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{{Copyedit|date=August 2007}}
{{for|other uses of "Moldova" and "Moldavia"|Moldova (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox Country or territory
|native_name = ''Republica Moldova''
|conventional_long_name = Republic of Moldova
|common_name = Moldova
|map_caption = {{map_caption |region=on the ]}}
|national_motto = ''Limba noastră-i o comoară''{{spaces|2}}<small><br/>''Our language is a treasure''</small>
|national_anthem = '']''{{spaces|2}}<small>(])<br/>''Our Language''</small><!--Source: http://moldrpcv.tripod.com/id26.html-->
|image_flag = Flag of Moldova.svg
|image_coat = Coat of arms of Moldova.svg
|image_map = Europe_location_MDA.png
|capital = ]
|latd=47 |latm=0 |latNS=N |longd=28 |longm=55 |longEW=E
|largest_city = capital
|official_languages = ]{{smallsup|1}}<br/>(])<!--Please do not edit this entry (see talk page) -->
|demonym = ], ]
|government_type = ]
|leader_title1 = ]
|leader_name1 = ]
|leader_title2 = ]
|leader_name2 = ]
|sovereignty_type = ] {{nobold|from the ]}}
|established_event1 = Date
|established_date1 = ], ]
|established_event2 = Finalised
|established_date2 = ], ]
|area_km2 = 33,843
|area_sq_mi = 13,067 <!--Do not remove per ]-->
|area_rank = 139th
|area_magnitude = 1 E10
|percent_water = 1.4
|population_estimate = 4,320,490
|population_estimate_year = 2007
|population_estimate_rank = 121st³
|population_census = 3,383,332²
|population_census_year = 2004
|population_density_km2 = 111
|population_density_sq_mi = 339 <!--Do not remove per ]-->
|population_density_rank = 81st
|GDP_PPP_year = 2007
|GDP_PPP = $9,367 million
|GDP_PPP_rank = 141st
|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $2,962
|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 135th
|HDI_year = 2006
|HDI = 0.694
|HDI_rank = 114th
|HDI_category = <font color="#FFCC00">medium</font>
|Gini = 33.2
|Gini_year = 2003
|Gini_category = <font color="#ffcc00">medium</font>
|currency = ]
|currency_code = MDL
|time_zone = ]
|utc_offset = +2
|time_zone_DST = ]
|utc_offset_DST = +3
|cctld = ]
|calling_code = 373
|footnote1 = ] is commonly considered another name for ] (] and ] are also official in the ]).
|footnote2 = 2004 census from . Figure does not include ] and ].
|footnote3 = Ranking based on 2005 UN figure including Transnistria.
}}


== [[''''''ALEX VAINER
The '''Republic of Moldova''' (''Republica Moldova'') is a ] country in ], located between ] to the west and ] to the north, east and south. Historically part of the ], it was annexed by the ] in 1812. At the dissolution of the Russian Empire in 1918, it united with other Romanian lands in ]. After ] by the ] in 1940, and changing hands in 1941 and 1944 during ], it was known as the ] until 1991. Moldova declared its independence from the Soviet Union on ], ]. Although Moldova has been independent from the USSR since 1991, Russian forces have remained on Moldovan territory east of the Dniester River despite signing international obligations to withdraw.


Moldova is a ] with a ] as its ] and a ] as its ]. The country is a member state of the ], ], ], ], ], ] and other ]s.<!--to continue :) WHO, IMO, IAEA. As this is article's leader, perhaps give comprehensive list in a section below? Sure, :-) esp. since IAEA etc are sub-organizations of UN--> Moldova has officially been a ] since its independence, and an early member of the ] ]. Moldova currently aspires to join the ]. <ref>http://www.moldpres.md/default.asp?Lang=en&ID=68715 ( "Voronin highlighted, that we will strive for becoming an EU member")</ref> and is implementing its first three-year Action Plan within the framework of the ] (]) of the EU<ref>, http://www.azi.md, 14 December 2004, retrieved 2 July 2007</ref>.


== History ==
{{main|History of Moldova}}
Moldova's territory was inhabited in ancient times by ]. Due to its strategic location on a route between ] and ], Moldova has been invaded several times, including those by the ], the ] and the ]. During the ], the territory of Republic of Moldova, that of the ] and ] of Ukraine, as well as that of the eastern 8 of the 41 counties of Romania comprised the ] of ] (which, like the present-day republic, was known in Romanian as ''Moldova''). The principality became a tributary to the ] during the 16th century.


