]! ^! Formerly part of Romania, Moldova was incorporated into the Soviet Union at the close of World War II. 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. The poorest nation in Europe, Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a Communist as its president in 2001. 
]" ^" Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania ^# 47 00 N, 29 00 E ^$ Europe ^% `! 33,843 sq km `" 33,371 sq km `# 472 sq km ^& slightly larger than Maryland ^' `! 1,389 km `U Romania 450 km, Ukraine 939 km ^( 0 km (landlocked) ^) none (landlocked) ^* moderate winters, warm summers ^+ rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea ^, `% Dniester River 2 m `& Dealul Balanesti 430 m ^- lignite, phosphorites, gypsum, arable land, limestone ^. `' 55.3% `( 10.79% `) 33.91% (2001) ^/ 3,070 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 landslides (57 cases in 1998) ^1 heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including banned pesticides such as DDT, has contaminated soil and groundwater; extensive soil erosion from poor farming methods _J `K Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection `L none of the selected agreements ^2 landlocked; well endowed with various sedimentary rocks and minerals including sand, gravel, gypsum, and limestone 
]# ^3 4,455,421 (July 2005 est.) ^4 `* 20.2% (male 459,452/female 442,725) `+ 69.5% (male 1,489,813/female 1,606,202) `, 10.3% (male 169,038/female 288,191) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 32.22 years `- 30.14 years `. 34.27 years (2005 est.) ^6 0.22% (2005 est.) ^7 15.27 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 12.79 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 -0.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.05 male(s)/female `0 1.04 male(s)/female `+ 0.93 male(s)/female `, 0.59 male(s)/female `1 0.91 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 40.42 deaths/1,000 live births `- 43.11 deaths/1,000 live births `. 37.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 65.18 years `- 61.12 years `. 69.43 years (2005 est.) ^= 1.81 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 0.2% (2001 est.) ^? 5,500 (2001 est.) ^@ less than 300 (2001 est.) ^A `2 Moldovan(s) `3 Moldovan ^B 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 ^C Eastern Orthodox 98%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist and other 0.5% (2000) ^D Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect) ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 99.1% `- 99.6% `. 98.7% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Republic of Moldova `5 Moldova `V Republica Moldova `W none `X Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic; Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic ^H republic ^I Chisinau ^J 32 raions (raioane, singular - raionul), 3 municipalities (municipiul), 1 autonomous territorial unit (unitatea teritoriala autonoma), and 1 territorial unit (unitatea teritoriala) : counties: Anenii Noi, Basarabeasca, Briceni, Cahul, Cantemir, Calarasi, Causeni, Cimislia, Criuleni, Donduseni, Drochia, Dubasari, Edinet, Falesti, Floresti, Glodeni, Hincesti, Ialoveni, Leova, Nisporeni, Ocnita, Orhei, Rezina, Riscani, Singerei, Soldanesti, Soroca, Stefan-Voda, Straseni, Taraclia, Telenesti, Ungheni : municipalities: Balti, Bender, Chisinau : autonomous territorial unit: Gagauzia : territorial unit: Stinga Nistrului ^K 27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) ^L Independence Day, 27 August (1991) ^M new constitution adopted 29 July 1994, effective 27 August 1994; replaced old Soviet constitution of 1979 ^N 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 ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Vladimir VORONIN (since 4 April 2001) `7 Prime Minister Vasile TARLEV (since 15 April 2001), First Deputy Prime Minister Vasile IOVV (since 29 January 2002) `8 selected by president, subject to approval of Parliament `9 president elected by Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 4 April 2005 (next to be held NA 2009); note - prime minister designated by the president, upon consultation with Parliament; within 15 days from designation, the prime minister-designate must request a vote of confidence from the Parliament regarding his/her work program and entire cabinet; prime minister designated 15 April 2001, cabinet received a vote of confidence 19 April 2001 `: Vladimir VORONIN reelected president; parliamentary votes - Vladimir VORONIN 75, Gheorghe DUCA 1; Vasile TARLEV designated prime minister; parliamentary votes of confidence - 75 of 101 ^Q unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats; parties and electoral blocs elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms) `9 last held 6 March 2005 (next to be held NA 2009) `: percent of vote by party - PCRM 46.1%, Democratic Moldova Bloc 28.4%, PPCD 