Moldova

republicIndependence 27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union

Moldova as the 1992 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 73 fields, one of 34 editions from 1992 to 2025.

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CapitalChisinau (Kishinev)
Area33,700 km2
1992

Every edition of Moldova

Populationas each edition published it
4.46 million July 1992 · 3.58m in 2025
Population growth% a year
Not in this edition 0.4% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 32 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
Not in this edition 67.92 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
2.6 children per woman 1992 · 1.27 in 2025
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
35 deaths per 1,000 live births 1992 · 13.5 in 2025
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
Not in this edition $3,650 in 1994
GDP real growth% a year
Not in this edition -26% in 1993

Geography

12 fields
Total area
33,700km2
Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Hawaii
Land boundaries
1,389km
Romania 450 km, Ukraine 939 km

Land area

33,700 km2

Coastline

none - landlocked

Disputes

  • potential dispute with Ukraine over former southern Bessarabian areas;
  • northern Bukovina ceded to Ukraine upon Moldova's incorporation into USSR;
  • internal with ethnic Russians in the Trans-Dnestr and Gagauz Muslims in the South

Climate

mild winters, warm summers

Terrain

rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea

Natural resources

lignite, phosphorites, gypsum

Land use

  • NA% arable land;
  • NA% permanent crops;
  • NA% meadows and pastures;
  • NA% forest and woodland;
  • NA% other;
  • includes NA% irrigated

People

14 fields
Population
4,458,435
(July 1992), growth rate 0.7% (1992)

Per 1,000 population(1992)

Birth
19Death
10Net migration
-2

Ethnic divisions

Moldavian (Moldovan) 64.5%Ukrainian 13.8%Russian 13.0%Gagauz 3.5%Jews 1.5%Bulgarian 2.0%other 1.0% (1989 figures)

Infant mortality rate

35 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth

64 years male, 71 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate

2.6 children born/woman (1992)

Nationality

noun - Moldovan(s); adjective - Moldovan

Religions

  • Eastern Orthodox 98.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist only about 1,000 members, other 1.0%;
  • note - almost all churchgoers are ethnic Moldovan;
  • the Slavic population are not churchgoers (1991 figures)

Languages

Romanian; (Moldovan official), Russian

Literacy

NA% (male NA%, female NA%) age 15 and over can read and write

Labor force

2,095,000; agriculture 34.4%, industry 20.1%, other 45.5% (1985 figures)

Government

Republic

19 fields

Presidential electionpercent of vote

33%
Moldovan Popular Front 33%Intermovement 34%Communist Party 32%

Long-form name

Republic of Moldova

Type

republic

Capital

Chisinau (Kishinev)

Administrative divisions

previously divided into 40 rayons; now to be divided into 7-9 larger districts at some future point

Independence

27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union; formerly Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova)

Constitution

formulating a new constitution; old constitution is still in effect but has been heavily amended during the past few years

National holiday

Independence Day, 27 August 1991

Executive branch

president, prime minister, Cabinet of Ministers

Legislative branch

Moldovan Supreme Soviet

Judicial branch

Supreme Court (highest civil court in Moldova)

Leaders

Chief of State and Head of Government:
  • Prime Minister Valeriy MURAVSKY (since 28 May 1991), 1st Deputy Prime Minister Constantin OBOROC (since June 1990);
  • 1st Deputy Prime Minister Constantin TAMPIZA (since June 1990);
  • 1st Deputy Prime Minister Andrei SANGHELI (since June 1990)
Chief of State:
President Mircea SNEGUR (since 3 September 1990)
Head of Legislature:
  • Chairman of the Supreme Soviet (Premier) Valeriy MURAVSKIY (since May 1991);
  • 1st Deputy Prime Minister Ian HADIRCA (since 11 May 1990);
  • Deputy Prime Minister Victor PUSCASU, 21 November 1989;
  • Deputy Prime Minister Mihial PLASICHUK, NA

Political parties and leaders

  • Moldovan Popular Front, Yuriy ROSHKA, chairman (since summer 1990);
  • Unitatea-Yedinstvo Intermovement, V. YAKOVLEV, chairman;
  • Bulgarian Rebirth Society, Ivan ZABUNOV, chairman;
  • Democratic Group, five cochairmen

Suffrage

universal at age 18

Elections

President:
last held 8 December 1991; results - Mircea SNEGUR won 98.17% of vote
Moldovan Supreme Soviet:
  • last held 25 February 1990;
  • results - Moldovan Popular Front 33%, Intermovement 34%, Communist Party 32%;
  • seats - (366 total) Popular Front Club 35;
  • Sovereignty Club 35;
  • Club of Independent Deputies 25;
  • Agrarian Club 110;
  • Club Bujak 15;
  • Reality Club 25;
  • Soviet Moldova 80;
  • remaining 41 seats probably belong to Onestr region deputies who usually boycott Moldovan legislative proceedings