I LIKE!!!!!!!!!!!'''''']] ==
According to the ] in 1812, the territory, including ] and Budjak (Southern Bessarabia), passed to the ]. At first, the Russians used the name "] of Moldova and Bessarabia", but later called it simply ]. While the northeastern part of Moldavia, called ], was similarly annexed by the ], the western part of Moldavia remained an autonomous principality, and in 1859, united with ] to form the ]. Russian Tsarist authorities brought Bessarabia colonists such as ] and ] from the Ottoman Empire, ] from ], ] from the ] regions, and encouraged the settlement of ] from ], ] from ] and ], as well as Russian nobles or retired military. The Tsarist policy in Bessarabia was also partly aimed at de-nationalization of the Romanian element by forbidding after the 1860s ] and ] in Romanian, but the effect was a low literacy rate (approx. 40% for males, approx. 10% for females) rather than a denationalization. Following the ], Bessarabia proclaimed independence from Russia in 1918, and united with the Kingdom of Romania the same year. ] did not join Romania and formed the ] (1924-1940).

] of ] between 1457 and 1504 and the most prominent repesentative of the ]]]

On June 28, 1940, in accordance with the secret protocol of the ] with ], the ] forced Romania to evacuate its administration from Bessarabia and Northern ] and immediately ]. The southern and northern parts (which had significant Slavic and Turkic minorities) were transferred to the ]. At the same time, Transnistria (where ethnic ] were the largest ethnic group), was joined with the remaining territory to form the ], coterminous with the present-day Moldova. Although Soviet troops were forced out in 1941 by the ], and Romania re-established its administration, the Soviet Union re-conquered and re-annexed the area in August 1944. Soviet rule brought a harsh de-nationalization policy, and an almost complete destruction of the local intelligentsia and of the richer farmers. A large number of ethnic ] and ] (commonly known as Rusophones) immigrated into the new Soviet republic, especially into urbanized areas, while large numbers of ethnic Romanians were deported to ] and ] during the early years of Soviet rule.

The Soviet government began a campaign to promote a Moldovan ethnic identity, different from that of the Romanians, based on a theory developed during the existence of the Moldovan ASSR. Official Soviet policy asserted that the ] was distinct from the ]. Moldovan was written in the ], in contrast with Romanian, which was written in the ] (the language had used a different variant of the Cyrillic alphabet before 1860; as do many languages, Moldovan incorporated slight changes to the ] alphabet — which is commonly thought of as "the ]" — most notably, the use of the letter '']'' with a ] (Ӂ - ӂ) to indicate the sound /dʒ/).

During 1946-47, due to the absence of many farmers (enrolled into the Soviet army) to work the fields, and to high quotas of agricultural products demanded by the Soviets from the farmers, Moldova suffered from the worst famine in its history, resulting in 298,500 deaths. In 1944-50, there were up to a dozen anti-communist resistance groups active in Moldova; however the ] managed to uproot them with arrests and deportation. In 1965-1972 there was an attempt by a number of local intellectuals and students to create a movement for the promotion of Romanian culture and to force the state to employ more Romanians in the government, but the KGB managed to crack down on it as well.

In 1970s and 1980s, Moldavian SSR received substantial investment from the budget of the USSR to develop industrial and scientific facilities, as well as housing. In 1971, the ] adopted a decision "About the measures for further development of ] city" that secured more than one billion ] of investment from the USSR budget. Subsequent decisions also directed substantial funding and brought highly qualified specialists from all over the USSR to develop Moldova's industry. These investments stopped in 1991 with the ], when Moldova became independent.

Along with the other peripheral Soviet republics, Moldova started to move towards independence from 1988 onwards; in August 1989 a language law was passed, adopting the Latin alphabet for Moldovan and declaring it the state language of the MSSR <ref name="lang law"> (Law regarding the usage of languages spoken on the territory of the Republic of Moldova): ''"Moldavian SSR supports the desire of the Moldovans that live across the borders of the Republic, and considering the existing linguistical Moldo-Romanian identity - of the Romanians that live on the territory of the USSR, of doing their studies and satisfying their cultural needs in their maternal language."''</ref>. The first free elections for the local parliament were held in February and March 1990.

In August 1991, Moldova declared its independence, and in December of that year became a member of the post-Soviet ] along with most of the former Soviet republics. Declaring itself a neutral state, it did not join the ] (CIS) military branch. At the end of that year, an ex-communist reformer, ], won an unchallenged election for the presidency. Three months later, the country achieved formal recognition as an independent state at the ].

