România is a country located at the intersection of Central and Southeastern Europe, bordering on the Black Sea. Romania shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and Moldova to the northeast and east, and Bulgaria to the south. At 238,400 square kilometers (92,000 sq mi), Romania is the ninth largest country of the European Union by area, and has the seventh largest population of the European Union with over 19 million people. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest, the tenth largest city in the EU, with a population of around two million. The United Principalities emerged when the principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia were united under Prince Alexander Ioan Cuza in 1859. In 1881, Carol I of Romania was crowned, forming the Kingdom of Romania. Independence from the Ottoman Empire was declared on 9 May 1877, and was internationally recognized the following year. At the end of World War I, Transylvania, Bukovina and Bessarabia united with the Kingdom of Romania. Greater Romania emerged into an era of progression and prosperity that would continue until the eve of World War II. That war caused the rise of a military dictatorship in Romania, leading it to fight on the side of the Axis powers from 1941 to 1944. It then switched sides in 1944 and joined the Allies. By the end of the war, many north-eastern areas of Romania's territories were occupied by the Soviet Union, and Romania forcibly became a socialist republic and a member of the Warsaw Pact. With the fall of the Iron Curtain and the 1989 Revolution, Romania began its transition towards democracy and a capitalist market economy. After a decade of post-revolution economic problems and living standards decline, extensive reforms fostered economic recovery. As of 2010, Romania is an upper middle-income country with high human development. Romania joined NATO on 29 March 2004, the European Union on 1 January 2007 and is also a member of the Latin Union; the Francophonie; the OSCE; the WTO; the BSEC; and the United Nations. Today, Romania is a unitary semi-presidential republic, in which the executive branch consists of the President and the Government. Bucharest was first mentioned in documents as early as 1459. Since then it has gone through a variety of changes, becoming the state capital of Romania in 1862 and steadily consolidating its position as the centre of the Romanian mass media, culture and arts. Its eclectic architecture is a mix of historical (neo-classical), interbellum (Bauhaus and Art Deco), Communist-era and modern. In the period between the two World Wars, the city's elegant architecture and the sophistication of its elite earned Bucharest the nickname of "Little Paris" (Micul Paris). Although many buildings and districts in the historic centre were damaged or destroyed by war, earthquakes, and Nicolae Ceaușescu's program of systematization, many survived. In recent years, the city has been experiencing an economic and cultural boom. According to provisional data from 2011 census, 1,677,985 inhabitants live within the city limits, a decrease from the figure recorded at the 2002 census. The urban area extends beyond the limits of Bucharest proper and has a population of 1.93 million people. Adding the satellite towns around the urban area, the proposed metropolitan area of Bucharest would have a population of 2.2 million people. According to Eurostat, Bucharest has a Larger Urban Zone of 2,151,880 residents. According to unofficial data, the population is more than 3 million. Bucharest is the 10th largest city in the European Union by population within city limits. Economically, Bucharest is the most prosperous city in Romania and is one of the main industrial centres and transportation hubs of Eastern Europe. The city has a broad range of convention facilities, educational facilities, cultural venues, shopping arcades, and recreational areas. The city proper is administratively known as the Municipality of Bucharest (Municipiul București), and has the same administrative level as a county, being further subdivided into six sectors. JOIN VSP GROUP PARTNER PROGRAM: https://youpartnerwsp.com/ru/join?73467

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