Kingdom of Romania
Kingdom of Romania Regatul României | |
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Motto: Nihil Sine Deo ("Nothing without God") | |
Anthem: Trăiască Regina ("Long live the Queen") | |
Capital and largest city | Bucharest |
Official language and national language | |
Regional and minority languages | |
Ethnic groups (2010) |
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Religion (2010) |
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Demonym(s) | Romanian |
Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• Monarch | Margareta I |
Dacian Cioloș | |
Legislature | Parliament |
Establishment history | |
1330 | |
1346 | |
24 January 1859 | |
• De jure Independence from the Ottoman Empire | 9 May 1877/1878 |
1 December 1918/1921 | |
10 May 1950 | |
Area | |
• Total | 287,483 km2 (110,998 sq mi) |
Population | |
• 2020 estimate | ▲32,055,197 |
• 2010 census | 31,230,973 |
• Density | 111.5/km2 (288.8/sq mi) |
GDP (PPP) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | ▲$1.648 trillion |
• Per capita | ▲$51.428 |
GDP (nominal) | 2020 estimate |
• Total | ▲$1.322 trillion |
• Per capita | ▲$41.263 |
HDI (2019) | ▲ 0.920 very high |
Currency | Romanian Leu (ROL) |
Time zone | UTC+2 (EET) |
Date format | dd/mm/yyyy yyyy-mm-dd (AD) |
Driving side | right |
Calling code | +40 |
ISO 3166 code | RO |
Internet TLD | .ro |
The Kingdom of Romania (Romanian: Regatul României), commonly known as Romania (Romanian: România), is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, the USSR to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Yugoslavia to the southwest, and the Black Sea to the southeast. The total area of the Kingdom of Romania is 287,483 km2 (110,998 sq m), with an estimated 2020 population of over 32 million people.
Europe's second-longest river, the Danube, rises in Germany's Black Forest and flows southeasterly for 2,857 km (1,775 mi), before emptying into Romania's Danube Delta. The Carpathian Mountains cross Romania from the north to the southwest and include Moldoveanu Peak, at an altitude of 2,544 m (8,346 ft).
Settlement in what is now Romania began in the Lower Paleolithic followed by written records attesting the kingdom of Dacia, its conquest, and subsequent Romanisation by the Roman Empire during late antiquity. The modern Romanian state was formed in 1859 through a personal union of the Danubian Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia. The new state, officially named Romania since 1866, gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877. During World War I, after declaring its neutrality in 1914, Romania fought together with the Allied Powers from 1916. In the aftermath of the war, Bukovina, Bessarabia, Transylvania, and parts of Banat, Crișana, and Maramureș became part of the Kingdom of Romania. In June-August 1940, as a consequence of its deteriorating diplomatic situation, Romania was compelled to cede Northern Transylvania to Hungary and parts of Bessarabia, and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union. In November 1940, Romania signed the Tripartite Pact and, consequently, in June 1941 entered World War II on the Axis side, fighting against the Soviet Union until September 1945, when it surrendered to the Allied powers and then became a co-belligerent of the Allies while recovering Northern Transylvania.
Romania largely remained an agrarian country until the 1950s. After World War II, it rapidly industrialized and developed an advanced economy, while adopting a new constitution that enshrined democratic principles; the country soon enjoyed widespread prosperity and a high per capita income. Described as a regional power within the Balkans, Romania is a founding member of the Entente Economic Concord, ECTO and the League of Nations. It is also a member of Intermarium and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Romania peforms highly on several international metrics, including education, civil liberties, quality of life and human development.