Norfolk Island (2005) | Moldova (2005) | |
Administrative divisions | none (territory of Australia) | 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 |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 20.2%
15-64 years: 63.9% 65 years and over: 15.9% (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 20.2% (male 459,452/female 442,725)
15-64 years: 69.5% (male 1,489,813/female 1,606,202) 65 years and over: 10.3% (male 169,038/female 288,191) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | Norfolk Island pine seed, Kentia palm seed, cereals, vegetables, fruit; cattle, poultry | vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk |
Airports | 1 (2004 est.) | 23 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 17
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 5 under 914 m: 11 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 34.6 sq km
land: 34.6 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 33,843 sq km
land: 33,371 sq km water: 472 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.2 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Maryland |
Background | Two British attempts at establishing the island as a penal colony (1788-1814 and 1825-55) were ultimately abandoned. In 1856, the island was resettled by Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the Bounty mutineers and their Tahitian companions. | 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. |
Birth rate | NA | 15.27 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $20 million
expenditures: $20 million, including capital expenditures of $2 million (FY99/00) |
revenues: $648.1 million
expenditures: $634.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | Kingston | Chisinau |
Climate | subtropical; mild, little seasonal temperature variation | moderate winters, warm summers |
Coastline | 32 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | Norfolk Island Act of 1979 | new constitution adopted 29 July 1994, effective 27 August 1994; replaced old Soviet constitution of 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: Territory of Norfolk Island
conventional short form: Norfolk Island |
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 |
Death rate | NA | 12.79 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $1.4 billion (2004 est.) |
Dependency status | territory of Australia; Canberra administers Commonwealth responsibilities on Norfolk Island through the Department of Environment, Sport, and Territories | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of Australia) | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of Australia) | chief of mission: Ambassador Mihail MANOLI
chancery: 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-1130 FAX: [1] (202) 667-1204 |
Disputes - international | none | Moldova and Ukraine have established joint customs posts to monitor transit through Moldova's break-away Transnistria Region which remains under OSCE supervision |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $100 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | Tourism, the primary economic activity, has steadily increased over the years and has brought a level of prosperity unusual among inhabitants of the Pacific islands. The agricultural sector has become self-sufficient in the production of beef, poultry, and eggs. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 4.605 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 1 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 3.876 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Bates 319 m |
lowest point: Dniester River 2 m
highest point: Dealul Balanesti 430 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including banned pesticides such as DDT, has contaminated soil and groundwater; extensive soil erosion from poor farming methods |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | descendants of the Bounty mutineers, Australian, New Zealander, Polynesians | 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 |
Exchange rates | Australian dollars per US dollar - 1.3598 (2004), 1.5419 (2003), 1.8406 (2002), 1.9334 (2001), 1.7248 (2000) | lei per US dollar - 12.33 (2004), 13.945 (2003), 13.571 (2002), 12.865 (2001), 12.434 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and Australia are represented by Administrator Grant TAMBLING (since 1 November 2003)
head of government: Assembly President and Chief Minister Geoffrey Robert GARDNER (since 5 December 2001) cabinet: Executive Council is made up of four of the nine members of the Legislative Assembly; the council devises government policy and acts as an advisor to the administrator elections: the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the governor general of Australia; chief minister elected by the Legislative Assembly for a term of not more than three years; election last held 20 Ocotber 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: Geoffrey Robert GARDNER elected chief minister; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - 17.2% |
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 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 election results: Vladimir VORONIN reelected president; parliamentary votes - Vladimir VORONIN 75, Gheorghe DUCA 1; Vasile TARLEV designated prime minister; parliamentary votes of confidence - 75 of 101 |
Exports | $1.5 million f.o.b. (FY99/00) | NA |
Exports - commodities | postage stamps, seeds of the Norfolk Island pine and Kentia palm, small quantities of avocados | foodstuffs, textiles, machinery |
Exports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Russia 35.8%, Italy 13.9%, Romania 10%, Germany 7.3%, Ukraine 6.6%, Belarus 6%, US 4.6% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three vertical bands of green (hoist side), white, and green with a large green Norfolk Island pine tree centered in the slightly wider white band | 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 - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: NA |
agriculture: 22.4%
industry: 24.8% services: 52.8% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | 6.8% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 29 02 S, 167 57 E | 47 00 N, 29 00 E |
