Montserrat (2005) | Romania (2002) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter | 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: 23.3% (male 1,109/female 1,072)
15-64 years: 65.6% (male 2,923/female 3,201) 65 years and over: 11.1% (male 536/female 500) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 17.4% (male 1,992,505; female 1,898,122)
15-64 years: 68.8% (male 7,618,801; female 7,726,300) 65 years and over: 13.8% (male 1,274,881; female 1,807,121) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers, livestock products | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; eggs, sheep |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 61 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 25
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 37
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 23 (2002) |
Area | total: 102 sq km
land: 102 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 237,500 sq km
land: 230,340 sq km water: 7,160 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Oregon |
Background | Much of this island was devastated and two-thirds of the population fled abroad because of the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano that began on 18 July 1995. Montserrat has endured volcanic activity since, with the last eruption occurring in July 2003. | Soviet occupation following World War II led to the formation of a Communist "peoples republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of dictator Nicolae CEAUSESCU 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 center-right parties. Currently, the Social Democratic Party forms a nominally minority government, which governs with the support of the opposition Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania. Much economic restructuring remains to be carried out before Romania can achieve its hope of joining the European Union. |
Birth rate | 17.56 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 10.81 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $31.4 million
expenditures: $31.6 million, including capital expenditures of $8.4 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $11.7 billion
expenditures: $12.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | Plymouth (abandoned in 1997 due to volcanic activity; interim government buildings have been built at Brades Estate, in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat) | Bucharest |
Climate | tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation | temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms |
Coastline | 40 km | 225 km |
Constitution | effective 19 December 1989 | 8 December 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Montserrat |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Romania local long form: none local short form: Romania |
Currency | - | leu (ROL) |
Death rate | 7.17 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 12.27 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.9 million (1997) | $11.6 billion (2001 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael GUEST
embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest mailing address: American Embassy Bucharest, Department of State, 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 | none | Romania and Ukraine have yet to resolve claims over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy (Snake) Island and delimitation of Black Sea maritime boundary, despite 1997 bilateral treaty to find a solution in two years and numerous talks; because of a shift in the Danube course since the last correction of the boundary in 1920, a joint Bulgarian-Romanian team will recommend sovereignty changes to several islands and redefine the boundary |
Economic aid - recipient | Country Policy Plan (2001) is a three-year program for spending $122.8 million in British budgetary assistance (2002 est.) | - |
Economy - overview | Severe volcanic activity, which began in July 1995, has put a damper on this small, open economy. A catastrophic eruption in June 1997 closed the airports and seaports, causing further economic and social dislocation. Two-thirds of the 12,000 inhabitants fled the island. Some began to return in 1998, but lack of housing limited the number. The agriculture sector continued to be affected by the lack of suitable land for farming and the destruction of crops. Prospects for the economy depend largely on developments in relation to the volcano and on public sector construction activity. The UK has launched a three-year $122.8 million aid program to help reconstruct the economy. Half of the island is expected to remain uninhabitable for another decade. | Romania, one of the poorest countries of Central and Eastern Europe, began the transition from Communism in 1989 with a largely obsolete industrial base and a pattern of output unsuited to the country's needs. Over the past decade economic restructuring has lagged behind most other countries in the region. Consequently, living standards have continued to fall - real wages are down perhaps 40%. The country emerged in 2000 from a punishing three-year recession thanks to strong demand in EU export markets, and despite the global slowdown in 2001, strong domestic activity in construction, agriculture, and consumption led to 4.8% growth. A standby agreement with the IMF - covering the period October 2001 to March 2003 - provides a key opportunity for vigorous privatization, regulatory reform, deficit reduction, and the curbing of inflation. The government in the past has not been able to fully implement IMF agreements; its degree of success in this case will affect prospects for joining the EU. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.674 million kWh (2002) | 45.677 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 1.4 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 775 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 1.8 million kWh (2002) | 49.787 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 53%
hydro: 37% nuclear: 10% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Chances Peak (in the Soufriere Hills volcanic complex) 914 m |
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Moldoveanu 2,544 m |
Environment - current issues | land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared for cultivation | 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, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol |
Ethnic groups | black, white | 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 | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000)
note: fixed rate since 1976 |
lei per US dollar - 35,052.0 (January 2002), 29,060.8 (2001), 21,708.7 (2000), 15,332.8 (1999), 8,875.6 (1998), 7,167.9 (1997); note - lei is the plural form of leu |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Deborah BARNES-JONES (since 10 May 2004)
head of government: Chief Minister John OSBORNE (since 5 April 2001) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, the chief minister, three other ministers, the attorney general, and the finance secretary elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually becomes chief minister |
chief of state: President Ion ILIESCU (since 20 December 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Adrian NASTASE (since 29 December 2000) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 November 2000, with runoff between the top two candidates held 10 December 2000 (next to be held NA November/December 2004); prime minister appointed by the president election results: percent of vote - Ion ILIESCU 66.84%, Corneliu Vadim TUDOR 33.16% |
Exports | NA | $11.5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | electronic components, plastic bags, apparel, hot peppers, live plants, cattle | textiles and footwear 26%, metals and metal products 15%, machinery and equipment 11%, minerals and fuels 6% (1999) |
Exports - partners | US, Antigua and Barbuda | Italy 22%, Germany 16%, France 7%, Turkey 6%, US (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a woman standing beside a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross | 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 - $152.7 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5.4%
