Moldova

total:

2.31 cu km/yr (10%/58%/33%)

per capita:

549 cu m/yr (2000)

• heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including banned pesticides such as DDT, has contaminated soil and groundwater;
• extensive soil erosion from poor farming methods

party to:

Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified:

none of the selected agreements

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.58 male(s)/female

total population:

0.91 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

noun:

Moldovan(s)

adjective:

Moldovan

conventional long form:

Republic of Moldova

conventional short form:

Moldova

local long form:

Republica Moldova

local short form:

Moldova

former:

Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic

name:

Chisinau (Kishinev)

note: pronounced kee-shee-now

geographic coordinates:

47 00 N, 28 51 E

time difference:

UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

daylight saving time:

+1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

• adopted 29 July 1994;
• effective 27 August 1994;
• note - replaced 1979 Soviet constitution

• based on civil law system;
• Constitutional Court reviews legality of legislative acts and governmental decisions of resolution;
• accepts many UN and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) documents;
• has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

chief of state:

Acting President Mihai GHIMPU (since 11 September 2009)

note: Vladimir VORONIN, president since 4 April 2001, resigned on 11 September 2009; Mihai GHIMPU, the Parliamentary Speaker, replaced him until new elections can be held

head of government:

Prime Minister Vladimir FILAT (since 25 September 2009); Deputy Prime Minister Iurie LEANCA (since 25 September 2009)

cabinet:

Cabinet selected by president, subject to approval of Parliament

elections:

• president elected by Parliament for a four-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held 4 April 2005 (next to have been held 5 April 2009);
• note - prime minister designated by the president upon consultation with Parliament;
• 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 17 September 2009;
• cabinet received a vote of confidence 25 September 2009

election results:

• Vladimir VORONIN reelected president;
• parliamentary votes - Vladimir VORONIN 75, Gheorghe DUCA 1;
• Vladimir FILAT designated prime minister;
• parliamentary votes of confidence - 53 of 101

• Centrist Union or UCM [Vasile TARLEV];
• Christian Democratic People's Party or PPCD [Iurie ROSCA];
• Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova or PCRM [Vladimir VORONIN];
• Democratic Party or PD [Dumitru DIACOV];
• Liberal Democratic Party or PLDM [Vladmir FILAT];
• Liberal Party or PL [Mihai GHIMPU];
• National Liberal Party or PNL [Vitalia PAVLICENKO];
• Our Moldova Alliance or AMN [Serafim URECHEAN];
• Party for Social Democracy or PDSM [Dumitru BRAGHIS]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Nicolae CHIRTOACA

chancery:

2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 667-1130

FAX:

[1] (202) 667-1204

chief of mission:

Ambassador Asif CHAUDHRY

embassy:

103 Mateevici Street, Chisinau MD-2009

mailing address:

use embassy street address

telephone:

[373] (22) 40-8300

FAX:

[373] (22) 23-3044

• 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;
• same color scheme as Romania

agriculture:

40.6%

industry:

16%

services:

43.3% (2005)

lowest 10%:

3%

highest 10%:

28.2% (2004)

• sugar, vegetable oil, food processing, agricultural machinery;
• foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines;
• hosiery, shoes, textiles

general assessment:

inadequate, outmoded, poor service outside Chisinau; some modernization is under way

domestic:

• depending on location, new subscribers may face long wait for service;
• multiple private operators of GSM mobile-cellular telephone service are operating;
• GPRS system is being introduced;
• a CDMA mobile telephone network began operations in 2007;
• combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular teledensity 85 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 373;
• service through Romania and Russia via landline;
• satellite earth stations - at least 3 (Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik) (2008)

total:

1,138 km

country comparison to the world: 87

broad gauge:

1,124 km 1.520-m gauge

standard gauge:

14 km 1.435-m gauge (2008)

total:

12,666 km

country comparison to the world: 130

paved:

12,117 km

unpaved:

549 km (2007)

• 18 years of age for compulsory military service;
• 17 years of age for voluntary service;
• male registration required at age 16;
• 12-month service obligation (2009)

males age 16-49:

1,161,924

females age 16-49:

1,187,771 (2008 est.)

males age 16-49:

877,665

females age 16-49:

987,356 (2009 est.)

male:

31,633

female:

30,214 (2009 est.)

current situation:

• Moldova is a major source and, to a lesser extent, a transit country for women and girls trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation;
• Moldovan women are trafficked to the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe;
• girls and young women are trafficked within the country from rural areas to Chisinau;
• children are also trafficked to neighboring countries for forced labor and begging;
• labor trafficking of men to work in the construction, agriculture, and service sectors of Russia is increasingly a problem

tier rating:

• Tier 3 - Moldova does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so;
• the government failed to follow-up on allegations of officials complicit in trafficking cited in the 2007 Report, and it did not demonstrate proactive efforts to identify trafficking victims (2008)

• 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;
• widespread crime and underground economic activity