1.
[syn: Moldova, Republic of Moldova, Moldavia]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
Moldova
n 1: a landlocked republic in eastern Europe; formerly a
European soviet but achieved independence in 1991 [syn:
Moldova, Republic of Moldova, Moldavia]
CIA World Factbook 2002:
Moldova
Introduction 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
Dniester River supporting the Slavic
majority population, mostly
Ukrainians and Russians, who have
proclaimed a "Transnistria"
republic. One of the poorest nations
in Europe, Moldova became the first
former Soviet state to elect a
Communist as its president in 2001.
Geography Moldova
-----------------
Location: Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania
Geographic coordinates: 47 00 N, 29 00 E
Map references: Europe
Area: total: 33,843 sq km
water: 472 sq km
land: 33,371 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: Dniester River 2 m
highest point: Dealul Balanesti 430
m
Natural resources: lignite, phosphorites, gypsum,
arable land, limestone
Land use: arable land: 54.08%
permanent crops: 12.1%
other: 33.82% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 3,070 sq km (1998 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 party to: Air Pollution,
agreements: Biodiversity, Climate Change,
Desertification, Endangered Species,
Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer
Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air
Pollution-Persistent Organic
Pollutants
Geography - note: landlocked; well endowed with
various sedimentary rocks and
minerals including sand, gravel,
gypsum, and limestone
People Moldova
--------------
Population: 4,434,547 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 21.7% (male 490,414;
female 472,912)
15-64 years: 68.2% (male 1,451,962;
female 1,572,561)
65 years and over: 10.1% (male
165,860; female 280,838) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.09% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 13.82 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 12.64 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: -0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2002 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 (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 42.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 64.74 years
female: 69.31 years (2002 est.)
male: 60.39 years
Total fertility rate: 1.71 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ 4,500 (1999 est.)
AIDS:
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%, Jewish 1.5%,
Bulgarian 2%, Gagauz and other 5.2%
(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 (official), Gagauz (a
Turkish dialect)
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read
and write
total population: 96%
male: 99%
female: 94% (1989 est.)
Government Moldova
------------------
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of
Moldova
conventional short form: Moldova
local short form: none
former: Soviet Socialist Republic of
Moldova; Moldavia
local long form: Republica Moldova
Government type: republic
Capital: Chisinau
Administrative divisions: 9 counties (juletule, singular -
juletul), 1 municipality*
(municipiul), 1 autonomous
territorial unit** (unitate
teritoriala autonoma), and 1
territorial unit*** (unitate
teritoriala); Balti, Cahul,
Chisinau, Chisinau*, Edinet,
Gagauzia**, Lapusna, Orhei, Soroca,
Stinga Nistrului***, 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),
First Deputy Prime Minister Vasile
IOVV (since NA 2002), Deputy Prime
Minister Stefan ODAGIU (since NA
2002)
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
(next to be held NA 2005); note -
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 in
February 2001; prime minister
designated by the president, upon
consultation with Parliament; note -
within 15 days from designation, the
prime minister-designate must
request a vote of confidence from
the Parliament regarding his/her
work program and entire cabinet;
prime minister designated 15 April
2001, cabinet received a vote of
confidence 19 April 2001
election results: Vladimir VORONIN
elected president; parliamentary
votes - Vladimir VORONIN 71, Dumitru
BRAGHIS 15, Valerian CHRISTEA 3;
Vasile TARLEV designated 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];
Communist Party or PCM [Vladimir
VORONIN, first chairman]; Popular
Christian Democratic Party or PPCD
[Iurie ROSCA]; Social Democratic
Union (composed of Braghis Alliance
and the Democratic Party of Moldova)
[leader NA]
Political pressure groups and NA
leaders:
International organization ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS,
participation: EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO (correspondent),
ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Mihai
MANOLI
FAX: [1] (202) 667-1204
telephone: [1] (202) 667-1130
chancery: 2101 S Street NW,
Washington, DC 20008
Diplomatic representation from the chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela
US: Hyde SMITH
embassy: 103 Mateevicie Street,
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 Moldova
---------------
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.
Following the return to positive GDP
growth in 2000 (1.9%), Moldova
experienced strong 6.1% rise in GDP
in 2001, driven by a marked
improvement in industry and a 20%
improvement in agriculture.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $11.3
billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 6.1% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,550
(2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 28%
industry: 21%
services: 51% (2000)
Population below poverty line: 80% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: 2.2%
percentage share: highest 10%: 30.7% (1997)
Distribution of family income - Gini 40.6 (1997)
index:
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 9.6% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 1.7 million (1998)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 40%, industry 14%,
services 46% (1998)
Unemployment rate: 1.9% (includes only officially
registered unemployed; large numbers
of underemployed workers; 25% of
working age Moldovans are employed
abroad) (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: 14.2% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 3.317 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 90.44%
hydro: 9.56%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption: 3.655 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 630 million kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 1.2 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: vegetables, fruits, wine, grain,
sugar beets, sunflower seed,
tobacco; beef, milk
Exports: $580 million (f.o.b., 2001)
Exports - commodities: foodstuffs 42%, textiles and
footwear, machinery (2000)
Exports - partners: Russia 45%, Romania 8%, Germany 8%,
Ukraine 8%, Italy 8% (2000)
Imports: $865 million (f.o.b., 2001)
Imports - commodities: mineral products and fuel 32%,
machinery and equipment, chemicals,
textiles (2000)
Imports - partners: Romania 16%, Ukraine 14%, Russia
13%, Germany 11%, Italy 6% (2000)
Debt - external: $700 million (2001)
Economic aid - recipient: $100.8 million (1995); note - $547
million from the IMF and World Bank
(1992-99)
Currency: Moldovan leu (MDL)
Currency code: MDL
Exchange rates: lei per US dollar - 12.8579 (October
2001), 12.4342 (2000), 10.5158
(1999), 5.3707 (1998), 4.6236
(1997); note - lei is the plural
form of leu
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Moldova
----------------------
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)
Transportation Moldova
----------------------
Railways: total: 1,328 km
broad gauge: 1,328 km 1.520-m gauge
(2001)
Highways: total: 20,000 km
paved: 13,900 km (includes some all-
weather gravel-surfaced roads)
unpaved: 6,100 km (these roads are
made of unstabilized earth and are
difficult to negotiate in wet
weather) (1990)
Waterways: 424 km (1994)
Pipelines: natural gas 310 km (1992)
Ports and harbors: none
Airports: 30 (2001)
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 (2001)
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 (2001)
Military Moldova
----------------
Military branches: Ground Forces (includes Air and Air
Defense Forces), Republic Security
Forces (includes paramilitary
Internal Troops and Border Troops)
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 1,172,714 (2002
est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 929,316 (2002 est.)
service:
Military manpower - reaching males: 42,268 (2002 est.)
military age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar $6 million (FY01)
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of 0.4% (FY01)
GDP:
Transnational Issues Moldova
----------------------------
Disputes - international: Moldovan difficulties with break-
away Transnistria region inhibit
establishment of a joint customs
regime with Ukraine to curtail
smuggling, arms transfers, and other
illegal activities
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