Country name:
- conventional long form: none
- conventional short form: Romania
- local long form: none
- local short form: Romania
Government type: republic
Capital:
- name:Bucharest
- geographic coordinates:44 26 N, 26 06 E
- time difference:UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
- daylight saving time:+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Administrative divisions: 41 counties (judete, singular - judet) and 1 municipality* (municipiu); Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor, Bistrita-Nasaud, Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti (Bucharest)*, Buzau, Calarasi, Caras-Severin, Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dambovita, Dolj, Galati, Gorj, Giurgiu, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi, Ilfov, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Valcea, Vrancea
Independence: 9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from the Ottoman Empire; independence recognized on 13 July 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin); 26 March 1881 (kingdom proclaimed); 30 December 1947 (republic proclaimed)
National holiday: Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918)
Constitution: 8 December 1991; revised 29 October 2003
International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
- chief of state:President Traian BASESCU (since 20 December 2004); note - President BASESCU has twice been temporarily suspended since assuming his post: first from 20 April-23 May 2007, second from 6 July-27 August 2012; he survived a national recall referendum on both occasions
- head of government:Prime Minister Victor-Viorel PONTA (since 7 May 2012)
- cabinet:Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister
- elections:president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 22 November 2009 with runoff on 6 December 2009 (next to be held in November-December 2014); prime minister appointed by the president with the consent of the Parliament
- election results:Traian BASESCU reelected president; percent of vote - Traian BASESCU 50.3%, Mircea GEOANA 49.7%
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (176 seats; members elected by popular vote in a mixed electoral system to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Camera Deputatilor (412 seats; members elected by popular vote in a mixed electoral system to serve four-year terms)
- elections:Senate - last held on 9 December 2012 (next by December 2016); Chamber of Deputies - last held on 9 December 2012 (next by December 2016)
- election results:Senate - percent of vote by alliance/party - USL 60.1%, ARD 16.7%, PP-DD 14.6%, UDMR 5.3%, other 3.3%; seats by alliance/party - USL 122, ARD 24, PP-DD 21, UDMR 9; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by alliance/party - USL 58.6%, ARD 16.5%, PP-DD 14%, UDMR 5.2%, ethnic minorities 2.6%, other 3.1%; seats by alliance/party - USL 273, ARD 56, PP-DD 47, UDMR 18, ethnic minorities 18
- highest court(s):High Court of Cassation and Justice (consists of 11 judges); Supreme Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members)
- judge selection and term of office:High Court of Cassation and Justice judges appointed by the president upon nomination by the Superior Council of Magistracy, an 11-member body mostly of judges, prosecutors, and law specialists; judges appointed for 3-year renewable terms; Supreme Constitutional Court members appointed - 6 by Parliament and 3 by the president; members serve 9-year, non-renewable terms
- subordinate courts:Courts of Appeal; regional tribunals; first instance courts; military and arbitration courts
- Christian-Democratic National Peasants' Party or PNT-CD [Aurelian PAVELESCU]
- Civic Force or FC [Mihai-Razvan UNGUREANU]
- Conservative Party or PC [Daniel CONSTANTIN] (formerly Humanist Party or PUR)
- Democratic Liberal Party or PDL [Vasile BLAGA] (formerly Democratic Party)
- Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Hunor KELEMEN]
- National Liberal Party or PNL [Crin ANTONESCU]
- National Union for Romania's Progress or UNPR [Gabriel OPREA]
- People's Party - Dan Diaconescu or PP-DD [Dan DIACONESCU]
- Right Romania Alliance or ARD [Vasile BLAGA, Mihai-Razvan UNGUREANU, and Aurelian PAVELESCU] (a center-right electoral alliance that includes PDL, FC, PNT-CD)
- Social Democratic Party or PSD [Victor-Viorel PONTA] (formerly Party of Social Democracy in Romania or PDSR)
- Social Liberal Union or USL [Victor PONTA and Crin ANTONESCU] (an alliance of the PSD, PNL, UNPR, and PC)
- other:various human rights and professional associations
International organization participation: Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CBSS (observer), CD, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, ESA, EU, FAO, G-9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUSCO, NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Flag description: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; modeled after the flag of France, the colors are those of the principalities of Walachia (red and yellow) and Moldavia (red and blue), which united in 1862 to form Romania; the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellow band has been removed
note:now similar to the flag of Chad, whose blue band is darker; also resembles the flags of Andorra and Moldova
name:"Desteapta-te romane!" (Wake up, Romanian!)
