Romania - Ion Iliescu

Romania - Ion Iliescu

Ion Iliescu
President

(pronounced "ee-AHN ee-lee-YEH-skew")

"The main arguments [in favor of economic reform] are the facts. And people should see that all these measures—the privatizations, the improvement of the administration, the legislation, the measures for the modernization of the economy, the promotion of new technologies—are beneficial to them…No words are necessary now but acts."

Romania lies in southeastern Europe. Its geography is influenced by the Carpathian Mountains and the Danube River. It comprises an area of 237,500 sq km (91,699 sq mi) and is bounded by Ukraine to the north, Moldova to the northeast, the Black Sea to the east, Bulgaria to the south, Serbia to the southwest, and Hungary to the northwest. Its population was estimated at 22.3 million in 2002. About 90% of the population is Romanian, 7% are Hungarian, and 2% are Roma. Romanian Orthodox is the dominant religion, being the professed faith of 70% of the population; 6% are Protestant, 3.5% are Uniate Catholic, and 3% are Roman Catholic. About 90% of the people speak Romanian (a Latin-based language); 7.1% speak Hungarian; and 3.4% speak other languages.

Romania's per capita gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at US$6,800 in 2001. The country's currency is the leu.

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