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Romania is a country located in South-East Central Europe, north of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch and bordering on the Black Sea. Almost the entire Danube Delta is located within Romania. It shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova to the northeast, and Bulgaria to the south.

Romania has the 9th largest territory and the 7th largest population (with 22 million people) among the European Union member states. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest, the 6th largest city in the EU with 2 million people. In 2007, Sibiu, a large city in Transylvania, was chosen as a European Capital of Culture. Romania also joined NATO in March 2004.

Romania was formed originally by the merger of Moldavia and Walachia in 1859 and it gained recognition of its independence in 1878. In 1918, they were joined by Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia. At the end of World War II, parts of its territories (roughly the present day Moldova) were occupied by USSR and Romania became a member of the Warsaw Pact. In 1947, King Michael I was forced by the Communists to abdicate and leave the country, Romania was proclaimed a republic, and remained under the direct military and economic control of the USSR until the late 1950s. During this period, Romania's resources were drained by the Soviet-Romanian agreements: joint Soviet-Romanian companies were established to mask the looting of Romania by the Soviet Union.

After the negotiated retreat of Soviet troops in 1958, Romania, under the new leadership of Nicolae Ceauşescu, started to pursue independent policies. Such examples are the condemnation of the Soviet-led 1968 invasion of Czechoslovakia and the establishment of economic (1963) and diplomatic (1967) relations with the Federal Republic of Germany.

As Romania's foreign debt sharply increased between 1977 and 1981 the influence of international financial organisations, such as the IMF or the World Bank grew, conflicting with Nicolae Ceauşescu's autocratic policies. Ceauşescu eventually initiated a project of total reimbursement of the foreign debt. To achieve this goal, he imposed policies that impoverished Romanians and exhausted the Romanian economy. He greatly extended the authoritarian police state and imposed a cult of personality. These led to a dramatic decrease in Ceauşescu’s popularity and culminated in his overthrow and execution in the bloody Romanian Revolution of 1989.

After the fall of Ceauşescu, the National Salvation Front (FSN), led by Ion Iliescu, took partial multi-party democratic and free market measures. Several major political parties of the pre-war era, such as the National Christian Democrat Peasant's Party (PNŢCD), the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Romanian Social Democrat Party (PSDR) were resurrected. After several major political rallies in April 1990, a sit-in protest contesting the results of the recently held parliamentary elections began in University Square, Bucharest. The protesters accused the FSN of being made up of former Communists and members of the Securitate. The protesters did not recognize the results of the election, which they deemed undemocratic, and were asking for the exclusion from political life of former high-ranking Communist Party members. The protest rapidly grew to become an on-going mass demonstration (known as the Golaniad). The peaceful demonstrations degenerated into violence. After the police failed to bring the demonstrators to order, Ion Iliescu called on the "men of good will" to come and defend the State institutions in Bucharest. Coal miners of the Jiu Valley answered the call and arrived in Bucharest on June 14. Their violent intervention is remembered as the June 1990 Mineriad.

The subsequent disintegration of the FSN produced several political parties including the Romanian Democrat Social Party (PDSR, later Social Democratic Party, PSD), the Democratic Party (PD) and the ApR (Alliance for Romania). The PDSR party governed Romania from 1990 until 1996 through several coalitions and governments with Ion Iliescu as head of state. Since then there have been three democratic changes of government: in 1996, the democratic-liberal opposition and its leader Emil Constantinescu acceded to power; in 2000 the Social Democrats returned to power, with Iliescu once again president; and in 2004 Traian Băsescu was elected president, with an electoral coalition called Justice and Truth Alliance (DA). The government was formed by a larger coalition which also includes the Conservative Party and the ethnic Hungarian party.

Post-Cold War Romania developed closer ties with Western Europe, eventually joining NATO in 2004. The country applied in June 1993 for membership of the European Union (EU). It became an Associated State of the EU in 1995, an Acceding Country in 2004, and a member on January 1, 2007.

Following the free travel agreement and politic of the post-Cold War period, as well as the hardships of life in the post 1990s economic depression, Romania has an increasingly large diaspora, estimated at over 2 million people. The main emigration targets are Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, UK, and the USA.

