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 Dniester River supporting a Transnistrian separatist region with a Slavic majority population of mostly Ukrainians and Russians. 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. Moldova's four 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 the Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party, and the Democratic Party formed a government, and in March 2012 were finally able to elect an independent as president.

Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania

slightly larger than Maryland

moderate winters, warm summers

rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea

lignite, phosphorites, gypsum, arable land, limestone

heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including banned pesticides such as DDT, has contaminated soil and groundwater; extensive soil erosion from poor farming methods

landlocked; well endowed with various sedimentary rocks and minerals including sand, gravel, gypsum, and limestone

Moldovan/Romanian 78.2%, Ukrainian 8.4%, Russian 5.8%, Gagauz 4.4%, Bulgarian 1.9%, other 1.3% (2004 census)

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

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

3,656,843 (July 2012 est.)

12.5 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

12.62 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

-10.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2012 est.)

CHISINAU (capital) 650,000 (2009)

41 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)

1.55 children born/woman (2012 est.)

2.668 physicians/1,000 population (2007)

6.12 beds/1,000 population (2007)

fewer than 1,000 (2009 est.)

32 raions (raioane, singular - raion), 3 municipalities (municipii, singular - municipiul), 1 autonomous territorial unit (unitatea teritoriala autonoma), and 1 territorial unit (unitatea teritoriala)

27 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

Independence Day, 27 August (1991)

adopted 29 July 1994; effective 27 August 1994; note - replaced 1979 Soviet Constitution

civil law system with Germanic law influences; Constitutional Court review of legislative acts

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats; members elected on an at-large basis by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

Supreme Court; Constitutional Court (the sole authority for constitutional judicature)

BSEC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAEC (observer), EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

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

aurochs (a type of wild cattle)

Moldova remains one of the poorest countries in Europe despite recent progress from its small economic base. It 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 almost all of its energy supplies. Moldova's dependence on Russian energy was underscored at the end of 2005, when a Russian-owned electrical station in Moldova's separatist Transnistria region cut off power to Moldova and Russia's Gazprom cut off natural gas in disputes over pricing. In January 2009, gas supplies were cut during a dispute between Russia and Ukraine. Previous Russian decisions to ban Moldovan wine and agricultural products, coupled with its decision to double the price Moldova paid for Russian natural gas, have hurt economic growth in the past. The onset of the global financial crisis and poor economic conditions in Moldova's main foreign markets caused GDP to fall 6% in 2009. Unemployment almost doubled and inflation dropped to -0.1%, a record low. Moldova's IMF agreement expired in May 2009. In fall 2009, the IMF allocated $186 million to Moldova to cover its immediate budgetary needs, and the government signed a new agreement with the IMF in January 2010 for a program worth $574 million. In 2010, an upturn in the world economy boosted GDP growth to about 7% per year and inflation to more than 7%. Economic reforms have been slow because of corruption and strong political forces backing government controls. Nevertheless, the government's primary goal of EU integration has resulted in some market-oriented progress. The granting of EU trade preferences should encourage higher growth rates, but the agreements are unlikely to serve as a panacea, given the extent to which export success depends on higher quality standards and other factors. The economy has made a modest recovery, growing by 6% in 2011, but remains vulnerable to political uncertainty, weak administrative capacity, vested bureaucratic interests, higher fuel prices and the concerns of foreign investors as well as the presence of an illegal separatist regime in Moldova's Transnistria region.

$12.15 billion (2011 est.)

$11.42 billion (2010 est.)

$10.66 billion (2009 est.)

$7.003 billion (2011 est.)

1.27 million (2011 est.)

23.5% of GDP (2011 est.)

38.2% of GDP (2011 est.)

-0.3% of GDP (2011 est.)

29.3% of GDP (2011 est.)

21.5% of GDP (2010 est.)

14.44% (31 December 2011 est.)

16.36% (31 December 2010 est.)

$1.777 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$1.293 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$3.498 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$3.049 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$2.562 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$2.199 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

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

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

-$801.5 million (2011 est.)

-$459.8 million (2010 est.)

$2.282 billion (2011 est.)

$1.59 billion (2010 est.)

foodstuffs, textiles, machinery

Italy 9.7%, Ukraine 6.9%, Germany 5%, UK 4.6% (2011)

$5.147 billion (2011 est.)

$3.81 billion (2010 est.)

mineral products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles

Italy 6.7%, Ukraine 12.3%, Romania 11.1%, China 7.7%, Germany 7.7%, Turkey 7.1% (2011 est.)

$1.965 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$1.718 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$5.2 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$4.615 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

$3.1 billion (30 September 2011 est.)

$2.649 billion (1 January 2010 est.)

$75.25 million (30 September 2011)

$62.44 million (1 January 2010)

Moldovan lei (MDL) per US dollar -

3.386 billion kWh (2009 est.)

3.416 billion kWh (2009 est.)

1.464 billion kWh (2009 est.)

551,000 kW (2009 est.)

88.4% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

11.6% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2009 est.)

0 bbl/day (2011 est.)

0 bbl/day (2009 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2012 est.)

210 bbl/day (2008 est.)

18,060 bbl/day (2011 est.)

110 bbl/day (2008 est.)

15,800 bbl/day (2008 est.)

2.17 billion cu m (2010 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2012 est.)

7.38 million Mt (2010 est.)

3.715 million (2011)

state-owned national radio-TV broadcaster operates 2 TV and 2 radio stations; a total of nearly 40 terrestrial TV channels and some 50 radio stations are in operation; Russian and Romanian channels also are available (2007)

1.333 million (2009)

558 km (in public use on Danube, Dniester and Prut rivers) (2011)

National Army: Land Forces Command, Air Forces Command (includes air defense unit), Logistics Command (2010)

18 years of age for compulsory military service; 17 years of age for voluntary service; male registration required at age 16; 12-month service obligation (2009)

0.4% of GDP (2005 est.)

Moldova and Ukraine operate joint customs posts to monitor the transit of people and commodities through Moldova's break-away Transnistria region, which remains under Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe supervision

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