Moldova

From Imakoopedia

Moldova is a land locked country in Eastern Europe that is surrounded by Romania to the southwest, across the Prut river, and Ukraine to the northeast.

Table of contents

1 Regions 2 Cities 3 Other destinations 4 Understand 4.1 Climate 4.2 Terrain 4.3 History 5 Get in 5.1 By plane 5.2 By train 5.3 By car 5.4 By bus 5.5 By boat 6 Get around 7 Talk 8 Buy 9 Eat 10 Drink 11 Sleep 12 Learn 13 Work 14 Stay safe 15 Stay healthy 16 Respect 17 Contact 18 External links 19 Geography 20 People 21 Government 22 Economy 23 Communications 24 Transportation 25 Transnational Issues

Regions

Administrative divisions 

It is divided into 32 Rayons: 1. Anenii Noi 2. Basarabeasca 3. Briceni 4. Cahul 5. Cantemir 6. Calarasi 7. Causeni 8. Cimislia 9. Criuleni 10. Donduseni 11. Drochia 12. Dubasari 13. Edinet 14. Falesti 15. Floresti 16. Glodeni 17. Hîncesti 18. Ialoveni 19. Leova 20. Nisporeni 21. Ocnita 22. Orhei 23. Rezina 24. Rîscani 25. Sîngerei 26. Soroca 27. Straseni 28. Soldanesti 29. Stefan Voda 30. Taraclia 31. Telenesti 32. Ungheni

An autonomous territorial unit (unitate teritoriala autonoma):

• Gagausia (Gagauzia)

And a territorial unit (unitate teritoriala):

• Transnistria (Stinga Nistrului) - Break-away region east of the Dniester River, on the Ukrainian border, where Russian forces are supporting the Slavic majority population, mostly Ukrainians and Russians, who have proclaimed a "Transnistria" republic.

Cities

• Chisinau - Capital - An administrative municipality (municipiul). A nice city to go and visit for some days, and to walk around in.

Other destinations

Understand

Climate

Moderate winters, warm summers.

Terrain

Landlocked. Rolling steppe, gradual slope south towards the Black Sea. Well endowed with various sedimentary rocks and minerals including sand, gravel, gypsum, and limestone. Natural hazards : Experiences landslides (57 cases in 1998) due to extensive soil erosion from poor farming methods

Elevation extremes 

lowest point: Dniester River 2 m
highest point: Dealul Balanesti 430 m

History

Formerly ruled by Romania, Moldova became part of the Soviet Union at the close of World War II.

Independence 

27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)

National holiday 

Independence Day, 27 August (1991)

Constitution 

new constitution adopted 28 July 1994; replaces old Soviet constitution of 1979

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.

One of the poorest nations in Europe, Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a Communist as its president in 2001.

Get in

People from most nations need a visa for entering Moldova, obtainable at your local Moldovan embassy.

By plane

There is the occasional plane flying to Chisinau airport from Bucharest, Budapest as well as some other major European airports. Prices are relatively high (flying with Malev via Budapest seems the least expensive). Moldova has a domestic air company.

By train

By car

By bus

There are regular buses connecting Chisinau with Bucharest, Kiev and most major Romanian and Ukrainian cities. You will also be able to travel to most European cities by bus with Moldovan bus companies.

By boat

Get around

The most reliable and extensive domestic transport is bus - you will get to most parts of the country.

Talk

Moldovans speak Moldovan (outside of the semi-autonomous region of Gagausia and the breakaway region of Transnistria), which is for all practical purposes the same as Romanian. Most people in the cities also speak Russian, although be a little careful of this - learn enough Moldovan to ask whether it is ok to speak Russian - there are still hard feelings about the Soviet Union in some places.

Languages 

Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian (official), Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)

Buy

Eat

Drink

Sleep

Learn

Work

Stay safe

Stay healthy

The heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including banned pesticides such as DDT, has contaminated soil and groundwater. If you are concerned, water for drinking, cooking and oral hygene should be taken from a known safe source, as ordinary water treatment, including boiling, does not remove such chemical contamination.

Respect

Contact

External links

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Geography

Geographic coordinates 

47 00 N, 29 00 E

Area 

total: 33,843 sq km
water: 472 sq km
land: 33,371 sq km

Area - comparative 

slightly larger than Maryland

Natural resources 

lignite, phosphorites, gypsum, arable land, limestone

Land use 

arable land: 54.08%
permanent crops: 12.1%
other: 33.82% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 

3,070 sq km (1998 est.)

People

Population 

4,434,547 (July 2002 est.)