A large part of Romania's border with Serbia and Bulgaria is formed by the Danube. The Danube is joined by the Prut River, which forms the border with the Republic of Moldova. The Danube flows into the Black Sea within Romania's territory forming the Danube Delta, the second largest and the best preserved delta in Europe, and a biosphere reserve and a biodiversity World Heritage Site. Other important rivers are the Siret, running north-south through Moldavia, the Olt, running from the oriental Carpathian Mountains to Oltenia, and the Mureş, running through Transylvania from East to West.

Romania's terrain is distributed roughly equally between mountainous, hilly and lowland territories. The Carpathian Mountains dominate the centre of Romania, with fourteen of its mountain ranges reaching above the altitude of 2,000 meters. The highest mountain in Romania is Moldoveanu Peak (2,544 m/8,350 ft). In south-central Romania, the Carpathians sweeten into hills, towards the Bărăgan Plains. Romania's geographical diversity has led to an accompanying diversity of flora and fauna.

A high percentage of natural ecosystems (47% of the land area of the country) are covered with natural and semi-natural ecosystems. Since almost half of all forests in Romania (13% of the country) have been managed for watershed conservation rather than production, Romania has one of the largest areas of undisturbed forest in Europe. The integrity of Romanian forest ecosystems is indicated by the presence of the full range of European forest fauna, including 60% and 40% of all European brown bears and wolves, respectively. There are also almost 400 unique species of mammals (of which Carpathian chamois are best known), birds, reptiles and amphibians in Romania.

There are almost 3,900 sq miles i.e. almost 5% of the total area of Romania, in protected areas. Of these, the Danube Delta Reserve Biosphere is the largest and least damaged wetland complex in Europe, covering a total area of 2,200 sq miles. The significance of the biodiversity of the Danube Delta has been internationally recognised. It was declared a Biosphere Reserve in September 1990, a Ramsar site in May 1991, and over 50% of its area was placed on the World Heritage List in December 1991. Within its boundaries is one of the most extensive reed bed systems in the world. There are two other biosphere reserves: Retezat National Park and Rodna National Park.

Owing to its distance from the open sea and position on the south-eastern portion of the European continent, Romania has a climate that is transitional between temperate and continental with four distinct seasons. The average annual temperature is 11°C in the south and 8 °C in the north. Spring is pleasant with cool mornings and nights and warm days. Summers are generally very warm to hot, with summer (June to August) average maximum temperatures in Bucharest being around 28 °C (82 °F), with temperatures over 35 °C (95 °F) fairly common in the lower-lying areas of the country. Minima in Bucharest and other lower-lying areas are around 16 °C (61 °F), but at higher altitudes both maxima and minima decline considerably. Autumn is dry and cool, with fields and trees producing colourful foliage. Winters can be cold, with average maxima even in lower-lying areas being no more than 2 °C (36 °F) and below −15 °C (5.0 °F) in the highest mountains, where some areas of permafrost occur on the highest peaks.

Precipitation is average with over 750 mm (30 in) per year only on the highest western mountains — much of it falling as snow which allows for an extensive skiing industry. In the south-central parts of the country (around Bucharest) the level of precipitation drops to around 600 mm (24 in), while in the Danube Delta, rainfall levels are very low, and average only around 370 mm.

According to the 2002 census, Romania has a population of 22 million and, similarly to other countries in the region, is expected to gently decline in the coming years as a result of sub-replacement fertility rates. Romanians make up 90% of the population. The largest ethnic minorities are Hungarians, who make up 7% of the population and Roma, or Gypsies, who make up 2.5% of the population.

The official language of Romania is Romanian, an Eastern Romance language related to Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan. Romanian is spoken as a first language by 91% of the population, with Hungarian and Roma, being the most important minority languages, spoken by 6.7% and 1.1% of the population, respectively. Until the 1990s, there was also a substantial number of German-speaking Transylvanian Saxons, although many have since emigrated to Germany, leaving only 45,000 native German speakers in Romania. In localities where a given ethnic minority makes up more than 20% of the population, that minority's language can be used in the public administration and justice system, while native-language education and signage is also provided. English and French are the main foreign languages taught in schools. English is spoken by 5 million Romanians, French is spoken by 4.5 million, and German, Italian and Spanish are each spoken by 1.5 million people.

Romania is a secular state, having no national religion. The dominant religious body is the Romanian Orthodox Church, a church within the Eastern Orthodox communion; its members make up 86% of the population. Other important Christian denominations include Roman Catholicism (5%), Protestantism (4%), Pentecostalism (2%) and the Romanian Greek-Catholic Church (1%).

