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Precipitations are average over 750 mm per year only on the highest western mountains - much of it falling as snow which allows for an extensive skiing industry. In the south-centern parts of the country (around Bucharest) the level of precipitation drops to around 600 mm, The 2004 yearbook of Romanian National Inst... |
According to the 2002 census, Romania has a population of 21,698,181 and, similarly to other countries in the region, is expected to gently decline in the coming years as a result of sub-replacement fertility rates. Romanians make up 89.5% of the population. The largest ethnic minorities are Hungarians, who make up 6.6... |
The population density of the country as a whole has doubled since 1900 although, in contrast to other central European states, there is still considerable room for further growth. The overall density figures, however, conceal considerable regional variation. Population densities are naturally highest in the towns, wit... |
The official language of Romania is Romanian, an Eastern Romance language related to Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese and Catalan. Romanian is spoken as a first language by 91% of the population, with Hungarian and Romani being the most important minority languages, spoken by 6.7% and 1.1% of the population, respec... |
TimiÅoara Orthodox Cathedral (Timiá¹£oara, Hung. Temesvár). It was built romanians between 1937 and 1940. |
St. Michael's Catholic Church in Cluj-Napoca (hung:Kolozsvár, germ:Klausenburg). It was built by Hungarians between 1316 and 1545. |
Romania is a secular state, thus having no national religion. The dominant religious body is the Romanian Orthodox Church; its members make up 86.7% of the population according to the 2002 census. Other important religions include Roman Catholicism (4.7%), Protestantism (3.7%), Pentecostal denominations (1.5%) and the ... |
Bucharest is the capital and the largest city in Romania. At the census in 2002, its population was over 1.9 million. |World Gazetteer: Population of the largest cities and towns in Romania The metropolitan area of Bucharest has a population of about 2.2 million. There are several plans the further increase its metrop... |
There are 4 more cities in Romania, with a population of around 310,000 that are also present in EU top 100 most populous cities. These are: Cluj-Napoca, TimiÅoara, ConstanÅ£a and IaÅi. Other cities with a population of at least 200,000 people are Craiova, GalaÅ£i, BraÅov, PloieÅti, BrÄila and Oradea. |
There are 25 cities with a population of at least 100,000. Until now, several of the largest cities have a metropolitan area: ConstanÅ£a (550,000 people), BraÅov, IaÅi (both with around 400,000) and Oradea (260,000) and several others are planned: TimiÅoara (400,000), Cluj-Napoca (400,000), GalaÅ£i-Braila (600,000),... |
University of Bucharest |
Since the Romanian Revolution of 1989, the Romanian education system has been in a continuous process of reformation that has been both praised and criticized. UNESCO report on Romania: The Romanian Educational Policy in Transition According to the Law on Education adopted in 1995, the Educational System is regulated... |
Aside from the official schooling system, and the recently-added private equivalents, there exists a semi-legal, informal, fully private tutoring system (meditaţii). Tutoring is mostly used during secondary as a preparation for the various examinations, which are notoriously difficult. Tutoring is wide-spread, and it ... |
In 2004, some 4.4 million of the population was enrolled in school. Out of these, 650,000 in kindergarten, 3.11 million (14% of population) in primary and secondary level, and 650,000 (3% of population) in tertiary level (universities). Romanian Institute of Statistics Yearbook - Chapter 8 In the same year, the adu... |
Tower Center International in Bucharest is the tallest building in Romania |
With a GDP per capita (PPP) of $11,800 GDP per capita based on purchasing power parity Economic Indicators for Romania, 2004-2007, IMF World Economic Outlook, April 2007 estimated for 2007, Romania is considered an upper-middle income economy World Bank Country Classification Groups, 2005 and has been part of the E... |
After a series of privatisations and reforms in the late 1990s and early 2000s, government intervention in the Romanian economy is somewhat lower than in other European economies. Index of Economic Freedom: Romania In 2005, the government replaced Romania's progressive tax system with a flat tax of 16% for both perso... |
Romania's Road Network |
Due to its location, Romania is a major crossroad for international economic exchange in Europe. However, because of insufficient investment, maintenance and repair, the transport infrastructure does not meet the current needs of a market economy and lags behind Western Europe. Nevertheless, these conditions are rapidl... |
World Bank estimates that the railway network in Romania comprised in 2004 22,298 km of track, which would make it the fourth largest railroad network in Europe. Romanian Railways Purchases More Than $1 Million in RADâs MAP and Last Mile Products The railway transport experienced a dramatic fall in freight and pas... |
Bucharest is the only city in Romania which has an underground railway system. The Bucharest Metro was only opened in 1979. Now is one of the most accessed systems of the Bucharest public transport network with an average ridership of 600,000 passengers during the workweek. |
The official logo of Romania, used to promote the tourist attractions in the country |
