House of Deputies—last held 20 May 1990 (next to be held NA 1992); results—FSN 66%, UDMR 7%, PNL 6%, MER 2%, PNTCD 2%, AUR 2%, other 15%; seats—(387 total) FSN 263, UDMR 29, PNL 29, PNTCD 12, MER 12, AUR 9, other 33
_#_Communists: 3,400,000 (November 1984); Communist Party has ceased to exist
_#_Member of: BIS, CCC, CSCE, ECE, FAO, G-9, G-77, GATT,
IAEA, IBEC, IBRD, ICAO, IFAD, IFC, IIB, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTERPOL, IOC,
ITU, LORCS, NAM (guest), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Virgil CONSTANTINESCU; Chancery at 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 232-4747;
US—Ambassador Alan GREEN, Jr.; Embassy at Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest (mailing address is APO New York 09213); telephone [40] (0) 10-40-40
_#_Flag: three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellow band, has been removed; now similar to the flags of Andorra and Chad
_*Economy #_Overview: Industry, which accounts for one-third of the labor force and generates over half the GNP, suffers from an aging capital plant and persistent shortages of energy. The year 1990 witnessed about a 20% drop in industrial production because of energy and input shortages and labor unrest. In recent years the agricultural sector has had to contend with drought, mismanagement, and shortages of inputs. A drought in 1990 contributed to a lackluster harvest, a problem compounded by corruption and a poor distribution system. The new government is slowly loosening the tight central controls of Ceausescu's command economy. It has instituted moderate land reforms, with close to one-half of cropland now in private hands, and it has allowed changes in prices for private agricultural output. Also, the new regime is permitting the establishment of private enterprises, largely in services, handicrafts, and small-scale industry. New laws providing for the privatization of large state firms have been passed. However, most of the early privatization will involve converting state firms into joint-stock companies. The selling of shares to the public has not yet been worked out. Furthermore, the government has halted the old policy of diverting food from domestic consumption to hard currency export markets. So far, the government does not seem willing to adopt a thoroughgoing market system, that is, there is great caution in decontrolling prices because of public opposition. The government has sharply raised price ceilings instead of lifting them entirely.
_#_GNP: $69.9 billion, per capita $3,000; real growth rate - 10.8% (1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 50% (1990 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: NA%