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Compare Moldova (2004) - Southern Ocean (2008)

Compare Moldova (2004) z Southern Ocean (2008)

 Moldova (2004)Southern Ocean (2008)
 MoldovaSouthern Ocean
Administrative divisions 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
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Age structure 0-14 years: 20.6% (male 466,485; female 449,645)


15-64 years: 69.1% (male 1,478,220; female 1,595,695)


65 years and over: 10.3% (male 169,026; female 287,384) (2004 est.)
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Agriculture - products vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk -
Airports 24 (2003 est.) -
Airports - with paved runways total: 6


over 3,047 m: 1


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


under 914 m: 1 (2003 est.)
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Airports - with unpaved runways total: 18


2,438 to 3,047 m: 2


1,524 to 2,437 m: 1


914 to 1,523 m: 4


under 914 m: 11 (2003 est.)
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Area total: 33,843 sq km


land: 33,371 sq km


water: 472 sq km
total: 20.327 million sq km


note: includes Amundsen Sea, Bellingshausen Sea, part of the Drake Passage, Ross Sea, a small part of the Scotia Sea, Weddell Sea, and other tributary water bodies
Area - comparative slightly larger than Maryland slightly more than twice the size of the US
Background 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. A large body of recent oceanographic research has shown that the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC), an ocean current that flows from west to east around Antarctica, plays a crucial role in global ocean circulation. The region where the cold waters of the ACC meet and mingle with the warmer waters of the north defines a distinct border - the Antarctic Convergence - which fluctuates with the seasons, but which encompasses a discrete body of water and a unique ecologic region. The Convergence concentrates nutrients, which promotes marine plant life, and which in turn allows for a greater abundance of animal life. In the spring of 2000, the International Hydrographic Organization decided to delimit the waters within the Convergence as a fifth world ocean - the Southern Ocean - by combining the southern portions of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Pacific Ocean. The Southern Ocean extends from the coast of Antarctica north to 60 degrees south latitude, which coincides with the Antarctic Treaty Limit and which approximates the extent of the Antarctic Convergence. As such, the Southern Ocean is now the fourth largest of the world's five oceans (after the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, and Indian Ocean, but larger than the Arctic Ocean). It should be noted that inclusion of the Southern Ocean does not imply recognition of this feature as one of the world's primary oceans by the US Government.
Birth rate 14.81 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) -
Budget revenues: $474.8 million


expenditures: $443.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
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Capital Chisinau -
Climate moderate winters, warm summers sea temperatures vary from about 10 degrees Celsius to -2 degrees Celsius; cyclonic storms travel eastward around the continent and frequently are intense because of the temperature contrast between ice and open ocean; the ocean area from about latitude 40 south to the Antarctic Circle has the strongest average winds found anywhere on Earth; in winter the ocean freezes outward to 65 degrees south latitude in the Pacific sector and 55 degrees south latitude in the Atlantic sector, lowering surface temperatures well below 0 degrees Celsius; at some coastal points intense persistent drainage winds from the interior keep the shoreline ice-free throughout the winter
Coastline 0 km (landlocked) 17,968 km
Constitution new constitution adopted 28 July 1994; replaces old Soviet constitution of 1979 -
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Moldova


conventional short form: Moldova


local long form: Republica Moldova


local short form: none


former: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic; Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic
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Currency Moldovan leu (MDL) -
Death rate 12.76 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) -
Debt - external $1.515 billion (2003) -
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Heather M. HODGES


embassy: 103 Mateevici Street, Chisinau MD-2009


mailing address: use embassy street address


telephone: [373] (22) 408-300


FAX: [373] (22) 23-30-44
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Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Mihail MANOLI


