Match 163 DB Rec# - 7,615 Dataset-WOFACT
Title :Moldova
Text :
Moldova
Geography
Location:
Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania
Map references:
Commonwealth of Independent States - European States
Area:
total area:
33,700 sq km
land area:
33,700 sq km
comparative area:
slightly more than twice the size of Hawaii
Land boundaries:
total 1,389 km, Romania 450 km, Ukraine 939 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none; landlocked
International disputes:
certain territory of Moldova and Ukraine - including Bessarabia and Northern
Bukovina - are considered by Bucharest as historically a part of Romania;
this territory was incorporated into the former Soviet Union following the
Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in 1940
Climate:
moderate winters, warm summers
Terrain:
rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea
Natural resources:
lignite, phosphorites, gypsum
Land use:
arable land:
50%
permanent crops:
13%
meadows and pastures:
9%
forest and woodland:
0%
other:
28%
Irrigated land:
2,920 sq km (1990)
Environment:
current issues:
heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including banned pesticides such as
DDT, has contaminated soil and groundwater; extensive soil erosion from poor
farming methods
natural hazards:
NA
international agreements:
signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change
Note:
landlocked
People
Population:
4,489,657 (July 1995 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
27% (female 588,155; male 609,372)
15-64 years:
64% (female 1,487,170; male 1,386,293)
65 years and over:
9% (female 258,958; male 159,709) (July 1995 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.36% (1995 est.)
Birth rate:
15.93 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Death rate:
10.05 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Net migration rate:
-2.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
29.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
68.22 years
male:
64.81 years
female:
71.8 years (1995 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.16 children born/woman (1995 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Moldovan(s)
adjective:
Moldovan
Ethnic divisions:
Moldavian/Romanian 64.5%, Ukrainian 13.8%, Russian 13%, Gagauz 3.5%, Jewish
1.5%, Bulgarian 2%, other 1.7% (1989 figures)
note:
internal disputes with ethnic Russians and Ukrainians in the Dniester region
and Gagauz Turks in the south
Religions:
Eastern Orthodox 98.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist (only about 1,000 members)
(1991)
note:
the large majority of churchgoers are ethnic Moldavian
Languages:
Moldovan (official; virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian,
Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1989)
total population:
96%
male:
99%
female:
94%
Labor force:
2.03 million (January 1994)
by occupation:
agriculture 34.4%, industry 20.1%, other 45.5% (1985 figures)
Government
Names:
conventional long form:
Republic of Moldova
conventional short form:
Moldova
local long form:
Republica Moldova
local short form:
none
former:
Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova; Moldavia
Digraph:
MD
Type:
republic
Capital:
Chisinau
Administrative divisions:
previously divided into 40 rayons; new districts possible under new
constitution in 1994
Independence:
27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 27 August 1991
Constitution:
new constitution adopted NA July 1994; replaces old Soviet constitution of
1979
Legal system:
based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts; does not
accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but accepts many UN and OSCE documents
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Mircea SNEGUR (since 3 September 1990); election last held 8
December 1991 (next to be held NA 1996); results - Mircea SNEGUR ran
unopposed and won 98.17% of vote; note - President SNEGUR was named
executive president by the Supreme Soviet on 3 September 1990 and was
confirmed by popular election on 8 December 1991
head of government:
Prime Minister Andrei SANGHELI (since 1 July 1992; reappointed 5 April 1994
after elections for new legislature); First Deputy Prime Minister Ion GUTU
(since NA)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on recommendation of the
prime minister
Legislative branch:
unicameral
Parliament:
elections last held 27 February 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); results -
percent by party NA; seats - (104 total) Agrarian-Democratic Party 56,
Socialist/Yedinstvo Bloc 28, Peasants and Intellectual Bloc 11, Christian
Democratic Popular Front 9
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Government
Political parties and leaders:
Christian Democratic Popular Front (formerly Moldovan Popular Front), Iurie
ROSCA, chairman; Yedinstvo Intermovement, Vladimir SOLONARI, chairman;
Social Democratic Party, Oazu NANTOI, chairman, two other chairmen;
Agrarian-Democratic Party, Dumitru MOTPAN, chairman; Democratic Party,
Gheorghe GHIMPU, chairman; Democratic Labor Party, Alexandru ARSENI,
chairman; Reform Party, Anatol SELARU; Republican Party, Victor PUSCAS;
Socialist Party, Valeriu SENIC, cochairman; Communist Party, Vladimir
VORONIN, cochairman; Peasants and Intellectuals Bloc
Other political or pressure groups:
United Council of Labor Collectives (UCLC), Igor SMIRNOV, chairman; Congress
of Intellectuals, Alexandru MOSANU; 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; Christian Alliance for Greater Romania; Stefan the Great
Movement; Liberal Convention of Moldova; Association of Victims of
Repression; Christian Democratic Youth League
Member of:
BSEC, CE (guest), CIS, EBRD, ECE, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT
(nonsignatory user), INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NACC, OSCE, PFP,
UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Nicolae TAU
chancery:
Suites 329, 333, 1511 K Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
