GENERAL INFO

Dear guests,

There is a lot to say and write about Romania and I can fill this website with so much information that , you, our visitor, may get bored while reading, so, I am thinking that few fact and figure might help you to create an image about the country and in the same time might be useful.

Population: 21,400,000 (2009 mid-year estimate) with 55% urban population and 45% rural population
Ethnic Groups: Romanian 89%, Hungarian 7.5%, Gipsy 1.9%, German, Other 1.6%
Religions: Christian Orthodox 87%, Roman Catholic 5%, Protestant 5%, Jewish
Official Language: Romanian. You will be surprised to notice that most of the youngsters do speak English and some of them French and Italian, Romanian being a latin language as Italian, in this case, if you get lost you always can ask for directions to the tresspassers.
Currency: Romanian Leu (RON) ; 1 Euro = 4.12 Ron and 1 Dollar = 2.9 Ron on January 26,2010.
You may exchange money in banks and in any of the numerous exchange offices. Some of those offices are opened during the holidays. Payment for any kind of services can be done only in Lei.
Climate: Temperate, four distinct seasons, similar to northeastern USA. The summers became very hot, around 104 Fahrenheit and the winters colder, around 68 Fahrenheit, so, the best time for travelling is April to November.
Capital: Bucharest (Bucuresti) . Other major cities in terms of population: Iasi, Cluj, Timisoara, Constanta.
Administrative divisions: 41 counties ( judet ) including Bucharest. More representative from the touristical point of view are the 6 historical regions: Transylvania, Banat and Crisana, Moldova and Bucovina, Dobrogea, Maramures and Walachia.
Government: Romania has a bicameral Parliament: the Chamber of the Representatives and the Senate, members are elected from the Romania's 41 counties. The head of state is the President elected every five years.
NATO member since 2004 and UE member since 2007.
Economy: After 12 years of capitalism , it cannot be stated that Romania has a strong economy,although in 1930 it was used to be called the “Europe's bread basket” due to its huge exports of wheat, corn, fruits and meat. There is a long and struggling process in turning Romania into a market economy with a great potential in agriculture :39.2% arable land, 21% pastures, hayfields, orchards and 2.5% vineyards.
Transport: railway, air, automobile, water. For more details see our Transportation section.

International automobile sign: RO
International telephone code: +4 + the national county code. For Bucharest is 021.
Time zone: GMT ( London ) + 2 hours
Electricity: 220 V, 50 Hz ( so, you may need a convertor )
Entrance in the country: Most of the foreign citizens entering Romania don’t need visa but they must carry their valid international passport. The list of the countries which citizens need visa, when entering Romania, can be found at http://www.mae.ro
Credit cards: Can be used for payment almost everywhere . Valid: Visa, Master Card and sometimes American Express.