Pacific Ocean (2008) | Moldova (2005) | |
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 |
Age structure | - | 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 | - | vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk |
Airports | - | 23 (2004 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 (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: 155.557 million sq km
note: includes Bali Sea, Bering Sea, Bering Strait, Coral Sea, East China Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Tonkin, Philippine Sea, Sea of Japan, Sea of Okhotsk, South China Sea, Tasman Sea, and other tributary water bodies |
total: 33,843 sq km
land: 33,371 sq km water: 472 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 15 times the size of the US; covers about 28% of the global surface; larger than the total land area of the world | slightly larger than Maryland |
Background | The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the world's five oceans (followed by the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean, and Arctic Ocean). Strategically important access waterways include the La Perouse, Tsugaru, Tsushima, Taiwan, Singapore, and Torres Straits. The decision by the International Hydrographic Organization in the spring of 2000 to delimit a fifth ocean, the Southern Ocean, removed the portion of the Pacific Ocean south of 60 degrees south. | 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 | - | 15.27 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | - | revenues: $648.1 million
expenditures: $634.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
Capital | - | Chisinau |
Climate | planetary air pressure systems and resultant wind patterns exhibit remarkable uniformity in the south and east; trade winds and westerly winds are well-developed patterns, modified by seasonal fluctuations; tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico from June to October and affect Mexico and Central America; continental influences cause climatic uniformity to be much less pronounced in the eastern and western regions at the same latitude in the North Pacific Ocean; the western Pacific is monsoonal - a rainy season occurs during the summer months, when moisture-laden winds blow from the ocean over the land, and a dry season during the winter months, when dry winds blow from the Asian landmass back to the ocean; tropical cyclones (typhoons) may strike southeast and east Asia from May to December | moderate winters, warm summers |
Coastline | 135,663 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | - | new constitution adopted 29 July 1994, effective 27 August 1994; replaced 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 |
Death rate | - | 12.79 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $1.4 billion (2004 est.) |
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 |
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 |
Disputes - international | some maritime disputes (see littoral states) | 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 | - | $100 million (2000) |
Economy - overview | The Pacific Ocean is a major contributor to the world economy and particularly to those nations its waters directly touch. It provides low-cost sea transportation between East and West, extensive fishing grounds, offshore oil and gas fields, minerals, and sand and gravel for the construction industry. In 1996, over 60% of the world's fish catch came from the Pacific Ocean. Exploitation of offshore oil and gas reserves is playing an ever-increasing role in the energy supplies of the US, Australia, NZ, China, and Peru. The high cost of recovering offshore oil and gas, combined with the wide swings in world prices for oil since 1985, has led to fluctuations in new drillings. | 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 | - | 4.605 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | - | 1 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | - | 3.876 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench -10,924 m
highest point: sea level 0 m |
lowest point: Dniester River 2 m
highest point: Dealul Balanesti 430 m |
Environment - current issues | endangered marine species include the dugong, sea lion, sea otter, seals, turtles, and whales; oil pollution in Philippine Sea and South China Sea | 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 | - | 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 | - | lei per US dollar - 12.33 (2004), 13.945 (2003), 13.571 (2002), 12.865 (2001), 12.434 (2000) |
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 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 | - | NA |
Exports - commodities | - | foodstuffs, textiles, machinery |
Exports - partners | - | Russia 35.8%, Italy 13.9%, Romania 10%, Germany 7.3%, Ukraine 6.6%, Belarus 6%, US 4.6% (2004) |
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 - composition by sector | - | agriculture: 22.4%
industry: 24.8% services: 52.8% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,900 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | - | 6.8% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 0 00 N, 160 00 W | 47 00 N, 29 00 E |
Geography - note | the major chokepoints are the Bering Strait, Panama Canal, Luzon Strait, and the Singapore Strait; the Equator divides the Pacific Ocean into the North Pacific Ocean and the South Pacific Ocean; dotted with low coral islands and rugged volcanic islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean | landlocked; well endowed with various sedimentary rocks and minerals including sand, gravel, gypsum, and limestone |
Highways | - | total: 12,719 km
paved: 10,977 km unpaved: 1,742 km (2002) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | 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 | - | NA |
Imports - commodities | - | mineral products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles (2000) |
Imports - partners | - | Ukraine 24.6%, Russia 12.2%, Romania 9.3%, Germany 8.5%, Italy 7.4% (2004) |
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: 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) | - | 11.5% (2004 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 | - | 1.36 million (2004 est.) |
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 |
Land use | - | arable land: 55.3%
permanent crops: 10.79% other: 33.91% (2001) |
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 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: 65.18 years
male: 61.12 years female: 69.43 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | - | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.1% male: 99.6% female: 98.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | body of water between the Southern Ocean, Asia, Australia, and the Western Hemisphere | Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania |
Map references | Political Map of the World | Europe |
Maritime claims | - | none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | - | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 1,636 GRT/1,088 DWT
by type: cargo 2 (2005) |
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 | - | Independence Day, 27 August (1991) |
Nationality | - | noun: Moldovan(s)
adjective: Moldovan |
Natural hazards | surrounded by a zone of violent volcanic and earthquake activity sometimes referred to as the "Pacific Ring of Fire"; subject to tropical cyclones (typhoons) in southeast and east Asia from May to December (most frequent from July to October); tropical cyclones (hurricanes) may form south of Mexico and strike Central America and Mexico from June to October (most common in August and September); cyclical El Nino/La Nina phenomenon occurs in the equatorial Pacific, influencing weather in the Western Hemisphere and the western Pacific; ships subject to superstructure icing in extreme north from October to May; persistent fog in the northern Pacific can be a maritime hazard from June to December | landslides (57 cases in 1998) |
Natural resources | oil and gas fields, polymetallic nodules, sand and gravel aggregates, placer deposits, fish | lignite, phosphorites, gypsum, arable land, limestone |
Net migration rate | - | -0.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 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 | - | 4,455,421 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | - | 80% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | - | 0.22% (2005 est.) |
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 (2004) |
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 (2005 est.) |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | - | 706,900 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 338,200 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 1 (plus 30 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | surface currents in the northern Pacific are dominated by a clockwise, warm-water gyre (broad circular system of currents) and in the southern Pacific by a counterclockwise, cool-water gyre; in the northern Pacific, sea ice forms in the Bering Sea and Sea of Okhotsk in winter; in the southern Pacific, sea ice from Antarctica reaches its northernmost extent in October; the ocean floor in the eastern Pacific is dominated by the East Pacific Rise, while the western Pacific is dissected by deep trenches, including the Mariana Trench, which is the world's deepest | rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea |
Total fertility rate | - | 1.81 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Transportation - note | Inside Passage offers protected waters from southeast Alaska to Puget Sound (Washington state) | - |
Unemployment rate | - | 8% (roughly 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad) (2002 est.) |
Waterways | - | 424 km (2004) |