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	Welcome to Romania   Romania - Short Profile Advantages for foreign partners  a large domestic market of 23 million consumers, the second among the Central European countries;  a strategic geographical position at the cross-roads of traditional commercial routes, which frees the access to a larger market of more than 200 million customers;  various maritime and river navigation facilities: Constantza is the largest port at the Black Sea, while the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal allows the straight water access from the Black Sea to the North Sea, thus shortenning  the distance between Middle East countries and Central European ones (Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia) by more than 5 days. Constantza is also the largest free zone existing in Romania;  a wide range of natural resources, including  fertile agricultural land and tourism potential;  a diversified industrial structure ranging from mining and machine building to consumer goods;  a skilled labour force, well trained in engineering and technology, at relatively low wages;  a new and friendly legal framework providing incentives for foreign investors and partners;  a relatively low foreign debt as compared to other East European countries.  General Data LOCATION: Romania is situated in the South-East of Central  Europe, between  43o37'07" and  48o15'06" Latitude North and  20o15'44" and 29o41'24" Longitude East. The 45th parallel of Latitude North (midway between the Equator and the North Pole) crosses Romania 70 km north of its capital and meridian 25' Longitude East (midway between the Atlantic coast and the Urals) runs 90 km west of Bucharest.  The Danube forms the southern boundary of the country terminating in the Delta on the Black Sea.  Countries sharing borders with Romania are: Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Republic of Moldavia and Ukraine.  AREA: 237,5 sq. km (roughly 91,800 sq. miles) Romania is a medium-sized country, the 12th largest nation in Europe  CAPITAL: City Bucharest POPULATION: 22,520,000 (December 31, 1997)  CLIMATE:  The climate is temperate continental, characteristic of Central Europe (hot summer, cold winters, very distinct seasons, abundant snowfalls, especially in the mountains). Warmest areas are in the south.  STANDARD TIME: East European zone time (GMT + 2 hours).  OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: Romanian (Latin origin).  FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Republic  NATIONAL FLAG:  Three equal vertical stripes - red, yellow, and blue (next to the staff).  NATIONAL DAY: 1 December (anniversary of the 1918 union of all Romanians into one single state).  LEGAL HOLIDAYS (since 1990): January 1 and 2, Easter Monday, May Day, December 1, December 25 and 26  CURRENCY: 1 leu (plural - lei).  ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION: 41 counties; Bucharest Municipality.  AIRPORTS: 15 airports: Bucharest, Constanta-Mihail Kogalniceanu, Arad, Timisoara (all for international traffic as well), Bacau, Baia Mare, Caransebes, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, Oradea, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Targu Mures, Tulcea.  PORTS: On the Black Sea - Constanta (can take ships over 150,000 dwt), Mangalia and Sulina (free port). On the Danube - Orsova, Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Turnu Magurele, Giurgiu, Oltenita, Calarasi, Cernavoda, Braila, Galati, Tulcea (the last three are both river and sea ports). In 1984 the Danube - Black Sea Canal (64.2 km long) between Cernavoda and Agigea - Constanta was opened to traffic. Following the inauguration in 1992 of the Rhine-Main-Danube Canal it facilitates a direct connection with the North Sea. It is navigable for river and seagoing ships of up to 5,000 dwt.  ROADS: 72,800km long public roads  BUCHAREST MUNICIPALITY SHORT HISTORY: The city dates from 14th century and is recorded in writing for the first time in 1459 as residence of Prince Vlad Tepes (Vlad the Impaler, known as Dracula). Capital of Wallachia in the 17th-19th centuries, then of Romania since 1862.  LOCATION: South of Romania, 64 km north of Danube and 250 from the Black Sea, in the Romanian Plain, at an altitude of 70-90 m, on the rivers Dambovita and Colentina.  POPULATION: over 2 million inhabitants  AREA: 228 sq. km  ADMINISTRATION: six districts  PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: surface - power driven transport means: trolley buses and tramways; motorvehicles: buses, max-cabs, cabs: underground-subway: 120 km long onetrack railways.  REGISTERED COMPANIES: by February 1998 143,692 business were registered in Bucharest out of total of 681,761 country-wide. Of the total companies in Bucharest 136,512 (95 per cent) are limited liability companies (SRL) and 4,158 are joint-stock companies (SA). Private owned companies amount to 140,563 (98.9 per cent).  Natural Resources Romania is endowed with a wide range of natural resources, amongst which a fertile agricultural base, oil (in 1938 it was the second biggest producer in Europe and the seventh in the world), methane gas (the fifth biggest world producer in 1975), large deposits of coal and lignite, as well as mineral deposits, out of which: power resources (coal, oil, natural gas), salt, copper, limestone, kaolin sands, siliceous sands, quartz, molybdenum, manganese, iron, graphite mica, etc. Farmland accounts for 40% of the country's territory, forests represent 28%, while pastures and hayfields 29%.  Touristic Resources Romania enjoys a diversified touristic potential, consisting in access to the Black Sea, to the Danube Delta, to mountains and hills. Moreover, various historical monuments and sites, like those in North Moldavia or the Maramures region enrich Romania's touristic destinations. A lot of touristic resources (such as: mineral waters, salt lakes or mud) allow the practice of different forms of tourism. For instance, in Romania are registered 1300 sources of mineral water, that is a third of this kind of resources to be found in Europe. Still, from among 160 watering places in Romania, only 16 are now equipped with accommodation at international level.  Labour Profile  Romania has a high potential of well trained workers and specialists. Romanian people are very flexible and easily adjusting to new conditions, provided they are well motivated. Moreover, labour force is cheap in comparison with other countries. Partially or even wholly retraining the labour force might prove to be not a difficult task for the new entrepreneurs.