Western Sahara (2008) | Romania (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | 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: 45.4% (male 88,176/female 85,421)
15-64 years: 52.3% (male 98,345/female 101,895) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 3,705/female 5,075) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 16.9% (male 1,932,204; female 1,838,240)
15-64 years: 69% (male 7,634,481; female 7,739,232) 65 years and over: 14% (male 1,290,343; female 1,837,339) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads); fish | wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; eggs, sheep |
Airports | 9 (2007) | 65 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2007) |
total: 26
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 6
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
total: 39
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 25 (2002) |
Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 237,500 sq km
land: 230,340 sq km water: 7,160 sq km |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly smaller than Oregon |
Background | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. In April 2007, Morocco presented an autonomy plan for the territory to the UN, which the U.S. considers serious and credible. The Polisario also presented a plan to the UN in 2007. Since August 2007, representatives from the Government of Morocco and the Polisario Front have met three times to negotiate the status of Western Sahara, with a fourth round of negotiations planned for March 2008. | 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, 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. Currently, the Social Democratic Party forms a nominally minority government, which governs with the support of the opposition Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania. Bucharest must address rampant corruption, while invigorating lagging economic and democratic reforms, before Romania can achieve its hope of joining the European Union. |
Birth rate | NA 39.95 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.79 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA |
revenues: $11.7 billion
expenditures: $12.4 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999 est.) |
Capital | none
time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Bucharest |
Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 225 km |
Constitution | - | 8 December 1991 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Romania local long form: none local short form: Romania |
Currency | - | leu (ROL) |
Death rate | NA | 12.25 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $13.7 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael E. GUEST
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 | 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 | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved; UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals; several states have extended diplomatic relations to the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic" represented by the Polisario Front in exile in Algeria, while others recognize Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara; most of the approximately 102,000 Sahrawi refugees are sheltered in camps in Tindouf, Algeria | 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; joint boundary commission is rectifying boundary with Bulgaria based on shifts in Danube since last delimitation in 1920; Hungary has yet to amend status law extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Romania, who protest the law |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | - |
Economy - overview | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. Incomes in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. The Moroccan Government controls all trade and other economic activities in Western Sahara. Morocco and the EU signed a four-year agreement in July 2006 allowing European vessels to fish off the coast of Morocco, including the disputed waters off the coast of Western Sahara. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. However, in 2006 the Polisario awarded similar exploration licenses in the disputed territory, which would come into force if Morocco and the Polisario resolve their dispute over Western Sahara. | 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, has been accompanied by slow but palpable gains in privatization, deficit reduction, and the curbing of inflation. Nonetheless, recent macroeconomic gains have done little to address Romania's widespread poverty, while corruption and red tape hinder foreign investment. |
Electricity - consumption | 79.05 million kWh (2005) | 46.1 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 1.6 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2005) | 400 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 85 million kWh (2005) | 50.86 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 62.5%
hydro: 27.6% nuclear: 9.9% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: Black Sea 0 m
highest point: Moldoveanu 2,544 m |
Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta wetlands |
Environment - international agreements | party to: none of the selected agreements
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected 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 | Arab, Berber | 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 | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.2827 (2007), 8.7722 (2006), 8.865 (2005), 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003) | lei per US dollar - 33,055.4 (2002), 29,060.8 (2001), 21,708.7 (2000), 15,332.8 (1999), 8,875.58 (1998) |
Executive branch | none | 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 | 0 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | textiles and footwear, metals and metal products, machinery and equipment, minerals and fuels |
Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) | Italy 24.4%, Germany 15.5%, France 7.7%, UK 5.4%, US 5%, Turkey 4.4% (2002) |
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 |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $169.3 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 40% |
agriculture: 15%
industry: 35% services: 50% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $7,600 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 4.9% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 46 00 N, 25 00 E |
Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine |
Heliports | - | 1 (2002) |
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%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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 |
Imports | 1,698 bbl/day (2004) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | machinery and equipment 23%, fuels and minerals 12%, chemicals 9%, textile and products 19% (1999) |
Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts (2006) | Italy 20.2%, Germany 18.1%, France 6.6%, Russia 5.6%, Austria 4.9%, Hungary 4.1% (2002) |
Independence | - | 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% (2002) |
Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food processing, petroleum refining |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 18.4 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 20.31 deaths/1,000 live births female: 16.37 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 22.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | none | ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, 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), MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 38 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA | 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 | 12,000 | 9.9 million (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 50%
industry and services: 50% |
agriculture 40%, industry 25%, services 35% (1998) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 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: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2005) |
arable land: 40.57%
permanent crops: 2.4% other: 57.03% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | Romanian (official), Hungarian, German |
Legal system | - | 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 (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 (now PSD) 37.1%, PRM 21.0%, PD 7.6%, PNL 7.5%, UDMR 6.9%; seats by party - PSD 65, PRM 36, PNL 13, UDMR 12, PD 9, independents 5; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by party - PDSR (now PSD) 36.6%, PRM 19.5%, PD 7.0%, PNL, 6.9%, UDMR 6.8%; seats by party - PSD 171, PRM 69, PD 29, PNL 27, UDMR 27, ethnic minorities 18, independents 4 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 70.62 years
male: 66.88 years female: 74.59 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98.4% male: 99.1% female: 97.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine |
Map references | Africa | Europe |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | 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: 61 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 494,670 GRT/650,863 DWT
ships by type: bulk 9, cargo 39, container 1, 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 branches | - | 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: 5,912,284 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 4,974,240 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 20 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 157,840 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | - | Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918) |
Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun: Romanian(s)
adjective: Romanian |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility | earthquakes, most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | - | -0.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 3,508 km; oil 2,427 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | - | Democratic Party or PD [Traian BASESCU]; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; National Liberal Party or PNL [Theodor STOLOJAN]; 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 | none | various human rights and professional associations |
Population | 382,617
note: estimate is based on projections by age, sex, fertility, mortality, and migration; fertility and mortality are based on data from neighboring countries (July 2007 est.) |
22,271,839 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 44.5% (2000) |
Population growth rate | NA | -0.21% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Braila, Constanta, Galati, Mangalia, Sulina, Tulcea |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | 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 gage: 60 km 1.524-m gauge narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Muslim | Eastern Orthodox (including all sub-denominations) 87%, Protestant 6.8%, Catholic 5.6%, other (mostly Muslim) 0.4%, unaffiliated 0.2% (2002) |
Sex ratio | NA | 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: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
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 | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 3.777 million (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | 645,500 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 48 (plus 392 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | 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 | NA | 1.36 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 8.3% (2002) |
Waterways | - | 1,724 km (1984) |