Akrotiri (2006) | Romania (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | - | 41 counties (judete, singular - judet) and 1 municipality* (municipiu); Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor, Bistrita-Nasaud, Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti*, Buzau, Calarasi, Caras-Severin, Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dimbovita, Dolj, Galati, Gorj, Giurgiu, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi, Ilfov, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea |
Age structure | - | 0-14 years: 16.2% (male 1,861,801; female 1,770,746)
15-64 years: 69.4% (male 7,712,612; female 7,791,900) 65 years and over: 14.4% (male 1,330,994; female 1,887,498) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | - | wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; eggs, sheep |
Airports | - | 62 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total: 25
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 36
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 24 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 123 sq km
note: includes a salt lake and wetlands |
total: 237,500 sq km
land: 230,340 sq km water: 7,160 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.7 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Oregon |
Background | By terms of the 1960 Treaty of Establishment that created the independent Republic of Cyprus, the UK retained full sovereignty and jurisdiction over two areas of almost 254 square kilometers - Akrotiri and Dhekelia. The southernmost and smallest of these is the Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area, which is also referred to as the Western Sovereign Base Area. | The principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia - for centuries under the suzerainty of the Turkish Ottoman Empire - secured their autonomy in 1856; they united in 1859 and a few years later adopted the new name of Romania. The country gained full independence in 1878. It joined the Allied Powers in World War I and acquired new territories following the conflict. In 1940, it allied with the Axis powers and participated in the 1941 German invasion of the USSR. Three years later, overrun by the Soviets, Romania signed an armistice. The post-war Soviet occupation led to the formation of a Communist "people's republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of dictator Nicolae CEAUSESCU, who took power in 1965, and his Securitate police state became increasingly oppressive and draconian through the 1980s. CEAUSESCU was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former Communists dominated the government until 1996, when they were swept from power by a fractious coalition of centrist parties. In 2000, the center-left Social Democratic Party (PSD) became Romania's leading party, governing with the support of the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR). The opposition center-right alliance formed by the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Democratic Party (PD) scored a surprise victory over the ruling PSD in December 2004 presidential elections. The PNL-PD alliance maintains a parliamentary majority with the support of the UDMR, the Humanist Party (PUR), and various ethnic minority groups. Although Romania completed accession talks with the European Union (EU) in December 2004, it must continue to address rampant corruption - while invigorating lagging economic and democratic reforms - before it can achieve its hope of joining the EU, tentatively set for 2007. Romania joined NATO in March of 2004. |
Birth rate | - | 10.69 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $17.06 billion
expenditures: $18.38 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | name: Episkopi Cantonment; also serves as capital of Dhekelia
geographic coordinates: 34 40 N, 32 51 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 |
Bucharest |
Climate | temperate; Mediterranean with hot, dry summers and cool winters | temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms |
Coastline | 56.3 km | 225 km |
Constitution | Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia Order in Council 1960, effective 16 August 1960 | 8 December 1991; revision came into force 29 October 2003 |
Country name | conventional long form: Akrotiri Sovereign Base Area
conventional short form: Akrotiri |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Romania local long form: none local short form: Romania |
Currency | - | leu (ROL) |
Death rate | - | 11.69 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $18.34 billion (2003 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of UK; administered by an administrator who is also the Commander, British Forces Cyprus | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Jack Dyer CROUCH II
embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest mailing address: American Embassy Bucharest, Department of State, 5260 Bucharest Place, Washington, DC 20521-5260 (pouch) telephone: [40] (21) 210-4042 FAX: [40] (21) 210-0395 branch office(s): Cluj-Napoca |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Sorin Dumitru DUCARU
chancery: 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4748 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York |
Disputes - international | - | has not resolved claims to Ukrainian-administered Zmyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary despite ongoing talks based on 1997 friendship treaty to find a solution in two years; Hungary amended status law extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Romania, who had objected to the law |
