ARAD COUNTY - Geography and history
Arad county is located in the western part of Romania and lays between the Apuseni Mountains (in the eastern part of the county) and the large and neat plain formed by the Mures and Crisul Alb rivers. It is surrounded by the following counties: Bihor (in the north), Alba, Hunedoara (in the east) and Timis (in the south). To the west, Arad county borders Hungary. Arad county has a 7 754 km2 area, representing 3.3% of Romania's total area, ranking the fifth in size. As of 31 December 2001 it was made of 7 towns and 1municipality, 67 communes and 273 villages.
The county has a favourable geographic position, being at the crossroads of several European roads (the intersection between the European Roads Corridor IV and the rapid road way connecting Ukraine to Serbia).
The natural landscape of the county is characterised by the existence of a diversified geography proportioned and descending from east to west. The county has two mountainous units: the Codru-Moma Mountains and the Zarandului Mountains, between which a depression area is placed, namely the Zarandului Depression, an individualised corridor in the south, namely the Mures corridor and a large plain area in the west - the central part of the West Plain. The county's territory is between the absolute elevations of 80 m (at Zerind) and 1 486 (at the Gaina Peak).
Arad county has a moderate continental climate with oceanic influences. The air temperature has annual average values between 10.8°C (in the plain area) and 6°C (on the highest peaks).
The most important river crossing the county's territory is the Mures, with a total length of 761 km on the country's territory, wherein 220 km on Arad county's territory.
Starting from 1028 Arad county is attested by official documents, although the Dacian city dates since the 4th century BC, as a part of Burebista's state and Decebal's Kingdom, a state undergoing the Roman occupation after 106 AD
In the 11th century, Arad wass under the occupation of the Hungarian Kingdom and was attested to as a city in 1329. Later, it underwent the Ottoman occupation in 1552, with a short period of interruption, due to Michael the Brave (1595-1615). Since 1687 Arad became part of the Habsburg Empire.
Arad county has complex resources (poly-metallic sulphurs) in the Brusturi and Luncsoara areas, pyrite ores at Patars and Rosia Noua, and also molybdenum ores in the Savârsin area. Metalliferous ores are extracted in the hills and mountainous areas (the Zarandului and Codru Moma Mountains) - iron, manganese, molybdenum (Dezna, Moneasa, Savârsin) and precious metals (gold and silver) at Chisindia, Dud, and Cladova.
Significant construction materials deposits lay along the Mures Valley (sand, granite, grain diorite, and diorite) and the Crisul Alb Valley (andesite, uranium, and asbestos) or at Gurahont, Barsa (coloured earth and China-clay), Moneasa (marble). The county's plain area hides significant resources of liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons.
One of the subsoil's resources is represented by the thermal and mineral waters. There are springs at Moneasa, Macea, Chisineu Cris, Lipova and many other localities, but in most of the cases, the springs are wasted. Among these, the mineral waters of Moneasa, Lipova, Dezna (for internal and external use) and the Curtici thermal waters are known for their medical properties.
There are also several thermal bicarbonated-sulphur springs in the basin area of the the Cris river (the alkaline mineral waters of Moneasa), mineral springs containing iron (in the Lipova hills), thermal bicarbonate limed springs, mineral sulphured salted springs (in the Mures area).
Economy
The number of active companies at the end of 2000 was 6 406, of which 1 171 had industry and 4 566 services as main activity.
The county has a balanced economy, agriculture and industry are the main productive activity sectors. The agricultural potential is significant. The agricultural land is 511 587 ha (66%) of the county's total area. By fertilising the soil to improve quality, good results can be reached for all types of crops. 6 767 tractors provide the technical basis for agricultural works (fifth place by country). In 2000 cereals production was 437.1 thousand tons, as follows: wheat and rye 140.5 thousand tons, barley and two-row barley 43.7 thousand tons, and corn beans 240.5 thousand tons. The livestock was as follows: 63.5 thousand cattle, 218.7 thousand pigs, 237.7 thousand sheep and goats and 1 514 thousand poultry.
The industry is characterised by the production of railway freight and person transportation means, furniture, textiles and clothing, furniture and fittings, machinery and equipments, oil and natural gas and others. The county was in 2000 very important for the national economy: 1st place in railway cars production, 5th place in machine and grinding tool industry, 9th place in furniture and textiles production, 10th place in footwear production.
The main exported products in 2000 were textiles and textile products, railway transportation means, furniture, footwear, electric machinery, tools and equipments, measurement tools and others.
Arad county has a dense network of communications, some representing national roads segments, or railway main lines. The international road and several national roads cross the county.
The the railway network exploited at the end of 2000 was 485 km long, wherein 196 km (40.4% of the total) were electrified. The railway network density was 62.5 km of railway in 1 000 km2 of territory.
At the end of 2000 the county's public road network totalled 2 240 km, and the county's average density was 28.9 km of roads in 100 km2 of territory. Modernised roads represented 22.3% of the total public roads.
A remarkable presence in the transports infrastructure is the International Airport of Arad, founded 1931 and placed in the west of the Arad municipality. Nowadays, the airport is undergoing investments for the objective "CARGO TERMINAL" for goods stocking with a capacity of 300 tons/day, at arrival, the stocking spaces sum over 2 700 m2.
Arad county's economy was the beneficiary of a programme of foundation and development of the CURTICI FREE ZONE, functioning since May 2000, on two platforms: 75 ha at Curtici and 15 ha at the International Airport of Arad.
The county provides with a tourist accommodation capacity of 4 684 places.
Population and social environment
Between 1996 and 2000, the county's population decreased by 0.3%, from 477 711 to 476 272 inhabitants. The population density was 61.4 inhabitants/km2.
In 2000 the birth rate was 9.8 per 1 000 inhabitants, while the mortality rate was 13.8 deaths per 1 000 inhabitants.
As concerns the population's structure by gender and age groups, a demographic aging process can be noticed, following the trend of increase of the old persons' number, in 2000 reaching 14.8% of the total population. The demographic aging process of the population started many years ago and is chiefly determined by the low birth rate.
The infant mortality rate fluctuated between 1996 and 2000, decreasing from 21.5 per 1 000 live births to 13.8, placing the county under the national level at 18.6 per 1 000 live births (in 2000).
The marriage rate in 2000 was 6.2 per 1 000 inhabitants, and the divorce rate was 1.82 per 1 000 inhabitants.
Between 1996-1999 the life expectancy was 65.5 years for males and 73.2 years for females, placing the county under the national average rate.
In 2000 the the county's labour force totalled 278.9 thousand persons (58.7% of the county's population), and the employed population was 189.2 thousand persons (67.8% of the total labour force).
The unemployment rate was 2.7% in 1996 and reached 8.4% in 2000.
Agriculture has the highest share in the employed population (35.3%), followed by industry (22.7%).
After 1990, the educational activity underwent a structural changing, with the appearance and development of the private academic education in the county. In the 2000/2001 school year , the educational network included 291 kindergartens, 272 gymnasia, 36 high schools, 2 vocational schools, 1 post-high school and 2 universities with over 8 000 students.
Healthcare was provided by the public network: 11 hospitals, 21 medical consultation centres, 2 clinics, 12 pharmacies, as well as by the private network including: 123 medical cabines, 61 dentist clinics, 82 pharmacies and others. The patient-per-physician ratio in 2000 was of 457 persons.
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