chancery: 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008


telephone: [1] (202) 667-1130


FAX: [1] (202) 667-1204
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Disputes - international difficulties with the Transnistria region complicate controlling border crossing and customs regimes with Ukraine, despite concordance on 2003 delimitation and customs protocols and OSCE assistance Antarctic Treaty defers claims (see Antarctica entry), but Argentina, Australia, Chile, France, NZ, Norway, and UK assert claims (some overlapping), including the continental shelf in the Southern Ocean; several states have expressed an interest in extending those continental shelf claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to include undersea ridges; the US and most other states do not recognize the land or maritime claims of other states and have made no claims themselves (the US and Russia have reserved the right to do so); no formal claims exist in the waters in the sector between 90 degrees west and 150 degrees west
Economic aid - recipient $100 million (2000) -
Economy - overview Moldova remains the poorest country 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 1991. As part of an ambitious reform effort, 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, and 6.3% in 2003. 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. Fisheries in 2003-04 landed 136,262 metric tons, of which 87% (118,166 tons) was krill and 8% (11,182 tons) Patagonian toothfish, compared to 142,555 tons in 2002-03 of which 83% (117,728 tons) was krill and 12% (16,479 tons) Patagonian toothfish (estimated fishing from the area covered by the Convention of the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR), which extends slightly beyond the Southern Ocean area). International agreements were adopted in late 1999 to reduce illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which in the 2000-01 season landed, by one estimate, 8,376 metric tons of Patagonian and Antarctic toothfish. In the 2004-05 Antarctic summer, 28,202 tourists, most of them seaborne (approximately 97%), visited the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, compared to 14,762 in 1999-2000.
Electricity - consumption 3.216 billion kWh (2001) -
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2001) -
Electricity - imports 60 million kWh (2001) -
Electricity - production 3.394 billion kWh (2001) -
Elevation extremes lowest point: Dniester River 2 m


highest point: Dealul Balanesti 430 m
lowest point: -7,235 m at the southern end of the South Sandwich Trench


highest point: sea level 0 m
Environment - current issues heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including banned pesticides such as DDT, has contaminated soil and groundwater; extensive soil erosion from poor farming methods increased solar ultraviolet radiation resulting from the Antarctic ozone hole in recent years, reducing marine primary productivity (phytoplankton) by as much as 15% and damaging the DNA of some fish; illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in recent years, especially the landing of an estimated five to six times more Patagonian toothfish than the regulated fishery, which is likely to affect the sustainability of the stock; large amount of incidental mortality of seabirds resulting from long-line fishing for toothfish


note: the now-protected fur seal population is making a strong comeback after severe overexploitation in the 18th and 19th centuries
Environment - international agreements party to: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
the Southern Ocean is subject to all international agreements regarding the world's oceans; in addition, it is subject to these agreements specific to the Antarctic region: International Whaling Commission (prohibits commercial whaling south of 40 degrees south [south of 60 degrees south between 50 degrees and 130 degrees west]); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Seals (limits sealing); Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (regulates fishing)


note: many nations (including the US) prohibit mineral resource exploration and exploitation south of the fluctuating Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence), which is in the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current and serves as the dividing line between the cold polar surface waters to the south and the warmer waters to the north
Ethnic groups 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
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Exchange rates lei per US dollar - 13.9449 (2003), 13.5705 (2002), 12.8651 (2001), 12.4342 (2000), 10.5158 (1999) -
Executive branch 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 29 January 2002)


cabinet: selected by president, 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 choose 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 CRISTEA 3; Vasile TARLEV designated prime minister; parliamentary votes of confidence - 75 of 101
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Exports NA (2001) -
Exports - commodities foodstuffs, textiles, machinery -
Exports - partners Russia 39%, Romania 11.4%, Italy 10.4%, Germany 7.1%, Ukraine 7.1%, Belarus 5.2%, US 4.3% (2003) -
Fiscal year calendar year -
Flag description 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 -
GDP purchasing power parity - $7.792 billion (2003 est.) -
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 21%


industry: 27%


services: 52% (2003)
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GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $1,800 (2003 est.) -
GDP - real growth rate 6.3% (2003 est.) -
Geographic coordinates 47 00 N, 29 00 E 60 00 S, 90 00 E (nominally), but the Southern Ocean has the unique distinction of being a large circumpolar body of water totally encircling the continent of Antarctica; this ring of water lies between 60 degrees south latitude and the coast of Antarctica and encompasses 360 degrees of longitude
Geography - note landlocked; well endowed with various sedimentary rocks and minerals including sand, gravel, gypsum, and limestone the major chokepoint is the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica; the Polar Front (Antarctic Convergence) is the best natural definition of the northern extent of the Southern Ocean; it is a distinct region at the middle of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current that separates the cold polar surface waters to the south from the warmer waters to the north; the Front and the Current extend entirely around Antarctica, reaching south of 60 degrees south near New Zealand and near 48 degrees south in the far South Atlantic coinciding with the path of the maximum westerly winds
Highways total: 12,657 km


paved: 11,012 km


unpaved: 1,645 km (1999)
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Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%: 2.2%


highest 10%: 30.7% (1997)
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Illicit drugs 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 -
Imports NA (2001) -
Imports - commodities mineral products and fuel 32%, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles (2000) -
Imports - partners Ukraine 22%, Russia 13%, Germany 9.7%, Italy 8.3%, Romania 7% (2003) -
Independence 27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) -
Industrial production growth rate 17% (2003 est.) -
Industries food processing, agricultural machinery, foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery, sugar, vegetable oil, shoes, textiles -
Infant mortality rate total: 41 deaths/1,000 live births


