Romania

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
People
- Ethnic groups
- Languages
- Religion
- Settlement patterns
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
- Resources and power
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Trade
- Services
- Labor and taxation
- Transportation and telecommunications
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Local government
- Justice
- Political process
- Security
- Health and welfare
- Housing
- Education
Cultural life
- Cultural milieu
- Daily life and social customs
- The arts
- Cultural institutions
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- Antiquity
  - The Dacians
  - The Slavs
  - Romanians and Hungarians
- The Middle Ages
  - Between Turkey and Austria
  - Society in Walachia and Moldavia
  - Romanians in Transylvania
- Nation building
  - The growing role of Russia
  - Independence
  - Romanian society: between tradition and modernity
- Greater Romania
  - New lands and peoples
  - From democracy to dictatorship
  - Shifts in society and economy
  - World War II
- Communist Romania
  - The seizure of power
  - Imposition of the Soviet model
  - National communism
- Collapse of communism
  - The revolution of 1989
  - New constitution

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

Map of Romania showing national boundaries, major cities, rivers, and neighboring countries including Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Moldova. The map includes a small locator inset highlighting Romania's position in southeastern Europe.

Panoramic view of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, showing historic buildings with red-tiled roofs, church towers, and a busy street with cars and buses in the foreground.

Map highlighting Romania in southeastern Europe, bordered by Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary. The capital city, Bucharest, is marked, and the country's eastern border runs along the Black Sea. Neighboring countries are labeled for geographic context.

Physical map of Romania displaying major mountain ranges such as the Carpathians and Transylvanian Alps, plains including the Wallachian and Danubian plains, and significant rivers like the Danube. Neighboring countries-Hungary, Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, and Serbia-are shown, and a small inset locator map highlights Romania's position in Europe.

A wide river winds through a green valley with forested hills and mountains on both sides, small villages and farmland along the banks, and a dam visible in the distance.

Romania: Ethnic composition

Romania: Religious affiliation

At a Glance

default image

Romania summary

Romania: Media

country, Europe

Videos

Exploring Romania's underground Movile Cave ecosystem

Exploring Romania's underground Movile Cave ecosystem

Explore the Movile Cave of Romania and learn about its unique ecosystem.

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

Images

Romania

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Map of Romania showing national boundaries, major cities, rivers, and neighboring countries including Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Moldova. The map includes a small locator inset highlighting Romania's position in southeastern Europe.

Romania

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Panoramic view of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, showing historic buildings with red-tiled roofs, church towers, and a busy street with cars and buses in the foreground.

Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Historic buildings in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

© Ungureanu Vadim/Dreamstime.com

Map highlighting Romania in southeastern Europe, bordered by Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, Serbia, and Hungary. The capital city, Bucharest, is marked, and the country's eastern border runs along the Black Sea. Neighboring countries are labeled for geographic context.

Romania

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Physical map of Romania displaying major mountain ranges such as the Carpathians and Transylvanian Alps, plains including the Wallachian and Danubian plains, and significant rivers like the Danube. Neighboring countries-Hungary, Ukraine, Moldova, Bulgaria, and Serbia-are shown, and a small inset locator map highlights Romania's position in Europe.

Romania

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Kazan Gorge

Kazan Gorge

Kazan Gorge, cut by the Danube River, on the border of Serbia (left) and Romania...

Thomas M. Poulsen

A wide river winds through a green valley with forested hills and mountains on both sides, small villages and farmland along the banks, and a dam visible in the distance.

Olt River

Olt River, flowing through the Făgăraș Mountains, central Romania.

© Calin Stan/Dreamstime.com

Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Church of St. Michael, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

© Anton Ivanov Photo/stock.adobe.com

Sibiu, Romania

Sibiu, Romania

Cobbled alley in the old section of Sibiu, Romania.

William Gelman/Black Star

People walk along Lipscani street in Bucharest's old town, surrounded by outdoor cafes, restaurants, and historic buildings on a sunny day.

Bucharest

Bucharest, Romania.

© LordRunar—iStock/Getty Images

Transylvanian Alps

Transylvanian Alps

Hoeing potatoes near Cugir, in the foothills of the Transylvanian Alps of Romania.

William Gelman/Black Star

A medieval castle-museum stands on a green hill near Petrosani, Romania, with a sprawling coal-based industrial complex emitting smoke in the background.

Hunedoara, Romania

Coal-based manufacture behind a medieval castle-museum in Hunedoara, west-central...

Earl Dibble/Photo Researchers

Romanian folk dancers

Romanian folk dancers

Romanian folk dancers performing at a folk festival.

© Ioan Florin Cnejevici/iStock.com

Trajan's campaign in Dacia

Trajan's campaign in Dacia

Sarmatian and Roman cavalry at battle during Trajan's campaign in Dacia, relief from...

Gun Powder Ma

United Romanian principalities after 1859

United Romanian principalities after 1859

The united Romanian principalities after 1859.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Greater Romania

Greater Romania

Greater Romania after World War I.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Iuliu Maniu

Iuliu Maniu

Iuliu Maniu.

German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), Bild 183-2000-0518-507

Carol II

Carol II

Carol II.

Bain News Service Photograph Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (2014714549)

Ion Antonescu,

Ion Antonescu,

Ion Antonescu (right) with Joachim von Ribbentrop, 1943.

German Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv), Bild 183-B23201; photograph, Laux

Michael

Michael

Michael.

© Universal History Archive—Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Romania after World War II

Romania after World War II

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Nicolae Ceausescu, wearing a light gray suit and striped tie, sits outdoors near a garden with red flowers at his villa near Bucharest, Romania.

Nicolae Ceaușescu

Nicolae Ceaușescu.

© Peter Turnley—Corbis/Getty Images

A line of people holding hands forms a human chain in front of the illuminated Romanian Parliament building in Bucharest during a nighttime protest.

Romania

Demonstrators forming a human chain around the Palace of the Parliament in Bucharest,...

Daniel Mihailescu—AFP/Getty Images

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in a suit and red tie walks past an honor guard during a presidential handover ceremony at Cotroceni Presidential Palace in Bucharest.

Klaus Iohannis

Klaus Iohannis walking past an honor guard at his presidential inaugural ceremony...

© Daniel Mihailescu—AFP/Getty Images

View over the red-tiled rooftops of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, with a large historic church and spire in the center and green hills in the background.

The capital of Cluj judet

Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

© Abdelmoumen Taoutaou/ Dreamstime.com

Edge of a dense forest in Romania where clear cutting has removed most trees, leaving a bare, brown slope beside standing green trees.

Deforestation

A section of clear-cut forest in Romania.

© Ionescu Bogdan/stock.adobe.com

Map of Europe color-coded to show the expansion of the European Union by year of joining, distinguishing original 1993 members, later additions in 1995, 2004, 2007, and 2013, as well as candidate countries and the United Kingdom as a former member. Country names are labeled within their borders.

European Union

Map of Europe with European Union member states.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Romania

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Romania

Romania

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Audio

National anthem of Romania

The instrumental version of the national anthem of Romania.

Interactives

Romania: Ethnic composition

Romania: Ethnic composition

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Romania: Religious affiliation

Romania: Religious affiliation

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Romania: Urban-rural

Romania: Urban-rural

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Romania: Age breakdown

Romania: Age breakdown

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Romania: Major import sources

Romania: Major import sources

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Romania: Major export destinations

Romania: Major export destinations

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

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