]! ^! 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 `Y 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 ^. `' 54.52% `( 8.81% `) 36.67% (2005) ^/ 3,000 sq km (2003) ^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 _P `P Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands `Q none of the selected agreements ^2 landlocked; well endowed with various sedimentary rocks and minerals including sand, gravel, gypsum, and limestone 
]# ^3 4,320,490 (July 2007 est.) ^4 `+ 16.5% (male 365,733/female 347,305) `, 72.6% (male 1,520,094/female 1,616,014) `- 10.9% (male 175,113/female 296,231) (2007 est.) ^5 `! 34 years `. 32.1 years `/ 36.1 years (2007 est.) ^6 -0.11% (2007 est.) ^7 10.88 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^8 10.85 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^9 -1.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) ^: `0 1.06 male(s)/female `1 1.053 male(s)/female `, 0.941 male(s)/female `- 0.591 male(s)/female `2 0.912 male(s)/female (2007 est.) ^; `! 13.88 deaths/1,000 live births `. 15.35 deaths/1,000 live births `/ 12.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) ^< `2 70.2 years `. 66.51 years `/ 74.11 years (2007 est.) ^= 1.25 children born/woman (2007 est.) ^> 0.2% (2001 est.) ^? 5,500 (2001 est.) ^@ less than 300 (2001 est.) ^A `3 Moldovan(s) `4 Moldovan ^B Moldovan/Romanian 78.2%, Ukrainian 8.4%, Russian 5.8%, Gagauz 4.4%, Bulgarian 1.9%, other 1.3% (2004 census) `* 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 `5 age 15 and over can read and write `2 99.1% `. 99.6% `/ 98.7% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `6 Republic of Moldova `7 Moldova `Z Republica Moldova `[ Moldova `\ Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic; Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic ^H republic ^I `8 Chisinau (Kishinev) `9 47 00 N, 28 50 E `: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) `p +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October ^J 32 raions (raioane, singular - raionul), 3 municipalities (municipiul), 1 autonomous territorial unit (unitatea teritoriala autonoma), and 1 territorial unit (unitatea teritoriala) raions: 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; accepts many UN and Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) documents ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `; President Vladimir VORONIN (since 4 April 2001) `< Prime Minister Vasile TARLEV (since 15 April 2001); First Deputy Prime Minister Zinaida GRECIANII (since 10 October 2005) `= Cabinet selected by president, subject to approval of Parliament `> president elected by Parliament for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 4 April 2005 (next to be held in 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) `> last held 6 March 2005 (next to be held in 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 Christian Democratic People's Party or PPCD [Iurie ROSCA]; Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova or PCRM [Vladimir VORONIN]; Democratic Party or PD [Dumitru DIACOV]; National Liberal Party or NLP [Vitalia PAVLICENKO]; Our Moldova Alliance or AMN [Serafim URECHEAN]; Party for Social Democracy or PSD [Dumitru BRAGHIS]; Social Liberal Party or PSL [Oleg SEREBRIAN] ^T NA ^U ACCT, BSEC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAEC (observer), EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC, MIGA, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO ^V `R Ambassador Nicolae CHIRTOACA `S 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 `T [1] (202) 667-1130 `U [1] (202) 667-1204 ^W `R Ambassador Michael D. KIRBY `_ 103 Mateevici Street, Chisinau MD-2009 `` use embassy street address `T [373] (22) 40-8300 `U [373] (22) 23-3044 ^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. 