About Romania

Official Name: Romania

Location: (Southeastern) Central Europe

Time Zone: Seven hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time (GMT + 2)

Area: 92,043 sq. miles (238,391 sq. km)

Flag of Romania: Three vertical stripes: red, yellow and blue.

Population: 19,350,000 (2012)

Ethnic Groups: Romanian 89%, Hungarian 6.5%, Gipsy 3.2%,
Ukrainian, German, Other 1.3%

Religions: Christian Orthodox 78%, Greek-Catholic 10%,
Roman Catholic 5%, Protestant 5%, Jewish, Unitarian

Official Language: Romanian

Currency: Romanian Leu (RON) ( plural Lei )

Climate: Temperate, four distinct seasons, similar to northeastern USA

Capital: Bucharest (București)

Form of State: Romania is a semi-parliamentary democracy based on a
bicameral Parliament: the Chamber of Representatives and the Senate.
All members of the legislature are directly elected from Romania’s 41 counties.)

Legal system: Based on European models and Constitution of 1991.

Electoral System: Universal direct suffrage over the age of 18.
Parties must win at least five percent of the national vote to gain
representation in the Parliament.

National Elections: December 9, 2012;
next ellections: Fall 2014 (presidential), Fall 2016 (parliamentary)

Head of State: President of the Republic, currently Mr. Traian Basescu
(re-elected on December 6, 2009).
Romania’s president is allowed to serve two consecutive five-year terms.

National Government: The government is led by the Prime Minister,
confirmed by the Parliament on the nomination of the President of Romania.
The present Government is formed by the  “Social-Liberal Union (USL)
a Social-Democratic Party and National-Liberal Party coalition.

Head of the Government: the Prime Minister, currently
Mr. Victor Ponta (Social-Democratic Party).

Main political parties:
Social Democratic Party (PSD), National Liberal Party (PNL), Democratic-Liberal
Party (PD-L), Democratic Union of the Hungarian Minority (UDMR).

Regional Government: Forty-one County Councils (Consiliu Judeţean).

Romania is a member state of the
European Union and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)