Moldova

The name Moldova is derived from the Moldova River; the valley of this river served as a political centre at the time of the foundation of the Principality of Moldavia in 1359. The origin of the name of the river remains unclear. According to a legend recounted by Moldavian chroniclers Dimitrie Cantemir and Grigore Ureche, Prince Dragoș named the river after hunting aurochs: following the chase, the prince's exhausted hound Molda (Seva) drowned in the river. The dog's name, given to the river, extended to the principality. For a short time in the 1990s, at the founding of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the name of the Republic of Moldova was also spelled Moldavia. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country began to use the Romanian name, Moldova. Officially, the name Republic of Moldova is designated by the United Nations.

The history of Moldova spans prehistoric cultures, ancient and medieval empires, and periods of foreign rule and modern independence. Evidence of human habitation goes back 800,000–1.2 million years, with significant developments in agriculture, pottery, and settlement during the Neolithic and Bronze Ages. In antiquity, Moldova's location made it a crossroads for invasions by the Scythians, Goths, Huns, and other tribes, followed by periods of Roman and Byzantine control. The medieval Principality of Moldavia emerged in the 1350s and was the medieval precursor of modern Moldova and Romania. It reached prominence under rulers like Stephen the Great before becoming a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire from 1538, until the 19th century. …

Moldova is a landlocked country situated in Eastern Europe, on the northeastern corner of the Balkans in the Black Sea Basin, between latitudes 45° and 49° N, and mostly between meridians 26° and 30° E (a small area lies east of 30°). The country lies to the east of the Carpathian Mountains and is bordered by Romania to its west and by Ukraine to its north, east, and south. The total length of the national boundaries is 1,389 km, including 939 km with Ukraine and 450 km with Romania. The country is separated from Romania on the west by the Prut river and on the east from Ukraine by the Dniester river. The total land area is 33,843.5 km2 (13,067.0 sq mi), of which 960 km2 (370 sq mi) is water. …

Moldova's cultural tradition has been influenced primarily by the Romanian origins of its majority population, the roots of which go back to the second century AD, the period of Roman colonisation in Dacia. Located geographically at the crossroads of Latin, Slavic and other cultures, Moldova has enriched its own culture adopting and maintaining traditions of neighbouring regions and of other influential sources. The largest ethnic group, which had come to identify itself widely as "Moldovan" by the 14th century, contributed to the shaping of classical Romanian culture. The culture has been also influenced by the Byzantine culture, the neighbouring Magyar and Slavic populations, and later by the Ottoman Turks. A strong Western European influence in Moldovan literature and arts was prevalent in the 19th century. …

The economy of Moldova is an emerging upper-middle income economy, with a high Human Development Index. Since the country gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1992, it has steadily transitioned to a market economy. According to the World Bank, despite a strong economic performance over the past two decades, Moldova remains among the poorest nations in Europe. Growth has remained relatively high since the 1990s, with low levels of unemployment and falling levels of poverty, but a combination of demographic factors, especially an ageing population and significant levels of emigration, and recent regional events, especially Russia's invasion of Ukraine, have posed serious economic challenges to the Moldovan economy, particularly due to inflation and rising energy prices. …

The most recent national census of Moldova was carried out in 2024 (not including Transnistria). Moldova has an estimated population of approx. 2,423,300 as of 1 January 2024. Moldova is relatively urbanised. According to the 2024 census, 46,4% of the population is urban, with the country having undergone rapid urbanisation in recent years; at the 2014 census, only 38,5% of the population was urban. About one-third of the Moldovan population live in the capital city Chișinău's metropolitan area. As of 2022, the country's population density is 82.8 inhabitants per 1 km2, and average life expectancy was 71.5 years (67.2 for males, and 75.7 for females). There are 100 women per 90 men in Moldova, and employed women have significantly higher levels of education, though women continued to earn 13.6% less than men on average. …