The part of Moldova east of the ] River, ], which included a larger proportion of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians, claimed independence in 1990, fearing the rise of nationalism in Moldova and the country's expected unification with ] at the dissolution of the USSR. This caused a brief ] between Moldova and Transnistria in 1992. Russian <!--and Ukrainian{{cn}} without citation, this is very dubious--> forces intervened on the Transnistrian side, and Russian troops of the 14th Army remain there to this day. Negotiations between the Transnistrian and Moldovan leaders have been going on under the mediation of ], Russia, Ukraine, ], and ]. Despite the expectations of the ], Moldova did not unite with Romania in 1991. In the early 1990s, the future of Moldova was a source of tension in Romania's relations with Russia. A March 1994 ] of the new constitution saw an overwhelming majority of voters favoring continued independence.

In 2001, the country became a member of the ]. During the first 10 years of independence, Moldova was governed by coalitions of different parties, lead mostly by former communist officials which turned to democracy. In the 2001 elections, the Communist Party of Moldova won the majority of seats in the Parliament and appointed ] as president. After few years in power, relationships between Moldova and ] deteriorated in November 2003 over the Transnistrian conflict. In the following election, held in 2005, the Communist party made a 180 degree turn and was re-elected on a pro-Western platform, with Voronin being re-elected to a second term as a president. Since 1999, Moldova has constantly affirmed its desire to join the European Union, however it is not even part of the accession process yet, and the country's internal and foreign trade policy remains divided between the influence of Russia and that of the EU and USA.

== Government ==
{{main|Politics of Moldova}}

The Republic of Moldova is a relatively new state, which became independent after the break-up of the former Soviet Union. Historically, it traces its statehood to the medieval ] (jointly with an equal size territory inside ]), and to the ] (1917-1918), which chose to join Romania in 1918. In 1940, the Soviets
created a ] under the name ], which they placed inside the ] as one of the 15 soviet republics. On ], ], the first democratically elected parliament proclaimed Moldova's sovereignty, and on ], ] the country's separation from the USSR, and independence.

===Political system===
The ] Moldovan ] (''{{lang|ro|Parlament}}'') has 101 seats, and its members are elected by popular vote every four years. The parliament then elects a ], who functions as the ]. The president appoints a ] as ] who in turn assembles a ], both subject to parliamentary approval. There is a large variety of political parties and movements in Moldova. ], the major parties and movements are:{{Fact|date=September 2007}}

*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]
*]

===2001 Parliamentary Elections===
*] (PCRM) (50.07% votes, 71 mandates)
*] (BEAB) (13.36% votes, 19 mandates)
*] (CDPP) (8.24% votes, 11 mandates)

===2005 Parliamentary Elections===
*] (PCRM) (45.98% votes, 56 mandates)
*] (BMD) (28.53% votes, 34 mandates)
*] (9.07% votes, 11 mandates)

==Relations with Romania/Identity Politics==
{{main|Relations of Moldova with Romania}}

In 1989, ] became the official language of Moldova (former Romanian ]). Following independence in 1991, the Romanian tricolor with a coat-of-arms (inspired by the ]) was used as the flag, and ], the Romanian national anthem, also became the anthem of Moldova. In those times, there was an expectation among certain groups in both countries that they were to be united soon, and a ] began in both countries in the early 1990s. Dual citizenship became an increasingly important issue following the 2003 local elections, and in November 2003, the Moldovan parliament passed a law that allowed Moldovans to acquire dual citizenship.

In the address to the Romanian parliament in February 1991, ], the Moldovan president spoke about a common identity of the ] and ], referring to the "Romanians of both sides of the ]" and "Sacred Romanian lands occupied by the Soviets". Historically, the Romanian government had provided scholarships to Moldovan students (via a common scheme with the Moldovan Ministry of Education) at all educational levels to attend Romanian schools and universities.

However, the initial enthusiasm in Moldova was tempered and, starting in 1993, Moldova started to distance itself from Romania. The constitution adopted in 1994 used the term "Moldovan language" instead of "Romanian" and changed the national anthem to ]. The 1996 attempt by Moldovan president Mircea Snegur to change the official language to "Romanian", however the "Moldovan" language is just a dialect of romanian language, was dismissed by the Moldovan Parliament as "promoting Romanian expansionism".

