Romania (/roʊˈmeɪniə/ ( listen) ro-MAY-nee-ə; Romanian: România [romɨˈni.
a] ( listen)) is a
country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders the
Black Sea to the southeast, Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west,
Serbia to the southwest, and Moldova to the east. It has a predominantly temperate-continental
climate. With a total area of 238,397 square kilometres (92,046 sq mi), Romania is the 12th
largest country and also the 7th most populous member state of the European Union, having
almost 20 million inhabitants. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest, and other major urban
areas include Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Iași, Constanța, Craiova, and Brașov.
The River Danube, Europe's second-longest river, rises in Germany's Black Forest and flows in a
general southeast direction for 2,857 km (1,775 mi), coursing through ten countries before
emptying into Romania's Danube Delta. The Carpathian Mountains, which cross Romania from
the north to the southwest, include Moldoveanu Peak, at an altitude of 2,544 m (8,346 ft).[8]