Moldova

agricultural land:

74.9%;

• arable land 55.1%;
• permanent crops 9.1%;
• permanent pasture 10.7%

forest:

11.9%

other:

13.2% (2011 est.)

• 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

noun:

Moldovan(s)

adjective:

Moldovan

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.07 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.01 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.85 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.62 male(s)/female

total population:

0.95 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

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

etymology:

named for the Moldova River in neighboring eastern Romania

name:

Chisinau in Romanian (Kishinev in Russian)

note: pronounced KEE-shee-now (KIH-shi-nyov)

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

history:

previous 1978; latest adopted 29 July 1994, effective 27 August 1994

amendments:

• proposed by voter petition (at least 200,000 eligible voters), by one-third of Parliament members, or by the government;
• passage requires two-thirds majority vote of Parliament within one year of initial proposal;
• revisions to constitutional articles on sovereignty, independence, and neutrality require majority vote by referendum;
• articles on fundamental rights and freedoms cannot be amended;
• amended several times, last in 2010;
• note – in early 2016, the Moldovan Constitutional Court decision returned the country to direct presidential elections, reversing a 2000 constitutional amendment that allowed Parliament to select the president (2016)

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Moldova

dual citizenship recognized:

no

residency requirement for naturalization:

10 years

chief of state:

President Igor DODON (since 23 December 2016)

head of government:

Prime Minister Pavel FILIP (since 20 January 2016)

cabinet:

Cabinet proposed by the prime minister-designate, nominated by the president, approved through a vote of confidence in Parliament

elections/appointments:

• president directly elected for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 13 November 2016 (next to be held in fall 2020);
• 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 for his/her proposed work program from the Parliament

election results:

• Igor DODON elected president;
• percent of vote - Igor DODON (PSRM) 52.2%, Maia SANDU (PAS) 47.8%;
• Pavel FILIP (PDM) designated prime minister;
• Parliament vote - 57 of 101

highest court(s):

• Supreme Court of Justice (consists of the chief judge, 3 deputy-chief judges, 45 judges, and 7 assistant judges);
• Constitutional Court (consists of the court president and 6 judges);
• note - the Constitutional Court is autonomous to the other branches of government;
• the Court interprets the Constitution and reviews the constitutionality of parliamentary laws and decisions, decrees of the president, and acts of the government

judge selection and term of office:

• Supreme Court of Justice judges appointed by the president of the republic upon the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistracy (an 11-member body of judicial officials);
• all judges serve 4-year renewable terms;
• Constitutional Court judges appointed 2 each by Parliament, the Moldovan president, and the Higher Council of Magistracy;
• court president elected by other court judges for a 3-year term;
• other judges appointed for 6-year terms

subordinate courts:

• Courts of Appeal;
• Court of Business Audit;
• municipal courts

• Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova or PCRM [Vladimir VORONIN]
• Democratic Party of Moldova or PDM [Vladimir PLAHOTNIUC]
• Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova or PLDM [Viorel CIBOTARU]
• Liberal Party or PL [Mihai GHIMPU]
• Socialist Party of the Republic of Moldova or PSRM [Zinaida GRECEANII]
• Action and Solidarity Party or PAS [Maia SANDU]
• Anti-Mafia Movement or MPA [Sergiu MOCANU]
• Centrist Union of Moldova or UCM [Mihai PETRACHE]
• Christian Democratic People's Party or PPCD [Iurie ROSCA]
• Conservative Party or PC [Natalia NIRCA]
• Democracy at Home Party or PPDA [Vasile COSTIUC]
• Democratic Action Party or PAD [Mihai GODEA]
• Dignity and Truth Platform or PDA [Andrei NASTASE]
• Ecologist Green Party or PVE [Anatolie PROHNITCHI]
• European People’s Party of Moldova or EPPM [Iurie LEANCA]
• Law and Justice Party or PLD [Nicolae ALEXEI]
• "Motherland" Party or PP [Emilian CIOTU]
• National Liberal Party or PNL [Vitalia PAVLICENKO]
• Our Home Moldova or PCNM [Grigore PETRENCO]
• Our Party or PN [Renato USATII]
• People’s Party of Moldova or PPRM [Alexandru OLEINIC]
• Regions Party of Moldova or PRM [Alexandr KALININ]
• “Right” Party or PD [Ana GUTU]
• Shor Party or PS [Ilan SHOR]
• Socialist People’s Party of Moldova or PPSM [Victor STEPANIUC]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Aureliu CIOCOI (since 8 September 2017)

chancery:

2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 667-1130

FAX:

[1] (202) 667-1204

chief of mission:

Ambassador James D. PETTIT (since 30 January 2015)

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 Prussian blue (hoist side), chrome yellow, and vermilion red;
• emblem in center of flag is of a Roman eagle of dark gold (brown) 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 aurochs head, star, rose, and crescent all in black-outlined yellow;
• based on the color scheme of the flag of Romania - with which Moldova shares a history and culture - but Moldova's blue band is lighter;
• the reverse of the flag displays a mirrored image of the 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 Language)

lyrics/music:

Alexei MATEEVICI/Alexandru CRISTEA

note: adopted 1994

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

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

agriculture:

33.7%

industry:

12.1%

services:

54.2% (2016 est.)

lowest 10%:

4.2%

highest 10%:

22.1% (2014 est.)

general assessment:

the mobile market has extended the reach of service to outside the cities and across most of the country

domestic:

• competition among mobile telephone providers has spurred subscriptions;
• little interest in expanding fixed-line service;
• mobile-cellular teledensity exceeds 105 per 100 persons

international:

• country code - 373;
• service through Romania and Russia via landline;
• satellite earth stations - at least 3 (Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik) (2016)

• state-owned national radio-TV broadcaster operates 1 TV and 1 radio station;
• a total of nearly 70 terrestrial TV channels and some 50 radio stations are in operation;
• Russian and Romanian channels also are available (2017)

number of registered air carriers:

3; inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 12

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

1,005,942

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

489,630 mt-km (2015)

total:

1,171 km

broad gauge:

1,157 km 1.520-m gauge

standard gauge:

14 km 1.435-m gauge (2014)

country comparison to the world: 87

total:

9,352 km

paved:

8,835 km

unpaved:

517 km (2012)

country comparison to the world: 138

total:

121

by type:

bulk carrier 7, cargo 88, carrier 1, chemical tanker 3, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 11, specialized tanker 1

foreign-owned:

63 (Bulgaria 1, Denmark 1, Egypt 5, Greece 1, Israel 2, Lebanon 1, Pakistan 1, Romania 2, Russia 5, Syria 5, Turkey 18, UK 3, Ukraine 14, Yemen 4) (2010)

country comparison to the world: 45

National Army:

• Land Forces Command, Air Forces Command (includes air defense unit);
• Carabinieri Troops: a component of the Ministry of Internal Affairs that also has official status as a service of the Armed Forces (2016)

• 18 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service;
• male registration required at age 16;
• 1-year service obligation (2016)

refugees (country of origin):

6,779 applicants for forms of legal stay other than asylum (Ukraine) (2015)

stateless persons:

4,776 (2016)

• 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