Moldova




                                 Geography


Location:
     Eastern Europe, between Ukraine and Romania
Map references:
     Asia, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World
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:
     no official territorial claims by either Moldova or Romania, but
     nationalists in Romania seek the merger of Moldova into Romania;
     potential future dispute by Moldova and Romania against Ukraine over
     former southern and northern Bessarabian areas and Northern Bukovina
     ceded to Ukraine upon Moldova's incorporation into USSR
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:
     4,473,033 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     0.38% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     16.02 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     10.02 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     -2.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     30.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     68.07 years
male:
     64.65 years
female:
     71.67 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     2.18 children born/woman (1994 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 9-49 can read and write (1970)
total population:
     100%
male:
     100%
female:
     99%
Labor force:
     2.05 million (1992)




by occupation:
     agriculture 34.4%, industry 20.1%, other 45.5% (1985 figures)


                                Government


Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Moldova
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Republica Moldoveneasca
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:
     old Soviet constitution (adopted NA 1979) is still in effect but has
     been heavily amended during the past few years; a new constitution is
     expected in 1994
Legal system:
     based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts;
     does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but accepts many UN and
     CSCE 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 SANGHALI (since 1 July 1992; reappointed 5 April
     1994 after elections for new legislature)
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
Political parties and leaders:
     Christian Democratic Popular Front (formerly Moldovan Popular Front),
     Iurie ROSCA, chairman; Yedinstvo Intermovement, V. YAKOVLEV, 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, chairman; Communist Party,
     Vladimir VORONIN
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, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, IBRD, ICAO, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT
     (nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, NACC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
     WHO, WIPO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Nicolae TIU
chancery:
     1511 K Street NW, Room 329, Washington, DC
telephone:
     (202) 783-3012 or -2807
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 or 23-34-76
FAX:
     7-0422-23-30-44




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 has pushed ahead boldly on economic reform since gaining its
     independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. It introduced a
     convertible currency - the leu - in late 1993 that has remained stable
     against the dollar, removed price controls on most products,
     eliminated licenses and quotas on most imports and exports, and freed
     interest rates. In 1994, Moldova aims to privatize at least one-third
     of state enterprises, lower inflation to 1% per month, and reduce the
     budget deficit to 3.5% of GDP. 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, however, must import all of
     its supplies of oil, coal, and natural gas, and energy shortages have
     contributed to sharp production declines since the break-up of the
     Soviet Union. Activities by separatist groups in the Dniester region
     have held back economic development in that area. Foreign economic
     assistance has been a tangible plus for Moldova, whereas direct
     foreign investment has been lacking.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $16.3 billion (1993 estimate from
     the UN International Comparison Program, as extended to 1991 and
     published in the World Bank's World Development Report 1993; and as
     extrapolated to 1993 using official Moldovan statistics, which are
     very uncertain because of major economic changes since 1990)
National product real growth rate:
     -4% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
     $3,650 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     30% per month (1993)
Unemployment rate:
     less than 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:
     $108 million to outside the FSU countries (January-September 1993);
     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:
     $145 million from outside the FSU countries (January-September 1993);
     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:
     $325 million (end of 1993)
Industrial production:
     growth rate -10% (1993)
Electricity:
capacity:
     3,115,000 kW
production:
     11.1 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     2,491 kWh (1992)
Industries:
     key products are canned food, agricultural machinery, foundry
     equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery,
     refined sugar, vegetable oil, shoes, textiles
Agriculture:
     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:
     NA
Fiscal year:
     calendar year


                              Communications


Railroads:
     1,150 km; does not include industrial lines (1990)
Highways:
total:
     20,000 km




paved or gravelled:
     13,900 km
unpaved:
     earth 6,100 km (1990)
Pipelines:
     natural gas 310 km (1992)
Ports:
     none; landlocked
Airports:
total:
     26
usable:
     15
with permanent-surface runways:
     6
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     5
with runways 1,060-2,439 m:
     8
note:
     a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip
Telecommunications:
     The telecommunication system of Moldova is not well developed; number
     of telephone subscribers 577,000 (1991); number of subscribers per
     1,000 persons 134 (1991); number of unsuccessful requests for
     telephone service 215,000 (1991); 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; 2 satellite earth stations - 1
     EUTELSAT and 1 INTELSAT; broadcast services NA


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Ground Forces, Air and Air Defence Force, Security Forces (internal
     and border troops)
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 1,098,156; fit for military service 869,866; reach
     military age (18) annually 35,814 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
     $NA, NA% of GDP