== Foreign relations ==
{{main|Foreign relations of Moldova}}
The government has stated that Moldova has European aspirations but there has been little progress toward ] membership. On ], ] many EU enthusiasts waving the EU flags found their flags confiscated by police and some were arrested under the clause of "anti-nationalism." During her first bilateral visit to Moldova, ], ] opened the new Delegation of the ] to Moldova on ], to be headed by ]. A ] (PCA) with EU is the legal basis for EU relations with Moldova. The PCA came into force in July 1998 for an initial period of ten years. It establishes the institutional framework for ], sets the principal common objectives, and calls for activities and dialog in a number of policy areas. Moldova welcomed EU enlargement and signed on ] ] the ] extending the PCA to the new ].

With the joint adoption of the ] on ], ], the EU and Moldova have further reinforced their bilateral relationship, providing a new tool to help implement the PCA and bring Moldova closer to the EU. The ] programme is used as the framework for ] to support agreed objectives. ] ] is one of the strong advocates (at the EU level) for Moldova's bid to join the European Union.<ref> People's Daily Online, 3 July 2007.</ref> In June 2007 the Republic of Moldova joined the International Parliament for Safety and Peace (see and ).

== Administrative divisions ==
]
{{main|Administrative divisions of Moldova}}
Moldova is divided into ] (''raioane'', singular '']''); three municipalities (], ], ]); and two autonomous regions (] and ]). The cities of ] and ] also have municipality status, however not as first-tier subdivisions of Moldova, but as parts of the regions of Găgăuzia and Transnistria, respectively. The districts are:
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|col3 =
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] is a ''de jure'' part of Moldova, as its independence is not recognized by any country, although '']'' it is not controlled by the Moldovan government. It is administered by an unrecognized breakaway authority seeking closer ties with Russia, and its status is still disputed.

== Geography ==
]
{{main|Geography of Moldova}}
The largest part of the country lies between two rivers, the ] and the ]. Moldova's rich soil and ] ] (with warm summers and mild winters) have made the country one of the most productive agricultural regions and a major supplier of agricultural products in the region.

The western border of Moldova is formed by the Prut river, which joins the ] before flowing into the ]. In the north-east, the Dniester is the main river, flowing through the country from north to south.

The country is ], even though it is very close to the Black Sea. While the northern part of the country is hilly, elevations never exceed 430 metres (1,411&nbsp;ft)&mdash;the highest point being the ]. The country's main cities are the capital ], in the center of the country, ] (in ]), ] and ].

{{see also|List of cities in Moldova|List of localities in Moldova}}

== Economy ==
]
{{main|Economy of Moldova}}
Moldova enjoys a favorable climate and good farmland but has no major ] deposits. As a result, the economy depends heavily on ], featuring fruits, vegetables, ], and ]. Moldova must import all of its supplies of ], ], and ], largely from ]. After the break up of the ] in 1991, energy shortages contributed to sharp production declines. As part of an ambitious economic liberalization effort, Moldova introduced a ], freed all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to state enterprises, backed steady land ], removed export controls, and freed interest rates. The government entered into agreements with the ] and the ] to promote growth. Recent trends indicate that the Communist government intends to reverse some of these policies, and recollectivise land while placing more restrictions on private business. The economy returned to positive growth, of 2.1% in 2000 and 6.1% in 2001. Growth remained strong in ]<!--"As of" used to indicate that new information is needed.-->, in part because of the reforms and because of starting from a small base. Further liberalization is in doubt 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. In agriculture, the economic reform started with the ].

Following the ], Moldova has made significant progress towards achieving and retaining macroeconomic and financial stabilization. It has, furthermore, implemented many structural and institutional reforms that are indispensable for the efficient functioning of a market economy. These efforts have helped maintain macroeconomic and financial stability under difficult external circumstances, enabled the resumption of economic growth and contributed to establishing an environment conducive to the economy’s further growth and development in the medium term. Despite these efforts, and despite the recent resumption of economic growth, Moldova still ranks low in terms of commonly-used living standards and human development indicators in comparison with other transition economies. Although the economy experienced a constant economic growth after 2000: with 2.1%, 6.1%, 7,8% and 6,3% between 2000 and 2003 (with a forecast of 8% in 2004), one can observe that these latest developments hardly reach the level of 1994, with almost 40% of the ] registered in 1990. Thus, during the last decade little has been done to reduce the country’s vulnerability. After a severe economic decline, social and economic challenges, energy uprooted dependencies, Moldova continues to occupy one of the last places among European countries in income per capita.