Bucharest is the capital and the largest city in Romania: its population is over 2 million. The metropolitan area of Bucharest has a population of about 2.2 million.

There are 5 more cities in Romania, with a population of around 300 thousand. These are: Iaşi, Cluj-Napoca, Timişoara, Constanţa, and Craiova. The other cities with populations over 200 thousand are Galaţi, Braşov, Ploieşti, Brăila and Oradea.

Since the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the Romanian education system has been in a continuous process of reformation that has been both praised and criticized. Kindergarten is optional between 3 and 6 years old. Schooling starts at age 7 and is compulsory until the age of 17. Primary and secondary education are divided into grades. Higher education is aligned onto the European higher education area.

Aside from the official schooling system, there exists an informal fully private tutoring system (meditaţii). Tutoring is mostly used during secondary education as a preparation for the various examinations, which are notoriously difficult. Tutoring is wide-spread, and it can be considered a part of the Education System. It has subsisted and even prospered during the Communist regime.

In 2005, some 4.5 million of the population was enrolled in school. Romania is the 34th ranking out of 42 participant countries. Romanian high school curricula have recently been censored and restructured, owing to a growing trend of religious conservatism.

With a GDP of around $250 billion and a GDP per capita (PPP) of $12 thousand estimated for 2008, Romania is an upper-middle income country economy. It has been part of the European Union since January 2007. After the Communist regime was overthrown in late 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 onwards, however, the Romanian economy was transformed into one of relative macroeconomic stability, characterised by high growth, low unemployment and declining inflation. In 2006 GDP growth in real terms was recorded at 7.5%, one of the highest rates in Europe and this is expected to continue through 2008 because of high production forecast for agriculture. Unemployment in Romania averages 4% which is low compared to other middle-sized or large European countries such as Poland, France, Germany and Spain. Foreign debt is also comparatively low, at 20.3% of GDP. Exports have increased substantially in the past few years, with a 25% year-on-year rise in exports. Romania's main exports are clothing and textiles, industrial machinery, electrical and electronic equipment, metallurgic products, raw materials, cars, military equipment, software, pharmaceuticals, fine chemicals, and agricultural products (fruits, vegetables, and flowers). Trade is mostly centred on the member states of the European Union, with Germany and Italy being the country's single largest trading partners. The country, however, maintains a large trade deficit, which increased sharply during 2007. After a series of privatisations and reforms in the late 1990s and early 2000s, government intervention in the Romanian economy is lower than in other European economies. The government replaced Romania's progressive tax system with a flat tax of 16% for both personal income and corporate profit, resulting in the country having the lowest fiscal burden in the European Union, a factor which has contributed to the growth of the private sector. The economy is predominantly based on services, which account for over 50% of GDP, even though industry and agriculture also have significant contributions, making up 35% and 10% of GDP, respectively. Additionally, 32% of the Romanian population is employed in agriculture and primary production, one of the highest rates in Europe. Romania has attracted increasing amounts of foreign investment, becoming the single largest investment destination in South-eastern and Central Europe. Romania currently ranks 49th out of 175 economies for ease of doing business, scoring higher than other countries in the region such as Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic.

Due to its location, Romania is a major crossroad for International economic exchange in Europe. However, because of insufficient investment, maintenance and repair, the transport infrastructure does not meet the current needs of a market economy and lags behind Western Europe. Nevertheless, these conditions are rapidly improving and catching up with the standards of Trans-European transport networks. Several projects have been started with funding from grants from ISPA and several loans from International Financial Institutions (World Bank, IMF, etc.) guaranteed by the state, to upgrade the main road corridors. Also, the Government is actively pursuing new external financing or public-private partnerships to further upgrade the main roads, and especially the country's motorway network.

The railway network in Romania comprises 13,500 miles of track, which would make it the fourth largest railroad network in Europe. The railways carry 5 billion passenger miles in 100 million passenger journeys, and 73 million metric tonnes of freight. The combined total transportation by rail constituted around 45% of all passenger and freight movement in the country.

Bucharest is the only city in Romania which has an underground railway system. The Bucharest Metro was opened in 1979. Now it is one of the most accessed systems of the Bucharest public transport network with an average utilisation of 600,000 passengers during the work week.

