Romania is a country in southeastern Europe that is bounded on the north by Ukraine, on the east by the Republic of Moldova, on the southeast by the Black Sea, on the south by Bulgaria, on the southwest by Serbia and Montenegro (formerly Yugoslavia), and on the west by Hungary. The capital and largest city is Bucharest.

The total estimated population of Romania in 2003 was 22.3 million inhabitants, and the average population density was 94 persons per square kilometer (243 per square mile). The population was 55 percent urban. The Romanians, who constitute about 89 percent of the population, are descendents of the inhabitants of Dacia, the ancient land roughly equivalent to modern Transylvania and Walachia. Dacia was conquered by the Romans and incorporated into the Roman Empire in the early second century. The largest minority groups are Hungarians, who constitute 7 percent of the population and are settled chiefly in Transylvania; Roma (Gypsies...