Age structure 

0-14 years: 21.7% (male 490,414; female 472,912)
15-64 years: 68.2% (male 1,451,962; female 1,572,561)
65 years and over: 10.1% (male 165,860; female 280,838) (2002 est.)

Population growth rate 

0.09% (2002 est.)

Birth rate 

13.82 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Death rate 

12.64 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Net migration rate 

-0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)

Sex ratio 

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female
total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2002 est.)

Infant mortality rate 

42.16 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)

Life expectancy at birth 

total population: 64.74 years
female: 69.31 years (2002 est.)
male: 60.39 years

Total fertility rate 

1.71 children born/woman (2002 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate 

0.2% (1999 est.)

Nationality 

noun: Moldovan(s)
adjective: Moldovan

Ethnic groups 

Moldovan/Romanian 64.5%, Ukrainian 13.8%, Russian 13%, Jewish 1.5%, Bulgarian 2%, Gagauz and other 5.2% (1989 est.)
note: internal disputes with ethnic Slavs in the Transnistrian region

Religions 

Eastern Orthodox 98%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist and other 0.5% (2000)

Literacy 

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 96%
male: 99%
female: 94% (1989 est.)

Government

Country name 

conventional long form: Republic of Moldova
conventional short form: Moldova
local short form: none
former: Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova; Moldavia
local long form: Republica Moldova

Government type 

republic

Legal system 

based on civil law system; Constitutional Court reviews legality of legislative acts and governmental decisions of resolution; it is unclear if Moldova accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but accepts many UN and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) documents

Suffrage 

18 years of age; universal

Flag description 

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

Economy - overview 

Moldova enjoys a favorable climate and good farmland but has no major mineral deposits. As a result, the economy depends heavily on agriculture, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine, and tobacco. Moldova must import all of its supplies of oil, coal, and natural gas, largely from Russia. Energy shortages contributed to sharp production declines after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. As part of an ambitious reform effort, Moldova introduced a convertible currency, freed all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to state enterprises, backed steady land privatization, removed export controls, and freed interest rates. The government entered into agreements with the World Bank and the IMF to promote growth and reduce poverty. The economy returned to positive growth, of 2.1% in 2000 and 6.1% in 2001. Growth remained strong in 2002, in part because of the reforms and because of starting from a small base. Further reforms are in doubt because of strong political forces backing government controls. The economy remains vulnerable to higher fuel prices, poor agricultural weather, and the scepticism of foreign investors.

Population below poverty line 

80% (2001 est.)

Labor force 

1.7 million (1998) (1998)

Labor force - by occupation 

agriculture 40%, industry 14%, services 46% (1998) (1998)

Unemployment rate 

8% (roughly 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad) (2002 est.)

Industries 

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

Electricity - production 

3.317 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source 

fossil fuel: 90%
hydro: 10%

Agriculture - products 

vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk

Exports - commodities 

foodstuffs, textiles, and machinery (2001)

Imports - commodities 

mineral products and fuel 32%, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles (2000)

Currency 

Moldovan leu (MDL)

Currency code 

MDL

Exchange rates 

lei per US dollar - 12.8579 (October 2001), 12.4342 (2000), 10.5158 (1999), 5.3707 (1998), 4.6236 (1997); note - lei is the plural form of leu

Fiscal year 

calendar year

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use 

627,000 (1997)

Telephones - mobile cellular 

2,200 (1997)

Telephone system 

general assessment: inadequate, outmoded, poor service outside Chisinau, some effort to modernize is under way
domestic: new subscribers face long wait for service; mobile cellular telephone service being introduced
international: service through Romania and Russia via landline; satellite earth stations - Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik

Radio broadcast stations 

AM 7, FM 50, shortwave 3 (1998)

Radios 

3.22 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations 

1 (plus 30 repeaters) (1995)

Televisions 

1.26 million (1997)

Internet country code 

.md

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) 

2 (1999)

Internet users 

15,000 (2000)

Transportation

Railways 

total: 1,328 km
broad gauge: 1,328 km 1.520-m gauge (2001)

Highways 

total: 20,000 km
paved: 13,900 km (includes some all-weather gravel-surfaced roads)
unpaved: 6,100 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990)

Waterways 

424 km (1994)

Pipelines 

natural gas 310 km (1992)

Ports and harbors 

none

Airports 

30 (2001)

Airports - with paved runways 

total: 7
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
under 914 m: 1 (2002)

Airports - with unpaved runways 

total: 23
2,438 to 3,047 m: 4
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 14 (2002)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international 

Moldovan difficulties with break-away Transnistria region inhibit establishment of a joint customs regime with Ukraine to curtail smuggling, arms transfers, and other illegal activities

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