Statistical information Moldova 1997

Moldova in the World
top of pageBackground: 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.
top of pageLocation: Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania
Geographic coordinates: 47 00 N, 29 00 E
Map reference:
Commonwealth of Independent StatesAreaTotal: 33,700 km²
Land: 33,700 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Hawaii
Land boundariesTotal: 1,389 km
Border countries: (2) Romania 450 km;
, Ukraine 939 kmCoastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: moderate winters, warm summers
Terrain: rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea
ElevationExtremes lowest point: Nistru River 2 m
Extremes highest point: Mount Balaneshty 430 m
Natural resources: lignite, phosphorites, gypsum
Land useArable land: 53%
Permanent crops: 14%
Permanent pastures: 13%
Forests and woodland: 13%
Other: 7% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 3,110 km² (1993 est.)
Major riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazards: NA
GeographyNote: landlocked
top of pagePopulation: 4,457,206 (July 1997 est.)
Growth rate: -0.02% (1997 est.)
NationalityNoun: Moldovan(s)
Adjective: Moldovan
Ethnic groups: Moldavian/Romanian 64.5%, Ukrainian 13.8%, Russian 13%, Gagauz 3.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Bulgarian 2%, other 1.7% (1989 figures)
Note: internal disputes with ethnic Russians and Ukrainians in the Nistru region and Gagauz Turks in the south
Languages: Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)
Religions: Eastern Orthodox 98.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist (only about 1,000 members) (1991)
Note: the large majority of churchgoers are ethnic Moldavian
Demographic profileAge structure0-14 years: 26% (male 580,839; female 560,784)
15-64 years: 65% (male 1,384,380; female 1,503,831)
65 years and over: 9% (male 158,886; female 268,486) (July 1997 est.)
Dependency ratiosMedian agePopulation growth rate: -0.02% (1997 est.)
Birth rate: 14.32 births/1000 population (1997 est.)
Death rate: 12.33 deaths/1000 population (1997 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.15 migrant(s)/1000 population (1997 est.)
Population distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentCurrent issues: heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including banned pesticides such as DDT, has contaminated soil and groundwater; extensive soil erosion from poor farming methods
Air pollutantsSex ratioAt 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 (1997 est.)
Mothers mean age at first birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rate: 43.9 deaths/1000 live births (1997 est.)
Life expectancy at birthTotal population: 64.25 years
Male: 59.46 years
Female: 69.29 years (1997 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.89 children born/woman (1997 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rateDrinking water sourceCurrent health expenditurePhysicians densityHospital bed densitySanitation facility accessHiv/AidsMajor infectious diseasesObesity adult prevalence rateAlcohol consumptionTobacco useChildren under the age of 5 years underweightEducation expendituresLiteracyDefinition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 96%
Male: 99%
Female: 94% (1989 est.)
School life expectancy primary to tertiary educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry nameConventional 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
Capital: Chisinau
Administrative divisions: previously divided into 40 rayons; new districts possible under new constitution of 1994
Dependent areasIndependence: 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 OSCE documents
International law organization participationCitizenshipSuffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branchChief of state: President Petru LUCINSCHI (since 15 January 1997)
Head of government: Prime Minister Ion CIUBUC (since 15 January 1997); First Deputy Prime Minister Ion GUTU (since NA April 1994)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 17 November 1996; runoff election 1 December 1996 (next to be held NA November 2000); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of the majority coalition is usually elected prime minister by Parliament
Election results: Petru LUCINSCHI ran against Mircea SNEGUR and was elected president; percent of vote - LUCINSCHI 54%, SNEGUR 46%; Prime Minister Ion CIUBU was appointed by the president 15 January 1997 and was elected by a parliamentary vote of 75-15 on 24 January 1997
Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament (104 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
Elections: last held 27 February 1994 (next to be held NA February 1998)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PDAM 56, Socialist/Yedinstvo Bloc 28, Peasants and Intellectuals Bloc 11, FPCDM 9; note - seats as of June-July 1995 were as follows:PDAM 45, PSM/UN 28, Peasants and Intellectuals Bloc 11, PRCM 11, FPCDM 9
Note: the comparative breakdown of seats by faction is approximate
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Political parties and leadersInternational organization participation: BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NACC, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant)
Diplomatic representationIn the us chief of mission: Ambassador Nicolae TAU
In the us chancery: 2,101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20,008
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 667-1130
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 667-1204
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador John Todd STEWART
From the us embassy: Strada Alexei Mateevicie #103, Chisinau 277,014
From the us mailing address: use embassy street address; pouch address - American Embassy Chisinau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20,521-7,080
From the us telephone: [373] (2) 23-37-72, RNX (plus extension)
From the us 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
National symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy 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. The Moldovan Government has recently been making progress on an ambitious economic reform agenda, and the IMF has called Moldova a model for the region. As part of its reform efforts, Moldova introduced a stable convertible currency, freed all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to state enterprises and backed their steady privatization, removed export controls, and freed interest rates. With the election of President LUCINSCHI in December 1996, it is unclear how rapidly the reforms will be pushed.
