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.

Geographic coordinates: 47 00 N, 29 00 E

Map reference: Commonwealth of Independent States

Area
Total: 33,700 km²
Land: 33,700 km²
Water: 0 km²
Comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Hawaii

Land boundaries
Total: 1,389 km
Border countries: (2) 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 River 2 m
Extremes highest point: Mount Balaneshty 430 m

Natural resources: lignite, phosphorites, gypsum

Land use
Arable land: 53%
Permanent crops: 14%
Permanent pastures: 13%
Forests and woodland: 13%
Other: 7% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 3,110 km² (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: NA

Geography
Note: landlocked

Population: 4,457,206 (July 1997 est.)
Growth rate: -0.02% (1997 est.)

Nationality
Noun: 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

Age structure
0-14 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.)

Population 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.)

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

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 (1997 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 43.9 deaths/1000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 64.25 years
Male: 59.46 years
Female: 69.29 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.89 children born/woman (1997 est.)

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

Capital: Chisinau

Administrative divisions: previously divided into 40 rayons; new districts possible under new constitution of 1994

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 OSCE documents

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief 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

International 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 representation
In 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

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. 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 growth rate: 1.5% (1996 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,400 (1996 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 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 force
Total: 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)

Budget
Revenues: $570 million
Expenditures: $645 million, including capital expenditures of $N/A (1997 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Exports
Total value: $775 million (1996)
Commodities: foodstuffs, wine, tobacco, textiles and footwear, machinery
Partners: Russia, Kazakstan, Ukraine, Romania, Germany

Imports
Total value: $1.048 billion (1996)
Commodities: oil, gas, coal, steel, machinery, foodstuffs, automobiles, and other consumer durables
Partners: Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Romania, Germany

Debt external: $950.7 million (of which $240 million to Russia) (1996 est.)

Exchange 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)

Electricity
Capacity: 3.222 million kW (1995)
Production: 1.4 billion kWh (1996)
Consumption per capita: 324 kWh (1996 est.)

Telephones: 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

Military expenditures
Dollar 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%

Airports: 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.)

Pipelines: natural gas 310 km (1992)

Railways
Total: 1,328 km
Broad gauge: 1,328 km 1.520-m gauge (1992)

Waterways: 424 km (1994)

Disputes 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

Illicit drugs: limited cultivation of opium poppy and cannabis, mostly for CIS consumption; transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe and Russia