Tokelau (2007) | Moldova (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (territory of New Zealand) | 10 juletule (singular - juletul), 1 municipality*, and 1 autonomous territorial unit**; Balti, Cahul, Chisinau, Chisinau*, Dubasari, Edinet, Gagauzia**, Lapusna, Orhei, Soroca, Tighina, Ungheni |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 42%
15-64 years: 53% 65 years and over: 5% |
0-14 years:
22.44% (male 506,303; female 488,311) 15-64 years: 67.62% (male 1,437,492; female 1,559,090) 65 years and over: 9.94% (male 163,473; female 276,901) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coconuts, copra, breadfruit, papayas, bananas; pigs, poultry, goats; fish | vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk |
Airports | - | 30 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | - | total:
7 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total:
23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 14 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 10 sq km
land: 10 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total:
33,843 sq km land: 33,371 sq km water: 472 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 17 times the size of The Mall in Washington, DC | slightly larger than Maryland |
Background | Originally settled by Polynesian emigrants from surrounding island groups, the Tokelau Islands were made a British protectorate in 1889. They were transferred to New Zealand administration in 1925. | Formerly ruled by Romania, Moldova became part of 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 Nistru (Dnister) River supporting the Slavic majority population, mostly Ukrainians and Russians, who have proclaimed a "Transnistria" republic. One of the poorest nations in Europe and plagued by a moribund economy, in 2001 Moldova became the first former Soviet state to elect a communist as its president. |
Birth rate | NA | 13.35 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $430,800
expenditures: $2.8 million (1987 est.) |
revenues:
$536 million expenditures: $594 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.) |
Capital | none; each atoll has its own administrative center
time difference: UTC-11 (6 hours behind Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Chisinau |
Climate | tropical; moderated by trade winds (April to November) | moderate winters, warm summers |
Coastline | 101 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | administered under the Tokelau Islands Act of 1948; amended in 1970 | new constitution adopted 28 July 1994; replaces old Soviet constitution of 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Tokelau |
conventional long form:
Republic of Moldova conventional short form: Moldova local long form: Republica Moldova local short form: none former: Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova; Moldavia |
Currency | - | Moldovan leu (MDL) |
Death rate | NA | 12.6 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | - | $900 million (2000) |
Dependency status | self-administering territory of New Zealand; note - Tokelau and New Zealand have agreed to a draft constitution as Tokelau moves toward free association with New Zealand; a UN sponsored referendum on self governance in October 2007 did not produce the two-thirds majority vote necessary for changing the political status | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (territory of New Zealand) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Rudolf Vilem PERINA embassy: Strada Alexei Mateevicie, #103, Chisinau 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (territory of New Zealand) | chief of mission:
Ambassador Ceslav CIOBANU chancery: 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 667-1130 FAX: [1] (202) 667-1204 |
Disputes - international | Tokelau included American Samoa's Swains Island (Olohega) in its 2006 draft constitution | separatist Transnistria region, comprising the area between the Nistru (Dniester) River and Ukraine, has its own de facto government, dominated by Moldovan Slavs |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $100.8 million (1995); note - $547 million from the IMF and World Bank (1992-99) |
Economy - overview | Tokelau's small size (three villages), isolation, and lack of resources greatly restrain economic development and confine agriculture to the subsistence level. The people rely heavily on aid from New Zealand - about $4 million annually - to maintain public services with annual aid being substantially greater than GDP. The principal sources of revenue come from sales of copra, postage stamps, souvenir coins, and handicrafts. Money is also remitted to families from relatives in New Zealand. | 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. Yet these efforts could not offset the impact of political and economic difficulties, both internal and regional. In 1998, the economic troubles of Russia, by far Moldova's leading trade partner, were a major cause of the 8.6% drop in GDP. In 1999, GDP fell again, by 4.4%, the fifth drop in the past seven years; exports were down, and energy supplies continued to be erratic. GDP declined slightly in 2000, with a serious drought hurting agriculture. Growth should turn positive in 2001. |
Electricity - consumption | NA kWh | 5.78 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | - | 1.916 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 4.155 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
93.62% hydro: 6.38% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location 5 m |
lowest point:
Nistru (Dnister) River 2 m highest point: Dealul Balanesti 430 m |
Environment - current issues | limited natural resources and overcrowding are contributing to emigration to New Zealand | 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, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants |
Ethnic groups | Polynesian | Moldovan/Romanian 64.5%, Ukrainian 13.8%, Russian 13%, Gagauz 3.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Bulgarian 2%, other 1.7% (1989 est.)