Real gdp purchasing power parityReal gdp growth rate: 1.5% (1996 est.)
Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,400 (1996 est.)
Gross national savingGdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end useGdp composition by sector of originAgriculture: 48%
Industry: 28%
Services: 24% (1994)
Agriculture products: vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; meat, milk
Industries: food processing, agricultural machinery, foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery, sugar, vegetable oil, shoes, textiles
Industrial production growth rate: 3% (1996 est.)
Labor forceTotal: 2.03 million (January 1994)
By occupation agriculture: 39.5%
By occupation industry: 12.0%
By occupation other: 48.5% (1994)
Unemployment rate: 1.4% (includes only officially registered unemployed; large numbers of underemployed workers) (January 1996)
Youth unemploymentPopulation below poverty lineGini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareDistribution of family income gini indexBudgetRevenues: $570 million
Expenditures: $645 million, including capital expenditures of $N/A (1997 est.)
Taxes and other revenuesPublic debtRevenueFiscal year: calendar year
Inflation rate consumer pricesCentral bank discount rateCommercial bank prime lending rateStock of narrow moneyStock of broad moneyStock of domestic creditMarket value of publicly traded sharesCurrent account balanceExportsTotal value: $775 million (1996)
Commodities: foodstuffs, wine, tobacco, textiles and footwear, machinery
Partners: Russia, Kazakstan, Ukraine, Romania, Germany
ImportsTotal value: $1.048 billion (1996)
Commodities: oil, gas, coal, steel, machinery, foodstuffs, automobiles, and other consumer durables
Partners: Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Romania, Germany
Reserves of foreign exchange and goldDebt external: $950.7 million (of which $240 million to Russia) (1996 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange rates: lei (MLD) per US$1 (end of period) - 4.6870 (January 1997), 4.6743 (1996), 4.4990 (1995), 4.2700 (1994), 3.6400 (1993), 0.4145 (1992; period average - 4.6121 (August 1996), 4.4958 (1995)
top of pageElectricityCapacity: 3.222 million kW (1995)
Production: 1.4 billion kWh (1996)
Consumption per capita: 324 kWh (1996 est.)
CoalPetroleumCrude oilRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitatop of pageTelephones: 600,000 (1996 est.)
Telephone system: telecommunication system not well developed; 215,000 unsatisfied requests for telephone service (1991 est.); in early 1997, Chisinau was considering privatizing its state-owned telephone company
Domestic: NA
International: international connections to other former Soviet republics by landline and microwave radio relay through Ukraine and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; satellite earth stations - 1 Eutelsat and 1 Intelsat
Broadcast mediaInternetBroadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresDollar figure: 203 million lei (1995; note - conversion of defense expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results
Percent of gdp: NA%
Military and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupstop of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirports: 26 (1994 est.)
With paved runways total: 8
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With paved runways under 914 m: 3 (1994 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 18
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 2
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 5
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 8 (1994 est.)
HeliportsPipelines: natural gas 310 km (1992)
RailwaysTotal: 1,328 km
Broad gauge: 1,328 km 1.520-m gauge (1992)
RoadwaysWaterways: 424 km (1994)
Merchant marinePorts and terminalsMoldova - Transnational issues 1997
top of pageDisputes international: certain territory of Moldova and Ukraine - including Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina - are considered by Bucharest as historically a part of Romania; this territory was incorporated into the former Soviet Union following the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1940
Refugees and internally displaced personsIllicit drugs: limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for CIS consumption; transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe and Russia