Romania is a net exporter of automotive and vehicle parts worldwide and has established a growing reputation as a technology center, with some of the fastest internet speeds globally.

[85] Princes Dimitrie Cantemir of Moldavia and Constantin Brâncoveanu of Wallachia concluded alliances with the Habsburg Monarchy and Russia against the Ottomans, but they were dethroned in 1711 and 1714, respectively.

[94][93] Uniate and Orthodox clerics and laymen jointly signed a plea for the Transylvanian Romanians' emancipation in 1791, but the monarch and the local authorities refused to grant their requests.

[98] Mihail Kogălniceanu, Nicolae Bălcescu and other leaders of the 1848 revolutions in Moldavia and Wallachia demanded the emancipation of the peasants and the union of the two principalities, but Russian and Ottoman troops crushed their revolt.

[101] Bishop Andrei Șaguna proposed the unification of the Romanians of the Habsburg Monarchy in a separate duchy, but the central government refused to change the internal borders.

[116] The country remained neutral when World War I broke out in 1914, but Prime Minister Ion I. C. Brătianu started negotiations with the Entente Powers.

[125] A new electoral system granted voting rights to all adult male citizens, and a series of radical agrarian reforms transformed the country into a "nation of small landowners" between 1918 and 1921.

[130] Agriculture remained the principal sector of economy, but several branches of industry—especially the production of coal, oil, metals, synthetic rubber, explosives and cosmetics—developed during the interwar period.

[140] After the territorial losses, the King was forced to abdicate in favour of his minor son, Michael I, on 6 September, and Romania was transformed into a national-legionary state under the leadership of General Ion Antonescu.

[149][150] After the German occupation of Hungary in March 1944, about 132,000 Jews – mainly Hungarian-speaking – were deported to extermination camps from Northern Transylvania with the Hungarian authorities' support.

[153] After a successful Soviet offensive, the young King Michael I ordered Antonescu's arrest and appointed politicians from the National Democratic Bloc to form a new government on 23 August 1944.

[154] Romania switched sides during the war, and nearly 250,000 Romanian troops joined the Red Army's military campaign against Hungary and Germany, but Joseph Stalin regarded the country as an occupied territory within the Soviet sphere of influence.

[172] At the same time, close ties with the Arab countries and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) allowed Romania to play a key role in the Israel–Egypt and Israel–PLO peace talks.

After the 1989 revolution, the National Salvation Front (FSN), led by Ion Iliescu, took partial and superficial multi-party democratic and free market measures after seizing power as an ad interim governing body.

In April 1990, a sit-in protest contesting the results of that year's legislative elections and accusing the FSN, including Iliescu, of being made up of former Communists and members of the Securitate grew rapidly to become what was called the Golaniad.

[196] This has been accompanied by a significant improvement in living standards as the country successfully reduced domestic poverty and established a functional democratic state.

[197][198] However, Romania's development suffered a major setback during the late 2000s' recession leading to a large gross domestic product contraction and a budget deficit in 2009.

[201] Near the end of 2013, The Economist reported Romania again enjoying "booming" economic growth at 4.1% that year, with wages rising fast and a lower unemployment than in Britain.

[203] Following the experience of economic instability throughout the 1990s, and the implementation of a free travel agreement with the EU, a great number of Romanians emigrated to Western Europe and North America, with particularly large communities in Italy, Germany, and Spain.

The President, elected by popular vote, serves as the head of state, representing the country in international affairs, safeguarding constitutional order, and acting as supreme commander of the Romanian Armed Forces.

The Prime Minister, appointed by the President and confirmed by the Parliament, acts as the head of government, responsible for overseeing the executive branch, implementing domestic and foreign policies, and managing public administration.

[227] Romania has also made clear since the late 1990s that it supports NATO and EU membership for the democratic former Soviet republics in Eastern Europe and the Caucasus.

As of August 2019, its acceptance into the Schengen Area was hampered because the European Council had misgivings about Romania's adherence to the rule of law,[228] a fundamental principle of EU membership.

Castles, fortifications, or strongholds as well as preserved medieval Transylvanian cities or towns such as Cluj-Napoca, Sibiu, Brașov, Alba Iulia, Baia Mare, Bistrița, Mediaș, Cisnădie, Sebeș, or Sighișoara also attract a large number of tourists.

[294] The Via Transilvanica long-distance hiking and cycling trail, which crosses 10 counties in the Transylvania, Banat and Bukovina regions of the country further promotes rural slow tourism.

[311] In January 2011, Parliament passed a law that enforces "strict quality control on universities and introduces tough rules for funding evaluation and peer review".

From the remaining population 128,291 people belong to other Christian denominations or have another religion, which includes 58,347 Muslims (mostly of Turkish and Tatar ethnicity) and 2,708 Jewish (Jews once constituted 4% of the Romanian population—728,115 persons in the 1930 census).

[369] In the 20th century, a number of Romanian artists and writers achieved international acclaim, including: Tristan Tzara, Marcel Janco,[370] Mircea Eliade, Nicolae Grigorescu, Marin Preda, Liviu Rebreanu,[371] Eugène Ionesco, Emil Cioran, and Constantin Brâncuși.

Notable Romanian classical composers of the 19th and 20th centuries include: Ciprian Porumbescu, Anton Pann, Eduard Caudella, Mihail Jora, Dinu Lipatti, and especially George Enescu.

[397] Ciorbă includes a wide range of sour soups, while mititei, mămăligă (similar to polenta), and sarmale are featured commonly in main courses.