Geography
Covering a total of 237,500 sq km, Romania is the largest country in the Balkans. Its longest border of 608km is shared with Bulgaria to the south. A 450km border along the Prut River with the Republic of Moldova splits its 531km Nnorthern border with the Ukraine. To the Northwest lies a 476km border with Serbia, while its Western border with Hungary stretches 443km. Romania also has 225km of Black Sea coastline, providing it with access to the Mediterranean Sea through the Turkish Straits.

Romania is divided into six distinct regions. Transylvania, the country's largest and most varied province, extends throughout central and North-Western Romania and includes most of the country's mountains, the Transylvanian Plateau and the North-Western plain. Bukovina, Northeast of Transylvania, is a thickly forested region in the Moldavian Carpathian Mountains. Moldavia, Walachia and Banat share a similar physical make-up, where the landscape transitions from mountains to hills and then to plains as one heads south. Finally, Dobruja is a small, marshy plain where the Danube River ends its meandering 2850km journey through Europe north of Romania's largest Black Sea port, Constanta.

Lying in the North-Eastern portion of the Balkan Peninsula, Romania's climate serves as a transition between the temperate Mediterranean and cooler Continental climates, with hot summers, cold winters and abundant precipitation.

Population
The country's current population of 22.3m is predominantly Romanian (89%). Minorities include Hungarians (7%), Roma (2%), and small populations of Germans, Slovaks, Turks, Russians, Bulgarians, Croats, Tartars, Czechs, Greeks, Armenians, Poles and Albanians. Most Romanians are Orthodox Christians (87%); Catholics of the Oriental and Roman rites are well represented with 5.6%. Reformed Lutheran, Unitarian, Protestant, Armenian, Muslim and Jewish communities comprise the rest.

Fifty-six percent of Romanians live in an urban setting. The nation's capital, Bucharest, is the largest city with 2.5m inhabitants. According to the 2004 United Nations Human Development Index Romania ranks 69 out of more than 170 countries, with relatively high adult literacy rates of 97.3% and life expectancy rates of 70.5 years.

Economy
A cautious optimism has begun to emerge, as many investors believe Romania has turned the corner. The country emerged in 2000 from a punishing three-year recession thanks to competitively priced exports and strong demand for Romanian products in EU markets. Strong domestic activity in construction, agriculture and consumption led to 4.9% growth in 2003 despite the worldwide slowdown. In the first few months of 2004 the growth rates for industry (6.6%) and construction (7.2%) have shown a lot of hope for the future. Inflation is edging down and the state is in the process of selling off inefficient concerns. A standby agreement with the IMF covering the period from October 2001 to March 2003 helped smooth the bumps of privatisation, regulatory reform, deficit reduction, and the curbing of inflation. A new standby agreement was announced May 2004 and was signed in July. The money from this agreement is only to be used in emergency situations. This agreement will last for 24 months, ending June 2006.
 
EU Accession
Memebrship of the EU is anticipated in January 2007. Even if the unlikely event that  this is deferred for a year the prospects for Property growth will be undiminished as Romania has a burgeoning mortgage market enabling Romanians to purchase thier own homes. Given the size of the population (nearly three times that of Bulgaria) there is a ready  made resale market for investors who buy off-plan and also rental returns are increasing gradually in prime areas of the Capital and other major towns and cities.