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NAVIGATION
Republic of Moldova
Republica Moldova
former: Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova; Moldavia
GOVERNMENT
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Country name:
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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 |
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Government type:
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republic |
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Capital:
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Chisinau |
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Administrative divisions:
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9 counties (judetele, singular - judetul), 1 municipality* (municipiul), 1 autonomous territorial unit** (unitate teritoriala autonoma), and 1 territorial unit*** (unitate teritoriala); Balti, Cahul, Chisinau, Chisinau*, Edinet, Gagauzia**, Lapusna, Orhei, Soroca, Stinga Nistrului***, Tighina, Ungheni |
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Independence:
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27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 27 August (1991) |
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Constitution:
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new constitution adopted 28 July 1994; replaces old Soviet constitution of 1979 |
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Legal system:
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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 |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: President Vladimir VORONIN (since 4 April 2001)
head of government: Prime Minister Vasile TARLEV (since 15 April 2001), First Deputy Prime Minister Vasile IOVV (since NA 2002), Deputy Prime Minister Stefan ODAGIU (since NA 2002) cabinet: selected by prime minister, subject to approval of Parliament elections: president elected by Parliament for a four-year term; election last held 4 April 2001 (next to be held NA 2005); note - presidential elections were scheduled for December 2000, but in July 2000, Parliament canceled direct, popular elections; Parliament's failure to chose a new president in December 2000 led to early parliamentary elections in February 2001; prime minister designated by the president, upon consultation with Parliament; note - 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 election results: Vladimir VORONIN elected president; parliamentary votes - Vladimir VORONIN 71, Dumitru BRAGHIS 15, Valerian CHRISTEA 3; Vasile TARLEV designated prime minister; parliamentary votes of confidence - 75 of 101 |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats; parties and electoral blocs, as well as independent candidates, elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 25 February 2001 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - PCM 50.1%, Braghis Alliance 13.4%, PPCD 8.2%, other parties 28.3%; seats by party - PCM 71, Braghis Alliance 19, PPCD 11 |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court; Constitutional Court (the sole authority for constitutional judicature) |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Braghis Alliance [Dumitru BRAGHIS]; Communist Party or PCM [Vladimir VORONIN, first chairman]; Popular Christian Democratic Party or PPCD [Iurie ROSCA]; Social Democratic Union (composed of Braghis Alliance and the Democratic Party of Moldova) [leader NA] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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NA |
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International organization participation:
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ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Mihai MANOLI
FAX: [1] (202) 667-1204 telephone: [1] (202) 667-1130 chancery: 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Pamela Hyde SMITH
embassy: 103 Mateevici Street, Chisinau MD-2009 mailing address: use embassy street address; pouch address - American Embassy Chisinau, Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-7080 telephone: [373] (2) 23-37-72 FAX: [373] (2) 23-30-44 |
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Flag description:
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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
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Economy - overview:
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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. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $11 billion (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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4% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $3,000 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 28%
industry: 23% services: 49% (2000) |
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Population below poverty line:
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80% (2001 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 31% (1997) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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41 (1997) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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5.5% (2002 est.) |
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Labor force:
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1.7 million (1998) (1998) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 40%, industry 14%, services 46% (1998) (1998) |
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Unemployment rate:
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8% (roughly 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad) (2002 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $536 million
expenditures: $594 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
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Industries:
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food processing, agricultural machinery, foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery, sugar, vegetable oil, shoes, textiles |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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9% (2002 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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3.317 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 90%
hydro: 10% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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3.655 billion kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - exports:
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630 million kWh (2000) |
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Electricity - imports:
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1.2 billion kWh (2000) |
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Agriculture - products:
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vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk |
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Exports:
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$590 million f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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foodstuffs, textiles, and machinery (2001) |
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Exports - partners:
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Russia 43%, Ukraine 10.1%, Italy 8.1%, Germany 7.2%, Romania 6.7% (2001) |
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Imports:
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$980 million f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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mineral products and fuel 32%, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles (2000) |
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Imports - partners:
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Ukraine 18%, Russia 15.1%, Romania 13.1%, Germany 10.5%, Italy 6.4% (2001) |
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Debt - external:
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$1.3 billion (2002) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$100 million (2000) |
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Currency:
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Moldovan leu (MDL) |
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Currency code:
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MDL |
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Exchange rates:
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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 |
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Fiscal year:
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calendar year |