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Introduction | Moldova

Background: | Formerly ruled by Romania, Moldova became part of the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. Although independent from the USSR since 1991, Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Dniester River supporting the Slavic majority population, mostly Ukrainians and Russians, who have proclaimed a "Transnistria" republic. One of the poorest nations in Europe, Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a Communist as its president in 2001.

Geography | Moldova

Location: | Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania
Geographic coordinates: | 47 00 N, 29 00 E
Map references: | Europe
Area: | total: 33,843 sq km water: 472 sq km land: 33,371 sq km
Area - comparative: | slightly larger than Maryland
Land boundaries: | total: 1,389 km border countries: Romania 450 km, Ukraine 939 km
Coastline: | 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: | none (landlocked)
Climate: | moderate winters, warm summers
Terrain: | rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea
Elevation extremes: | lowest point: Dniester River 2 m highest point: Dealul Balanesti 430 m
Natural resources: | lignite, phosphorites, gypsum, arable land, limestone
Land use: | arable land: 54.08% permanent crops: 12.1% other: 33.82% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: | 3,070 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: | landslides (57 cases in 1998)
Environment - current issues: | heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including banned pesticides such as DDT, has contaminated soil and groundwater; extensive soil erosion from poor farming methods
Environment - international agreements: | party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
Geography - note: | landlocked; well endowed with various sedimentary rocks and minerals including sand, gravel, gypsum, and limestone

People | Moldova

Population: | 4,439,502 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 21.1% (male 477,063; female 459,992) 15-64 years: 68.7% (male 1,465,248; female 1,584,402) 65 years and over: 10.2% (male 168,068; female 284,729) (2003 est.)
Median age: | total: 32 years male: 29.8 years female: 34.2 years (2002)
Population growth rate: | 0.13% (2003 est.)
Birth rate: | 14.31 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate: | 12.7 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate: | -0.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | total: 41.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 38.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) male: 44.81 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 64.88 years male: 60.63 years female: 69.35 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate: | 1.74 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.2% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 5,500 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | less than 300 (2001 est.)
Nationality: | noun: Moldovan(s) adjective: Moldovan
Ethnic groups: | Moldovan/Romanian 64.5%, Ukrainian 13.8%, Russian 13%, Jewish 1.5%, Bulgarian 2%, Gagauz and other 5.2% (1989 est.) note: internal disputes with ethnic Slavs in the Transnistrian region
Religions: | Eastern Orthodox 98%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist and other 0.5% (2000)
Languages: | Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.1% male: 99.6% female: 98.7% (2003 est.)

Government | Moldova

Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Moldova conventional short form: Moldova local short form: none former: Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova; Moldavia local long form: Republica Moldova
Government type: | republic
Capital: | Chisinau
Administrative divisions: | 9 counties (judetele, singular - judetul), 1 municipality* (municipiul), 1 autonomous territorial unit** (unitate teritoriala autonoma), and 1 territorial unit*** (unitate teritoriala); Balti, Cahul, Chisinau, Chisinau*, Edinet, Gagauzia**, Lapusna, Orhei, Soroca, Stinga Nistrului***, Tighina, Ungheni
Independence: | 27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: | Independence Day, 27 August (1991)
Constitution: | new constitution adopted 28 July 1994; replaces old Soviet constitution of 1979
Legal system: | based on civil law system; Constitutional Court reviews legality of legislative acts and governmental decisions of resolution; it is unclear if Moldova accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but accepts many UN and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) documents
Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: | chief of state: President Vladimir VORONIN (since 4 April 2001) head of government: Prime Minister Vasile TARLEV (since 15 April 2001), First Deputy Prime Minister Vasile IOVV (since NA 2002), Deputy Prime Minister Stefan ODAGIU (since NA 2002) cabinet: selected by prime minister, subject to approval of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 4 April 2001 (next to be held NA 2005); note - presidential elections were scheduled for December 2000, but in July 2000, Parliament canceled direct, popular elections; Parliament's failure to chose a new president in December 2000 led to early parliamentary elections in February 2001; prime minister designated by the president, upon consultation with Parliament; note - within 15 days from designation, the prime minister-designate must request a vote of confidence from the Parliament regarding his/her work program and entire cabinet; prime minister designated 15 April 2001, cabinet received a vote of confidence 19 April 2001 election results: Vladimir VORONIN elected president; parliamentary votes - Vladimir VORONIN 71, Dumitru BRAGHIS 15, Valerian CHRISTEA 3; Vasile TARLEV designated prime minister; parliamentary votes of confidence - 75 of 101
Legislative branch: | unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats; parties and electoral blocs, as well as independent candidates, elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: last held 25 February 2001 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - PCM 50.1%, Braghis Alliance 13.4%, PPCD 8.2%, other parties 28.3%; seats by party - PCM 71, Braghis Alliance 19, PPCD 11
Judicial branch: | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court (the sole authority for constitutional judicature)
Political parties and leaders: | Braghis Alliance [Dumitru BRAGHIS]; Communist Party or PCM [Vladimir VORONIN, first chairman]; Popular Christian Democratic Party or PPCD [Iurie ROSCA]; Social Democratic Union (composed of Braghis Alliance and the Democratic Party of Moldova) [leader NA]
Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA
International organization participation: | ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Mihail MANOLI FAX: [1] (202) 667-1204 telephone: [1] (202) 667-1130 chancery: 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela Hyde SMITH embassy: 103 Alexei Mateevici Street, Chisinau MD-2009 mailing address: use embassy street address telephone: [373] (2) 23-37-72 FAX: [373] (2) 23-30-44
Flag description: | same color scheme as Romania - three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; emblem in center of flag is of a Roman eagle of gold outlined in black with a red beak and talons carrying a yellow cross in its beak and a green olive branch in its right talons and a yellow scepter in its left talons; on its breast is a shield divided horizontally red over blue with a stylized ox head, star, rose, and crescent all in black-outlined yellow

