Moldova
The Country of the Week
Quick Facts
- Capital
- Chisinau in Romanian (Kishinev in Russian)
- Population
- 3,578,930 (2025 est.)
- Area
- 33,851 sq km
- Government
- parliamentary republic
- Religions
- Orthodox 90.1%, other Christian 2.6%, other 0.1%, agnostic <0.1%, atheist 0.2%, unspecified 6.9% (2014 est.)
- Ethnic Groups
- Moldovan 75.1%, Romanian 7%, Ukrainian 6.6%, Gagauz 4.6%, Russian 4.1%, Bulgarian 1.9%, other 0.8% (2014 est.)
- Currency
- Moldovan lei (MDL)
- Life Expectancy
- 70.1 years (2024 est.)
- Internet Domain
- .md
- Climate
- moderate winters, warm summers
- Terrain
- rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea
- Natural Resources
- lignite, phosphorites, gypsum, limestone, arable land
- Major Exports
- insulated wire, garments, refined petroleum, seed oils, wheat (2023)
Source: CIA World Factbook (public domain)
Overview
A large portion of present-day Moldovan territory became a province of the Russian Empire in 1812 and then unified with Romania in 1918 in the aftermath of World War I. This territory was then incorporated into the Soviet Union at the close of World War II.