In 2002 (Human Development Report 2004), the registered GDP per capita was US $381, equivalent to US $ 1,470 ], which is 5.3 times lower than the world average (US $ 7,804). Moreover, GDP per capita is under the average of all regions in the world, including Sub-Saharan Africa (US $ 1,790 PPP). In 2004, about 40% of the population were under the absolute poverty line and registered an income lower than US $ 2.15 (PPP) per day. Moldova is classified as medium in human development and is at the 113th spot in the list of 177 countries. The value of the Human Development Index (0.681) is below the world average. Moldova remains the poorest country in Europe in terms of GDP per capita: $ 2,500 in 2006.<ref> 6 Sep 2007</ref>

===Information technology and telecommunications===
In 2004, the volume of investment in the ] and information market in Moldova increased by 30.1% in comparison with 2003, achieving 825.3 million ] (65.5 million US dollars). The representatives of the ] stated that 451 million lei (35.9 million dollars) were invested in the field of fixed telephone communication. ] constituted 330 million lei (26.2 million dollars) in the field of ], 24.2 million lei (1.9 million dollars) in the field of ]s, 19.1 million lei (1.5 million dollars) in the field of cable television services. An essential increase of 163 million lei (12.9 million dollars) has been achieved in the field of mobile telephony. In comparison with 2003, investments in this sector practically doubled. An insignificant increase was registered in the other ]s, but the investment volume remained the same in the field of ] communication.

In 2005, investments in telecommunication and information technology exceeded the level of the previous year, due to the investments by the national operator of the stationary telephone communications in the ] ] for the implementation of ] technology, the investments of the operators of mobile telephony ] and ] in the development of ], and the extension and improvement of Internet access services via new ].

== Human rights ==

According to Amnesty International's 2007 annual report torture and ill-treatment were widespread and conditions in pre-trial detention were poor. A number of treaties protecting women's rights were ratified, but men, women and children continued to be trafficked for forcible sexual and other exploitation and measures to protect women against domestic violence were inadequate. Constitutional changes to abolish the death penalty were made. Freedom of expression was restricted and opposition politicians were targeted.

The ] has held committee hearings on irregularities that marred elections in Moldova, including the arrest and harassment of opposition candidates, intimidation and suppression of independent media, and state run media bias in favor of candidates backed by the ].<ref></ref>

State media coverage of the street protests in 2002 regarding the Communists’ attempt to reinstate obligatory study of the Russian language and to defend the cultural identity that the majority of Moldovans share with neighboring Romania was censored. In February 2002, in response to severe censorship of the state broadcaster Teleradio-Moldova (TVM), hundreds of TVM journalists went on strike in solidarity with the anti-communist opposition. In retribution, a few journalists and staff members were dismissed or suspended from the station in March<ref></ref>.

However, in 2004 an improvement was made and the Moldovan Parliament removed Article 170 from the country's Criminal Code. Article 170 called for up to five years imprisonment for ].<ref></ref>

According to the ], the media climate in Moldova remained restrictive as of 2004.<ref></ref> Authorities continued a long-standing campaign to silence independent opposition voices and movements. In a case widely criticized by ]s, opposition politician ] was sentenced to a ten-year prison term. The United States and human rights defenders from the European Union consider him a political prisoner, and an official statement from Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs called the judgment "striking in its cruelty".{{Fact|date=April 2007}}

:''See also: ]''

== Demographics ==
{{main|Demographics of Moldova}}

====Ethnic composition====
]
Given that the definition of ethnic groups is the subject of an ongoing dispute, the following data must be treated with caution. The main controversy, concerns the identity between '']'' and '']'', as well as between the corresponding Moldovan and Romanian languages (see ]). The distinction between Moldovans and Romanians has been a greatly disputed political issue with one side arguing that Moldovans constitute an ethnic group separate from the Romanian ], whereas others claim that Moldovans in both Romania and Moldova are simply a subgroup of the Romanian ethnos, similar to ]ns, ]ns, and other groups (''see ]'').

