|
Background:
|
Soviet occupation
following World War II led to the formation of a Communist
"peoples republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The
decades-long rule of dictator Nicolae CEAUSESCU 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 by a
fractious coalition of center-right parties. Currently, the
Social Democratic Party forms a nominally minority government,
which governs with the support of the opposition Democratic
Union of Hungarians in Romania. Much economic restructuring
remains to be carried out before Romania can achieve its hope of
joining the European Union. |
|
Location:
|
Southeastern
Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine
|
|
Nationality:
|
noun:
Romanian(s)
adjective: Romanian |
|
Ethnic groups:
|
Romanian 89.5%,
Hungarian 6.6%, Roma 2.5%, Ukrainian 0.3%, German 0.3%, Russian
0.2%, Turkish 0.2%, other 0.4% (2002) |
|
Religions:
|
Eastern Orthodox
(including all sub-denominations) 87%, Protestant 6.8%, Catholic
5.6%, other (mostly Muslim) 0.4%, unaffiliated 0.2% (2002) |
|
Languages:
|
Romanian,
Hungarian, German |
|
Currency:
|
leu (ROL) |
|
Currency code:
|
ROL |
|
Exchange rates:
|
lei per US dollar
- 35,052.0 (January 2002), 29,060.8 (2001), 21,708.7 (2000),
15,332.8 (1999), 8,875.6 (1998), 7,167.9 (1997); note - lei is
the plural form of leu |
|
English
Italiano 
Deutsch
Español
Français 