Moldova

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

In total, Moldova spends US$44 million on its military which represents 0.4 percent of its GDP and makes it the 153rd highest military spender in the world.

After gaining independence, Moldova has inherited most of its military equipment from the Soviet Union. Currently, Moldova has an Air forces and land forces, but lacks a Navy due to its landlocked state.

Military membership

Moldova is a member of three international military organizations which makes it the 165th most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
International Atomic Energy Agency

Military membership

International wars

Since its independence, Moldova has been a part of two international wars. These are:

Second Liberian Civil War 1999-2003
Libyan Civil War 2011-2011

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Moldova is a member of 13 international political organizations which makes it the 71st most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
the Council of Europe
Central European Initiative
Energy Community
European Cooperation in Science and Technology
Commonwealth of Independent States
Member states of the Organization internationale de la Francophonie
Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Moldova is ranked as the 81st most democratic state in the world. This is largely due to widespread corruption as well as a lack of representation through local officials.

Democracy/Dictatorship

The politics of Moldova are characterized as a republic where the president is head of state and the Prime Minister is head of government.

International Criminal Court
Interpol
Association of World Election Bodies
World Organization for Animal Health

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Known for its wines and named after a river in Romania, Moldova has been at the center of military contests between large powers in eastern Europe. The area was inhabited by various kingdoms throughout the first century until it became the independent principality of Moldavia during the 16th century. Between the 16th and the 19th century, it was occupied numerous times by the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1918, Moldova was united with Romania until the Soviet Union incorporated it into its empire. During the second world war, Romania sided with Nazi Germany and re-incorporated Moldova. After losing the second world war, Moldova remained a part of the Soviet Union until its collapse and independence in 1990. Since its independence, Moldova has had internal struggles with a province, Transnistria, that has tried to break away from Moldova and has sought closer ties with Russia.

Located in Eastern Europe, Moldova is a landlocked state that borders Romania to the west and Ukraine from all other sides. Its geography is made up of low mountain ranges throughout its center with a low-lying plain to the north and to the southeast. Most of its landscape is covered by low-lying vegetation with the exception of densely forested areas within its center.

With a total surface area of 34,015 square kilometers or 13,133 square miles, Moldova is the 135th largest state in the world being slightly larger than Belgium and slightly smaller than Guinea-Bissau.

It has a total water surface area of 965 square kilometers or 372 square miles which makes it the 108th state with the highest amount of surface water.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

The majority of its water is extracted from the two largest rivers that run along the border with Romania and Ukraine. The quality of drinking water is of a decent standard with Moldovans having more access to clean drinking water from pads to rural areas.

The climate of Moldova is characterized as a continental climate which is known to have four distinct seasons with mild summers as well as mild winters. The average temperature is 9.6 degrees Celsius or 49.2 degrees Fahrenheit which makes Moldova the 160th warmest state in the world.

During summer, between June and September, the average temperature is 14.1 degrees Celsius or 57.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

During winter, between December and February, the average temperature is 5.2 degrees Celsius or 41.4 degrees Fahrenheit

The majority of its rainfall occurs during winter and comes in the form of snow. On average, Moldova receives 52.6 centimetres or 20.7 inches of rainfall per year which makes it the 156th state with the highest amount of rainfall.

The capital of Moldovan, Chisinau, is home to approximately 700,000 people. The capital that is closest located to Chisinau is Bucharest, Romania with a distance of 340 kilometers or 211 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Chisinau is Wellington New Zealand with a distance of 17,251 kilometers or 10,719 miles.

The Moldovan economy is one of the least developed economies in Europe. The majority of the population is employed in the agricultural sector which is also the largest contributor to GDP. Another large contributor to GDP is remittances from Moldovans working abroad, mainly in eastern European states. Most of its exports are wines, animal products and clothing which are mainly exported to Russia which accounts for more than 25 percent of all exports. Most of its imports comes from Romania, Russia and China which combined represent more than 35 percent of all imports.

Moldova is a member of 12 international economic organizations which makes it the 100 most economically connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Black Sea Trade and Development Bank
Council of Europe Development Bank
Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges
International Monetary Fund
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development
Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
TRACECA Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia
Energy Charter Treaty
Energy Community

Its GDP is US$10.8 billion which makes it the 145th highest in the world representing 0.013 percent of total global GDP.

Its GDP per surface area is US$318,192 per square kilometer or US$824,114 per square mile.

Its GDP per capita is US$2911 which makes it the 133rd highest in the world.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power per capita is US$10,860 which makes it the 119th highest in the world.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

With a population of 3.7 million people, Moldova is the 131st most populous state in the world. Because of its complex history, the Moldovan people are largely made up of different regional ethnicities. The majority is ethnic Moldovan followed by the Romanian population, the Russian population and the Ukrainian population. As a result, Moldovan, which is similar to Romanian is spoken as it's official language.

Moldova has the 75th highest population density in the world with 109 people per square kilometer or 282 people per square mile.

Roughly a third of the population, or 850.000 people have migrated to other states. This makes Moldova the 76th state with the highest amount of emigration, representing 0.34 percent of total global emigration. The largest migration was when Moldova gained its independence in 1990 which enabled many Moldovans to look for a better economic opportunity. The largest emigration destinations have been Russia, which represents 35 percent of all emigration, Ukraine and Romania which represent approximately 30 percent each.

Immigration to Moldova has been represented by 3.7 percent of the population, or approximately 100,000 people. This makes Moldova the 102nd state with the highest amount of immigration, representing 0.04 percent of total global immigration. Approximately 85 percent of immigrants come from Ukraine and Russia and mainly consists of ethnic Moldovans that re-migrated to Moldova.

Moldova inherited its educational system from the Soviet Union. Currently, education is provided for free and is compulsory between the ages of six and 17. This has maintained a high literacy rate which, with 98.8 percent is the 31st highest in the world.

Since its independence in 1990, Moldova has faced an economic crisis which also impacted its health sector. Currently, the health care system of Moldova is a mix between public and private healthcare providers. At the start of the 21st century, Moldova has introduced a mandatory health insurance system. Its current health care system is supplied with modern equipment which has made a small impact on the average life expectancy in Moldova. The average life expectancy is 72.3 years with women reaching 76.5 years and men reaching 68 years. The difference between men and women is largely caused by a difference in alcohol consumption as well as higher homicide rates.

The government of Moldova provides freedom of religion towards all religions, but requires religions to officially register with the government.

The majority of the population, 81.3 percent adheres to Orthodox Christianity. This makes Moldova the 44th most Christian state in the world. Within Moldova, there are two different autonomous Orthodox churches which belong to the Russian Orthodox Church the Romanian Orthodox Church. The Russian Orthodox Church is the most dominant church in Moldova the represents 90 percent of all Orthodox churches.

On the right, the global share of Christians per state is displayed

Islam is represented by 0.5 percent of the population which makes it the 132nd most Islamic state in the world. Even though Islam has been present since ancient times, it took nearly 20 years since its independence to recognize Islam as an official religion.

There are no official Buddhist organizations in Moldova.

There are no official Hindu organizations in Moldova.

0.4 percent of the population adheres to Judaism. This number used to be higher, but after the second world war and after the establishment of Israel roughly 80 percent of all Jews have migrated from Moldovan.

There are no official other religions in Moldovan.

Irreligion is represented by nearly 1 percent of the population.