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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 Nistru (Dnister) River supporting the Slavic majority population (mostly Ukrainians and Russians) who have proclaimed a "Transnistria" republic.
Location: Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania Geographic coordinates: 47 00 N, 29 00 E Map references: Commonwealth of Independent States Area:
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Maryland Land boundaries:
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked) Maritime claims: none (landlocked) Climate: moderate winters, warm summers Terrain: rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea Elevation extremes:
Natural resources: lignite, phosphorites, gypsum, arable land Land use:
Irrigated land: 3,110 sq km (1993 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:
Geography - note: landlocked
Population: 4,430,654 (July 2000 est.) Age structure:
Population growth rate: -0% (2000 est.) Birth rate: 12.86 births/1,000 population (2000 est.) Death rate: 12.58 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.) Net migration rate: -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.) Sex ratio:
Infant mortality rate: 43.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.) Life expectancy at birth:
Total fertility rate: 1.63 children born/woman (2000 est.) Nationality:
Ethnic groups:
Moldavian/Romanian 64.5%, Ukrainian 13.8%, Russian 13%, Gagauz 3.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Bulgarian 2%, other 1.7% (1989 est.)
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, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect) Literacy:
Country name:
Data code: MD Government type: republic Capital: Chisinau Administrative divisions: 10 juletule (singular - juletul) 1 municipality* 1 autonomous territorial unit**; Balti, Cahul, Chisinau, Chisinau*, Dubasari, Edinet, Gagauzia**, Lapusna, Orhei, Soroca, 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:
Legislative branch:
unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats; parties and electoral blocs, as well as independent candidates, compete in popular elections to serve four-year terms)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court; Constitutional Court is the sole authority of constitutional judicature Political parties and leaders: Bloc for a Democratic and Prosperous Moldova or PMDP [Dumitru DIACOV]; Christian Democratic Popular Front or FPCD [Iurie ROSCA, chairman]; Communist Party or PCM [Vladimir VORONIN, first chairman]; Democratic Convention of Moldova or CDM [Mircea SNEGUR, chairman]; Party of Democratic Forces or PFD [Valeriu MATEI, chairman] International organization participation: ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant) Diplomatic representation in the US:
Diplomatic representation from the US:
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 - 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 stable 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; the value of the currency in relation to the dollar fell by half. In 1999, GDP fell again, by 4.4%, the fifth drop in the past six years; exports were down, and energy supplies continued erratic. GDP is expected to remain at about the same level in 2000. GDP: purchasing power parity - $9.7 billion (1999 est.) GDP - real growth rate: -4.4% (1999 est.) GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,200 (1999 est.) GDP - composition by sector:
Population below poverty line: 75% (1999 est.) Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 38% (1999 est.) Labor force: 1.7 million (1998) Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 40.2%, industry 14.3%, other 45.5% (1998) Unemployment rate: 2% (includes only officially registered unemployed; large numbers of underemployed workers) (September 1998) Budget:
Industries: food processing, agricultural machinery, foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery, sugar, vegetable oil, shoes, textiles Industrial production growth rate: -10% (1999 est.) Electricity - production: 5.661 billion kWh (1998) Electricity - production by source:
Electricity - consumption: 7.065 billion kWh (1998) Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998) Electricity - imports: 1.8 billion kWh (1998) Agriculture - products: vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk Exports: $470 million (f.o.b., 1999) Exports - commodities: foodstuffs, wine, and tobacco 66%; textiles and footwear, machinery (1998) Exports - partners: Russia 53%, Romania 10%, Ukraine 8%, Germany 5%, Belarus 4% (1998) Imports: $560 million (f.o.b., 1999) Imports - commodities: mineral products and fuel 31%, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles (1998) Imports - partners: Russia 22%, Ukraine 16%, Romania 12%, Belarus 9%, Germany 5% (1998) Debt - external: $1.3 billion (December 1999) Economic aid - recipient: $100.8 million (1995); note - $547 million from the IMF and World Bank (1992-99) Currency: Moldovan leu (MLD) (plural lei) Exchange rates: lei (MLD) per US$1 (end of year) - 12.1408 (January 2000), 10.5158 (1999), 5.3707 (1998), 4.6236 (1997), 4.6045 (1996), 4.4958 (1995) Fiscal year: calendar year
Telephones - main lines in use: 566,000 (1995) Telephones - mobile cellular: 14 (1995) Telephone system:
inadequate, outmoded, poor service outside Chisinau, some effort to modernize is under way
Radio broadcast stations: AM 7, FM 50, shortwave 3 (1998) Radios: 3.22 million (1997) Television broadcast stations: 40 (1998) Televisions: 1.26 million (1997) Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 2 (1999)
Railways:
Highways:
Waterways: 424 km (1994) Pipelines: natural gas 310 km (1992) Ports and harbors: none Airports: 26 (1994 est.) Airports - with paved runways:
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Military branches: Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops) Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age Military manpower - availability:
Military manpower - fit for military service:
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $6 million (FY99) Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 1% (FY99)
Disputes - international: separatist Transnistria region, comprising the area between the Nistru (Dniester) River and Ukraine, has its own de facto government, dominated by Moldovan Slavs 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 Please click here for a guide to the country profiles Click here for all other countries
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