Moldova

This article is about the modern state. For the historical principality, see Moldavia. For other uses, see Moldova (disambiguation).

Republic of Moldova
Republica Moldova (Romanian)
Anthem: Limba noastră
"Our language"
Location of Moldova in Europe (green) and its uncontrolled territory of Transnistria (light green)
Location of Moldova in Europe (green)
and its uncontrolled territory of Transnistria (light green)
Capital
and largest city
Chișinău
47°0′N 28°55′E / 47.000°N 28.917°E / 47.000; 28.917
Official language
and national language		Romanian[1][2]
Recognised minority
languages[3][4][5]
See here
Ethnic groups
(2014; excl. Transnistria)[6]
82.07% Moldovans / Romanians[a]
6.57% Ukrainians
4.57% Gagauzes
4.06% Russians
1.88% Bulgarians
0.85% other
Religion
(2014; excl. Transnistria)[6]
  • 0.3% other religions
  • 5.5% no religion
  • 2.4% unspecified
Demonym(s)Moldovan
GovernmentUnitary parliamentary republic
• President
Maia Sandu
Dorin Recean
Igor Grosu
LegislatureParliament
Formation
1346
1812
15 December 1917
9 April 1918
12 October 1924
2 August 1940
2 November 1990
27 August 1991a
• Constitution adopted
29 July 1994
Area
• Incl. Transnistria
33,843[7] km2 (13,067 sq mi) (135th)
• Water (%)
1.4 (incl. Transnistria)
• Excl. Transnistria
30,334 km2 (11,712 sq mi)[b]
Population
• January 2024 estimate
2,423,300[9][c] (140th)
• 2014 census
2,804,801[6][c]
• Density
82.8/km2 (214.5/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $45.407 billion[10][c] (136th)
• Per capita
Increase $18,524[10] (91st)
GDP (nominal)2024 estimate
• Total
Increase $18.062 billion[10][c] (130th)
• Per capita
Increase $7,368[10] (92nd)
Gini (2021)Positive decrease 25.7[11]
low inequality
HDI (2022)Decrease 0.763[12]
high (86th)
CurrencyMoldovan leu (MDL)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+3 (EEST)
Drives onright
Calling code+373
ISO 3166 codeMD
Internet TLD.md
Website
www.moldova.md Edit this at Wikidata
  1. Date of proclamation. Independence subsequently finalized with the dissolution of the USSR in December 1991.

Moldova,[d] officially the Republic of Moldova,[e] is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, on the northeastern corner of the Balkans.[16] The country spans a total of 33,483 km2 (12,928 sq mi) and has a population of approximately 2.42 million as of January 2024.[17] Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south.[18] The unrecognised breakaway state of Transnistria lies across the Dniester river on the country's eastern border with Ukraine. Moldova is a unitary parliamentary representative democratic republic with its capital in Chișinău, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre.

Most of Moldovan territory was a part of the Principality of Moldavia from the 14th century until 1812, when it was ceded to the Russian Empire by the Ottoman Empire (to which Moldavia was a vassal state) and became known as Bessarabia. In 1856, southern Bessarabia was returned to Moldavia, which three years later united with Wallachia to form Romania, but Russian rule was restored over the whole of the region in 1878. During the 1917 Russian Revolution, Bessarabia briefly became an autonomous state within the Russian Republic. In February 1918, it declared independence and then integrated into Romania later that year following a vote of its assembly. The decision was disputed by Soviet Russia, which in 1924 established, within the Ukrainian SSR, a so-called Moldavian autonomous republic on partially Moldovan-inhabited territories to the east of Bessarabia. In 1940, as a consequence of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Romania was compelled to cede Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina to the Soviet Union, leading to the creation of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (Moldavian SSR).

