Romania (/roʊˈmeɪni.ə/ (listen) roh-MAY-nee-ə; Romanian: România [romɨˈni.

a]
(listen)) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and
Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north,
Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and the Black
Sea to the southeast. It has a predominantly temperate-continental climate, and an
area of 238,397 km2 (92,046 sq mi), with a population of around 19 million. Romania
is the twelfth-largest country in Europe and the sixth-most populous member state
of the European Union. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest, followed by Iași,
Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Constanța, Craiova, Sibiu, Brașov, and Galați.

The Danube, Europe's second-longest river, rises in Germany's Black Forest and
flows in a southeasterly direction for 2,857 km (1,775 mi), before emptying into
Romania's Danube Delta. The Carpathian Mountains, which cross Romania from the
north to the southwest, include Moldoveanu Peak, at an altitude of 2,544 m (8,346
ft).[13]

Romania was formed in 1859 through a personal union of the Danubian Principalities
of Moldavia and Wallachia. The new state, officially named Romania since 1866,
gained independence from the Ottoman Empire in 1877.[14] During World War I, after
declaring its neutrality in 1914, Romania fought together with the Allied Powers
from 1916. In the aftermath of the war, Bukovina, Bessarabia, Transylvania, and
parts of Banat, Crișana, and Maramureș became part of the Kingdom of Romania.[15]
In June–August 1940, as a consequence of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact and Second
Vienna Award, Romania was compelled to cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the
Soviet Union and Northern Transylvania to Hungary. In November 1940, Romania signed
the Tripartite Pact and, consequently, in June 1941 entered World War II on the
Axis side, fighting against the Soviet Union until August 1944, when it joined the
Allies and recovered Northern Transylvania. Following the war and occupation by the
Red Army, Romania became a socialist republic and a member of the Warsaw Pact.
After the 1989 Revolution, Romania began a transition towards democracy and a
market economy.

Romania is a developing country with a high-income economy,[16][17] ranking 49th in

the Human Development Index. It has the world's 47th largest economy by nominal
GDP. Romania experienced rapid economic growth in the early 2000s; its economy is
now based predominantly on services. It is a producer and net exporter of machines
and electric energy through companies like Automobile Dacia and OMV Petrom. Romania
has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, NATO since 2004 and the
European Union (EU) since 2007. The majority of Romania's population are ethnic
Romanian and religiously identify themselves as Eastern Orthodox Christians,
speaking Romanian, a Romance language. The Romanian Orthodox Church is the largest
and traditional church of the country.