or Rumania
Country, southeastern Europe.
Area: 91,699 sq mi (237,500 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 21,667,000. Capital: Bucharest . Most of the people are Romanian, with Hungarians a minority. Language: Romanian (official). Religion: Romanian Orthodoxy. Currency: leu. The land is dominated by the great arc of the Carpathian Mountains , whose highest peak, Moldoveanu, is 8,346 ft (2,544 m) tall. The Danube River forms the southern boundary with Bulgaria. Under communist rule (1948–89), Romania had a centrally planned economy that was transformed from an agricultural into an industrial economy. From 1991 the postcommunist government began returning industrial and commercial enterprises to the private sector. Romania is a republic with two legislative houses; its chief of state is the president, and the head of government is the prime minister. Romania was formed in 1862 by the unification of Moldavia and Walachia (for the earlier history, see Dacia ). During World War I, it sided with the Allies and doubled its territory in 1918 with the addition of Transylvania , Bukovina , and Bessarabia . Allied with Germany in World War II, it was occupied by Soviet troops in 1944 and became a satellite country of the U.S.S.R. in 1948. During the 1960s Romania's foreign policy was frequently independent of the Soviet Union's. The communist regime of Nicolae Ceauşescu was overthrown in 1989, and free elections were held in 1990. In the 1990s Romania struggled with rampant corruption and organized crime but entered the 21st century with a stable economy.