Official Name: Republic of Moldova
Capital: Chișinău
Total area: 33 846 km2
GDP per capita: $3,415
Native Language: Moldovan (Romanian)
Government: Parliamentary republic
Population: 3,559,500
Major Religion: Orthodox Christianity
Monetary Unit: Moldovan leu (MDL)

Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe between Romania in the west and Ukraine in the north, east and south. The capital is Chișinău.

In 1991, as part of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Moldova declared itself an independent state with the same borders as the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic. On July 29, 1994, the new constitution of the Republic of Moldova was adopted. A strip of Moldova's internationally recognized territory on the east bank of the Dniester River has been de facto under the control of the breakaway government of Transnistria since 1990.

Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, the relative weight of the service sector in Moldova's economy began to grow and to dominate GDP (now around 63.5%) due to the decline in industry and agriculture. However, Moldova remains the poorest country in Europe.

Economy
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, energy shortages contributed to sharp falls in production. As part of ambitious economic liberalization, the Republic of Moldova sought a convertible currency, liberalized all prices, stopped granting preferential loans to state-owned companies, supported steady land privatization, removed export controls, and liberalized interest rates. The government has agreements with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to encourage growth.

Recent trends suggest that the communist government intends to reverse some of these policies and recollect land while restricting private business more. The economy returned to positive growth of 2.1% in 2000 and 6.1% in 2001. Growth remained strong in 2007 (6%), partly due to reforms and a small base. The economy remains vulnerable to higher fuel prices, poor agricultural weather, and skepticism from foreign investors.

http://www.immigration-residency.eu/counsel/europe/moldova/