under the suzerainty of the Turkish Ottoman Empire - secured their autonomy in 1856; they united in 1859 and a few years later adopted the new name of Romania. The country gained recognition of its independence in 1878. It joined the Allied Powers in World War I and acquired new territories - most notably Transylvania - following the conflict. In 1940, Romania allied with the Axis powers and participated in the 1941 German invasion of the USSR. Three years later, overrun by the Soviets, Romania signed an armistice. The post-war Soviet occupation led to the formation of a Communist "people's republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of dictator Nicolae CEAUSESCU, who took power in 1965, and his Securitate police state became increasingly oppressive and draconian through the 1980s. CEAUSESCU was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former Communists dominated the government until 1996 when they were swept from power. Romania joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007.[1]

Economical characteristics

  • Currency: Romanian leu (ISO code: RON)
  • Central bank discount rate: NA%[1]
  • Commercial banks lending rate: 14.99% (31 December 2008)[1]
  • Stock of money (M1): $25.3 billion (31 December 2008)[1]
  • Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $36.09 billion (31 December 2008)[1]

Notable events:

  • Banking crisis: July 1931, 1990[5]
  • Years in inflation: 9.8% (share of years 1878-2009 with annual inflation above 20 per cent per annum)
  • Public default: 1933-1958, 1981-1983, 1986 (external), 1933-1958 (domestic)[6]

Statistics

Statistic / Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
GDP (million USD)[7] 35 592 37 053 40 181 45 825 59 507 75 489 98 913 122 642 169 282 200 071
Govt. debt (% of GDP)[8]
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[9] 25.781 24.544 24.211 24.480 24.518 25.311 30.907
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[10] 25.910 23.510 23.286 24.024 25.309 26.316 33.772
Debt to revenue (years)

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Romania", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  2. Heritage Foundation. "Romania", Economic Freedom Score. A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  3. Transparency International. "Romania", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  4. Doing Business. "Romania", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  5. Carmen M. Reinhart and Kenneth S. Rogoff. "This Time is Different", Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0-691-14216-6, p. 379-380. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.
  6. Carmen M. Reinhart. "This Time is Different Chartbook: Country Histories on Debt, Default, and Financial Crises" (pdf), March 3, 2010, p. 95. (The list does not claim to be complete.) Referenced 2011-07-21.
  7. World Bank. "Romania: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  8. World Bank. "Romania: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  9. World Bank. "Romania: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.
  10. World Bank. "Romania: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-29.

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