9.1%, other parties 16.4%; seats by party - PCRM 56, Democratic Moldova Bloc 34, PPCD 11 ^R Supreme Court; Constitutional Court (the sole authority for constitutional judicature) ^S Democratic Modova Bloc [Serafim URECHEANU] includes: Democratic Party [Dumitru DIACOV], Our Moldova Alliance [Dumitru BRAGHIS, Serafim URECHEANU], Social Liberal Party [Oleg SEREBRIAN]; Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova or PCRM [Vladimir VORONIN, first chairman]; Popular Christian Democratic Party or PPCD [Iurie ROSCA] ^T NA ^U ACCT, BSEC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GUUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO ^V `N Ambassador Mihail MANOLI `O 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 `P [1] (202) 667-1130 `Q [1] (202) 667-1204 ^W `N Ambassador Heather M. HODGES `Z 103 Mateevici Street, Chisinau MD-2009 `[ use embassy street address `P [373] (22) 408-300 `Q [373] (22) 23-30-44 ^X 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 
]% ^Y 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 from Russia. Energy shortages contributed to sharp production declines after the breakup of the Soviet Union in December 1991. As part of an ambitious reform effort after independence, Moldova introduced a convertible currency, freed 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, 6.1% in 2001, 7.2% in 2002, 6.3% in 2003, and 6.8% in 2004. Further reforms will come slowly because of strong political forces backing government controls. The economy remains vulnerable to higher fuel prices, poor agricultural weather, and the skepticism of foreign investors. ^Z $8.581 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 6.8% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.) ^] `; 22.4% `< 24.8% `= 52.8% (2004 est.) ^^ 1.36 million (2004 est.) ^_ agriculture 40%, industry 14%, services 46% (1998) ^` 8% (roughly 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad) (2002 est.) ^a 80% (2001 est.) _! `> 2.2% `? 30.7% (1997) _d 40.6 (1997) _" 11.5% (2004 est.) _P 17.1% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $648.1 million `A $634.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) _Q 63.4% of GDP (2004 est.) _$ vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk _% food processing, agricultural machinery, foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery, sugar, vegetable oil, shoes, textiles _& 17% (2003 est.) _' 3.876 billion kWh (2002) _( 4.605 billion kWh (2002) _) 0 kWh (2002) _* 1 billion kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 24,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _S 0 cu m (2001 est.) _T 2.05 billion cu m (2001 est.) _U 0 cu m (2001 est.) _V 2.05 billion cu m (2001 est.) _X $-148.4 million (2004 est.) _/ $1.03 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 foodstuffs, textiles, machinery _1 Russia 35.8%, Italy 13.9%, Romania 10%, Germany 7.3%, Ukraine 6.6%, Belarus 6%, US 4.6% (2004) _2 $1.83 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 mineral products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles (2000) _4 Ukraine 24.6%, Russia 12.2%, Romania 9.3%, Germany 8.5%, Italy 7.4% (2004) _Y $390 million (2004 est.) _5 $1.4 billion (2004 est.) _6 $100 million (2000) _7 Moldovan leu (MDL) _8 lei per US dollar - 12.33 (2004), 13.945 (2003), 13.571 (2002), 12.865 (2001), 12.434 (2000) _9 calendar year 
]& _: 706,900 (2002) _; 338,200 (2002) _< `B inadequate, outmoded, poor service outside Chisinau; some effort to modernize is under way `C new subscribers face long wait for service; mobile cellular telephone service being introduced `D country code - 373; service through Romania and Russia via landline; satellite earth stations - Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik _= AM 7, FM 50, shortwave 3 (1998) _> 1 (plus 30 repeaters) (1995) _? .md _@ 11,984 (2003) _A 150,000 (2002) 
]' _e `! 1,138 km `e 1,124 km 1.520-m gauge `b 14 km 1.435-m gauge (2004) _B `! 12,719 km `E 10,977 km `F 1,742 km (2002) _b 424 km (2004) _[ gas 606 km (2004) _K `! 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,636 GRT/1,088 DWT by type: cargo 2 (2005) _D 23 (2004 est.) _E `! 6 `] 1 `G 2 `^ 2 `T 1 (2004 est.) _L `! 17 `^ 1 `_ 5 `T 11 (2004 est.) 
]( _F National Army: Ground Forces, Air Force _M 18 years of age for compulsory military service; national service obligation - 12 months (2004) _] males age 18-49: 1,066,459 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 693,913 (2005 est.) _^ `` 43,729 (2005 est.) _N $8.7 million (2004) _O 0.4% (FY02) 
]) _H Moldova and Ukraine have established joint customs posts to monitor transit through Moldova's break-away Transnistria Region which remains under OSCE supervision _c IDPs: 1,000 (internal secessionist uprising in Transdniestrian region in 1991) (2004) _I 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 