Romania (2001) | Turkmenistan (2004) | |
Administrative divisions | 40 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, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea | 5 provinces (welayatlar, singular - welayat): Ahal Welayaty (Ashgabat), Balkan Welayaty (Balkanabat), Dashoguz Welayaty, Lebap Welayaty (Turkmenabat), Mary Welayaty
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
17.95% (male 2,054,323; female 1,959,196) 15-64 years: 68.51% (male 7,605,751; female 7,715,434) 65 years and over: 13.54% (male 1,255,880; female 1,773,438) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 36.2% (male 904,627; female 857,601)
15-64 years: 59.7% (male 1,423,836; female 1,477,224) 65 years and over: 4.1% (male 76,670; female 123,211) (2004 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; eggs, sheep | cotton, grain; livestock |
Airports | 62 (2000 est.) | 69 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
25 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 (2000 est.) |
total: 24
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 8 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
37 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 23 (2000 est.) |
total: 45
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 36 (2003 est.) |
Area | total:
237,500 sq km land: 230,340 sq km water: 7,160 sq km |
total: 488,100 sq km
land: 488,100 sq km water: negl. |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly larger than California |
Background | 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 President Nicolae CEAUSESCU became increasingly draconian through the 1980s. He was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former communists dominated the government until 1996 when they were swept from power. Much economic restructuring remains to be carried out before Romania can achieve its hope of joining the EU. | Annexed by Russia between 1865 and 1885, Turkmenistan became a Soviet republic in 1924. It achieved its independence upon the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. President NIYAZOV retains absolute control over the country and opposition is not tolerated. Extensive hydrocarbon/natural gas reserves could prove a boon to this underdeveloped country if extraction and delivery projects were to be expanded. The Turkmenistan Government is actively seeking to develop alternative petroleum transportation routes in order to break Russia's pipeline monopoly. |
Birth rate | 10.8 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 27.82 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$11.7 billion expenditures: $12.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
revenues: $3.477 billion
expenditures: $3.908 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.) |
Capital | Bucharest | Ashgabat |
Climate | temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms | subtropical desert |
Coastline | 225 km | 0 km; note - Turkmenistan borders the Caspian Sea (1,768 km) |
Constitution | 8 December 1991 | adopted 18 May 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Romania local long form: none local short form: Romania |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Turkmenistan local long form: none local short form: Turkmenistan former: Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic |
Currency | leu (ROL) | Turkmen manat (TMM) |
Death rate | 12.28 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 8.82 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $9.3 billion (2000 est.) | $2.4 billion to $5 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador James C. ROSAPEPE embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest mailing address: American Embassy Bucharest, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5260 (pouch) telephone: [40] (1) 210 40 42 FAX: [40] (1) 210 03 95 branch office(s): Cluj-Napoca |
chief of mission: Ambassador Tracey A. JACOBSON
embassy: 9 Pushkin (1984) Street, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan 774000 mailing address: 7070 Ashgabat Place, Washington, D.C. 20521-7070 telephone: [9] (9312) 35-00-45 FAX: [9] (9312) 39-26-14 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant) 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Mered Bairamovich ORAZOV
chancery: 2207 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-1500 FAX: [1] (202) 588-0697 |
Disputes - international | none | prolonged regional drought created water-sharing difficulties for Amu Darya river states; Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan reached an agreement on improving water usage along the Amu Darya in 2004; delimitation of Caspian seabed remains unresolved |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $16 million from the US (2001) |