Tourism focuses on the country's natural landscapes and its rich history and is a significant contributor to the Romania's economy. In 2006, the domestic and international tourism generated about 4.8% of gross domestic product and 5.8% of the total jobs (about half a million jobs). World Economic Forum - Country/Econ... |
Tourism in Romania attracted â¬400 million in investments in 2005. Archive from Gandul Newspaper - Tourism attracted in 2005 investments worth 400 million euros |
Mamaia, at the Black Sea shore |
Over the last years, Romania has emerged as a popular tourist destination for many Europeans (more than 60% of the foreign visitors were from EU countries Romanian National Institute of Statistics published a report for the first 9 months of 2007 showing 94.0% of visitors coming from European countries and 61.7% from ... |
Saxon medieval city of Sibiu (Nagyszeben), European Capital of Culture in 2007 |
The Saxon city of SighiÅoara (Segesvár) first attested in the 12th century, is nowadays famous for its Medieval Festival |
Romania has its unique culture, which is the product of its geography and of its distinct historical evolution. Like Romanians themselves, it is fundamentally defined as the meeting point of three regions: Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and the Balkans, but cannot be truly included in any of them. ROMANIA - CULTURE ... |
Mihai Eminescu, national poet of Romania and Moldova |
The older classics of Romanian literature such as Mihai Eminescu, George CoÅbuc, Ioan Slavici, remain very little known outside Romania. Eminescu is considered the most important and influential Romanian poet, and is still very much loved in today (especially his poems). Mihai Eminescu at ici.ro The revolutionary ... |
In the period between the two world wars, authors like Tudor Arghezi, Lucian Blaga or Ion Barbu made efforts to synchronize Romanian literature with the European literature of the time. Gellu Naum was the leader of the surrealist movement in Romania. In the Communist era, valuable writers like Nichita StÄnescu, Marin ... |
Brancusi's Endless Column in Targu Jiu |
Romanian literature has recently gained some renown outside the borders of Romania (mostly through translations into German, French and English). Some modern Romanian authors became increasingly popular in Germany, France and Italy, especially Eugen Ionescu, Mircea Eliade, Emil Cioran, Constantin Noica, Tristan Tzara ... |
Among the best known Romanian musicians is George Enescu, International Enescu Society - George Enescu, the composer a 20th century composer, violinist, pianist, conductor, teacher, and one of the greatest performers of his time. George Enescu (1881 - 1955) George Enescu Festival, an annual classical music festival... |
Constantin BrâncuÅi is an internationally renowned Romanian sculptor, whose sculptures blend simplicity and sophistication that led the way for modernist sculptors. As a testimony to his skill, one of his pieces, "Bird in Space" , was sold in an auction for $27.5 million in 2005, a record for any sculpture. Brancu... |
Hunyadi Castle, 1419, with its impressive size and architectural beauty sets it among the most precious monuments of medieval art. |
Romanian cinema has recently achieved worldwide acclaim with the appearance of such films as The Death of Mr. Lazarescu, directed by Cristi Puiu, (Cannes 2005 Prix un certain regard winner), and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, directed by Cristian Mungiu (Cannes 2007 Palme d'Or winner). The latter, according to Variet... |
The UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites Official list of WHS within Romania includes Romanian sites such as the Saxon villages with fortified churches in Transylvania, the Painted churches of northern Moldavia with their fine exterior and interior frescoes, the Wooden Churches of Maramures unique examples that combin... |
Romania is a semi-presidential democratic republic where executive functions are shared between the president and the prime minister. The president is elected by popular vote, and resides at Cotroceni Palace. Since the constitutional amendment of 2003, the president's term is five years (previously it was four). The ... |
[[Image:Palatul-parlamentului-SW-angle.jpg|thumb|left|The Palace of the Parliament , the seat of Romania's bicameral parliament. Built in 1984, it is the largest building in Europe and the world's second largest administrative building behind the Pentagon The Palace of the Parliament and 10% larger by volume than the... |
The legislative branch of the government, collectively known as the Parliament (Parlamentul României), consists of two chambers the Senate (Senat), which has 137 members, and the Chamber of Deputies (Camera Deputaţilor), which has 332 members. The members of both chambers are elected every four years under a system... |
The justice system is independent of the other branches of government, and is made up of a hierarchical system of courts culminating in the High Court of Cassation and Justice, which is the supreme court of Romania. High Court of Cassation and Justice - Presentation There are also courts of appeal, county courts and ... |
The country's entry into the European Union in 2007 has been a significant influence on its domestic policy. As part of the process, Romania has instituted reforms including judicial reform, increased judicial cooperation with other member states, and measures to combat corruption. Nevertheless, in 2006 Brussels report... |
