conventional long form: Republic of Moldova
conventional short form: Moldova
local long form: Republica Moldova
local short form: Moldova
former: Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic
etymology: named for the Moldova River in neighboring eastern Romania
parliamentary republic
name: Chisinau in Moldovan (Kishinev in Russian)
geographic coordinates: 47 00 N, 28 51 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
note: pronounced KEE-shee-now (KIH-shi-nyov)
etymology: origin unclear but may derive from the archaic Romanian word "chisla" ("spring" or "water source") and "noua" ("new") because the original settlement was built at the site of a small spring
32 raions (raioane, singular - raion), 3 municipalities (municipii, singular - municipiul), 1 autonomous territorial unit (unitatea teritoriala autonoma), and 1 territorial unit (unitatea teritoriala)
raions: Anenii Noi, Basarabeasca, Briceni, Cahul, Cantemir, Calarasi, Causeni, Cimislia, Criuleni, Donduseni, Drochia, Dubasari, Edinet, Falesti, Floresti, Glodeni, Hincesti, Ialoveni, Leova, Nisporeni, Ocnita, Orhei, Rezina, Riscani, Singerei, Soldanesti, Soroca, Stefan Voda, Straseni, Taraclia, Telenesti, Ungheni
municipalities: Balti, Bender, Chisinau
autonomous territorial unit: Gagauzia
territorial unit: Stinga Nistrului (Transnistria)
27 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)
Independence Day, 27 August (1991)
history: previous 1978; latest adopted 29 July 1994, effective 27 August 1994
amendments: proposed by voter petition (at least 200,000 eligible voters), by at least one third of Parliament members, or by the government; passage requires two-thirds majority vote of Parliament within one year of initial proposal; revisions to constitutional articles on sovereignty, independence, and neutrality require majority vote by referendum; articles on fundamental rights and freedoms cannot be amended; amended many times, last in 2018
civil law system with Germanic law influences; Constitutional Court review of legislative acts
has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction
citizenship by birth: no
citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Moldova
dual citizenship recognized: no
residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years
18 years of age; universal
chief of state: President Maia SANDU (since 24 December 2020)
head of government: prime minister (vacant); Acting Prime Minister Aureliu CIOCOI (since 1 January 2021); note - Prime Minister Ion CHICU resigned on 23 December 2020
cabinet: Cabinet proposed by the prime minister-designate, nominated by the president, approved through a vote of confidence in Parliament
elections/appointments: president directly elected for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 15 November 2020 (next to be held in fall 2024); prime minister designated by the president upon consultation with Parliament; within 15 days from designation, the prime minister-designate must request a vote of confidence for his/her proposed work program from the Parliament
election results: Maia SANDU elected president; percent of vote (second round results) - Maia SANDU (PAS) 57.7%, Igor DODON (PSRM) 42.3%
description: unicameral Parliament (101 seats; 51 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and 50 members directly elected in a single, nationwide constituency by closed party-list proportional representation vote; all members serve 4-year terms
elections:
last held on 11 July 2021 (next scheduled for July 2025)
percent of vote by party - PAS 52.8%, BECS (PSRM+PCRM) 27.1%, SOR 5.7%; seats by party - PAS 63, BECS 32, SOR 6
highest courts: Supreme Court of Justice (consists of the chief judge, 3 deputy-chief judges, 45 judges, and 7 assistant judges); Constitutional Court (consists of the court president and 6 judges); note - the Constitutional Court is autonomous to the other branches of government; the Court interprets the Constitution and reviews the constitutionality of parliamentary laws and decisions, decrees of the president, and acts of the government
judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court of Justice judges appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistracy, an 11-member body of judicial officials; all judges serve 4-year renewable terms; Constitutional Court judges appointed 2 each by Parliament, the president, and the Higher Council of Magistracy for 6-year terms; court president elected by other court judges for a 3-year term
subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal; Court of Business Audit; municipal courts
represented in Parliament:
Action and Solidarity Party or PAS [Maia SANDU]
Electoral Bloc of Communists and Socialists or BECS [Vladimir VORONIN] (a coalition of PSRM and PCRM)
Shor Party or PS [Ilan SHOR]
not represented in Parliament, participated in recent elections (2014-2021):
Anti-Mafia Movement or MPA [Sergiu MOCANU]
Centrist Union of Moldova or UCM [Mihai PETRACHE]
Christian Democratic People's Party or PPCD [Victor CIOBANU]
Communist Party of the Republic of Moldova or PCRM [Vladimir VORONIN]
Conservative Party or PC [Natalia NIRCA]
Democratic Party of Moldova or PDM [Vladimir PLAHOTNIUC]
Democracy at Home Party or PDA [Vasile COSTIUC]
Democratic Action Party or PAD [Mihai GODEA]
Dignity and Truth Platform or PPDA [Andrei NASTASE]
Ecologist Green Party or PVE [Anatolie PROHNITCHI]
European People’s Party of Moldova or EPPM [Iurie LEANCA]
Law and Justice Party or PLD [Nicolae ALEXEI]
Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova or PLDM [Tudor DELIU]
Liberal Party or PL [Dorin CHIRTOACA]
"Motherland" Party or PP [Sergiu BIRIUCOV]
National Liberal Party or PNL [Vitalia PAVLICENKO]
NOW Platform or ACUM (PPDA + PAS) [Andre NASTASE + Maia SANDU]
Our Home Moldova or PCNM [Grigore PETRENCO]
Our Party or PN [Renato USATII]
Party of National Unity [Anatol SALARU]
People’s Party of Moldova or PPRM [Alexandru OLEINIC]
Regions Party of Moldova or PRM [Alexandr KALININ]
Socialist Party of the Republic of Moldova or PSRM [Zinaida GRECEANII]
Socialist People’s Party of Moldova or PPSM [Victor STEPANIUC]
BSEC, CD, CE, CEI, CIS, EAEC (observer), EAPC, EBRD, FAO, GCTU, GUAM, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, OIF, OPCW, OSCE, PFP, SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
chief of mission: Ambassador Eugen CARAS (since 17 July 2020)
chancery: 2101 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 667-1130
FAX: [1] (202) 667-1204
chief of mission: Ambassador Dereck J. HOGAN (since 02 November 2018)
telephone: [373] (22) 40-8300
embassy: 103 Mateevici Street, Chisinau MD-2009
mailing address: use embassy street address
FAX: [373] (22) 23-3044
three equal vertical bands of Prussian blue (hoist side), chrome yellow, and vermilion red; emblem in center of flag is of a Roman eagle of dark gold (brown) 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 aurochs head, star, rose, and crescent all in black-outlined yellow; based on the color scheme of the flag of Romania - with which Moldova shares a history and culture - but Moldova's blue band is lighter; the reverse of the flag displays a mirrored image of the coat of arms
note: one of only three national flags that differ on their obverse and reverse sides - the others are Paraguay and Saudi Arabia
aurochs (a type of wild cattle); national colors: blue, yellow, red
name: "Limba noastra" (Our Language)
lyrics/music: Alexei MATEEVICI/Alexandru CRISTEA
note: adopted 1994
NOTE: The information regarding Moldova on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Moldova 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Moldova 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
This page was last modified 16 Dec 23, Copyright © 2023 ITA all rights reserved.