Moldova

• Dunărea (Danube) (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km;
• Nistru (Dniester) (shared with Ukraine [s/m]) - 1,411 km note – [s] after country name indicates river source;
• [m] after country name indicates river mouth

noun:

Moldovan(s)

adjective:

Moldovan

• Moldovan/Romanian 80.2% (official) (56.7% identify their mother tongue as Moldovan, which is virtually the same as Romanian; 23.5% identify Romanian as their mother tongue), Russian 9.7%, Gagauz 4.2% (a Turkish language), Ukrainian 3.9%, Bulgarian 1.5%, Romani 0.3%, other 0.2% (2014 est.);
• note - data represent mother tongue;
• as of March 2023, Romanian replaced Moldovan as the name of Moldova's official language

major-language sample(s):

Cartea informativa a lumii, sursa indispensabila pentru informatii de baza. (Moldovan/Romanian); The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

total:

39.4 years (2023 est.)

male:

38.1 years

female:

40.8 years

at birth:

1.07 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.67 male(s)/female

total population:

0.89 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

total:

14.1 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male:

16.3 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

11.8 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

69.7 years (2023 est.)

male:

65.8 years

female:

73.9 years

total:

7.45 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer:

1.53 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine:

3.57 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits:

2.25 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols:

0.1 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

total:

29% (2020 est.)

male:

51.7% (2020 est.)

female:

6.2% (2020 est.)

urban population:

43.4% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

0.09% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

particulate matter emissions:

12.37 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions:

5.12 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions:

3.29 megatons (2020 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

3,981,200 tons (2015 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually:

609,920 tons (2015 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

15.3% (2015 est.)

• Dunărea (Danube) (shared with Germany [s], Austria, Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Romania [m]) - 2,888 km;
• Nistru (Dniester) (shared with Ukraine [s/m]) - 1,411 km note – [s] after country name indicates river source;
• [m] after country name indicates river mouth

municipal:

160 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial:

580 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural:

60 million cubic meters (2020 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

history:

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

amendments:

• proposed by voter petition (at least 200,000 eligible voters), by at least 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 many times, last in 2018

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 Maia SANDU (since 24 December 2020)

head of government:

Prime Minister Dorin RECEAN (since 16 February 2023)

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 15 November 2020 (next to be held in fall 2024);
• 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:

2020: Maia SANDU elected president; percent of vote (second round results) - Maia SANDU (PAS) 57.7%, Igor DODON (PSRM) 42.3%; 2016 : Igor DODON elected president; percent of vote 52.1%, and Maia SANDU 47.9%

description:

unicameral Parliament (101 seats; 51 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 50 members directly elected in a single, nationwide constituency by closed party-list proportional representation vote; all members serve 4-year terms

elections:

last held on 11 July 2021 (next scheduled in July 2025)

election results:

• 2021 : percent of vote by party - PAS 52.8%, BECS (PSRM+PCRM) 27.1%, SOR 5.7%;
• seats by party - PAS 63, BECS 32, SOR 6;
• composition as of April 2023 - men 62, women 39, percent of women 38.6%

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 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 president, and the Higher Council of Magistracy for 6-year terms;
• court president elected by other court judges for a 3-year term

subordinate courts:

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

• Party of Action and Solidarity or PAS [Igor GROSU]
• Communist Party or PCRM [Vladimir VORONIN]
• Socialist Party or PSRM [Igor DODON]
• SOR Party [llan SHOR]

chief of mission:

Ambassador Viorel URSU (since 12 December 2022)

chancery:

2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008

telephone:

[1] (202) 667-1130

FAX:

[1] (202) 667-2624

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://sua.mfa.gov.md/en

chief of mission:

Ambassador Kent D. LOGSDON (since 16 February 2022)

embassy:

103 Mateevici Street, Chisinau MD-2009

mailing address:

7080 Chisinau Place, Washington DC 20521-7080

telephone:

[373] (22) 408-300

FAX:

[373] (22) 233-044

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://md.usembassy.gov/

• 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

total World Heritage Sites:

1 (cultural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

Struve Geodetic Arc

• upper middle-income Eastern European economy;
• sustained growth reversed by COVID-19;
• significant remittances;
• Russian energy and regional dependence;
• agricultural exporter;
• declining workforce due to emigration and low fertility

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

total:

8.6% (2021 est.)

male:

5.3%

female:

14.7%

lowest 10%:

4.2%

highest 10%:

22.1% (2014 est.)

production:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption:

133,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

exports:

0 metric tons (2020 est.)

imports:

133,000 metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves:

0 metric tons (2019 est.)

total petroleum production:

0 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

22,000 bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports:

0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

0 barrels (2021 est.)

production:

57,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)

consumption:

2.802 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)

exports:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

imports:

2.802 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)

proven reserves:

0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

general assessment:

• the telecom market has been affected by a combination of high unemployment and economic difficulties which have led to constraints on consumer spending;
• this has resulted in telecom revenue having fallen steadily in recent years;
• this decline continued into 2020, with a 6.3% in revenue from the important mobile sector alone, year-on-year;
• Moldova’s aspirations to join the EU have encouraged the government and regulator to adopt a range of measures to bring the country’s telecoms sector into line with EU principles and standards;
• in July 2017 the Electronic Communications Act was amended to accommodate the 2009 European regulatory framework, while further amendments were adopted in December 2017 and additional changes were proposed in 2019;
• Moldova is also part of the Eastern Partnership group of countries, and as such has set in train a glide path to reducing roaming charges, effective between 2022 and 2026;
• the country’s broadband strategy through to 2025 has been supported by the ITU and industry counterparts from South Korea;
• the internet market is developing rapidly;
• the market is highly competitive, with 101 active ISPs as of early 2021;
• the number of cable broadband subscribers is increasing steadily, though fiber is now by far the strongest sector;
• by the end of 2020 fiber accounted for about 72.3% of all fixed broadband connections;
• the mobile market has also grown rapidly;
• the near comprehensive geographical reach of their mobile networks, market brand recognition and existing customer relationships will make for steady subscriber growth in coming years (2022)

domestic:

fixed-line service is 33 per 100; mobile-cellular teledensity is 127 per 100 persons (2021)

international:

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

• 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 (2019)

number of registered air carriers:

6 (2020); inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 21

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers:

1,135,999 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers:

640,000 (2018) mt-km

total:

1,171 km (2014)

standard gauge:

14 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge

broad gauge:

1,157 km (2014) 1.520-m gauge

total:

9,352 km (2012)

paved:

8,835 km (2012)

unpaved:

517 km (2012)

• the military's inventory is limited and almost entirely comprised of older Russian and Soviet-era equipment;
• in recent years, it has received small amounts of donated material from other nations, including the US (2023)

• 18-27 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service;
• male registration required at age 16;
• 12-month service obligation (2023)

note: as of 2019, women made up about 20% of the military's full-time personnel

Moldova-Romania :

none identified

Moldova-Ukraine :

• Ukraine and Moldova signed an agreement officially delimiting their border in 1999, but the border has not been demarcated due to Moldova's difficulties with the break-away region of Transnistria;
• Moldova and Ukraine operate joint customs posts to monitor the transit of people and commodities through Moldova's break-away Transnistria region, which remains under the auspices of an Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe-mandated peacekeeping mission comprised of Moldovan, Transnistrian, Russian, and Ukrainian troops

refugees (country of origin):

112,810 (Ukraine) (as of 3 December 2023)

stateless persons:

1,701 (2022)

• 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