Voluntari is a town in Ilfov county

Ilfov County

Ilfov is the county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but after the fall of communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, which act like suburbs or satellites of Bucharest...

, Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

. It is located at a distance of 1 km from the northern border of Bucharest

Bucharest

Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....

 (2 km from the National Road) and is thus frequently viewed as a suburb

Suburb

The word suburb mostly refers to a residential area, either existing as part of a city or as a separate residential community within commuting distance of a city . Some suburbs have a degree of administrative autonomy, and most have lower population density than inner city neighborhoods...

 of Bucharest.

The population is 30,016 inhabitants according to the 2002 census, with an ethnic composition of 97.6% Romanians

Romanians

The Romanians are an ethnic group native to Romania, who speak Romanian; they are the majority inhabitants of Romania....

, 1.7% Roma and 0.7% of other ethnic groups.

The low price of land, the proximity to the city of Bucharest and the easy and reliable access to both the railway

Caile Ferate Române

Căile Ferate Române is the official designation of the state railway carrier of Romania. Romania has a railway network of of which are electrified and the total track length is . The network is significantly interconnected with other European railway networks, providing pan-European passenger...

 network and the road network have allowed a steady development of industrial and commercial facilities, especially in the light industry

Light industry

Light industry is usually less capital intensive than heavy industry, and is more consumer-oriented than business-oriented...

 and import/export commerce. The town's output estimate increased by over 25% between 2001 and 2005. Even with such high development rates, many residents remain unemployed

Unemployment

Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...

 or commute

Commuting

Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...

 to Bucharest. Voluntari contains a shopping centre known as Jolie Ville Galleria

Jolie Ville Galleria

Jolie Ville Galleria is a luxury shopping centre in the town of Voluntari, near Bucharest, Romania. Opened in 2004, it is located near Bucharest's Aurel Vlaicu International Airport. It covers an area of 12,000 m².External links/...

, a Metro Cash and Carry

Metro Cash and Carry

-Romania:METRO Cash and Carry was one of the first international food and non-food retail chains to enter the Romanian market, opening its first store in 1996 in Bucharest, near Henri Coandă International Airport....

 hypermarket as well as the headquarters of Vodafone Romania

Vodafone Romania

Vodafone is a Romanian mobile phone network operator. It launched in April 1997 as the first GSM network in Romania...

.

Voluntari literally means "Volunteers", in Romanian

Romanian language

Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...

, being founded by the volunteer soldiers who fought for Romania in World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and were given plots to build their home there after the war. The settlement received its city status in 2004.

Local government

The Voluntari Local Council (Consiliul Local Voluntari) has 19 councillors. It is considered to be a very safe Social Democratic

Social Democratic Party (Romania)

The Social Democratic Party is the major social-democratic political party in Romania. It was formed in 1992, after the post-communist National Salvation Front broke apart. It adopted its present name after a merger with a minor social-democratic party in 2001. Since its formation, it has always...

 town, currently having the following party composition:

	Party	Seats in 2008 Romanian local election, 2008 Local elections were held in Romania on June 1, 2008, with a runoff for mayors on June 15, 2008.On June 1 where elected:* all the villages, communes, cities, and municipal cluncils , and the Sectors Local Councils of Bucharest...	Current Council
	Social Democratic Party Social Democratic Party (Romania) The Social Democratic Party is the major social-democratic political party in Romania. It was formed in 1992, after the post-communist National Salvation Front broke apart. It adopted its present name after a merger with a minor social-democratic party in 2001. Since its formation, it has always...	17
	Democratic Liberal Party Democratic Liberal Party (Romania) The Democratic Liberal Party is a populist, centre-right party in Romania. It was formed on 15 December 2007, when the Democratic Party merged with the Liberal Democratic Party. From 2004 to 2007, the Democratic Party was part of the governing Justice and Truth Alliance...	2

Transport

Voluntari has its own bus network, operated by the local council, consisting of three bus routes: 153, 155 and 167. Additionally, the city is connected to Bucharest by bus routes run by RATB

Regia Autonoma de Transport Bucuresti

Regia Autonomă de Transport Bucureşti is a public transport operator in Bucharest, Romania. It operates a complex network of buses, trams and trolleybuses – in fact, all public transport except the Bucharest Metro, which is managed by Metrorex...

, Bucharest's public transport

Transport in Bucharest

Bucharest has the largest transport network in Romania, and one of the largest in Europe. The Bucharest transport network is made up of a metro network and a surface transport network...

 operator.

Education

Voluntari is the site of the American International School of Bucharest

American International School of Bucharest

The American International School of Bucharest is a multicultural and international school located in the town of Voluntari, 5 km outside central Bucharest, Romania. It is set on a campus 10 hectares in size. English is the primary medium of instruction. The school was founded in 1962 by the...

 and of Mark Twain International School.