Geography - note | most of the 32-km coastline consists of almost inaccessible cliffs, but the land slopes down to the sea in one small southern area on Sydney Bay, where the capital of Kingston is situated | landlocked; well endowed with various sedimentary rocks and minerals including sand, gravel, gypsum, and limestone |
Highways | total: 80 km
paved: 53 km unpaved: 27 km (2001) |
total: 12,719 km
paved: 10,977 km unpaved: 1,742 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 2.2%
highest 10%: 30.7% (1997) |
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 | $17.9 million c.i.f. (FY91/92) | NA |
Imports - commodities | NA | mineral products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles (2000) |
Imports - partners | Australia, other Pacific island countries, NZ, Asia, Europe | Ukraine 24.6%, Russia 12.2%, Romania 9.3%, Germany 8.5%, Italy 7.4% (2004) |
Independence | none (territory of Australia) | 27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 17% (2003 est.) |
Industries | tourism, light industry, ready mixed concrete | food processing, agricultural machinery, foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery, sugar, vegetable oil, shoes, textiles |
Infant mortality rate | total: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total: 40.42 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 43.11 deaths/1,000 live births female: 37.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA | 11.5% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | 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 | NA | 3,070 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Court of Petty Sessions | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court (the sole authority for constitutional judicature) |
Labor force | 1,345 | 1.36 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | tourism 90%, subsistence agriculture 10% | agriculture 40%, industry 14%, services 46% (1998) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 1,389 km
border countries: Romania 450 km, Ukraine 939 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2001) |
arable land: 55.3%
permanent crops: 10.79% other: 33.91% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Norfolk a mixture of 18th century English and ancient Tahitian | Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect) |
Legal system | based on the laws of Australia, local ordinances and acts; English common law applies in matters not covered by either Australian or Norfolk Island law | 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 Legislative Assembly (9 seats; members elected by electors who have nine equal votes each but only four votes can be given to any one candidate; members serve three-year terms)
elections: last held 20 October 2004 (next to be held by December 2007) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (note - no political parties) |
unicameral Parliament or Parlamentul (101 seats; parties and electoral blocs elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 6 March 2005 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: 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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population: 65.18 years
male: 61.12 years female: 69.43 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.1% male: 99.6% female: 98.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Australia | Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania |
Map references | Oceania | Europe |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | - | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,636 GRT/1,088 DWT
by type: cargo 2 (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of Australia | - |
Military branches | - | National Army: Ground Forces, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $8.7 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.4% (FY02) |
National holiday | Bounty Day (commemorates the arrival of Pitcairn Islanders), 8 June (1856) | Independence Day, 27 August (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Norfolk Islander(s)
adjective: Norfolk Islander(s) |
noun: Moldovan(s)
adjective: Moldovan |
Natural hazards | typhoons (especially May to July) | landslides (57 cases in 1998) |
Natural resources | fish | lignite, phosphorites, gypsum, arable land, limestone |
Net migration rate | NA | -0.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 606 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | none | 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 | none | NA |
Population | 1,828 (July 2005 est.) | 4,455,421 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 80% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.01% (2005 est.) | 0.22% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | none; loading jetties at Kingston and Cascade | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 3, shortwave 0 (2005) | 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 (2004) |
Religions | Anglican 34.9%, Roman Catholic 11.7%, Uniting Church in Australia 11.2%, Seventh-Day Adventist 2.8%, Australian Christian 2.4%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, other 2.7%, unspecified 15.3%, none 18.1% (2001 census) | Eastern Orthodox 98%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist and other 0.5% (2000) |
Sex ratio | NA | 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 (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate
domestic: free local calls international: country code - 672; undersea coaxial cable links with Australia, New Zealand, and Canada; satellite earth station |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,532; note - a mix of analog (2500) and digital (32) circuits (2004) | 706,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (proposed cellular service disallowed in August 2002 island referendum) (2002) | 338,200 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (local programming station plus two repeaters that bring in Australian programs by satellite) (2005) | 1 (plus 30 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | volcanic formation with mostly rolling plains | rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea |
Total fertility rate | NA | 1.81 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0% | 8% (roughly 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad) (2002 est.) |
Waterways | - | 424 km (2004) |