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:

1.059 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 (2010 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 Marian LUPU (since 30 December 2010)

note: Vladimir VORONIN, president since 4 April 2001, resigned on 11 September 2009; Marian LUPU, the Speaker of Parliament, is serving as acting president until new elections can be held

head of government:

Prime Minister Vladimir FILAT (since 25 September 2009)

note: Vladimir Filat resigned on 27 December 2010, but was reappointed on 31 December 2010

cabinet:

Cabinet selected by president, subject to approval of Parliament; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by Parliament for a four-year term (eligible for a second term);
• last successful election held on 4 April 2005, most recent (failed) election held on 10 December 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 (re)designated on 31 December 2010;
• cabinet received a vote of confidence on 14 January 2011

election results:

• Vladimir VORONIN reelected president (2005);
• parliamentary votes - Vladimir VORONIN 75, Gheorghe DUCA 1;
• Vladimir FILAT (re)designated prime minister;
• parliamentary votes of confidence - 59 of 101

represented in Parliament:

• Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova or PCRM [Vladimir VORONIN];
• Democratic Party or PD [Mihai LUPU];
• Liberal Democratic Party or PLDM [Vladmir FILAT];
• Liberal Party or PL [Mihai GHIMPU]

not represented in Parliament:

• Christian Democratic People's Party or PPCD [Iurie ROSCA];
• Conservative Party or PC [Natalia NIRCA];
• Ecological Party of Moldova "Green Alliance" or PEMAVE [Vladimir BRAGA];
• European Action Movement or MAE [Veaceslav UNTILA];
• For Nation and Country Party or PpNT [Sergiu MOCANU];
• Humanist Party of Moldova or PUM [Valeriu PASAT];
• Labor Party or PM [Gheorghe SIMA];
• National Liberal Party or PNL [Vitalia PAVLICENKO];
• Our Moldova Alliance or AMN [Serafim URECHEAN];
• Patriots of Moldova Party or PPM [Mihail GARBUZ];
• Popular Republican Party or PPR [Nicolae ANDRONIC];
• Republican Party of Moldova or PRM [Andrei STRATAN];
• Roma Social Political Movement of the Republic of Moldova or MRRM [Ion BUCUR];
• Social Democratic Party or PSD [Victor SELIN];
• Social Political Movement "Equality" or MR [Valeriy KLIMENCO];
• United Moldova Party or PMUEM [Vladimir TURCAN]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Igor MUNTEANU

chancery:

2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 667-1130

FAX:

[1] (202) 667-1204

chief of mission:

Ambassador Asif J. 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;
• based on the color scheme of the flag of Romania - with whom Moldova shares a history and culture - but Moldova's blue band is lighter;
• the reverse of the flag does not display any coat of arms

note: one of only three national flags that differ on their obverse and reverse sides - the others are Paraguay and Saudi Arabia

name:

"Limba noastra" (Our Tongue)

lyrics/music:

Alexei MATEEVICI/Alexandru CRISTEA

note: adopted 1994

agriculture:

40.6%

industry:

16%

services:

43.3% (2005 est.)

lowest 10%:

3%

highest 10%:

28.2% (2004)

• vegetables, fruits, grapes, grain, sugar beets,sunflower seed, tobacco;
• beef, milk;
• wine

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

general assessment:

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 90 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 373;
• service through Romania and Russia via landline;
• satellite earth stations - at least 3 (Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik) (2009)

• state-owned national radio-TV broadcaster operates 2 television and 2 radio stations;
• a total of nearly 40 terrestrial TV channels and some 50 radio stations are in operation;
• Russian and Romanian channels also are available (2007)

total:

1,138 km

country comparison to the world: 88

broad gauge:

1,124 km 1.520-m gauge

standard gauge:

14 km 1.435-m gauge (2008)

total:

9,343 km

country comparison to the world: 137

paved:

8,810 km

unpaved:

533 km (2008)

• 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:

1,150,585

females age 16-49:

1,168,169 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

877,031

females age 16-49:

979,128 (2010 est.)

male:

30,012

female:

28,450 (2010 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;
• according to an ILO report, Moldova's national Bureau of Statistics estimated that there were likely over 25,000 Moldovan victims of trafficking for forced labor in 2008

tier rating:

• Tier 2 Watch List - The Government of Moldova does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
• however, it is making significant efforts to do so;
• despite initial efforts to combat trafficking-related complicity since the government's reassessment on the Tier 2 Watch List in September 2008, and increased victim assistance, the government did not demonstrate sufficiently meaningful efforts to curb trafficking-related corruption, which is a government-acknowledged problem in Moldova;
• the government improved victim protection efforts, deployed more law-enforcement officers in the effort and contributed direct financial assistance toward victim protection and assistance for the first time (2010)

• 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