Formerly part of Romania, Moldova was incorporated into the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. Although independent from the USSR since 1991, Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Dniester River supporting the Slavic majority population, mostly Ukrainians and Russians, who have proclaimed a "Transnistria" republic. The poorest nation in Europe, Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a Communist as its president in 2001.
heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including banned pesticides such as DDT, has contaminated soil and groundwater; extensive soil erosion from poor farming methods
new constitution adopted 29 July 1994, effective 27 August 1994; replaced old Soviet constitution of 1979
Legal system
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
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch
chief of state
President Vladimir VORONIN (since 4 April 2001)
head of government
Prime Minister Vasile TARLEV (since 15 April 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Zinaida GRECIANII (since 10 October 2005)
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 be held in 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 15 April 2001; cabinet received a vote of confidence 19 April 2001
election results
Vladimir VORONIN reelected president; parliamentary votes - Vladimir VORONIN 75, Gheorghe DUCA 1; Vasile TARLEV designated prime minister; parliamentary votes of confidence - 75 of 101
Legislative branch
unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats; parties and electoral blocs elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 March 2005 (next to be held in 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - PCRM 46.1%, Democratic Moldova Bloc 28.4%, PPCD 9.1%, other parties 16.4%; seats by party - PCRM 56, Democratic Moldova Bloc 34, PPCD 11
Judicial branch
Supreme Court; Constitutional Court (the sole authority for constitutional judicature)
Political parties and leaders
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]; National Liberal Party or NLP [Vitalia PAVLICENKO]; Our Moldova Alliance or AMN [Serafim URECHEAN]; Party for Social Democracy or PSD [Dumitru BRAGHIS]; Social Liberal Party or PSL [Oleg SEREBRIAN]
same color scheme as Romania - 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
Economy - overview
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$9.07 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$2.574 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
4% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$2,000 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture
21.5%
industry
22%
services
56.5% (2006 est.)
Labor force
1.339 million (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture
40.7%
industry
12.1%
services
47.2% (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate
7.3%; note - roughly 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line
29.5% (2005)
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%
3.2%
highest 10%
26.4% (2003)
Distribution of family income - Gini index
33.2 (2003)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
14.1% (2006 est.)
Investment (gross fixed)
24.8% of GDP (2006 est.)
Budget
revenues
$1.318 billion
expenditures
$1.335 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)
Public debt
84.5% of GDP (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products
Industries
Industrial production growth rate
6.9% (2006 est.)
Electricity - production
1.229 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel
90.6%
hydro
9.4%
nuclear
0%
other
0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption
4.203 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports
130 million kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports
2.9 billion kWh (2005)
Oil - production
0 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption
14,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - exports
NA bbl/day
Oil - imports
NA bbl/day
Natural gas - production
0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - consumption
2.17 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - exports
0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - imports
2.17 billion cu m (2004 est.)
Current account balance
-$561 million (2006 est.)
Exports
$1.02 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities
foodstuffs, textiles, machinery
Exports - partners
Russia 22.5%, Germany 12%, Italy 10.9%, Romania 10.5%, Ukraine 9.4%, Belarus 5.6% (2006)
Imports
$2.65 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities
mineral products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles
Imports - partners
Russia 21.9%, Ukraine 17.8%, Romania 9.6%, Germany 9.2%, Italy 6.4%, Poland 4.6% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$680 million (2006 est.)
Debt - external
$2.142 billion (30 June 2006 est.)
Economic aid - recipient
$6.376 billion (2003)
Currency (code)
Moldovan leu (MDL)
Currency code
MDL
Exchange rates
lei per US dollar - 13.131 (2006), 12.6 (2005), 12.33 (2004), 13.945 (2003), 13.571 (2002)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Telephones - main lines in use
929,400 (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular
1.09 million (2005)
Telephone system
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; 2 private operators of GSM mobile cellular telephone service are operating; GPRS system is being introduced; license for 1 CDMA mobile telephone network currently being tendered
international
country code - 373; service through Romania and Russia via landline; satellite earth stations - Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik (2006)
Radio broadcast stations
AM 2, FM 29, shortwave NA (2006)
Radios
3.22 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations
40 (2006)
Televisions
1.26 million (1997)
Internet country code
.md
Internet hosts
58,886 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
2 (1999)
Internet users
406,000 (2005)
Airports
12 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways
total
6
over 3,047 m
1
2,438 to 3,047 m
2
1,524 to 2,437 m
2
under 914 m
1 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total
6
914 to 1,523 m
3
under 914 m
3 (2006)
Pipelines
gas 606 km (2006)
Railways
total
1,138 km
broad gauge
1,124 km 1.520-m gauge
standard gauge
14 km 1.435-m gauge (2005)
Roadways
total
12,733 km
paved
10,976 km
unpaved
1,757 km (2004)
Waterways
424 km (on Dniester and Prut rivers) (2007)
Merchant marine
total
7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 13,831 GRT/15,003 DWT
by type
cargo 7
foreign-owned
3 (Ukraine 3) (2006)
Military branches
National Army: Ground Forces, Rapid Reaction Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces (2006)
Military service age and obligation
18 years of age for compulsory military service; national service obligation - 12 months (2004)
Manpower available for military service
males age 18-49
1,066,459
females age 18-49
1,117,070 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49
693,913
females age 18-49
911,568 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually
males age 18-49
43,729
females age 18-49
42,354 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
0.4% (2005 est.)
Disputes - international
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 OSCE supervision
Illicit drugs
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