On 27 August 1991, as the dissolution of the Soviet Union was underway, the Moldavian SSR declared independence and took the name Moldova.[19] However, the strip of Moldovan territory on the east bank of the Dniester has been under the de facto control of the breakaway government of Transnistria since 1990. The constitution of Moldova was adopted in 1994, and the country became a parliamentary republic with a president as head of state and a prime minister as head of government. Under the presidency of Maia Sandu, elected in 2020 on a pro-Western and anti-corruption ticket, Moldova has pursued membership of the European Union, and was granted candidate status in June 2022.[20] Accession talks to the EU began on 13 December 2023.[21] Sandu has also suggested an end to Moldova's constitutional commitment to military neutrality in favour of a closer alliance with NATO and strongly condemned Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine.[22]

Moldova is the second poorest country in Europe by GDP per official capita after Ukraine and much of its GDP is dominated by the service sector.[23] It has one of the lowest Human Development Indexes in Europe, ranking 76th in the world (2022).[12] Moldova ranks 68th in the world on the Global Innovation Index as of 2024.[24] Moldova is a member state of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, the World Trade Organization, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development, the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, and the Association Trio.

  1. ^ "Constituția Republicii Moldova, articolul 13: (1) Limba de stat a Republicii Moldova este limba română, funcționând pe baza grafiei latine. (pag.25)" (in Romanian). Parlamentul Republicii Moldova. Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Constituția Republicii Moldova, articolul 13 (1), pag.25" (PDF) (in Romanian). Preşedinţia Republicii Moldova. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 May 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2023.
  3. ^ "Președintele CCM: Constituția conferă limbii ruse un statut deosebit de cel al altor limbi minoritare". Deschide.md. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  4. ^ "Chişinău, (21.01.2021) Judecătorii constituționali au decis că limba rusă nu va avea statutul de limbă de comunicare interetnică pe teritoriul Republicii Moldova". Moldpres.md. Archived from the original on 23 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Președintele CC Domnica Manole, explică de ce a fost anulată legea cu privire la statutul special pentru limbia rusă". ProTv.md. Archived from the original on 29 January 2021. Retrieved 22 January 2021.
  6. ^ a b c "Recensamântul Populației si al Locuințelor 2014". statistica.gov.md. 2 August 2013. Archived from the original on 2 December 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  7. ^ "Republica Moldova – Geografie". Moldova.md. 26 August 2016. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  8. ^ "MOLDOVA: Transnistria (Pridnestrovie)". Citypopulation.de. Archived from the original on 25 March 2021. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
  9. ^ "Numărul populației cu reședință obișnuită, pe sexe şi grupe de vârstă, în profil teritorial la 1 Ianuarie 2023" (in Romanian). Biroul Național de Statistică al Republicii Moldova (BNS). 8 June 2023. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2024 Edition. (Moldova)". www.imf.org. International Monetary Fund. 22 October 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  11. ^ "Gini index – Moldova". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 23 September 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Human Development Report 2021/2022" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 8 September 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  13. ^ "Moldova". Lexico UK English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Archived from the original on 22 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Moldova". Dictionary.com Unabridged (Online). n.d. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  15. ^ The Free Dictionary: Moldova
  16. ^ "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". Cia.gov. Archived from the original on 5 January 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
  17. ^ "Moldova country profile". BBC News. 3 April 2012. Archived from the original on 7 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Moldova". CIA World Factbook. Archived from the original on 5 January 2021. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  19. ^ ""Wine Road" in Republic of Moldova" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
  20. ^ "EU awards Ukraine and Moldova candidate status". BBC News. 23 June 2022. Archived from the original on 23 June 2022. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  21. ^ "EU greenlights accession talks with Ukraine and Moldova". Euronews. 14 December 2023. Archived from the original on 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  22. ^ Lynch, Suzanne (20 January 2023). "Time to join NATO? Moldova eyes joining 'a larger alliance'". Politico. Archived from the original on 21 January 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  23. ^ "GDP per capita, PPP (current international $)". Archived from the original on 27 July 2022. Retrieved 27 July 2022.
  24. ^ World Intellectual Property Organization (2024). Global Innovation Index 2024. Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship. Geneva. p. 18. doi:10.34667/tind.50062. ISBN 978-92-805-3681-2. Retrieved 22 October 2024.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)


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