People

People Religions Language Public Holidays Education

Foreign visitors consider Romanians among the friendliest and most hospitable people on earth. Romanians are by nature fun loving, warm, hospitable, playful, with an innate sense of humor.

Romania is associated with big names in arts and sports: Constantin Brancusi — one of the most acclaimed modern sculptors. Angela Gheorghiu, one of the world’s greatest opera soprano – www.angelagheorghiu.com Alexandra Nechita — a young Romanian painter living in California, known for her distinct style. For more info about Alexandra and her art please visit: http://alexandranechita.com/

Ilie Nastase — Twice ranked as the world’s number one men’s player in the early 1970s, Ilie Nastase won two Grand Slam singles titles during his illustrious career – the US Open in 1972 and the French Open in 1973. One of the greatest touch players of the post-war era, Nastase was runner-up at Wimbledon in 1972 and 1976 and, in all, he won 57 career singles titles and 51 doubles titles. Nastase is still one of crowd’s favorites at the U.S. Open.

Radu Lupu – If there’s one pianist who challenges you to hear classical music in a whole new way, it’s Radu Lupu. Since winning the Van Cliburn Competition in 1966, he’s gained a loyal following for his idiosyncratic interpretations that always explore the complex emotions behind the music. (Attribution: www.carnegiehall.org ) More about Radu Lupu »

Nadia Comaneci – Romanian Gymnast, Montreal Perfect 10Nadia Comaneci — A gymnastics legend, stunning the world with her skills on the uneven bars, the first in the world to score a perfect 10. Nadia is practically single-handedly responsible for the popularity of gymnastics as a sport, thanks to sweeping the Olympics for gold medals in her youth.

Other world renowned Romanian artists include the writer Eugen Ionesco, pan flute virtuoso Gheorghe Zamfir and musician George Enescu.

About 19,500,000 people live in Romania. Ethnic breakdown is 89% Romanian 7.5% Hungarian, 1.9% Gypsy, German, Ukrainian, Armenian, Croatian, Serbian and Turkish. More than 55% of Romania’s population lives in towns and cities. There are 263 towns in Romania out of which 25 have a population of more than 100,000 while 8 cities count more than 300,000 inhabitants. 45 % of Romanians live in rural areas: 2,868 communes and 13,285 villages. The administrative divisions are called “judet” (county). There are 41 counties in Romania. The capital city, Bucharest, has the status of a county. Bucharest — the capital of Romania has a population of more than 2,200,000.

Religions

Eastern Orthodox 78%
Greek Catholic 10%
Roman Catholic 5%
Protestant 5%
Unitarian, Jewish, other

Language

Language Romanian, a Latin based language which is a continuation of the Latin spoken in ancient times in Dacia and Moesia — the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire. A 31-letter Latin alphabet is in use. Ethnic minorities (Hungarian and German) use their own languages in school and civil administration. Literacy rate in Romania is 98%. Most Romanians living in towns and cities are able to communicate in English, French or German. In smaller villages only younger people and children usually speak foreign languages.
• Around 80% of Romanians speak at least one foreign language
• 25% of Romanians speak at least 2 foreign languages
• 4% of Romanians speak more than 3 foreign languages

Public Holidays

Official non-working holidays

Other working holidays and observances

Traditional holidays – working observances

Education

Romania has over 100 universities, and the country annually produces some 30,000 engineering graduates; 8,000 earn their degrees in IT sciences