Other political or pressure groups

  • United Council of Labor Collectives (UCLC), Igor SMIRNOV, chairman;
  • Social Democratic Party of Moldova (SDPM), V. CHIOBATARU, leader;
  • The Ecology Movement of Moldova (EMM), G. MALARCHUK, chairman;
  • The Christian Democratic League of Women of Moldova (CDLWM), L. LARI, chairman;
  • National Christian Party of Moldova (NCPM), D. TODIKE, M. BARAGA, V. NIKU, leaders;
  • The Peoples Movement Gagauz Khalky (GKh), S. GULGAR, leader;
  • The Democratic Party of Gagauzia (DPG), G. SAVOSTIN, chairman;
  • The Alliance of Working People of Moldova (AWPM), G. POLOGOV, president

Member of

CSCE, UN

Diplomatic representation

Ambassador vacant

US:
  • Charge Howard Steers;
  • Interim Chancery at #103 Strada Alexei Mateevich, Kishinev (mailing address is APO AE 09862);
  • telephone 8-011-7-0422-23-28-94 at Hotel Seabeco in Kishinev

Flag

  • same color scheme as Romania - 3 equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red;
  • emblem in center of flag is of a Roman eagle carrying a cross in its beak and an olive branch in its claws

Economy

Moldova, the next-to-smallest of the former Soviet republics in area, is the | most densely inhabited.

16 fields
External debt
$650million
(1991 est.)

Overview

Moldova, the next-to-smallest of the former Soviet republics in area, is the most densely inhabited. Moldova has a little more than 1% of the population, labor force, capital stock, and output of the former Soviet Union. Living standards have been below average for the European USSR. The country enjoys a favorable climate, and economic development has been primarily based on agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine, and tobacco.

Industry accounts for 20% of the labor force, whereas agriculture employs more than one-third. Moldova has no major mineral resources and has depended on the former Soviet republics for coal, oil, gas, steel, most electronic equipment, machine tools, and major consumer durables such as automobiles.

Its industrial and agricultural products, in turn, have been exported to the other former Soviet republics. Moldova has freed prices on most goods and has legalized private ownership of property, including agricultural land. Moldova's economic prospects are dimmed by the difficulties of moving toward a market economy and the political problems of redefining ties to the other former Soviet republics and Romania.

GDP

NA; per capita NA; real growth rate -12% (1991)

Budget

revenues $NA million; expenditures $NA million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (1992)

Exports

$400 million rubles (f.o.b., 1990)

commodities:
foodstuffs, wine, tobacco, textiles and footwear, machinery, chemicals (1991)
partners:
NA

Imports

$1.9 billion rubles (c.i.f., 1990)

commodities:
oil, gas, coal, steel machinery, foodstuffs, automobiles, and other consumer durables
partners:
NA

Industrial production

growth rate -7% (1991)

Electricity

3,000,000 kW capacity; 13,000 million kWh produced, 2,806 kWh per capita (1991)

Industries

key products (with share of total former Soviet output in parentheses where; known): agricultural machinery, foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers (2.7%), washing machines (5.0%), hosiery (2.0%), refined sugar (3.1%), vegetable oil (3.7%), canned food (8.6%), shoes, textiles

Agriculture

Moldova's principal economic activity; products (shown in share of total; output of the former Soviet republics): Grain (1.6%), sugar beets (2.6%), sunflower seed (4.4%), vegetables (4.4%), fruits and berries (9.7%), grapes (20.1%), meat (1.7%), milk (1.4%), and eggs (1.4%)

Illicit drugs

transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe

Economic aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (1991), $NA, Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1991), $NA million

Currency

as of May 1992, retaining ruble as currency

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Networkskm

Highways
20,000Railroads
1,150
Highways: (1990); 13,900 km hard-surfaced, 6,100 km earth · Railroads: (includes NA km electrified) (1990); does not include industrial lines

Railroads

1,150 km (includes NA km electrified) (1990); does not include industrial lines

Highways

20,000 km total (1990); 13,900 km hard-surfaced, 6,100 km earth

Inland waterways

NA km perennially navigable

Ports

none - landlocked

Civil air

NA major transport aircraft

Telecommunications

  • poorly supplied with telephones;
  • 215,000 unsatisfied applications for telephone installations (31 January 1990);
  • connected to Ukraine by landline and countries beyond the former USSR through the switching center in Moscow

Defense Forces

Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops); Russian Forces | (Ground, Navy, Air, and Air Defense)

3 fields

Branches

Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops); Russian Forces (Ground, Navy, Air, and Air Defense)

Defense expenditures

$NA, NA% of GDP

Central Intelligence Agency. “Moldova.” The World Factbook 1992. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/moldova/1992.

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