About Romania

Romanian Studies at SSEES | Romanian Language | Romania in brief

Romania (România) is a country of around 22m inhabitants, located in south-eastern Europe. Geographically it is very diverse, divided in half by the arc of the Carpathian mountains. Romanians make up around 90% of the population, which also includes large Hungarian and Roma minorities. Romania is firmly on the path of reform to democracy and a market economy and is set to join the European Union in 2007.  

Agriculture continues to play a leading role in Romania's economy, with approximately 40% of the working population employed in the agricultural sector. Romania underwent rapid industrialisation during the Communist period, but much of the Communist era industry was not profitable and went bankrupt in the post-Communist period, either due to economic mismanagement or corruption. In recent years, many of the remaining state industries have been privatised, and the country is attracting increasing amounts of foreign investment. After recession at the end of the 1990s, Romania has been enjoying a period of strong economic growth and is in the process of preparing for EU membership.

Romania emerged as a modern state in the second half of the nineteenth century, after the union of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia and the attainment of independence from the Ottoman Empire. Following World War One, Greater Romania was created by the addition of Transylvania, Banat, Bucovina and Bessarabia, only to lose the latter two provinces to occupation by the Soviet Union in World War Two. The interwar period was a period of relative affluence, but also political turmoil, a slide into dictatorship and the rise of the far right. The end of World War Two also saw the rise of the Communists, who held power until 1989. Nicolae Ceausescu became First Secretary of the Romanian Communist Party in 1965, and eventually turned his regime into a totalitarian state with a cult of personality at its centre. The regime collapsed as a result of a popular uprising in 1989.

The rediscovery of the Latin character of Romanian generated the impetus for the emergence of a modern Romanian national high culture. A modern Romanian literature and arts scene began to emerge in the early part of the nineteenth century, gathering momentum around the drive for independence, and drawing inspiration from Western, particularly French, models, although models based on folk culture played and continue to play a key role. In the latter part of the nineteenth century, eminent figures in many spheres emerged, such as Mihai Eminescu (poetry), Ion Luca Caragiale (drama and prose) and Nicolae Grigorescu (art). A number of writers, artists, musicians and architects who emerged in the interwar period went on to gain international recognition, especially in France, such as Eugen Ionescu, Emil Cioran, Mircea Eliade, Constantin Brancusi and George Enescu. The Communist period saw the imposition of censorship, although some restrictions were removed from the 1960s onwards. The predominant challenge of Romanian culture has been to achieve synchronisation with Western culture, while maintaining national identity.

This page last modified Thursday 16 December 2010.