| 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. One
of the poorest nations in Europe and plagued by a moribund
economy, in 2001 Moldova became the first former Soviet
state to elect a communist as its president. |
| Location: |
Eastern Europe,
northeast of Romania |
| Geographic
coordinates: |
47 00 N, 29 00 E |
| Map
references: |
Commonwealth of
Independent States |
| Area: |
total:
33,843 sq km
land: 33,371 sq km
water: 472 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:
Nistru (Dnister) River 2 m
highest point: Dealul Balanesti 430 m |
| Natural
resources: |
lignite,
phosphorites, gypsum, arable land |
| Land
use: |
arable land:
53%
permanent crops: 14%
permanent pastures: 13%
forests and woodland: 13%
other: 7% (1993 est.) |
| 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: |
party to:
Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
| Geography
- note: |
landlocked |
| Population: |
4,431,570 (July
2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
22.44% (male 506,303; female 488,311)
15-64 years: 67.62% (male 1,437,492; female
1,559,090)
65 years and over: 9.94% (male 163,473; female
276,901) (2001 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
0.05% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
13.35
births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
12.6 deaths/1,000
population (2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-0.3 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2001 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 (2001
est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
42.74
deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 64.6 years
male: 60.15 years
female: 69.26 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
1.67 children
born/woman (2001 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%, Gagauz 3.5%, Jewish
1.5%, Bulgarian 2%, other 1.7% (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, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect) |
| Literacy: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96%
male: 99%
female: 94% (1989 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Republic of Moldova
conventional short form: Moldova
local long form: Republica Moldova
local short form: none
former: Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova;
Moldavia |
| Government
type: |
republic |
| Administrative
divisions: |
10 juletule
(singular - juletul), 1 municipality*, and 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: |
chief of
state: President Vladimir VORONIN (since 4 April
2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Vasile
TARLEV (since 15 April 2001), three Deputy Prime Ministers:
Valerian CRISTEA, Andrei CUCU, and Dmitri TODOROGLO (all
since 19 April 2001)
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;
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 (moved up a year
to February 2001); according to the Moldovan constitution,
the president, on consulting with Parliament, will designate
a candidate for the office of prime minister; within 15 days
from designation, the prime minister-designate will request
a vote of confidence from the Parliament regarding his/her
work program and entire cabinet; prime minister designated
on 15 April 2001, cabinet received vote of confidence on 19
April 2001
election results: Vladimir VORONIN elected
president; parliamentary votes - Vladimir VORONIN 71,
Dumitru BRAGHIS 15, Valerian CHRISTEA 3; Vasile TARLEV
elected 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]; Popular Christian Democratic Party or
PPCD [Iurie ROSCA]; Communist Party or PCM [Vladimir VORONIN,
first chairman] |
| 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, 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 (observer) |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Ceslav CIOBANU
chancery: 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC
20008
telephone: [1] (202) 667-1130
FAX: [1] (202) 667-1204 |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
chief of
mission: Ambassador Rudolf Vilem PERINA
embassy: Strada Alexei Mateevicie, #103,
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
- 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. GDP declined slightly in 2000, with
a serious drought hurting agriculture. Growth should turn
positive in 2001. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power
parity - $11.3 billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
-1.5% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power
parity - $2,500 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
31%
industry: 35%
services: 34% (1998) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
75% (1999 est.) |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
2.7%
highest 10%: 25.8% (1992) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
32% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
1.7 million
(1998) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 40%,
industry 14%, other 46% (1998) |
| Unemployment
rate: |
1.9% (includes
only officially registered unemployed; large numbers of
underemployed workers) (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: |
3% (2000 est.) |
| Electricity
- production: |
4.155 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil fuel:
93.62%
hydro: 6.38%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
5.78 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
1.916 billion kWh
(1999) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
vegetables,
fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco;
beef, milk |
| Exports: |
$500 million
(f.o.b., 2000) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
foodstuffs 57%,
wine, tobacco; textiles and footwear, machinery (1999) |
| Exports
- partners: |
Russia 41%,
Romania 9%, Germany 8%, Ukraine 7%, Italy, Belarus (1999) |
| Imports: |
$761 million
(f.o.b., 2000) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
mineral products
and fuel 38%, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles
(1999) |
| Imports
- partners: |
Russia 21%,
Romania 16%, Ukraine 14%, Germany 12%, Italy 6%, Belarus
(1999) |
| Debt
- external: |
$900 million
(2000) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$100.8 million
(1995); note - $547 million from the IMF and World Bank
(1992-99) |
| Currency: |
Moldovan leu (MDL) |
| Exchange
rates: |
lei per US dollar
- 12.3728 (January 2001), 12.4342 (2000), 10.5158 (1999),
5.3707 (1998), 4.6236 (1997), 4.6045 (1996); note - lei is
the plural form of leu |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| 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) |
| Railways: |
total:
1,328 km
broad gauge: 1,328 km 1.520-m gauge (1992) |
| Highways: |
total:
20,000 km
paved: 13,900 km (these roads are said to be
hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally
paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other
coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather)
unpaved: 6,100 km (these roads are made of
unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet
weather) (1990) |
| Pipelines: |
natural gas 310
km (1992) |
| 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 (2000 est.) |
| 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 (2000 est.) |
| 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: |
males age
15-49: 1,164,018 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age
15-49: 921,210 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males:
42,268 (2001 est.) |
| 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 |
|
