Geography of Romania

With a surface area of 238,391 km², Romania is the largest country in southeastern Europe and the twelfth-largest in Europe. 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 on Romanian territory, forming the Danube Delta, the largest delta in Europe, which is currently a biosphere reserve and World Heritage-listed site due to its biodiversity. The country's most significant rivers are the Danube, which marks part of the border between Romania and Bulgaria, the Siret, running vertically through Moldavia, the Olt, running from the oriental Carpathian Mountains to Oltenia, the Tisa, marking a part of the border between Romania and Hungary, the Mures,, running through Transylvania from East to West, and the Somes,.

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 peaks reaching above the altitude of 2,000 metres. The highest mountain in Romania is Moldoveanu Peak (2544 m). In south-central Romania, the Carpathians sweeten into hills, towards the Ba(ra(gan Plains. Romania's geographical diversity has led to an accompanying diversity of flora and fauna. The country has the largest brown bear population in Europe, while chamois are also known to live in the Carpathian Mountains, which dominate the centre of Romania.

Romania Road Map

Economy of Romania

With a GDP per capita (PPP) of $9,446[10] in 2006, Romania is considered an upper-middle income economy and will become part of the European Union in 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 and low unemployment. In 2004, GDP growth was 8.4%, one of the highest in Europe, even though this rate was halved in 2005, to 4.1%, mainly due to floods in significant agricultural areas. For the first three quarters of 2006, the year-to-year growth was 7.8%. Unemployment in Romania was at 5.0% in September 2006 which is very 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 24.8% year-on-year rise in exports in the first quarter of 2006. 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, as it imports 37% more goods than it exports.

After a series of privatisations and reforms in the late 1990s and early 2000s, government intervention in the Romanian economy is somewhat lower than in other European economies. In 2005, the liberal-democrat Ta(riceanu 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 one of the lowest fiscal burdens in Europe, a factor which has contributed to the growth of the private sector. The economy is predominantly based on services, which account for 54.9% of GDP, even though industry and agriculture also have significant contributions, making up 35.0% and 10.1% of GDP, respectively. Additionally, 31.6% of the Romanian population is employed in agriculture and primary production, one of the highest rates in Europe.

Since 2000, Romania has attracted increasing amounts of foreign investment, becoming the single largest investment destination in Southeastern and Central Europe. Foreign direct investment was valued at $6.3 billion in 2005. According to a 2006 World Bank report, Romania is currently ranked 49th out of 175 economies in the ease of doing business, scoring higher than other countries in the region such as Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. additionally, the same study judged it to be the world's second-fastest economic reformer in 2006. The average gross wage per month in Romania is 1280 lei as of November 2006, equating to €353.96 (US$468.11) based on international exchange rates and $810.45 based on purchasing power parity