Economy - overview | Romania, one of the poorest countries in 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 over 40%. Corruption too has worsened. The EU ranks Romania last among enlargement candidates, and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) rates Romania's transition progress the region's worst. The country emerged in 2000 from a punishing three-year recession thanks to strong demand in EU export markets. A new government elected in November 2000 promises to promote economic reform. Bucharest hopes to receive financial and technical assistance from international financial institutions and Western governments; negotiations over a new IMF standby agreement are to begin early in 2001. If reform stalls, Romania's ability to borrow from both public and private sources could quickly dry up, leading to another financial crisis. | Turkmenistan is largely desert country with intensive agriculture in irrigated oases and large gas and oil resources. One-half of its irrigated land is planted in cotton, making it at one time the world's tenth-largest producer. Poor harvests in recent years have led to a nearly 46% decline in cotton exports. With an authoritarian ex-Communist regime in power and a tribally based social structure, Turkmenistan has taken a cautious approach to economic reform, hoping to use gas and cotton sales to sustain its inefficient economy. Privatization goals remain limited. In 1998-2003, Turkmenistan suffered from the continued lack of adequate export routes for natural gas and from obligations on extensive short-term external debt. At the same time, however, total exports rose by 38% in 2003, largely because of higher international oil and gas prices. Overall prospects in the near future are discouraging because of widespread internal poverty, the burden of foreign debt, and the unwillingness of the government to adopt market-oriented reforms. However, Turkmenistan's cooperation with the international community in transporting humanitarian aid to Afghanistan may foreshadow a change in the atmosphere for foreign investment, aid, and technological support. Turkmenistan's economic statistics are state secrets, and GDP and other figures are subject to wide margins of error. In particular, the 20% rate of GDP growth is a guess. |
Electricity - consumption | 44.768 billion kWh (1999) | 8.509 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 1.935 billion kWh (1999) | 980 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) | 20 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 49.036 billion kWh (1999) | 10.18 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
53.99% hydro: 36.18% nuclear: 9.81% other: 0.02% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Black Sea 0 m highest point: Moldoveanu 2,544 m |
lowest point: Vpadina Akchanaya -81 m; note - Sarygamysh Koli is a lake in northern Turkmenistan with a water level that fluctuates above and below the elevation of Vpadina Akchanaya (the lake has dropped as low as -110 m)
highest point: Gora Ayribaba 3,139 m |
Environment - current issues | soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta wetlands | contamination of soil and groundwater with agricultural chemicals, pesticides; salination, water-logging of soil due to poor irrigation methods; Caspian Sea pollution; diversion of a large share of the flow of the Amu Darya into irrigation contributes to that river's inability to replenish the Aral Sea; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Romanian 89.5%, Hungarian 7.1%, Roma 1.8%, German 0.5%, Ukrainian 0.3%, other 0.8% (1992) | Turkmen 85%, Uzbek 5%, Russian 4%, other 6% (2003) |
Exchange rates | lei per US dollar - 26,243.0 (January 2001), 21,708.7 (2000), 15,332.8 (1999), 8,875.6 (1998), 7,167.9 (1997), 3,084.2 (1996); note - lei is the plural form of leu | Turkmen manats per US dollar - 5,200 (2003), 5,200 (2002), 5,200 (2001), 5,200 (2000), 5,200 (1999);note - the official exchange rate has not varied for the last six years; the unofficial rate has fluctuated slightly, hovering around 21,000 manats to the dollar |
Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state: President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Saparmurat NIYAZOV (since 27 October 1990, when the first direct presidential election occurred); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet of Ministers appointed by the president note: NIYAZOV's term in office was extended indefinitely on 28 December 1999 during a session of the People's Council (Halk Maslahaty) elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 21 June 1992 (next to be held in 2008 when NIYAZOV turns 70 and is constitutionally ineligible to run); note - President NIYAZOV was unanimously approved as president for life by the People's Council on 28 December 1999; deputy chairmen of the cabinet of ministers are appointed by the president election results: Saparmurat NIYAZOV elected president without opposition; percent of vote - Saparmurat NIYAZOV 99.5% |
Exports | $11.2 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | textiles and footwear 26%, metals and metal products 15%, machinery and equipment 11%, minerals and fuels 6% (1999) | gas 57%, oil 26%, cotton fiber 3%, textiles 2% (2001) |
Exports - partners | Italy 23%, Germany 18%, France 6%, Turkey 5%, US (1999) | Ukraine 39.2%, Italy 18.1%, Iran 14.7%, Turkey 6.5% (2003) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | green field with a vertical red stripe near the hoist side, containing five carpet guls (designs used in producing rugs) stacked above two crossed olive branches similar to the olive branches on the UN flag; a white crescent moon and five white stars appear in the upper corner of the field just to the fly side of the red stripe |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $132.5 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $27.88 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
13.9% industry: 32.6% services: 53.5% (2000) |
agriculture: 24.8%
