Romania

ABOUT Romania

Country Briefs: Bordered by Ukraine and Moldova in the northeast, Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro in the west and Bulgaria in the south, Romania is a beautiful European country.

The vast area of 238,391 square kilometers that Romania covers is not just about the charismatic scenic splendor but also about grand castles, medieval towns, incredible wildlife, skiing and other such attractions.

Demographically speaking Romania's population is 22,329,977 approximately, out of which around 2.3 million people reside in its capital and largest city Bucharest. Apart from being a famous vacation destination, Bucharest is also the industrial and commercial hub of Romania.

However thousands of years ago in first century BC the present day Romania was the state of Dacia that was settled by the Dacian and other Thracian tribes. In 106 the Roman Empire conquered Dacia after which the area came under the control of the Goths in 271.

The Gepides, the Huns, the Assyria, the Kumans and the Pechenegians followed the Goths variously. The Slavic tribes conquered the region in 6th century BC and the Hungarians invaded it in 9th century.

During the 13th and 14th century the Vlachian principalities of Wallachia was founded by the Basarab I and Moldavia by Dragos. In the Middle Ages the Romanians were scattered in three different principalities, Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania.

In 11th century the Hungarians captured Transylvania. The 1526 Battle of Mohacs led to Transylvania becoming a multi-ethnic principality under the rule of the Ottomans. However at the end of the 18th century the Austrian Habsburgs incorporated Transylvania.

In 1859 the principalities of Moldovia and Wallachia were united to form the state of Romania. After the Russo-Turkish War, the Treaty of Berlin led to the recognition of Romania as an independent state by the Great Powers.

During the First World War in order to acquire Transylvania Romania fought for the Triple Entente. The war concluded with the collapse of the Austria-Hungary and the Russian empire and with the unification of Bessarabia, Bukovina and the Transylvania under the Kingdom of Romania in 1918. Further the 1920 Treaty of Trianon sanctioned the union of Transylvania with Romania.

During the Second World War soviet union captured most of Romania. But as Romania entered into an alliance with the nazi Germany, Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria and fought against soviet union, it managed to acquire some of its lost territories.

In 1944 Romania came along with the Red Army to fight against Nazi Germany. However Romania?s contribution in this was only virtually recognized.

 

Till 1958 Romania served as a communist state under the control of USSR. These years are reckoned as "dark" for during this time Romania faced not only loss of wealth but also the population of the country suffered to a great extent.

In 1958 the soviet troops were made to retreat by Romanian population. The country then formed its independent policies and worked upon its economy and status.

On 22nd December 1989 the communist dictatorship ended in the country. On 12th December 2004 Traian Basescu was elected the president of Romania. After Cold War ended in 1989 Romania built up good relations with Western Europe. In 2004 Romania joined NATO.

Romania Counties
County HASC FIPS Population Area(km.²) Area(mi.²) Capital
Alba RO.AB RO01 382,747 6,242 2,410 Alba Iulia
Arad RO.AR RO02 461,791 7,754 2,994 Arad
Argeș RO.AG RO03 652,625 6,826 2,636 Pitești
Bacău RO.BC RO04 706,623 6,621 2,556 Bacău
Bihor RO.BH RO05 600,246 7,544 2,913 Oradea
Bistrița-Năsăud RO.BN RO06 311,657 5,355 2,068 Bistrița
Botoșani RO.BT RO07 452,834 4,986 1,925 Botoșani
Brăila RO.BR RO08 373,174 4,766 1,840 Brăila
Brașov RO.BV RO09 589,028 5,363 2,071 Brașov
Bucharest RO.BI RO10 1,926,334 238 92 Bucharest
Buzău RO.BZ RO11 496,214 6,103 2,356 Buzău
Călărași RO.CL RO41 324,617 5,088 1,964 Călărași
Caraș-Severin RO.CS RO12 333,219 8,520 3,290 Reșița
Cluj RO.CJ RO13 702,755 6,674 2,577 Cluj-Napoca
Constanța RO.CT RO14 715,151 7,071 2,730 Constanța
Covasna RO.CV RO15 222,449 3,710 1,432 Sfântu Gheorghe
Dâmbovița RO.DB RO16 541,763 4,054 1,565 Târgoviște
Dolj RO.DJ RO17 734,231 7,414 2,863 Craiova
Galați RO.GL RO18 619,556 4,466 1,724 Galați
Giurgiu RO.GR RO42 297,859 3,526 1,361 Giurgiu
Gorj RO.GJ RO19 387,308 5,602 2,163 Târgu Jiu
Harghita RO.HR RO20 326,222 6,639 2,563 Miercurea-Ciuc
Hunedoara RO.HD RO21 485,712 7,063 2,727 Deva
Ialomița RO.IL RO22 296,572 4,453 1,719 Slobozia
Iași RO.IS RO23 816,910 5,476 2,114 Iași
Ilfov RO.IF RO43 300,123 1,583 611 Bucharest
Maramureș RO.MM RO25 510,110 6,304 2,434 Baia Mare
Mehedinți RO.MH RO26 306,732 4,933 1,905 Drobeta-Turnu Severin
Mureș RO.MS RO27 580,851 6,714 2,592 Târgu Mureș
Neamț RO.NT RO28 554,516 5,896 2,276 Piatra-Neamț
Olt RO.OT RO29 489,274 5,498 2,123 Slatina
Prahova RO.PH RO30 829,945 4,716 1,821 Ploiești
Sălaj RO.SJ RO31 248,015 3,864 1,492 Zalău
Satu Mare RO.SM RO32 367,281 4,418 1,706 Satu Mare
Sibiu RO.SB RO33 421,724 5,432 2,097 Sibiu
Suceava RO.SV RO34 688,435 8,553 3,302 Suceava
Teleorman RO.TR RO35 436,025 5,790 2,236 Alexandria
Timiș RO.TM RO36 677,926 8,697 3,358 Timișoara
Tulcea RO.TL RO37 256,492 8,499 3,281 Tulcea
Vâlcea RO.VL RO39 413,247 5,765 2,226 Râmnicu Vâlcea
Vaslui RO.VS RO38 455,049 5,318 2,053 Vaslui
Vrancea RO.VN RO40 387,632 4,857 1,875 Focșani
42 divisions 21,680,974 238,391 92,041  
  • County: except Bucharest, which is a city.
  • HASC: Hierarchical administrative subdivision codes.
  • FIPS: Codes from FIPS PUB 10-4.
  • Population: 2002-03-18 census.
  • Area: Source is Romanian Statistical Yearbook 2001.
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