note: internal disputes with ethnic Slavs in the Transnistrian region |
Exchange rates | New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 1.5408 (2006), 1.4203 (2005), 1.5087 (2004), 1.7221 (2003), 2.1622 (2002) | lei per US dollar - 12.3728 (January 2001), 12.4342 (2000), 10.5158 (1999), 5.3707 (1998), 4.6236 (1997), 4.6045 (1996); note - lei is the plural form of leu |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General of New Zealand Anand SATYANAND (since 23 August 2006); New Zealand is represented by Administrator David PAYTON (since 17 October 2006)
head of government: Kolouei O'BRIEN (2006); note - position rotates annually among the three Faipule (village leaders) cabinet: the Council for the Ongoing Government of Tokelau, consisting of three Faipule (village leaders) and three Pulenuku (village mayors), functions as a cabinet elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; administrator appointed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in New Zealand; the head of government is chosen from the Council of Faipule and serves a one-year term |
chief of state:
President Vladimir VORONIN (since 4 April 2001) head of government: Prime Minister Vasile TARLEV (since 15 April 2001), three Deputy Prime Ministers: Valerian CRISTEA, Andrei CUCU, and Dmitri TODOROGLO (all since 19 April 2001) 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; 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 (moved up a year to February 2001); according to the Moldovan constitution, the president, on consulting with Parliament, will designate a candidate for the office of prime minister; within 15 days from designation, the prime minister-designate will request a vote of confidence from the Parliament regarding his/her work program and entire cabinet; prime minister designated on 15 April 2001, cabinet received vote of confidence on 19 April 2001 election results: Vladimir VORONIN elected president; parliamentary votes - Vladimir VORONIN 71, Dumitru BRAGHIS 15, Valerian CHRISTEA 3; Vasile TARLEV elected Prime Minister; parliamentary votes of confidence - 75 of 101 |
Exports | $0 f.o.b. (2002) | $500 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Exports - commodities | stamps, copra, handicrafts | foodstuffs 57%, wine, tobacco; textiles and footwear, machinery (1999) |
Exports - partners | New Zealand (2006) | Russia 41%, Romania 9%, Germany 8%, Ukraine 7%, Italy, Belarus (1999) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | the flag of New Zealand is used | 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 - $11.3 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture:
31% industry: 35% services: 34% (1998) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | -1.5% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 00 S, 172 00 W | 47 00 N, 29 00 E |
Geography - note | consists of three atolls (Atafu, Fakaofo, Nukunonu), each with a lagoon surrounded by a number of reef-bound islets of varying length and rising to over 3 m above sea level | landlocked |
Highways | - | total:
20,000 km paved: 13,900 km (these roads are said to be hard-surfaced, and include, in addition to conventionally paved roads, some that are surfaced with gravel or other coarse aggregate, making them trafficable in all weather) unpaved: 6,100 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1990) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | - | lowest 10%:
2.7% highest 10%: 25.8% (1992) |
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 |
Imports | $969,200 c.i.f. (2002) | $761 million (f.o.b., 2000) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, building materials, fuel | mineral products and fuel 38%, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles (1999) |
Imports - partners | New Zealand (2006) | Russia 21%, Romania 16%, Ukraine 14%, Germany 12%, Italy 6%, Belarus (1999) |
Independence | none (territory of New Zealand) | 27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union) |
Industrial production growth rate | - | 3% (2000 est.) |
Industries | small-scale enterprises for copra production, woodworking, plaited craft goods; stamps, coins; fishing | 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 |
42.74 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 32% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | PIF (observer), SPC, UNESCO (associate), UPU | ACCT, BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI, CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 2 (1999) |
Irrigated land | NA | 3,110 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court in New Zealand exercises civil and criminal jurisdiction in Tokelau | Supreme Court; Constitutional Court (the sole authority for constitutional judicature) |
