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.

Source: CIA World Fact Book

Population: 4,320,490 (July 2007 est.)

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Age structure: 0-14 years: 16.5% (male 365,733/female 347,305) 15-64 years: 72.6% (male 1,520,094/female 1,616,014) 65 years and over: 10.9% (male 175,113/female 296,231) (2007 est.)

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Median age: total: 34 years male: 32.1 years female: 36.1 years (2007 est.)

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Population growth rate: -0.11% (2007 est.)

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Birth rate: 10.88 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Death rate: 10.85 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Net migration rate: -1.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

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Sex ratio: at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.053 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.941 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.591 male(s)/female total population: 0.912 male(s)/female (2007 est.)

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Infant mortality rate: total: 13.88 deaths/1,000 live births male: 15.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)

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Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.2 years male: 66.51 years female: 74.11 years (2007 est.)

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Total fertility rate: 1.25 children born/woman (2007 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 5,500 (2001 est.)

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HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 300 (2001 est.)

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Nationality: noun: Moldovan(s) adjective: Moldovan

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Ethnic groups: Moldovan/Romanian 78.2%, Ukrainian 8.4%, Russian 5.8%, Gagauz 4.4%, Bulgarian 1.9%, other 1.3% (2004 census) note: internal disputes with ethnic Slavs in the Transnistrian region

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Religions: Eastern Orthodox 98%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist and other 0.5% (2000)

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Languages: Moldovan (official, virtually the same as the Romanian language), Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)

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Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 99.1% male: 99.7% female: 98.6% (2005 est.)

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.

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GDP (purchasing power parity): $9.07 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP (official exchange rate): $2.574 billion (2006 est.)

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GDP - real growth rate: 4% (2006 est.)

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GDP - per capita (PPP): $2,000 (2006 est.)

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GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 21.5% industry: 22% services: 56.5% (2006 est.)

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Labor force: 1.339 million (2006 est.)

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Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 40.7% industry: 12.1% services: 47.2% (2005 est.)

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Unemployment rate: 7.3%; note - roughly 25% of working age Moldovans are employed abroad (2005 est.)

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Population below poverty line: 29.5% (2005)

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Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 26.4% (2003)

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Distribution of family income - Gini index: 33.2 (2003)

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Inflation rate (consumer prices): 14.1% (2006 est.)

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Investment (gross fixed): 24.8% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Budget: revenues: $1.318 billion expenditures: $1.335 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)

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Public debt: 84.5% of GDP (2006 est.)

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Agriculture - products: vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk

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Industries: sugar, vegetable oil, food processing, agricultural machinery; foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines; hosiery, shoes, textiles Industrial production growth rate: 6.9% (2006 est.)

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Electricity - production: 1.229 billion kWh (2005)

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Electricity - consumption: 4.203 billion kWh (2005)

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Electricity - exports: 130 million kWh (2004)

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Electricity - imports: 2.9 billion kWh (2005)

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Oil - production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - consumption: 14,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)

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Oil - exports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - imports: NA bbl/day

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Oil - proved reserves: 0 bbl

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Natural gas - production: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - consumption: 2.17 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)

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Natural gas - imports: 2.17 billion cu m (2004 est.)

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Current account balance: -$561 million (2006 est.)

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Exports: $1.02 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Exports - commodities: foodstuffs, textiles, machinery

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Exports - partners: Russia 22.5%, Germany 12%, Italy 10.9%, Romania 10.5%, Ukraine 9.4%, Belarus 5.6% (2006)

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Imports: $2.65 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)

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Imports - commodities: mineral products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles

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Imports - partners: Russia 21.9%, Ukraine 17.8%, Romania 9.6%, Germany 9.2%, Italy 6.4%, Poland 4.6% (2006)

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Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $680 million (2006 est.)

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Debt - external: $2.142 billion (30 June 2006 est.)

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Economic aid - recipient: $6.376 billion (2003)

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Currency (code): Moldovan leu (MDL)

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Exchange rates: lei per US dollar - 13.131 (2006), 12.6 (2005), 12.33 (2004), 13.945 (2003), 13.571 (2002)

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Fiscal year: calendar year