Economy | Moldova

Economy - overview: | Moldova remains a very poor country despite recent progress from its small economic base. It enjoys a favorable climate and good farmland but has no major mineral deposits. As a result, the economy depends heavily on agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine, and tobacco. Moldova must import all of its supplies of oil, coal, and natural gas, largely from Russia. Energy shortages contributed to sharp production declines after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. As part of an ambitious reform effort, Moldova introduced a convertible currency, freed all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to state enterprises, backed steady land privatization, removed export controls, and freed interest rates. The government entered into agreements with the World Bank and the IMF to promote growth and reduce poverty. The economy returned to positive growth, of 2.1% in 2000, 6.1% in 2001, 7.2% in 2002, and 5.3% in 2003. Further reforms will come slowly because of strong political forces backing government controls. The economy remains vulnerable to higher fuel prices, poor agricultural weather, and the skepticism of foreign investors.
GDP: | purchasing power parity - $11.51 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 6.5% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $2,600 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 28% industry: 23% services: 49% (2000)
Population below poverty line: | 80% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: | lowest 10%: 2.2% highest 10%: 30.7% (1997)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: | 40.6 (1997)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 5.5% (2002 est.)
Labor force: | 1.7 million (1998)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 40%, industry 14%, services 46% (1998)
Unemployment rate: | 8% (roughly 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad) (2002 est.)
Budget: | revenues: $536 million expenditures: $594 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.)
Industries: | food processing, agricultural machinery, foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery, sugar, vegetable oil, shoes, textiles
Industrial production growth rate: | 9% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production: | 3.394 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 90.6% hydro: 9.4% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: | 3.216 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports: | 0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports: | 60 million kWh (2001)
Oil - production: | 0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption: | 24,000 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports: | NA (2001)
Oil - imports: | NA (2001)
Natural gas - production: | 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: | 2.05 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports: | 0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports: | 2.05 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Agriculture - products: | vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk
Exports: | $590 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities: | foodstuffs, textiles, machinery
Exports - partners: | Russia 35%, Italy 11.7%, Germany 8.8%, Ukraine 8.5%, Romania 5.7%, US 5.2%, Belarus 4.5%, Spain 4.1% (2002)
Imports: | $980 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities: | mineral products and fuel 32%, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles (2000)
Imports - partners: | Russia 23.9%, Ukraine 13.4%, Germany 12.6%, Italy 8.3%, Romania 8.2% (2002)
Debt - external: | $1.3 billion (2002)
Economic aid - recipient: | $100 million (2000)
Currency: | Moldovan leu (MDL)
Currency code: | MDL
Exchange rates: | lei per US dollar - NA (2002), 12.87 (2001), 12.43 (2000), 10.52 (1999), 5.37 (1998)
Fiscal year: | calendar year

Communications | Moldova

Telephones - main lines in use: | 627,000 (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: | 2,200 (1997)
Telephone system: | general assessment: inadequate, outmoded, poor service outside Chisinau; some effort to modernize is under way domestic: new subscribers face long wait for service; mobile cellular telephone service being introduced international: service through Romania and Russia via landline; satellite earth stations - Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik
Radio broadcast stations: | AM 7, FM 50, shortwave 3 (1998)
Radios: | 3.22 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: | 1 (plus 30 repeaters) (1995)
Televisions: | 1.26 million (1997)
Internet country code: | .md
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 2 (1999)
Internet users: | 15,000 (2000)

Transportation | Moldova

Railways: | total: 1,300 km broad gauge: 1,300 km 1.520-m gauge (2002)
Highways: | total: 12,657 km paved: 11,012 km unpaved: 1,645 km (1999)
Waterways: | 424 km (1994)
Pipelines: | gas 606 km (2003)
Ports and harbors: | none
Airports: | 36 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 8 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 28 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 12 (2002)

Military | Moldova

Military branches: | Ground Forces (includes Air and Air Defense Forces), Republic Security Forces (includes paramilitary Internal Troops and Border Troops)
Military manpower - military age: | 18 years of age (2003 est.)
Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 1,180,874 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 936,629 (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 44,084 (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $6.4 million (FY02)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 0.4% (FY02)

Transnational Issues | Moldova

Disputes - international: | difficulties with the Transnistria region complicate border crossing and customs with Ukraine, facilitating smuggling, arms transfers, and other illegal activities
Illicit drugs: | limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for CIS consumption; transshipment point for illicit drugs from Southwest Asia via Central Asia to Russia, Western Europe, and possibly the US; widespread crime and underground economic activity

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2003