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Moldova Country Guide

Explore Moldova in Europe

Moldova with the capital city Chişinău is located in Europe (Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania). It covers some 33,843 square kilometres (slightly larger than Maryland) with 4,324,000 citizens.

Interactive map of Moldova

The terrain features rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea. The average density of population is approximately 128 per km². The notable climate conditions in Moldova can be described as moderate winters, warm summers. Potential natural disasters are landslides.

To reach someone in Moldova dial +373 prior to a number. There are 1,139,000 installed telephones. And there are 2,785,000 registered mobile phones. The cellular networks commonly support frequencies of 900 MHz. Websites registered in this country end with the top level domain ".md". If you want to bring electric equipment on your trip (e.g. laptop power supply), note the local power outlet of 220V - 50Hz.

About the flag and history of Moldova

Moldova Flag Icon

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 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 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.


Part of Romania during the interwar period, Moldova was incorporated into the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. Although the country has been independent from the USSR since 1991, Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Nistru River supporting a Transnistrian separatist region composed of a Slavic majority population (mostly Ukrainians and Russians), but with a sizeable ethnic Moldovan minority. One of the poorest nations in Europe, Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a Communist, Vladimir VORONIN, as its president in 2001. VORONIN served as Moldova's president until he resigned in September 2009, following the opposition''s gain of a narrow majority in July parliamentary elections and the Communist Party''s (PCRM) subsequent inability to attract the three-fifths of parliamentary votes required to elect a president. Four Moldovan opposition parties formed a new coalition, the Alliance for European Integration (AEI), which has acted as Moldova''s governing coalition since. Moldova experienced significant political uncertainty between 2009 and early 2012, holding three general elections and numerous presidential ballots in parliament, all of which failed to secure a president. Following November 2010 parliamentary elections, a reconstituted AEI-coalition consisting of three of the four original AEI parties formed a government, and in March 2012 was finally able to elect an independent as president.



Geography Quick-Facts

SummaryContinent: Europe
Neighbours: Romania, Ukraine
Capital: Chişinău
Size33,843 square kilometers (km² or sqkm) or 13,066 square miles (mi² or sqmi)
slightly larger than Maryland
Population4,324,000
CurrencyName Leu, Currency Code:MDL
Country Top Level Domain (cTLD).md
Telephone Country Prefix+373
Mobile Phone Connections2,785,000
Landline Phone Connections1,139,000

Country Position in World Rankings

Information about single country attributes and how these compare against the rest of the world. The information below is compiled with data from 2013. As such, it may differ a bit to the Information above in the text (which is from 2010).

Geography

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Area33,851 (sq km)140

People and Society

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Population3,619,925 130
Population growth rate-1.02 (%)231
Birth rate12.38 (births/1,000 population)159
Death rate12.61 (deaths/1,000 population)24
Net migration rate-9.92 (migrant(s)/1,000 population)209
Maternal mortality rate41.00 (deaths/100,000 live births)114
Infant mortality rate13.28 (deaths/1,000 live births)125
Life expectancy at birth69.82 (years)153
Total fertility rate1.55 (children born/woman)183
Health expenditures11.70 (% of GDP)10
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate0.40 (%)78
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS12,000 93
HIV/AIDS - deaths1,000 76
Obesity - adult prevalence rate21.20 (%)91
Children under the age of 5 years underweight3.20 (%)110
Education expenditures8.60 (% of GDP)8
Unemployment, youth ages 15-2414.90 (%)84

Economy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
GDP (purchasing power parity)12,360,000,000 149
GDP - real growth rate-0.80 (%)194
GDP - per capita (PPP)3,500 172
Labor force1,173,000 139
Unemployment rate5.80 (%)55
Distribution of family income - Gini index38.00 72
Investment (gross fixed)23.60 (% of GDP)61
Taxes and other revenues39.10 (% of GDP)47
Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)-1.30 (% of GDP)65
Public debt18.10 (% of GDP)133
Inflation rate (consumer prices)4.50 (%)130
Commercial bank prime lending rate14.44 (%)52
Stock of narrow money1,701,000,000 132
Stock of broad money3,498,000,000 140
Stock of domestic credit3,051,000,000 130
Market value of publicly traded shares22,000,000 118
Industrial production growth rate3.10 (%)86
Current account balance-837,300,000 107
Exports2,161,000,000 141
Imports5,213,000,000 127
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold2,515,000,000 116
Debt - external6,132,000,000 108
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home3,224,000,000 88
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad88,420,000 85

Energy

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Electricity - production1,016,000,000 (kWh)147
Electricity - consumption3,571,000,000 (kWh)130
Electricity - imports3,145,000,000 (kWh)43
Electricity - installed generating capacity551,000 (kW)135
Electricity - from fossil fuels88.40 (% of total installed capacity)79
Electricity - from hydroelectric plants11.60 (% of total installed capacity)112
Refined petroleum products - production210 (bbl/day)117
Refined petroleum products - consumption18,060 (bbl/day)135
Refined petroleum products - exports110 (bbl/day)120
Refined petroleum products - imports15,800 (bbl/day)115
Natural gas - consumption1,095,000,000 (cu m)88
Natural gas - imports1,152,000,000 (cu m)57
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy7,380,000 (Mt)110

Communications

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Telephones - main lines in use1,180,000 71
Telephones - mobile cellular3,715,000 118
Internet hosts711,564 51
Internet users1,333,000 89

Transportation

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Airports10 156
Railways1,190 (km)86
Roadways9,343 (km)137
Waterways558 (km)83
Merchant marine121 45

Military

Value nameValueWorld Rank
Military expenditures0.40 (% of GDP)165

Data based on CIA facts book 2010 & 2013, wikipedia, national statistical offices and their census releases

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