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 to Moldova in disputes over pricing. The economy achieved 6% or more GDP growth every year from 2000-05, though this was based largely on consumption fueled by remittances received from Moldovans working abroad. Russia's decision to ban Moldovan wine and agricultural products, coupled with its decision to double the price Moldova paid for Russian natural gas, slowed GDP growth in 2006 and greatly exacerbated Moldova's economic troubles. 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 economy remains vulnerable to higher fuel prices, poor agricultural weather, and the skepticism of foreign investors. Also, the presence of an illegal separatist regime in Moldova's Transnistria region continues to be a drag on the Moldovan economy. ^Z $8.971 billion (2006 est.) ^[ $2.588 billion (2006 est.) ^\ 4.6% (2006 est.) ^] $2,000 (2006 est.) ^^ `@ 21.5% `A 22% `B 56.5% (2006 est.) ^_ 1.339 million (2006 est.) ^` `@ 40.7% `A 12.1% `B 47.2% (2005 est.) ^a 7.3%; note - roughly 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad (2005 est.) _! 29.5% (2005) _" `C 3.2% `D 26.4% (2003) _d 33.2 (2003) _# 14.1% (2006 est.) _V 24.8% of GDP (2006 est.) _$ `E $1.318 billion `F $1.335 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) _% 84.5% of GDP (2006 est.) _& vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk _' sugar, vegetable oil, food processing, agricultural machinery; foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines; hosiery, shoes, textiles _( 6.9% (2006 est.) _) 1.229 billion kWh (2005) _* 4.203 billion kWh (2005) _+ 130 million kWh (2004) _, 2.9 billion kWh (2005) _- 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) _. 14,000 bbl/day (2004 est.) _/ NA bbl/day _0 NA bbl/day _1 0 cu m (2004 est.) _2 2.17 billion cu m (2004 est.) _X 0 cu m (2004 est.) _Y 2.17 billion cu m (2004 est.) _Q $-561 million (2006 est.) _3 $1.02 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _4 foodstuffs, textiles, machinery _5 Russia 32.9%, Italy 12.7%, Romania 10.6%, Ukraine 9.5%, Belarus 6.7%, Germany 4.5% (2005) _6 $2.65 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.) _7 mineral products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles _8 Ukraine 20.9%, Russia 11.7%, Romania 11.2%, Germany 8.3%, Italy 6.6%, Turkey 4.1% (2005) _[ $680 million (2006 est.) _9 $2.142 billion (30 June 2006 est.) _: $6.376 billion (2003) _; Moldovan leu (MDL) _< lei per US dollar - 13.131 (2006), 12.6 (2005), 12.33 (2004), 13.945 (2003), 13.571 (2002) _= calendar year 
]& _> 929,400 (2005) _? 1.09 million (2005) _@ `G inadequate, outmoded, poor service outside Chisinau; some modernization is under way `H depending on location, new subscribers may face long wait for service; 2 private operators of GSM mobile cellular telephone service are operating; GPRS system is being introduced; license for 1 CDMA mobile telephone network currently being tendered `I country code - 373; service through Romania and Russia via landline; satellite earth stations - Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik _A AM 2, FM 29, shortwave NA (2004) _B 40 (2004) _C .md _D 58,886 (2006) _E 406,000 (2005) 
]' _F 12 (2006) _G `! 6 `a 1 `J 2 `b 2 `W 1 (2006) _R `! 6 `c 3 `W 3 (2006) _^ gas 606 km (2006) _e `! 1,138 km `r 1,124 km 1.520-m gauge `m 14 km 1.435-m gauge (2005) _H `! 12,733 km `K 10,976 km `L 1,757 km (2004) _b 424 km (on Dniester River) (2005) _S `! 7 ships (1000 GRT or over) 13,831 GRT/15,003 DWT by type: cargo 7 `X 3 (Ukraine 3) (2006) 
]( _J National Army: Ground Forces, Rapid Reaction Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces (2006) _T 18 years of age for compulsory military service; national service obligation - 12 months (2004) _K males age 18-49: 1,066,459 females age 18-49: 1,117,070 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 693,913 females age 18-49: 911,568 (2005 est.) _L males age 18-49: 43,729 females age 18-49: 42,354 (2005 est.) _U 0.4% (2005 est.) 
]) _N 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 OSCE supervision _O 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 