Romania is divided into forty-one counties (judeÅ£e), as well as the municipality of Bucharest (BucureÅti) - which is its own administrative unit. Each county is administered by a county council (consiliu judeÅ£ean), responsible for local affairs, as well as a prefect, who is appointed by the central government but ca... |
Alongside the county structure, Romania is also divided into four NUTS-1 level divisions (Romanian:Macroregiunea) and eight development regions corresponding to NUTS-2 divisions in the European Union. These divisions have no administrative capacity and are instead used for co-ordinating regional development projects... |
Map of the 8 development regions. The 41 local administrative units are also highlighted. |
The country is further subdivided into 319 cities and 2686 communes (rural localities). Communes and towns have their own local councils and are headed by a mayor (primar). Out of these, 103 of the larger and more urbanised towns have the status of municipality, which gives them greater administrative power over lo... |
Since December 1989, Romania has pursued a policy of strengthening relations with the West in general, more specifically with the United States and the European Union. It joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on March 29, 2004, the European Union (EU) on January 1, 2007, and the International Monetary F... |
The current government has stated its goal of strengthening ties with and helping other Eastern European countries (in particular Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia) with the process of integration with the West. Romania has also made clear over the past 10 years that it supports NATO and EU membership for the democratic fo... |
In December 2005, President Traian BÄsescu and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice signed an agreement that would allow a U.S. military presence at several Romanian facilities primarily in the eastern part of the country. U.S. Department of State - Background Note: Romania - U.S.-ROMANIAN RELATIONS |
Relations with Moldova are rather special, considering that the two countries practically share the same language, and a fairly common historical background. Signs in the early 1990s that Romania and Moldova might unite after both countries achieved emancipation from communist rule, quickly faded away when a pro-Russia... |
In the 1976 Summer Olympics, the gymnast Nadia ComÄneci (coach: Bela Karolyi) became the first gymnast ever to score a perfect "ten". She also won three gold medals, one silver and one bronze, all at the age of fifteen. "Gymnast Posts Perfect Mark" Robin Herman, New York Times, March 28, 1976 Her success continued ... |
Football (soccer) is popular in Romania, the most internationally known player being Gheorghe Hagi, who played for Steaua BucureÅti (Romania), Real Madrid, FC Barcelona (Spain) and Galatasaray (Turkey), among others. In 1986, the Romanian soccer club Steaua BucureÅti became the first Eastern European club ever, and o... |
Ilie NÄstase, the tennis player, is another internationally known Romanian sports star. He won several Grand Slam titles and dozens of other tournaments and was the first player to be ranked as number 1 by ATP from 1973 to 1974; he also was a successful doubles player. Romania has also reached the Davis Cup finals thr... |
Though maybe not the force they once were, the Romanian national rugby team has so far competed at every Rugby World Cup. |
For a country of its size, Romania has been one of the most successful countries in the history of Summer Olympic Games (15th overall) with a total of 283 medals won throughout the years, 82 of which are gold medals. |All-Time Medal Standings, 1896-2004 |
*Much of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2006 and the 2005 U.S. Department of State website. |
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Culture and history links |
Duck is the common name for a number of species in the Anatidae family of birds. The ducks are divided between several subfamilies listed in full in the Anatidae article. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than their relatives the swans and geese, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water. |
Most ducks have a wide flat beak adapted for dredging. They exploit a variety of food sources such as grasses, aquatic plants, fish, insects, small amphibians Photo of a duck eating a frog , worms, and small molluscs. |
Ducks are sometimes confused with several types of unrelated water birds with similar forms, such as loons or divers, grebes, gallinules, and coots. |
Many species of duck are temporarily flightless while moulting; they seek out protected habitat with good food supplies during this period. This moult typically precedes migration. |
Some duck species, mainly those breeding in the temperate and Arctic Northern Hemisphere, are migratory; those in the tropics, however, are generally not. Some ducks, particularly in Australia where rainfall is patchy and erratic, are nomadic, seeking out the temporary lakes and pools that form after localised heavy ra... |
Diving ducks and sea ducks forage deep underwater. To be able to submerge more easily, the diving ducks are heavier than dabbling ducks, and therefore have more difficulty taking off to fly. |
Dabbling ducks feed on the surface of water or on land, or as deep as they can reach by up-ending without completely submerging. |
Along the inside of the beak they have tiny rows of plates called lamellae like a whale's baleen. These let them filter water out of the side of their beaks and keep food inside. |
A few specialized species such as the smew, goosander, and the mergansers are adapted to catch large fish. |