The last reference data is that of the ]<ref>{{ro icon}} </ref> and the ]:

{| class="wikitable"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
! # !! Ethnicity !! Mold. census !! % Mold !! Transnistrian census !! % Tran !! Total !! %
|-
| 1. || ]* || 2,564,849 || 75.8% || 177,156 || 31.9% || 2,742,005 || 69.6%
|-
| 2. || ] || 282,406 || 8.3% || 159,940 || 28.8% || 442,346 || 11.2%
|-
| 3. || ] || 201,218 || 5.9% || 168,270 || 30.3% || 369,488 || 9.4%
|-
| 4. || ] || 147,500 || 4.4% || 11,107 || 2.0% || 158,607 || 4.0%
|-
| 5. || ]* || 73,276 || 2.2% || NA || NA || 73,276 || 1.9%
|-
| 6. || ] || 65,662 || 1.9% || 11,107 || 2.0% || 76,769 || 1.9%
|-
| 7. || Others || 48,421 || 1.4% || 27,767 || 5.0% || 76,188 || 1.9%
|-
| 8. || '''TOTAL''' || '''3,383,332''' || '''100%''' || '''555,347''' || '''100%''' || '''3,938,679''' || '''100%'''
|}

Note: Transnistrian authorities published only the percentage of ethnic groups; the number of people was calculated from those percentages. The number or percentage of Romanians in Transnistria was not published; it is included in "others".

According to the '']'' news agency,<ref>, ''Moldova Azi'', May 19, 2005, story attributed to ]. Retrieved October 11, 2005.</ref> a group of international census experts described the 2004 Moldovan census as "generally conducted in a professional manner", while remarking that that "a few topics… were potentially more problematic", in particular:
# The census includes at least some Moldovans who had been living abroad over one year at the time of the census.
# * The precision of numbers about nationality/ethnicity and language was questioned. Some enumerators apparently encouraged respondents to declare that they were "'']''" rather than "'']''", and even within a single family there may have been confusion about these terms. Also it is unclear how many respondents consider the term "Moldovan" to signify an ethnic identity other than "Romanian".

===Largest cities===
: ''Sources: ,
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"
|- style="background:#efefef;"
! # !! City !! Population !! Year !! County</tr>
| 1. ||align="left"| ] || 647,513 || 2005 ||align="left"| </tr>
| 2. ||align="left"| ] || 158,069 || 2004 ||align="left"| </tr>
| 3. ||align="left"| ] || 122,778 || 2005 ||align="left"| </tr>
| 4. ||align="left"| ] || 97,027 || 2004 ||align="left"| </tr>
| 5. ||align="left"| ] || || 2004 ||align="left"| </tr>
| 6. ||align="left"| ] || || 2004 ||align="left"| ] </tr>
| 7. ||align="left"| ] || 28,407 || 2005 ||align="left"| ]</tr>
| 8. ||align="left"| ] || 25,680 || 2005 ||align="left"| ]</tr>
|}

===Religions===
According to the 2004 census, the population of Moldova has the following religious composition:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:right;"
! Religion !! Adherents !! % of total</tr>
|align="left"| ] || 3,158,015 || 95.5%</tr>
|-
|align="left"|
Newer ] faiths
: ]s
: ]
: ]
: ]&nbsp;{{smallsup|a}}
|
<br/><small>
32,754{{spaces|4}}<br/>
13,503{{spaces|4}}<br/>
9,179{{spaces|4}}<br/>
5,075{{spaces|4}}</small>
|
1.83%<br/><small>
0.99%{{spaces|4}}<br/>
0.41%{{spaces|4}}<br/>
0.28%{{spaces|4}}<br/>
0.15%{{spaces|4}}</small>
|-
|align="left"|
Traditional ]
: Confessional Evangelicals
: ]
: Evangelical Synod-Presbyterians
|
<br/><small>
1,429{{spaces|4}}<br/>
1,190{{spaces|4}}<br/>
3,596{{spaces|4}}</small>
|
0.19%<br/><small>
0.04%{{spaces|4}}<br/>
0.04%{{spaces|4}}<br/>
0.11%{{spaces|4}}</small>
|-
|align="left"| Old-Rite Christians&nbsp;{{smallsup|b}} || 5,094 || 0.15%</tr>
|align="left"| ] || 4,645 || 0.14%</tr>
|align="left"| ]s || 1,667 || 0.05%</tr>
|align="left"| Other religions || 25,527 || 0.77%</tr>
|colspan="3"| </tr>
|align="left"| ]s || 33,207 || 1%</tr>
|align="left"| ]s || 12,724 || 0.38%</tr>
|}
<small>Percentages are calculated from the number of people declaring a religion; 75,727 (2.29%) of the population did not declare a religion.<br/><sup>a</sup> Known as ''Creştini după Evanghelie''.<br/><sup>b</sup> Traditionally Orthodox ]s.</small>

Orthodox Christians were not required in the census to declare the particular church they belong to. The ], subordinated to the ], and the ], autonomous and subordinated to the ], both claim to be the national church of the country.

