Useful information for your time in Bucharest
Bucharest is Romania’s largest and wealthiest city. With a population six times larger than the second largest town (Iasi), Bucharest city is the political, administrative, economic and cultural centre of Romania. According to the 2002 census, Bucharest's population is 2,082,000 inhabitants, meaning about 9% of Romania’s population.
Once considered “Paris of the East”, Bucharest is presently the most economically-developed city in Romania. After the events of December 1989 (the collapse of the brutal communist dictatorship), Bucharest changed its face and rythm. In 1993, 12.7% of active population of Romania was settled in Bucharest. And in 2005, Bucharest had an unemployment rate of 2.6%, significantly lower than Romania’s unemployment rate of 5.7%. Today 186,000 businesses are headquartered in Bucharest, including most of Romania's large companies. Bucharest has Romania's largest stock exchange, the Bucharest Stock Exchange, which was merged in December 2005 with Rasdaq (Bucharest-based electronic stock exchange).
An increasing purchasing power has led to Bucharest's strong economic growth. The infrastructure has been revitalized and many shopping malls and high-rise office buildings have appeared in Bucharest. Since 2000, an important source of financial power has been the Bucharest property and real estate construction boom.
Today in Bucharest there are many international supermarket chains (Carrefour, Cora, METRO, Selgros) and big modern shopping centers (Bucharest Mall, Plaza Romania, City Mall, Jolie Ville Galleria and Unirea Shopping Center). A large number of supermarkets and hypermarkets are built every year in Bucharest, more than in any other city of Romania.
Bucharest is also the biggest scene for the cultural events that take place in the country. The Romanian Athenaeum, the Romanian National Opera (Bucharest Opera), the I.L. Caragiale National Theatre and the large number of smaller theatres throughout the city (the Comedy Theatre, the Nottara Theatre, the Odeon Theatre, the Constantin Tănase Revue Theatre) make Bucharest the cultural capital of Romania.
Even though cities like Iaşi and Cluj-Napoca have prestigious educational institutions, Bucharest is also the most important centre of education in Romania. The University of Bucharest is Romania's first higher education institution. Almost 100.000 students study in Bucharest, in more than 20 higher education institutes. The major Bucharest universities are: the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, the Academy of Economic Studies, the Carol Davila Medical and Pharmaceutical University, the Technical University of Construction, the University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine, the Romanian-American University, the Ecological University, and Spiru Haret University.
Bucharest is also the centre of Romanian mass media. National television networks, national newspapers and radio stations have their headquarters in Bucharest. Many Bucharest newspapers and media publications are based in The House of Free Press (Casa Presei Libere).
As for politics, ideological debate is lively in Bucharest. Romania’s major problems are discussed and debated in the capital, where most political parties are based.