industry: 13.6% services: 81% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 30% services: 55% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,400 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1% (2002 est.) | 4.8% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 45 N, 62 12 W | 46 00 N, 25 00 E |
Geography - note | the island is entirely volcanic in origin and contains seven active volcanoes | controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
Highways | total: 227 km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: volcanic eruptions beginning in 1995 destroyed most of the road system (2003) |
total: 153,359 km
paved: 103,671 km (including 133 km of expressways) unpaved: 49,688 km (1998 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 4%
highest 10%: 23% (1994) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined for the US and Europe | major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and small amounts of Latin American cocaine bound for Western Europe |
Imports | NA | $14.4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials | machinery and equipment 23%, fuels and minerals 12%, chemicals 9%, textile and products 19% (1999) |
Imports - partners | US, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada | Italy 19%, Germany 15%, Russia 9%, France 6% (2000) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from Turkey; independence recognized 13 July 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin; kingdom proclaimed 26 March 1881; republic proclaimed 30 December 1947) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 6.5% (2001) |
Industries | tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances | textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food processing, petroleum refining |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.35 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.55 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
18.88 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.6% (2002 est.) | 34.5% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom, CDB, ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, UPU | ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 38 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 28,800 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia, one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court) | Supreme Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistrates) |
Labor force | 4,521 (lowered by flight of people from volcanic activity) (2000 est.) | 9.9 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% | agriculture 40%, industry 25%, services 35% (1998) |
Land boundaries | 0 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: 20%
permanent crops: 0% other: 80% (2001) |
arable land: 40.57%
permanent crops: 2.4% other: 57.03% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English | Romanian, Hungarian, German |
Legal system | English common law and statutory law | former mixture of civil law system and communist legal theory; is now based on the constitution of France's Fifth Republic |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (11 seats, 9 popularly elected; members serve five-year terms)
note: expanded in 2001 from 7 to 9 elected members with attorney general and financial secretary sitting as ex-officio members elections: last held April 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPLM 7, NPP 2 note: in 2001, the Elections Commission instituted a single constituency/voter-at-large system whereby all eligible voters cast ballots for all nine seats of the Legislative Council |
bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (140 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 (345 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held in the fall of 2004); Chamber of Deputies - last held 26 November 2000 (next to be held in the fall of 2004) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - PDSR 37.1%, PRM 21.0%, PD 7.6%, PNL 7.5%, UDMR 6.9%; seats by party - PDSR 65, PRM 37, PD 13, PNL 13, UDMR 12; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PDSR 36.6%, PRM 19.5%, PD 7.0%, PNL, 6.9%, UDMR 6.8%; seats by party - PDSR 155, PRM 84, PD 31, PNL 30, UDMR 27, ethnic minorities 18 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 78.71 years
male: 76.54 years female: 80.98 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 70.39 years
male: 66.62 years female: 74.39 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 97% male: 98% female: 95% (1992 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 70 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 561,470 GRT/754,836 DWT
ships by type: bulk 11, cargo 47, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, railcar carrier 2, roll on/roll off 4 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Greece 1, Italy 5 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Royal Montserrat Police Force (2005) | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces (AMR), Paramilitary Forces, Civil Defense, Border Guards |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $985 million (2002) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.47% (2002) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 5,906,601 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 4,970,496 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 179,951 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) | Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918) |
Nationality | noun: Montserratian(s)
adjective: Montserratian |
noun: Romanian(s)
adjective: Romanian |
Natural hazards | severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (Soufriere Hills volcano has erupted continuously since 1995) | earthquakes, most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides |
Natural resources | NEGL | petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 2,800 km; petroleum products 1,429 km; natural gas 6,400 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | National Progressive Party or NPP [Reuben T. MEADE]; New People's Liberation Movement or NPLM [John A. OSBORNE] | Democratic Party or PD [Traian BASESCU]; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; National Liberal Party or PNL [Valeriu STOICA]; 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 | NA | various human rights and professional associations |
Population | 9,341
note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; some have returned (July 2005 est.) |
22,317,730 (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 45% (2000) |
Population growth rate | 1.04% (2005 est.) | -0.21% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Plymouth | Braila, Constanta, Galati, Mangalia, Sulina, Tulcea |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 40, FM 202, shortwave 3 (1998) |
Radios | - | 7.2 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total: 11,385 km (3,888 km electrified)
standard gauge: 10,898 km 1.435-m gauge broad gage: 60 km 1.524-m gauge narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations | 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: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.07 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
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 (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern and fully digitalized
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-664 |
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: 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 | NA | 3.777 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 70 (1994) | 645,500 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 48 (plus 392 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | volcanic island, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland | 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 | 1.78 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.35 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (1998 est.) | 9.1% (2001) |
Waterways | - | 1,724 km (1984) |