industry: 46.2% services: 28.9% (2003 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $5,900 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,800 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.2% (2000 est.) | 23.1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 46 00 N, 25 00 E | 40 00 N, 60 00 E |
Geography - note | controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine | landlocked; the western and central low-lying, desolate portions of the country make up the great Garagum (Kara-Kum) desert, which occupies over 80% of the country; eastern part is plateau |
Heliports | 1 (2000 est.) | 1 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total:
153,359 km paved: 103,671 km (including 133 km of expressways) unpaved: 49,688 km (1998 est.) |
total: 24,000 km
paved: 19,488 km unpaved: 4,512 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
3.8% highest 10%: 20.2% (1992) |
lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | important transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and small amounts of Latin American cocaine bound for Western Europe | transit country for Afghan narcotics bound for Russian and Western European markets; transit point for heroin precursor chemicals bound for Afghanistan |
Imports | $11.9 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment 23%, fuels and minerals 12%, chemicals 9%, textile and products 19% (1999) | machinery and equipment 60%, foodstuffs 15% (1999) |
Imports - partners | Italy 20%, Germany 19%, France 7%, Russia 6% (1999) | Russia 21.5%, Ukraine 15.3%, Turkey 9.4%, UAE 7.6%, Germany 4.2%, China 4.2% (2003) |
Independence | 1881 (from Turkey; republic proclaimed 30 December 1947) | 27 October 1991 (from the Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | 8% (2000) | 14% (2003 est.) |
Industries | textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food processing, petroleum refining | natural gas, oil, petroleum products, textiles, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 19.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 73.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 76.9 deaths/1,000 live births female: 69.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 45.7% (2000 est.) | 9.5% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, 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 | AsDB, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECO, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDB, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 38 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 31,020 sq km (1993 est.) | 17,500 sq km (2003 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistrates) | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president) |
Labor force | 9.9 million (1999 est.) | 2.34 million (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 40%, industry 25%, services 35% (1998) | agriculture 48%, industry 15%, services 37% (1998 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
2,508 km border countries: Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km, Yugoslavia 476 km, Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (east) 169 km |
total: 3,736 km
border countries: Afghanistan 744 km, Iran 992 km, Kazakhstan 379 km, Uzbekistan 1,621 km |
Land use | arable land:
41% permanent crops: 3% permanent pastures: 21% forests and woodland: 29% other: 6% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 3.72%
permanent crops: 0.14% other: 96.14% (2001) |
Languages | Romanian, Hungarian, German | Turkmen 72%, Russian 12%, Uzbek 9%, other 7% |
Legal system | former mixture of civil law system and communist legal theory; is now based on the constitution of France's Fifth Republic | based on civil law system |
Legislative branch | 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 |
under the 1992 constitution, there are two parliamentary bodies, a unicameral People's Council or Halk Maslahaty (supreme legislative body of up to 2,500 delegates, some of which are elected by popular vote and some of which are appointed; meets at least yearly) and a unicameral Parliament or Mejlis (50 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: People's Council - last held in April 2003; Mejlis - last held 19 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009) election results: Mejlis - DPT 100%; seats by party - DPT 50; note - all 50 elected officials are members of the Democratic Party of Turkmenistan and are preapproved by President NIYAZOV note: in late 2003, a new law was adopted, reducing the powers of the Mejlis and making the Halk Maslahaty the supreme legislative organ; the Halk Maslahaty can now legally dissolve the Mejlis, and the president is now able to participate in the Mejlis as its supreme leader; the Mejlis can no longer adopt or amend the constitution, or announce referendums or its elections; since the president is both the "Chairman for Life" of the Halk Maslahaty and the supreme leader of the Mejlis, the 2003 law has the effect of making him the sole authority of both the executive and legislative branches of government |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
70.16 years male: 66.36 years female: 74.19 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 61.29 years
male: 57.87 years female: 64.88 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 98% female: 95% (1992 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98% male: 99% female: 97% (1989 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine | Central Asia, bordering the Caspian Sea, between Iran and Kazakhstan |