telephone:
[1] (202) 783-3012
FAX:
[1] (202) 783-3342
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Mary C. PENDLETON
embassy:
Strada Alexei Mateevich #103, Chisinau
mailing address:
use embassy street address
telephone:
[373] (2) 23-37-72
FAX:
[373] (2) 23-30-44
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 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:
Moldova enjoys a favorable climate and good farmland but has no major
mineral deposits. As a result, Moldova's economy is primarily based on
agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine, and tobacco. Moldova must
import all of its supplies of oil, coal, and natural gas, and energy
shortages have contributed to sharp production declines since the breakup of
the Soviet Union in 1991. The Moldovan government is making steady progress
on an ambitious economic reform agenda, and the IMF has called Moldova a
model for the region. As part of its reform efforts, Chisinau has introduced
a stable currency, freed all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to
state enterprises and backed their steady privatization, removed export
controls, and freed interest rates. Chisinau appears strongly committed to
continuing these reforms in 1995. Meanwhile, privatization of medium and
large enterprises got underway in mid-1994 and is expected to pick up speed
in 1995. To improve its precarious energy situation, Chisinau reached an
agreement with Moscow in December 1994 on gas deliveries for 1995. Gazprom,
Russia's national gas company, has agreed to reduce prices for natural gas
deliveries to Moldova from the world market price of $80/thousand cubic
meters (tcm) to $58/tcm in return for part ownership of the Moldovan
pipeline system.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power parity - $11.9 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated
from World Bank estimate for 1992)
National product real growth rate:
-30% (1994 est.)
National product per capita:
$2,670 (1994 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
7.6% per month (1994)
Unemployment rate:
1% (includes only officially registered unemployed; large numbers of
underemployed workers)
Budget:
revenues:
$NA
expenditures:
$NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
note:
budget deficit for 1993 approximately 6% of GDP
Exports:
$144 million to outside the FSU countries (1994); over 70% of exports go to
FSU countries
commodities:
foodstuffs, wine, tobacco, textiles and footwear, machinery, chemicals
(1991)
partners:
Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Romania, Germany
Imports:
$174 million from outside the FSU countries (1994); over 70% of imports are
from FSU countries
commodities:
oil, gas, coal, steel, machinery, foodstuffs, automobiles, and other
consumer durables
partners:
Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Romania, Germany
External debt:
$300 million (as of 11 December 1994)
Industrial production:
growth rate -30% (1994 est.)
Economy
Electricity:
capacity:
3,000,000 kW
production:
8.2 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
1,830 kWh (1994)
Industries:
key products are canned food, agricultural machinery, foundry equipment,
refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery, refined sugar,
vegetable oil, shoes, textiles
Agriculture:
accounts for about 40% of GDP; Moldova's principal economic activity;
products are vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed,
meat, milk, tobacco
Illicit drugs:
illicit cultivator of opium poppy and cannabis; mostly for CIS consumption;
transshipment point for illicit drugs to Western Europe
Economic aid:
recipient:
joint EC-US loan (1993), $127 million; IMF STF credit (1993), $64 million;
IMF stand-by loan (1993), $72 million; US commitments (1992-93), $61 million
in humanitarian aid, $11 million in technical assistance; World Bank loan
(1993), $60 million; Russia (1993), 50 billion ruble credit; Romania (1993),
20 billion lei credit
Currency:
the leu (plural lei) was introduced in late 1993
Exchange rates:
lei per US$1 - 4.277 (22 December 1994)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Transportation
Railroads:
total:
1,150 km in common carrier service; does not include industrial lines
broad gauge:
1,150 km 1.520-m gauge (1990)
Highways:
total:
20,000 km
paved or graveled:
13,900 km
unpaved:
earth 6,100 km (1990)
Pipelines:
natural gas 310 km (1992)
Ports:
none
Airports:
total:
26
with paved runways over 3,047 m:
1
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m:
2
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m:
2
with paved runways under 914 m:
3
with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m:
3
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m:
2
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m:
5
with unpaved runways under 914 m:
8
Communications
Telephone system:
577,000 telephones; 134 telephones/1,000 persons; telecommunication system
not well developed; 215,000 unsatisfied requests for telephone service
(1991)
local:
NA
intercity:
NA
international:
international connections to the other former Soviet republics by land line
and microwave radio relay through Ukraine, and to other countries by leased
connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; 1 EUTELSAT and 1
INTELSAT earth station
Radio:
broadcast stations:
AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA
radios:
NA
Television:
broadcast stations:
NA
televisions:
NA
Defense Forces
Branches:
Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Republic Security Forces
(internal and border troops)
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 1,116,912; males fit for military service 881,642; males
reach military age (18) annually 35,447 (1995 est.)
Defense expenditures:
$NA, 2% of GDP (1994)
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The World Factbook 1995,
SuDoc No: PREX 3.15:995
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