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The World Factbook 2002
| Moldova |

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% permanent crops: 12% other: 34% (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: | 4,434,547 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: | 0-14 years: 21.7% (male 490,414; female 472,912) 15-64 years: 68.2% (male 1,451,962; female 1,572,561) 65 years and over: 10.1% (male 165,860; female 280,838) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: | 0.09% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: | 13.82 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: | 12.64 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: | -0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 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 (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: | 42.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 64.74 years female: 69.31 years (2002 est.) male: 60.39 years
Total fertility rate: | 1.71 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 0.2% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 4,500 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: | less than 100 (1999 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 98.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist (only about 1,000 members) (1991)
Languages: | Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian (official), Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)
Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 96% male: 99% female: 94% (1989 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 (juletule, singular - juletul), 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, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Mihai 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 Mateevicie Street, Chisinau 2009 mailing address: use embassy street address; pouch address - American Embassy Chisinau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7080 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 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. Yet these efforts could not offset the impact of political and economic difficulties, both internal and regional. In 1998, the economic troubles of Russia, by far Moldova's leading trade partner, were a major cause of the 8.6% drop in GDP. In 1999, GDP fell again, by 4.4%, the fifth drop in the past seven years; exports were down, and energy supplies continued to be erratic. Following the return to positive GDP growth in 2000 (1.9%), Moldova experienced strong 6.1% rise in GDP in 2001, driven by a marked improvement in industry and a 20% improvement in agriculture.
GDP: | purchasing power parity - $11.3 billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: | 6.1% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: | purchasing power parity - $2,550 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 28% industry: 21% services: 51% (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): | 9.6% (2001 est.)
Labor force: | 1.7 million (1998)
Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture 40%, industry 14%, services 46% (1998)
Unemployment rate: | 1.9% (includes only officially registered unemployed; large numbers of underemployed workers; 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad) (November 2000)
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: | 14.2% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: | 3.317 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: | fossil fuel: 90.44% hydro: 9.56% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: | 3.655 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: | 630 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: | 1.2 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: | vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk
Exports: | $580 million (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities: | foodstuffs 42%, textiles and footwear, machinery (2000)
Exports - partners: | Russia 45%, Romania 8%, Germany 8%, Ukraine 8%, Italy 8% (2000)
Imports: | $865 million (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: | mineral products and fuel 32%, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles (2000)
Imports - partners: | Romania 16%, Ukraine 14%, Russia 13%, Germany 11%, Italy 6% (2000)
Debt - external: | $700 million (2001)
Economic aid - recipient: | $100.8 million (1995); note - $547 million from the IMF and World Bank (1992-99)
Currency: | Moldovan leu (MDL)
Currency code: | MDL
Exchange rates: | lei per US dollar - 12.8579 (October 2001), 12.4342 (2000), 10.5158 (1999), 5.3707 (1998), 4.6236 (1997); note - lei is the plural form of leu
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: 1,328 km broad gauge: 1,328 km 1.520-m gauge (2001)
Highways: | total: 20,000 km paved: 13,900 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads) unpaved: 6,100 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)
Waterways: | 424 km (1994)
Pipelines: | natural gas 310 km (1992)
Ports and harbors: | none
Airports: | 30 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: | total: 7 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2001)
Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 14 (2001)

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 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 1,172,714 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 929,316 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 42,268 (2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $6 million (FY01)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 0.4% (FY01)

Transnational Issues | Moldova

Disputes - international: | Moldovan difficulties with break-away Transnistria region inhibit establishment of a joint customs regime with Ukraine to curtail 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

This page was last updated on 1 January 2002