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Travel to Moldova — Unbiased reviews and great
deals from TripAdvisorMoldova
| Republic of Moldova National
name: Republica Moldova President:
Vladimir Voronin (2001) Prime
Minister: Vasile Tarlev (2001)
Current government officials
Land area: 12,885 sq mi (33,371 sq km);
total area: 13,067 sq mi (33,843 sq km) Population (2007 est.): 4,320,490 (growth
rate: -0.1%); birth rate: 10.9/1000; infant mortality rate: 13.9/1000;
life expectancy: 70.2; density per sq mi: 332
Capital and largest city (2003 est.):
Chisinau, 772,500 (metro. area), 709,900 (city
proper) Other large cities:
Tiraspol, 209,800; Beltsy, 175,400; Bendery (Tighina), 144,900 Monetary unit: Leu
Languages:
Moldovan (official; virtually the same as
Romanian), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)
Ethnicity/race:
Moldavian/Romanian 78.2%, Ukrainian 8.4%,
Russian 5.8%, Gagauz 4.4%, Bulgarian 1.9%, other 1.3% (2004)
Religions:
Eastern Orthodox 98%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist and
other 0.5% (2000) Literacy rate:
99% (2005 est.) Economic summary:
GDP/PPP (2007 est.): $9.821 billion; per capita $2,900. Real
growth rate: 5%. Inflation: 12.6%. Unemployment:
2.1% (roughly 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad) (2007
est.). Arable land: 55%. Agriculture: vegetables,
fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk.
Labor force: 1.34 million; agriculture 41%, industry 12%,
services 47% (2005). Industries: sugar, vegetable oil, food
processing, agricultural machinery; foundry equipment, refrigerators
and freezers, washing machines; hosiery, shoes, textiles. Natural
resources: lignite, phosphorites, gypsum, arable land, limestone.
Exports: $1.43 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): foodstuffs,
textiles, machinery. Imports: $3.59 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.):
mineral products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals,
textiles (2000). Major trading partners: Russia, Italy,
Romania, Poland, Germany, Ukraine, Belarus (2006). Communications: Telephones: main lines in
use: 1.018 million (2006); mobile cellular: 1.358 million (2006).
Radio broadcast stations: AM 2, FM 29, shortwave NA (2006).
Radios: 3.22 million (1997). Television broadcast
stations: 40 (2006). Televisions: 1.26 million (1997).
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 112,026 (2007). Internet
users: 727,700 (2006). Transportation:
Railways: total: 1,138 km (2006). Highways: total: 12,733
km; paved: 10,976 km; unpaved: 1,757 km (2004). Waterways: 424
km (2007). Ports and harbors: none. Airports: 10
(2007). International disputes:
difficulties with the Transnistria region complicate border crossing
and customs with Ukraine, facilitating smuggling, arms transfers, and
other illegal activities.
Major sources and definitions
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Geography
Moldova (formerly Moldavia) is a landlocked republic of hilly plains
lying east of the Carpathian Mountains between the Prut and Dniester
(Dnestr) rivers. The country is sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine.
The area is a very fertile region with rich black soil (chernozem)
covering three-quarters of the territory.
Government
Democratic republic.
History
Most of what is now Moldova was the independent principality of
Moldavia in the 14th century. In the 16th century it came under Ottoman
Turkish rule. Russia acquired Moldavian territory in 1791, and more in
1812 when Turkey gave up the province of Bessarabia—the area between the
Prut and Dniester rivers—to Russia in the Treaty of Bucharest. Turkey held
the rest of Moldavia but it was passed to Romania in 1918. Russia did not
recognize the cession of this territory.
In 1924, the USSR established Moldavia as an Autonomous Soviet
Socialist Republic. As a result of the Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact of
1939, Romania was forced to cede all of Bessarabia to the Soviet Union in
1940. The Soviets merged the Moldavia ASSR with the Romanian-speaking
districts of Bessarabia to form the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic.
During World War II, Romania joined Germany in the attack on the Soviet
Union and reconquered Bessarabia. But Soviet troops retook the territory
in 1944 and reestablished the Moldavian SSR.
For many years, Romania and the USSR disputed each other's territorial
claims over Bessarabia. Following the aborted coup against Soviet
president Mikhail Gorbachev, Moldavia proclaimed its independence in Sept.
1991 and changed its name to the Romanian spelling, Moldova.
Conflict between ethnic Romanians and the Russian-Ukrainian majority in
Trans-Dniester erupted upon independence. Trans-Dniester separatists
(primarily ethnic Russians and Ukrainians) fought for independence from
Moldova in 1992; about 1,500 died in the conflict. Unrest continues in
Trans-Dniester, which has become a lawless haven for smuggling and other
criminal activity. In the south, Gagauz, which is composed mostly of
Turkic Christians, has also attempted secession.
The Russian financial crisis in fall 1998 severely affected Moldova,
which relied on Russia for 60% of its foreign trade. Economic disaster
caused an exodus of an estimated 600,000 Moldovans. Moldova is considered
the poorest country in Europe. In Feb. 2001, the Communist Party won an
overwhelming victory in parliamentary elections, and its leader, Vladimir
Voronin, became prime minister. Voronin has attempted to forge closer
relations with Moscow, thus sparking protests among those who advocate for
closer cultural and ethnic ties to Romania.
In parliamentary elections in March 2005, the Communist Party—formerly
aligned with Russia but recently becoming more pro-Western—won 46% of the
vote. In April, President Voronin was reelected president, and he in turn
reappointed Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev.
On March 19, 2008, Prime Minister Vasile Tarlev resigned unexpectedly,
saying that he had achieved his goals and he felt it was time for new
blood in government. President Vladimir Voronin nominated a new candidate
for prime minister, Zinaida Greceanii.
See also Encyclopedia: Moldova.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes:
Moldova
Department for Statistics and Sociology http://www.statistica.md/?lang=en .
Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education,
Inc. All rights reserved.
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