Economy - overview | Economic activity is limited to providing services to the military and their families located in Akrotiri. All food and manufactured goods must be imported. | Romania began the transition from Communism in 1989 with a largely obsolete industrial base and a pattern of output unsuited to the country's needs. The country emerged in 2000 from a punishing three-year recession thanks to strong demand in EU export markets. Despite the global slowdown in 2001-02, strong domestic activity in construction, agriculture, and consumption have kept growth above 4%. An IMF standby agreement, signed in 2001, was accompanied by slow but palpable gains in privatization, deficit reduction, and the curbing of inflation. The IMF Board approved Romania's completion of the standby agreement in October 2003, the first time Romania had successfully concluded an IMF agreement since the 1989 revolution. In July 2004, the Executive Board of the IMF approved a 24-month standby arrangement for $367 million. The Romanian authorities do not intend to draw on this arrangement, viewing it as a precaution. Meanwhile, recent macroeconomic gains have done little to address Romania's widespread poverty, and corruption and red tape handicap the business environment. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 46.1 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | - | 1.6 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | - | 400 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | - | 50.86 billion kWh (2001) |
Elevation extremes | - | lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Moldoveanu 2,544 m |
Environment - current issues | shooting around the salt lake; note - breeding place for loggerhead and green turtles; only remaining colony of griffon vultures is on the base | soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta wetlands |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
Ethnic groups | - | Romanian 89.5%, Hungarian 6.6%, Roma 2.5%, Ukrainian 0.3%, German 0.3%, Russian 0.2%, Turkish 0.2%, other 0.4% (2002) |
Exchange rates | - | lei per US dollar - 33,200.1 (2003), 33,055.4 (2002), 29,060.8 (2001), 21,708.7 (2000), 15,332.8 (1999) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952)
head of government: Administrator Air Vice-Marshal Richard LACEY (since 26 April 2006); note - reports to the British Ministry of Defence elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the administrator is appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: President Traian BASESCU (since 20 December 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Calin Popescu TARICEANU (since 29 December 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 2004, with runoff between the top two candidates held 12 December 2004 (next to be held 28 November 2009 and 12 December 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: percent of vote - Traian BASESCU 51.23%, Adrian NASTASE 48.77% |
Exports | - | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | - | textiles and footwear, metals and metal products, machinery and equipment, minerals and fuels, chemicals, agricultural products |
Exports - partners | - | Italy 24.3%, Germany 15.7%, France 7.4%, UK 6.7%, Turkey 5.1% (2003) |
Fiscal year | - | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of the UK is used | three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellow band has been removed; now similar to the flag of Chad, also resembles the flags of Andorra and Moldova |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $155 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 13.1%
industry: 38.1% services: 48.8% (2003) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $7,000 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 4.9% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 34 37 N, 32 58 E | 46 00 N, 25 00 E |
Geography - note | British extraterritorial rights also extended to several small off-post sites scattered across Cyprus | controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine |
Heliports | - | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | - | total: 198,603 km
paved: 98,308 km (including 113 km of expressways) unpaved: 100,295 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%: 3.2%
highest 10%: 25% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | - | major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and small amounts of Latin American cocaine bound for Western Europe; although not a significant financial center, role as a narcotics conduit leaves it vulnerable to laundering which occurs via the banking system, currency exchange houses, and casinos |
Imports | - | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | - | machinery and equipment, fuels and minerals, chemicals, textile and products, basic metals, agricultural products |
Imports - partners | - | Italy 19.6%, Germany 14.9%, Russia 8.3%, France 7.3% (2003) |
Independence | - | 9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from Turkey; independence recognized 13 July 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin; kingdom proclaimed 26 March 1881); 30 December 1947 (republic proclaimed) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 2.3% (2003) |
Industries | - | textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food processing, petroleum refining |
Infant mortality rate | - | total: 27.24 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 30.41 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | - | 15.3% (2003) |
International organization participation | - | ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC |
Irrigated land | - | 28,800 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistrates) |
Labor force | - | 9.28 million (2003 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 41.4%, industry 27.3%, services 31.3% (2000) |
Land boundaries | total: 47.4 km
border countries: Cyprus 47.4 km |
total: 2,508 km
border countries: Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km, Serbia and Montenegro 476 km, Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (east) 169 km |