In the Mallard the tongue is a flat plate, and on the tongue's back end is a short liftable flap with about 18 short spikes on for pushing struggling prey and other food down its throat. |
The males (drakes) of northern species often have extravagant plumage, but that is moulted in summer to give a more female-like appearance, the "eclipse" plumage. Southern resident species typically show less sexual dimorphism. |
Some people use "duck" specifically for adult females and "drake" for adult males, for the species described here; others use "hen" and "drake", respectively. |
A worldwide group like the ducks has many predators. Ducklings are particularly vulnerable, since their inability to fly makes them easy prey not only for avian hunters but also large fish like pike, crocodilians, and other aquatic hunters, including fish-eating birds such as herons. Nests may also be raided by land-b... |
Adult ducks are fast fliers, but may be caught on the water by large aquatic predators. This can occasionally include fish such as the muskie in North America or the pike in Europe. In flight, ducks are safe from all but a few predators such as humans and the Peregrine Falcon, which regularly uses its speed and strengt... |
The word duck (from Anglo-Saxon dūce), meaning the bird, came from the verb "to duck" (from Anglo-Saxon supposed *dūcan) meaning "to bend down low as if to get under something" or "to dive", because of the way many species in the dabbling duck group feed by upending (compare Dutch duiken, German tauchen = "to dive"). |
This happened because the older Anglo-Saxon words ened (= "duck") and ende (= "end") came to be pronounced the same: other Germanic languages still have similar words for "duck" and "end": for example, Dutch eend = "duck", eind = "end", German ente = "duck", ende = "end"; this similarity goes back to Indo-European: com... |
Duck headcount in 2004 |
In many areas, wild ducks of various species (including ducks farmed and released into the wild) are hunted for food or sport, by shooting, or formerly by decoys. From this came the expression "a sitting duck", which means "an easy target". |
Ducks have many economic uses, being farmed for their meat, eggs, feathers, (particularly their down). They are also kept and bred by aviculturists and often displayed in zoos. All domestic ducks are descended from the wild Mallard Anas platyrhynchos, except the Muscovy Duck |
. Many domestic breeds have become much larger than their wild ancestor, with a "hull length" (from base of neck to base of tail) of 30 cm (12 inches) or more and routinely able to swallow an adult British Common Frog Rana temporaria whole. |
Foie gras is often made using the liver of domestic ducks, rather than of geese. |
Despite widespread misconceptions, most ducks other than female Mallards and domestic ducks do not "quack"; for example, the scaup makes a noise like "scaup", which its name came from. |
A common urban legend says that quacks do not echo |
, however this has been shown to be false. |
Ducks have become an accepted presence in populated areas. Migration patterns have changed such that many species remain in an area during the winter months. In spring and early summer ducks sometimes influence human activity through their nesting; sometimes a duck pair nests well away from water, needing a long trek t... |
FAO reports that China is the top duck market in 2004 followed by Vietnam and other South East Asian countries. |
In 2002, psychologist Richard Wiseman and colleagues at the University of Hertfordshire (UK) finished a year-long LaughLab experiment, concluding that, of the animals in the world, the duck is the type that attracts most humor and silliness; he said "If you're going to tell a joke involving an animal, make it a duck." ... |
In Mexico the word "Patito" (= "duckling") is used to refer to something unimportant, cheap, or generic. |
in some silent cartoons. a picture of a duck is used to say "heads up". |
The expression "quacks like a duck" is sometimes a short form for "It looks like a duck, it quacks like a duck, it swims like a duck, so it's a duck.", used as proverbial to counter abstruse arguments that something is not what it appears to be. |
The expression is part of a conceptual framework for testing (see Duck test) of some computer systems. In a sense, this usage results from a need for 'behavioral' analysis of an entity (virtual or otherwise) in an attempt to know what it is or whether it is what is 'claimed' of it (by itself or another). One can even a... |
Moche Duck. Larco Museum Collection Lima, Peru. |
*Some ancient Egyptian art depicts some ships of the Sea Peoples with ornamental prows shaped like a duck's head. |
*In 2007, a duck in Tallahassee, Florida survived a gunshot wound and two days stored in a refrigerator whilst presumed dead. The duck was operated on and was again presumed dead after a bad reaction to anesthesia. After further procedure the duck lived. |
*A rare genetic mutation sees some ducks born with four legs (ie six limbs): this is a type of polymelia. |
*The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped nature. Benson, Elizabeth, The Mochica: A Culture of Peru. New York, NY: Praeger Press. 1972 They placed emphasis on animals and often depicted ducks in their art. Berrin, Katherine & Larco Museum. The Spirit of Ancient Peru:Treasures from the Museo Arqueológico Rafael L... |
*Angel Wing - A disease common in ducks. |
* - A modern illustrated guide to identification of US waterfowl. |
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