Map references | Europe | Asia |
Maritime claims | 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:
95 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 695,227 GRT/931,598 DWT ships by type: bulk 10, cargo 71, container 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 4, railcar carrier 2, roll on/roll off 4, specialized tanker 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 6,873 GRT/8,345 DWT
by type: combination ore/oil 1, petroleum tanker 1 registered in other countries: 2 (2004 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Paramilitary Forces, Civil Defense | Ministry of Defense (Army, Air and Air Defense, Navy, Border Troops, and Internal Troops), National Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $720 million (FY00) | $90 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (FY00) | 3.4% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
5,899,536 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,272,436 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
4,962,807 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 1,031,806 (2004 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 20 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
179,951 (2001 est.) |
males: 55,866 (2004 est.) |
National holiday | Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918) | Independence Day, 27 October (1991) |
Nationality | noun:
Romanian(s) adjective: Romanian |
noun: Turkmen(s)
adjective: Turkmen |
Natural hazards | earthquakes most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides | NA |
Natural resources | petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt, arable land, hydropower | petroleum, natural gas, sulfur, salt |
Net migration rate | -0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 2,800 km; petroleum products 1,429 km; natural gas 6,400 km (1992) | gas 6,549 km; oil 1,395 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party or PD [Petre ROMAN]; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; National Liberal Party or PNL [Mircea IONESCU-QUINTUS]; Party of Social Democracy in Romania or PDSR [Adrian NASTASE]; Romania Mare Party (Greater Romanian Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR]; The Democratic Convention or CDR [Ion DIACONESCU] | Democratic Party of Turkmenistan or DPT [Saparmurat NIYAZOV]
note: formal opposition parties are outlawed; unofficial, small opposition movements exist underground or in foreign countries; the two most prominent opposition groups-in-exile have been Gundogar and Erkin; Gundogar was led by former Foreign Minister Boris SHIKHMURADOV until his arrest and imprisonment in the wake of the 25 November 2002 assassination attempt on President NIYAZOV; Erkin is led by former Foreign Minister Abdy KULIEV and is based out of Moscow; the Union of Democratic Forces, a coalition of opposition-in-exile groups, is based in Europe |
Political pressure groups and leaders | various human rights and professional associations | NA |
Population | 22,364,022 (July 2001 est.) | 4,863,169 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 44.5% (2000) | 34.4% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.21% (2001 est.) | 1.81% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Braila, Constanta, Galati, Mangalia, Sulina, Tulcea | Turkmenbasy |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 40, FM 202, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 16, FM 8, shortwave 2 (1998) |
Radios | 7.2 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
11,385 km (3,888 km electrified) standard gauge: 10,898 km narrow gauge: 487 km (1996) |
total: 2,440 km
broad gauge: 2,440 km 1.520-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Romanian Orthodox 70%, Roman Catholic 3%, Uniate Catholic 3%, Protestant 6%, unaffiliated 18% | Muslim 89%, Eastern Orthodox 9%, unknown 2% |
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 (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.62 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 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: 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) |
general assessment: poorly developed
domestic: NA international: country code - 993; linked by cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; a new telephone link from Ashgabat to Iran has been established; a new exchange in Ashgabat switches international traffic through Turkey via Intelsat; satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 Intelsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 3.777 million (1997) | 374,000 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 645,500 (1999) | 52,000 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 48 (plus 392 repeaters) (1995) | 4 (government owned and programmed) (2004) |
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 | flat-to-rolling sandy desert with dunes rising to mountains in the south; low mountains along border with Iran; borders Caspian Sea in west |
Total fertility rate | 1.35 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 3.45 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 11.5% (1999) | NA |
Waterways | 1,724 km (1984) | 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal important inland waterways) (2003) |