@Midway Islands, Communications
Highways: total: 32 km paved: NA Pipelines: 7.8 km Ports: Sand Island Airports: total: 3 usable: 2 with permanent-surface runways: 1 with runways over 3,659 m: 0 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 0 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 1
@Midway Islands, Defense Forces
Note: defense is the responsibility of the US
@Moldova, Geography
Location:
Eastern Europe, between Ukraine and Romania
Map references:
Asia, Europe, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
33,700 sq km
land area:
33,700 sq km
comparative area:
slightly more than twice the size of Hawaii
Land boundaries:
total 1,389 km, Romania 450 km, Ukraine 939 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none; landlocked
International disputes:
no official territorial claims by either Moldova or Romania, but
nationalists in Romania seek the merger of Moldova into Romania;
potential future dispute by Moldova and Romania against Ukraine over
former southern and northern Bessarabian areas and Northern Bukovina
ceded to Ukraine upon Moldova's incorporation into USSR
Climate:
moderate winters, warm summers
Terrain:
rolling steppe, gradual slope south to Black Sea
Natural resources:
lignite, phosphorites, gypsum
Land use:
arable land:
50%
permanent crops:
13%
meadows and pastures:
9%
forest and woodland:
0%
other:
28%
Irrigated land:
2,920 sq km (1990)
Environment:
current issues:
heavy use of agricultural chemicals, including banned pesticides such
as DDT, has contaminated soil and groundwater; extensive soil erosion
from poor farming methods
natural hazards:
NA
international agreements:
signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change
Note:
landlocked
@Moldova, People
Population:
4,473,033 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.38% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
16.02 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
10.02 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
-2.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
30.3 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
68.07 years
male:
64.65 years
female:
71.67 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
2.18 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Moldovan(s)
adjective:
Moldovan
Ethnic divisions:
Moldavian/Romanian 64.5%, Ukrainian 13.8%, Russian 13%, Gagauz 3.5%,
Jewish 1.5%, Bulgarian 2%, other 1.7% (1989 figures)
note:
internal disputes with ethnic Russians and Ukrainians in the Dniester
region and Gagauz Turks in the south
Religions:
Eastern Orthodox 98.5%, Jewish 1.5%, Baptist (only about 1,000
members) (1991)
note:
the large majority of churchgoers are ethnic Moldavian
Languages:
Moldovan (official; virtually the same as the Romanian language),
Russian, Gagauz (a Turkish dialect)
Literacy:
age 9-49 can read and write (1970)
total population:
100%
male:
100%
female:
99%
Labor force:
2.05 million (1992)
by occupation:
agriculture 34.4%, industry 20.1%, other 45.5% (1985 figures)
@Moldova, Government
Names:
conventional long form:
Republic of Moldova
conventional short form:
Moldova
local long form:
Republica Moldoveneasca
local short form:
none
former:
Soviet Socialist Republic of Moldova; Moldavia
Digraph:
MD
Type:
republic
Capital:
Chisinau
Administrative divisions:
previously divided into 40 rayons; new districts possible under new
constitution in 1994
Independence:
27 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 27 August 1991
Constitution:
old Soviet constitution (adopted NA 1979) is still in effect but has
been heavily amended during the past few years; a new constitution is
expected in 1994
Legal system:
based on civil law system; no judicial review of legislative acts;
does not accept compulsory ICJ jurisdiction but accepts many UN and
CSCE documents
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Mircea SNEGUR (since 3 September 1990); election last held 8
December 1991 (next to be held NA 1996); results - Mircea SNEGUR ran
unopposed and won 98.17% of vote; note - President SNEGUR was named
executive president by the Supreme Soviet on 3 September 1990 and was
confirmed by popular election on 8 December 1991
head of government:
Prime Minister Andrei SANGHALI (since 1 July 1992; reappointed 5 April
1994 after elections for new legislature)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers; appointed by the president on recommendation of
the prime minister
Legislative branch:
unicameral
Parliament:
elections last held 27 February 1994 (next to be held NA 1999);
results - percent by party NA; seats - (104 total) Agrarian-Democratic
Party 56, Socialist/Yedinstvo Bloc 28, Peasants and Intellectual Bloc
11, Christian Democratic Popular Front 9
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court
Political parties and leaders:
Christian Democratic Popular Front (formerly Moldovan Popular Front),
Iurie ROSCA, chairman; Yedinstvo Intermovement, V. YAKOVLEV, chairman;
Social Democratic Party, Oazu NANTOI, chairman, two other chairmen;
Agrarian-Democratic Party, Dumitru MOTPAN, chairman; Democratic Party,
Gheorghe GHIMPU, chairman; Democratic Labor Party, Alexandru ARSENI,
chairman; Reform Party, Anatol SELARU; Republican Party, Victor
PUSCAS; Socialist Party, Valeriu SENIC, chairman; Communist Party,
Vladimir VORONIN
Other political or pressure groups:
United Council of Labor Collectives (UCLC), Igor SMIRNOV, chairman;
Congress of Intellectuals, Alexandru MOSANU; The Ecology Movement of
Moldova (EMM), G. MALARCHUK, chairman; The Christian Democratic League
of Women of Moldova (CDLWM), L. LARI, chairman; National Christian
Party of Moldova (NCPM), D. TODIKE, M. BARAGA, V. NIKU, leaders; The
Peoples Movement Gagauz Khalky (GKh), S. GULGAR, leader; The
Democratic Party of Gagauzia (DPG), G. SAVOSTIN, chairman; The
Alliance of Working People of Moldova (AWPM), G. POLOGOV, president;
Christian Alliance for Greater Romania; Stefan the Great Movement;
Liberal Convention of Moldova; Association of Victims of Repression;
Christian Democratic Youth League
Member of:
BSEC, CE (guest), CIS, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, IBRD, ICAO, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT
(nonsignatory user), IOC, ITU, NACC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
WHO, WIPO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Nicolae TIU
chancery:
1511 K Street NW, Room 329, Washington, DC
telephone:
(202) 783-3012 or -2807
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Mary C. PENDLETON
embassy:
Strada Alexei Mateevich #103, Chisinau
mailing address:
use embassy street address
telephone:
373 (2) 23-37-72 or 23-34-76
FAX:
7-0422-23-30-44
Flag:
same color scheme as Romania - 3 equal vertical bands of blue (hoist
side), yellow, and red; emblem in center of flag is of a Roman eagle
of gold 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 ox head, star, rose, and
crescent all in black-outlined yellow