Tourism focuses on the country's natural landscapes and its rich history and is a significant contributor to the Romania's economy. Domestic and international tourism generates about 5% of gross domestic product and 6% of the total jobs (about half a million jobs). Tourism is the second largest component of the services sector. Tourism is one of the most dynamic and fastest developing sectors of the economy of Romania and characterized by a huge potential for development. Romania is the fourth fastest growing country in the world in terms of travel and tourism total demand with a annual potential growth of 8%. The number of tourists grew from 5 million in 2002 to 7 million in 2004.

Over recent years, Romania has emerged as a popular tourist destination for many Europeans, thus attempting to compete with Bulgaria, Greece, Italy and Spain. Romanian destinations such as Mangalia, Saturn, Venus, Neptun, Olimp, Constanta and Mamaia (sometimes called the Romanian Riviera) are among the most popular attractions during summer. During winter the skiing resorts along the Valea Prahovei and Poiana Braşov are booming with visitors. Several cities in Transylvania (such as Sibiu, Braşov, Sighişoara, Cluj-Napoca, Târgu Mureş and several others) have become important tourist centres for foreign tourists - especially for their medieval atmosphere and castles. Rural tourism, focused on folklore and traditions, has become a major focus for the authorities recently, who aim to promote such sites as Bran ( Dracula's Castle), the painted churches of Northern Moldavia, the wooden churches of Maramureş, or the Merry Cemetery in Maramureş County. There are several major natural attractions in Romania - such as the Danube Delta, the Iron Gates (Danube Gorge), Scărişoara Cave and several other caves in the Apuseni Mountains - that have not received great attention from the authorities and whose potential has not been fully tapped.

Romania has its unique culture, which is the product of its geography and of its distinct historical evolution. Like Romanians themselves, it is fundamentally defined as the meeting point of three regions: Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans, but cannot be truly included in any of them. The Romanian identity formed on a substratum of mixed Roman and quite possibly Dacian elements, with many other influences. During late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, the major influences came from the Slavic peoples who migrated and settled in nearby Bulgaria, Serbia, Ukraine and eventually Russia; from medieval Greeks and the Byzantine Empire; from a long domination by the Ottoman Empire; from the Hungarians; and from the Germans living in Transylvania. Modern Romanian culture emerged and developed over roughly the last 250 years under strong influence from Western culture, particularly French and German culture.

The first half of the 20th century is regarded by many Romanian scholars as the Golden Age of Romanian culture and it is the period when it reached its main level of international affirmation and a strong connection to the European cultural trends. The most important artist who had a great influence on world culture was the sculptor Constantin Brâncuşi, a central figure of the modern movement and a pioneer of abstraction, the innovator of world sculpture by immersion in the primordial sources of folk creation. His sculptures blend simplicity and sophistication that led the way for modernist sculptors. One of his pieces, "Bird in Space", was sold at auction for $27.5 million in 2005, a record for any sculpture.

Romanian cinema has recently achieved worldwide acclaim with the appearance of such films as The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, directed by Cristi Puiu, (Cannes 2005 winner), and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, directed by Cristian Mungiu (Cannes 2007 Palme d'Or winner).

The Constitution of Romania is based on the Constitution of France's Fifth Republic and was approved in a national referendum on 8 December 1991. A plebiscite held in October 2003 approved 79 amendments to the Constitution, bringing it into conformity with European Union legislation. Romania is governed on the basis of a multi-party democratic system and of the segregation of the legal, executive and judicial powers. The Constitution states that Romania is a semi-presidential democratic republic where executive functions are shared between the president and the prime minister. The President is elected by popular vote for a maximum of two terms, and since the amendments in 2003, the terms are five years. The President appoints the Prime Minister, who in turn appoints the Council of Ministers. While the president resides at Cotroceni Palace, the Prime Minister with the Romanian Government is based at Victoria Palace.

The Palace of the Parliament is the seat of Romania's bicameral parliament. Built in 1984, it is the largest building in Europe and the world's second largest administrative building after the Pentagon and 10% larger by volume than the Great Pyramid of Giza.

The legislative branch of the government, collectively known as the Parliament (Parlamentul României), consists of two chambers – the Senate (Senat), which has 140 members, and the Chamber of Deputies (Camera Deputaţilor), which has 346 members. The members of both chambers are elected every four years under a system of party-list proportional representation.