Before the Holocaust, the country had a substantial ] community, 7%, or slightly over 200,000, in 1930. In June-July 1941 approximately two thirds of the Jews fled (mostly in miserable conditions) to the interior of the USSR (Uzbekistan, Siberia, other regions) before the retreat of the Soviet troops. In 1941-1942, approximately one third of the ] (alongside Jews from several other districts of Romania) were deported to ghettos and labor camps in ], where more than half perished in extreme conditions. Approximately 10,000 Jews (both military and civilians) were executed during the military action in June-July 1941 by German ] D, and (at least on four occasions) by Romanian troops. By mid 1942 fewer than 20,000 Jews remained in the region. After the Soviets took back the region in 1944, most of the Bessarabian Jews returned. During the Soviet period some Jews from Moldova moved to other parts of the former ], while some Jews from other regions moved to Moldova. During late 1980s and 1990s, there was mass migration of Jews to Israel, with a total number of emigrants estimated at over 100,000. The Jewish population was estimated at 1.5% as late as 2000.

== Culture ==
], ] of Moldova and ].]]
{{main|Culture of Moldova}}
Located geographically at the crossroads of Latin and Slavic cultures, Moldova has enriched its own culture adopting and maintaining some of the traditions of its neighbors.

The Prince ] is one of the most important figures of ] culture of the 18th century. Cantemir wrote the first geographical, ethnographical and economic description of the country in ] (], 1714).

] was a late ] poet, probably the best-known and most influential ] poet.

Moldova has its deep history as well. There are evidence of existance of royal family. The prince of Moldova is Alexandr Vainer, born in 1989.

===Language===
{{main|Moldovan language|Romanian language}}
] (Title I, Article 13) states that the Moldovan language is the official language of the country. In Moldova's Declaration of Independence, the same language is called ]<ref>{{ro-icon}}, ]</ref>. The term "Moldovan" is the official name for the ] in the ],<ref>Kogan Page 2004, p 242</ref><ref name="conceptia">{{ro icon}} at the ] website:
:"''The conception has its starting point in the historical truth, confirmed by the common literary treasure: the Moldovan people and the Romanian people use a common literary form'' ''(...). Having common origin, disposing of a common basic word hoard, the national ] language and the national ]n language each maintains its own language name as an identifier of the nation: Moldovan and Romanian.''"
:<font style="font-size:97%">("Concepţia porneşte de la adevărul statornicit istoriceşte şi confirmat de tezaurul literar comun: poporul moldovenesc şi poporul român folosesc o formă literară comună . Avînd originea comună, dispunînd de un fond lexical de bază comun, limba naţională moldovenească şi limba naţională română îşi păstrează fiecare lingvonimul/glotonimul său ca însemn identificator al fiecărei naţiuni: moldovenească şi română.")</font> </ref> but this term is limited only to some political spheres, whereas "Romanian" is used on all other occasions: "Romanian" is the term used in schools, media and even in areas such as administration or law.<ref></ref>

There is no particular linguistic break at the ], which divides Moldova from Romania. In formal use, the languages are identical, although in ] (after the adoption of the ] in Moldova), the ] issued a recommendation that made minor changes to the alphabet, a recommendation that was not applied in Moldova at that time. Eventually, with the publication of the "Dicţionarul ortografic al limbii române (ortopepic, morfologic, cu norme de punctuaţie)" by the ] in ], the recommendation became mandatory in Moldova also.<ref>, published by the Moldovan Academy of Sciences, following the decision of ] ]</ref> The common speech of areas such as ] or ] can be distinguished from the speech of ], a Romanian city that is also part of the former ], while the difference in the common speech between ] and the capital of Romania ] is even greater. Linguistically, Moldovan is considered one of the five major spoken dialects of Romanian, all five being written identically. In general, before 1988-89, the less educated, the greater the difference from standard Romanian, and the more words were borrowed ad hoc from Russian into the daily speech.<!--In general, the larger the ]-speaking population of a region is, the greater the difference from standard Romanian.{{dubious}} This is highly dubious: the more Slavic speaking population, the better locals knew Russian, the less Russian words entered Romanian. On the contrary, the less Slavic speaking population, the less Russian they knew, hence instead of learning a new language, they only borrowed a few words: they did not know sufficiently many Russian words to speak clean Russian, yet they knew sufficiantly many to introduce them into their own langiage. Just compare cities vs countryside. By 1989, locals in the cities spoke more clean Romanian than those in the countryside, b/c those in the cities leanred Russian as a second language, while those in the countryside only learned a few hundred words, insuficiant to have an intelligent discussion and express freely in Russian.-->

