ROMANIA AT A GLANCE

Romanian President Nicolae Ceausescu, the last hard-line East Bloc Communist holdout against reforms, was overthrown Friday.

Western leaders hailed the development, and the 12-nation European Community quickly agreed to provide aid and cooperation. THE NATION: Population: 23.1 million. Area: 91,699 square miles (slightly smaller than Oregon.) Capital: Bucharest ALLIANCES: Although a full member of the Warsaw Pact and Comecon (the Soviet Bloc economic grouping), Romania traditionally has been considered a maverick by the West. It maintained ties to China. Ceausescu’s regime encouraged a more relaxed form of socialism than Moscow had approved. Workers, for example, can invest and acquire share in factory ownership. But political repression has been extensive. ECONOMY: Foreign debt was estimated at $2.2 billion in 1988. However, Ceausescu claimed to have wiped it out after instituting a harsh austerity program and exporting food to obtain hard currency.

Ceausescu urged better agricultural production to help ease food shortages. Shoppers line up in streets of Bucharest for meat, cheese, edible oil and flour. There are also shortages of electric power and fuel.