The justice system is independent of the other branches of government, and is made up of a hierarchical system of courts culminating in the High Court of Cassation and Justice, which is the supreme court of Romania. There are also courts of appeal, county courts and local courts. The Romanian judicial system is strongly influenced by the French model, considering that it is based on civil law and is inquisitorial in nature. The Constitutional Court (Curtea Constituţională) is responsible for judging the compliance of laws and other state regulations to the Romanian Constitution, which is the fundamental law of the country. The constitution, which was introduced in 1991, can only be amended by a public referendum, the last one being in 2003. Since this amendment, the court's decisions cannot be overruled by any majority of parliament.
The country's entry into the European Union in 2007 has been a significant influence on its domestic policy. As part of the process, Romania has instituted reforms including judicial reform, increased judicial cooperation with other member states, and measures to combat corruption. Nevertheless, in a 2006 Brussels report, Romania and Bulgaria were described as the two most corrupt countries in the EU.

Since December 1989, Romania has pursued a policy of strengthening relations with the West in general, more specifically with the United States and the European Union. It joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on March 29, 2004, the European Union (EU) on January 1, 2007, and the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in 1972, and is a member of the World Trade Organization.
The current government has stated its goal of strengthening ties with and helping other Eastern European countries (in particular Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia) with the process of integration with the West. Romania has also made clear over the past 10 years that it supports NATO and EU membership for the democratic former Soviet republics in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus. Romania also declared its public support for Turkey, Croatia and Moldova joining the European Union. With Turkey, Romania shares a privileged economic relationship. Because it has a large Hungarian minority, Romania has also developed strong relations with Hungary - the latter supported Romania's bid to join the EU.

In December 2005, President Traian Băsescu and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed an agreement that would allow a U.S. military presence at several Romanian facilities primarily in the eastern part of the country.

Relations with Moldova are rather special, considering that the two countries practically share the same language, and a fairly common historical background. Signs in the early 1990s that Romania and Moldova might unite after both countries achieved emancipation from communist rule, quickly faded away when a pro-Russian government was formed in Moldova. Romania remains interested in Moldovan affairs, but the two countries have been unable even to reach agreement on a basic bilateral treaty; Romania is insistent (against determined Moldovan resistance) that such a treaty would have to refer to Romania and Moldova's 'special relationship'. Football (soccer) is by far the most popular sport in Romania. The governing body is the Romanian Football Federation, which belongs to UEFA. The top division of the Romanian Professional Football League attracted an average of 5417 spectators per game in the 2006-07 season. At international level, the Romanian National Football Team has taken part 7 times in the Football World Cup, and it had the most successful period throughout the 1990s, when during the 1994 World Cup in the USA, Romania reached the quarter-finals and was ranked 6th by FIFA.

The core player of this "Golden Generation" and perhaps the best known Romanian player internationally is Gheorghe Hagi (nicknamed the Maradona of the Carpathians). Famous currently active players are Adrian Mutu and Cristian Chivu. The most famous football club is Steaua Bucureşti, who in 1986 became the first Eastern European club ever to win the prestigious European Champions Cup title, and were also finalists in 1989. Another successful Romanian team Dinamo Bucureşti played a semi-final in the European Champions Cup in 1984 and a Cup Winners Cup semi-final in the 1990. Other important Romanian football clubs are Rapid Bucureşti, FC Universitatea Craiova and CFR 1907 Cluj-Napoca.

Tennis is the second most popular sport in terms of sportsmen of note. Romania reached the Davis Cup finals three times (1969, 1971, 1972). The tennis player Ilie Năstase won several Grand Slam titles and dozens of other tournaments, and was the first player to be ranked as number 1 by ATP from 1973 to 1974. The Romanian Open has been held in Bucharest every autumn since 1993.

Popular team sports are rugby union (the national rugby team has so far competed at every Rugby World Cup), basketball and handball. Some popular individual sports are: athletics, chess, sport dance, and martial arts and other fighting sports.

Although gymnastics is not very popular within Romania, Romanian gymnasts have had a large number of successes - for which the country became known worldwide. In the 1976 Summer Olympics, the gymnast Nadia Comăneci became the first gymnast ever to score a perfect "ten". She also won three gold medals, one silver and one bronze, all at the age of fifteen. Her success continued in the 1980 Summer Olympics, where she was awarded two gold medals and two silver medals.

Romania participated in the Olympic Games for the first time in 1900 and has taken part in 18 of the 24 summer games. Romania has been one of the more successful countries in the Summer Olympic Games (15th overall) with a total of 283 medals won throughout the years, 82 of which are gold medals. Winter sports have received little investment and thus only a single bronze medal has been won by Romanians in the Winter Olympic Games.

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