Most linguists don't consider the existence of the Moldovan language, although one Moldovan linguist, Vasile Stati, disputed this.<ref>Stati, V.N. ''Dicţionar moldovenesc-românesc''. Chişinău: Tipografia Centrală (Biblioteca Pro Moldova), 2003. ISBN 9975-78-248-5.</ref> However, Stati admitted latter in an interview for the Russian language newspaper "Vremea" that "without any doubt, the literary form of the Moldovan language, the cultivated form, as used by the writers and the linguists, is identical to the Romanian language".<ref>, published in "Vremea" on ] ]</ref> The afirmations of Stati are dubbed by the Moldovan law regarding the conception on national politics, adopted in December ]:
:<font style="size:90%">''"The conception has its starting point in the historical truth, confirmed by the common literary treasure: The Moldovan people and the Romanian people use a common literary form"''.<ref name="conceptia"/></font>

The 1989 law on language of the ], which is still effective in Moldova according to the Constitution <ref>: ''"The law of 1 September 1989 regarding the usage of languages spoken on the territory of the Republic of Moldova remains valid, excepting the points where it contradicts this constitution."'' </ref>, also asserts the existence of "linguistic Moldo-] identity". <ref name="lang law"/>

There are, however, more differences between the colloquial spoken languages of Moldova and ], most significantly due to the influence of ] in Moldova which was not present in Romania. These differences in speech vocabulary are being slowly diluted after 1989. A significant minority speaks native ], and there are more ] in common speech in Moldova than in common speech in Romania. Nonetheless, Moldovans are generally aware when they are using a word of Slavic origin not found in common Romanian, and are capable of choosing whether or not to use these words in a particular context.

In some cases ] is used alongside Moldovan (Romanian) within state institutions, despite not having legal status. This is generally in direct relation to the political context in the government, which can be either pro-Russian or pro-Romanian/pro-Western. As of 2006, five members of the Moldovan government were not able to speak Moldovan, the main language used in government meetings being Russian<ref></ref>. In ], the breakaway authorities consider its old Cyrillic form co-official with ] and ], and persecute inhabitants that use the standard Latin alphabet.

===Sport===

] has traditionally been Moldova's national sport, however, ] has risen to become a very popular sport with the ] earning promotion to Division one of the ] with some brilliant displays attracting many spectators to their matches.

{{seealso|List of Moldovans|Music of Moldova|Religion in Moldova}}

==See also==
{{Moldovan Topics}}
{{portal|Moldova|Flag of Moldova.svg}}
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* ], an adjacent Romanian region of the same name.
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== Gallery ==
<gallery>
Image:Stefan Chisinau.jpg|Monument to Stephen the Great of Moldova
Image:Chisinau Center.jpg|], ]
Image:Moldavian orthodox church.jpg|Moldavian ]
</gallery>

== Notes ==
<div class="references-small"><references /></div>

== External links ==
{{sisterlinks|Moldova}}
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===Profiles===
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{{wikinews|Portal:Moldova|Moldova news portal}}

===Others===
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===International rankings===
* ]: , ranked 75th out of 119 countries
* ]: , ranked 74th out of 167 countries
* ]: ], ranked 77th out of 155 countries
* ]: , ranked 99th out of 111 countries
* ]: , ranked 88th out of 158 countries
* ]: , ranked 116th out of 177 countries
* ]: , ranked 82nd out of 117 countries
* ]: , ranked 83rd out of 155
* ]: , ranked 69th out of 155
* ]: , ranked 35th out of 140

{{Template group
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{{Administrative divisions of Moldova}}
{{Countries of Europe}}
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{{Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)|state=collapsed}}
{{Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA)}}
{{Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC)}}
{{Council of Europe}}
{{World Trade Organization (WTO)}}
{{Latin Union}}
{{GUAM countries}}
{{Romance-speaking nations of Europe}}
}}

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Revision as of 13:35, 18 October 2007

== [['ALEX VAINER


I LIKE!!!!!!!!!!!']] ==