male: 43.96 deaths/1,000 live births


female: 37.89 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
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Inflation rate (consumer prices) 11.6% (2003 est.) -
International organization participation 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 -
Irrigated land 3,070 sq km (1998 est.) -
Judicial branch Supreme Court; Constitutional Court (the sole authority for constitutional judicature) -
Labor force 1.383 million (2003) -
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 40%, industry 14%, services 46% (1998) -
Land boundaries total: 1,389 km


border countries: Romania 450 km, Ukraine 939 km
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Land use arable land: 55.3%


permanent crops: 10.79%


other: 33.91% (2001)
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Languages Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect) -
Legal system 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 -
Legislative branch unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats; parties and electoral blocs 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 - PCRM 50.1%, Braghis Alliance (now Our Moldova Alliance) 13.4%, PPCD 8.2%, other parties 28.3%; seats by party - PCRM 71, Braghis Alliance (now Our Moldova Alliance) 19, PPCD 11
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Life expectancy at birth total population: 65.03 years


male: 60.88 years


female: 69.39 years (2004 est.)
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Literacy definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 99.1%


male: 99.6%


female: 98.7% (2003 est.)
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Location Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania body of water between 60 degrees south latitude and Antarctica
Map references Europe Antarctic Region
Maritime claims none (landlocked) -
Merchant marine total: 1 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,636 GRT/1,088 DWT


by type: cargo 1


foreign-owned: 2 Russia 1


registered in other countries: 4
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Military branches National Army: Ground Forces, Air Force -
Military expenditures - dollar figure $9.5 million (FY03) -
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 0.4% (FY02) -
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 1,186,818 (2004 est.) -
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 942,071 (2004 est.) -
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 44,466 (2004 est.) -
National holiday Independence Day, 27 August (1991) -
Nationality noun: Moldovan(s)


adjective: Moldovan
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Natural hazards landslides (57 cases in 1998) huge icebergs with drafts up to several hundred meters; smaller bergs and iceberg fragments; sea ice (generally 0.5 to 1 m thick) with sometimes dynamic short-term variations and with large annual and interannual variations; deep continental shelf floored by glacial deposits varying widely over short distances; high winds and large waves much of the year; ship icing, especially May-October; most of region is remote from sources of search and rescue
Natural resources lignite, phosphorites, gypsum, arable land, limestone probable large and possible giant oil and gas fields on the continental margin, manganese nodules, possible placer deposits, sand and gravel, fresh water as icebergs; squid, whales, and seals - none exploited; krill, fish
Net migration rate -0.26 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) -
Pipelines gas 606 km (2004) -
Political parties and leaders 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] -
Political pressure groups and leaders NA -
Population 4,446,455 (July 2004 est.) -
Population below poverty line 80% (2001 est.) -
Population growth rate 0.18% (2004 est.) -
Ports and harbors none -
Radio broadcast stations AM 7, FM 50, shortwave 3 (1998) -
Railways total: 1,138 km


broad gauge: 1,124 km 1.520-m gauge


standard gauge: 14 km 1.435-m gauge (2003)
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Religions Eastern Orthodox 98%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist and other 0.5% (2000) -
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female


total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
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Suffrage 18 years of age; universal -
Telephone system general assessment: inadequate, outmoded, poor service outside Chisinau; some effort to modernize is under way


domestic: new subscribers face long wait for service; mobile cellular telephone service being introduced


international: country code - 373; service through Romania and Russia via landline; satellite earth stations - Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik
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Telephones - main lines in use 706,900 (2002) -
Telephones - mobile cellular 338,200 (2002) -
Television broadcast stations 1 (plus 30 repeaters) (1995) -
Terrain rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea the Southern Ocean is deep, 4,000 to 5,000 m over most of its extent with only limited areas of shallow water; the Antarctic continental shelf is generally narrow and unusually deep, its edge lying at depths of 400 to 800 m (the global mean is 133 m); the Antarctic icepack grows from an average minimum of 2.6 million sq km in March to about 18.8 million sq km in September, better than a sixfold increase in area; the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (21,000 km in length) moves perpetually eastward; it is the world's largest ocean current, transporting 130 million cubic meters of water per second - 100 times the flow of all the world's rivers
Total fertility rate 1.78 children born/woman (2004 est.) -
Transportation - note - Drake Passage offers alternative to transit through the Panama Canal
Unemployment rate 8% (roughly 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad) (2002 est.) -
Waterways 424 km (2004) -
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