Land use | - | arable land: 40.82%
permanent crops: 2.25% other: 56.93% (2001) |
Languages | English, Greek | Romanian (official), Hungarian, German |
Legal system | the laws of the UK, where applicable, apply | former mixture of civil law system and communist legal theory; is now based on the constitution of France's Fifth Republic |
Legislative branch | - | bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (137 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Adunarea Deputatilor (332 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 28 November 2004 (next to be held 28 November 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 28 November 2004 (next to be held 28 November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by alliance/party - PSD-PUR 37.1%, PNL-PD 31.8%, PRM 13.6%, UDMR 6.2%; seats by party - PSD 46, PNL 28, PD 21, PRM 21, PUR 11, UMDR 10; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by alliance/party - PSD-PUR 36.6%, PNL-PD 31.3%%, PRM 12.9%, UDMR 6.2%; seats by party - PSD 113, PNL 64, PD 48, PRM 48, UDMR 22, PUR 19, ethnic minorities 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | - | total population: 71.12 years
male: 67.63 years female: 74.82 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.4% male: 99.1% female: 97.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | peninsula on the southwest coast of Cyprus | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine |
Map references | Middle East | Europe |
Maritime claims | - | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation |
Merchant marine | - | total: 45 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 395,350 GRT/510,232 DWT
by type: bulk 7, cargo 26, container 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 4, rail car carrier 2, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: Greece 1, Italy 2 registered in other countries: 39 (2004 est.) |
Military - note | Akrotiri has a full RAF base, Headquarters for British Forces on Cyprus, and Episkopi Support Unit | - |
Military branches | - | Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces (AMR), Civil Defense |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $985 million (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.47% (2002) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 5,952,834 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 5,007,375 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 163,577 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | - | Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918) |
Nationality | - | noun: Romanian(s)
adjective: Romanian |
Natural hazards | - | earthquakes, most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides |
Natural resources | - | petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | - | -0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 3,508 km; oil 2,427 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Democratic Party or PD [Emil BOC]; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; Humanist Party or PUR [Dan VOICULESCU]; National Liberal Party or PNL [Calin Popescu TARICEANU]; Romania Mare Party (Greater Romanian Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Adrian NASTASE], formerly known as the Party of Social Democracy in Romania or PDSR |
Political pressure groups and leaders | - | various human rights and professional associations |
Population | no indigenous inhabitants
note: approximately 1,300 military personnel are on the base; there are another 5,000 British citizens who are families of military personnel or civilian staff on both Akrotiri and Dhekelia; Cyprus citizens work on the base, but do not live there |
22,355,551 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 44.5% (2000) |
Population growth rate | - | -0.11% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Braila, Constanta, Galati, Mangalia, Sulina, Tulcea |
Radio broadcast stations | FM 1
note: British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides Radio 1 and Radio 2 service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) |
AM 40, FM 202, shortwave 3 (1998) |
Railways | - | total: 11,385 km (3,888 km electrified)
standard gauge: 10,898 km 1.435-m gauge broad gauge: 60 km 1.524-m gauge narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | - | Eastern Orthodox (including all sub-denominations) 87%, Protestant 6.8%, Catholic 5.6%, other (mostly Muslim) 0.4%, unaffiliated 0.2% (2002) |
Sex ratio | - | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | - | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | - | general assessment: poor domestic service, but improving
domestic: 90% of telephone network is automatic; trunk network is mostly microwave radio relay, with some fiber-optic cable; about one-third of exchange capacity is digital; roughly 3,300 villages have no service international: country code - 40; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; new digital, international, direct-dial exchanges operate in Bucharest; note - Romania is an active participant in several international telecommunication network projects (1999) |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 4.3 million (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 6.9 million (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) provides multi-channel satellite service to Akrotiri, Dhekelia, and Nicosia (2006) | 48 (plus 392 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | - | central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain of Moldavia on the east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated from the Walachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.35 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | - | 7.2% (2003) |
Waterways | - | 1,731 km (2004) |