Labor force | 440 (2001) | 1.7 million (1998) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 40%, industry 14%, other 46% (1998) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total:
1,389 km border countries: Romania 450 km, Ukraine 939 km |
Land use | arable land: 0% (soil is thin and infertile)
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (2005) |
arable land:
53% permanent crops: 14% permanent pastures: 13% forests and woodland: 13% other: 7% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Tokelauan (a Polynesian language), English | Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect) |
Legal system | New Zealand and local statutes | 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 General Fono (21 seats; based upon proportional representation from the three islands elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; Nukunonu has six seats, Fakaofo has seven seats, Atafu has eight seats); note - the Tokelau Amendment Act of 1996 confers limited legislative power on the General Fono
elections: last held January 2005 (next to be held January 2008) |
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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: NA
male: NA female: NA |
total population:
64.6 years male: 60.15 years female: 69.26 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | NA | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 96% male: 99% female: 94% (1989 est.) |
Location | Oceania, group of three atolls in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand | Eastern Europe, northeast of Romania |
Map references | Oceania | Commonwealth of Independent States |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand | - |
Military branches | - | Ground Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces, Republic Security Forces (internal and border troops) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $6 million (FY99) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1% (FY99) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
1,164,018 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
921,210 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males:
42,268 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) | Independence Day, 27 August (1991) |
Nationality | noun: Tokelauan(s)
adjective: Tokelauan |
noun:
Moldovan(s) adjective: Moldovan |
Natural hazards | lies in Pacific typhoon belt | landslides (57 cases in 1998) |
Natural resources | NEGL | lignite, phosphorites, gypsum, arable land |
Net migration rate | NA | -0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Pipelines | - | natural gas 310 km (1992) |
Political parties and leaders | none | Braghis Alliance [Dumitru BRAGHIS]; Popular Christian Democratic Party or PPCD [Iurie ROSCA]; Communist Party or PCM [Vladimir VORONIN, first chairman] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 1,449 (July 2007 est.) | 4,431,570 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 75% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | -0.018% (2007 est.) | 0.05% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | none |
Radio broadcast stations | AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA (one radio station provides service to all islands) (2002) | AM 7, FM 50, shortwave 3 (1998) |
Radios | - | 3.22 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
1,328 km broad gauge: 1,328 km 1.520-m gauge (1992) |
Religions | Congregational Christian Church 70%, Roman Catholic 28%, other 2%
note: on Atafu, all Congregational Christian Church of Samoa; on Nukunonu, all Roman Catholic; on Fakaofo, both denominations, with the Congregational Christian Church predominant |
Eastern Orthodox 98.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist (only about 1,000 members) (1991) |
Sex ratio | NA | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 21 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern satellite-based communications system
domestic: radiotelephone service between islands international: country code - 690; radiotelephone service to Samoa; government-regulated telephone service (TeleTok), with 3 satellite earth stations |
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: service through Romania and Russia via landline; satellite earth stations - Intelsat, Eutelsat, and Intersputnik |
Telephones - main lines in use | 300 (2002) | 627,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | - | 2,200 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | - | 1 (plus 30 repeaters) (1995) |
Terrain | low-lying coral atolls enclosing large lagoons | rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea |
Total fertility rate | NA | 1.67 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 1.9% (includes only officially registered unemployed; large numbers of underemployed workers) (November 2000) |
Waterways | - | 424 km (1994) |