| Economy - overview | 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 | 0.4% (2005 est.) |
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| GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2006 est.) |
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| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 21.5%
industry: 22%
services: 56.5% (2006 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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| 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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| Budget | revenues: $1.318 billion
expenditures: $1.335 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.) |
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| Industries | sugar, vegetable oil, food processing, agricultural machinery; foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines; hosiery, shoes, textiles |
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| Industrial production growth rate | 6.9% (2006 est.) |
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Electricity -
production | 1.229 billion kWh (2005) |
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Electricity -
production by source | fossil fuel: 90.6%
hydro: 9.4%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001) |
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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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| Agriculture - products | vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk |
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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 32.9%, Italy 12.7%, Romania 10.6%, Ukraine 9.5%, Belarus 6.7%, Germany 4.5% (2005) |
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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 | Ukraine 20.9%, Russia 11.7%, Romania 11.2%, Germany 8.3%, Italy 6.6%, Turkey 4.1% (2005) |
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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 | 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 |
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