Demographics of Moldova
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[edit] General
Although Moldova is by far the most densely populated of the former Soviet republics (129 inhabitants per square kilometer in 1990, compared with thirteen inhabitants per square kilometer for the Soviet Union as a whole), it has few large cities. The largest and most important of these is Chişinău, the country's capital and its most important industrial center. Founded in 1420, Chişinǎu is located in the center of the republic, on the Bîc (Russian: Бык, in Russian) River, and in 1990 had a population of 676,000. The city's population was slightly more than 50% ethnic Moldovans, with ethnic Russians constituting approximately 25% and Ukrainians 13%. The proportion of ethnic Russians and Ukrainians in the capital's population decreased in the years immediately after 1989 because of the emigration resulting from Moldova's changing political situation and civil unrest.
- In 2004, the city had 647,000 people. Due to a large emigration of Russians and Ukrainians in the early nineties, Moldovans have become a decisive majority, comprising over 70% of the total population of the city. Russians come second with 13.7%. Ukrainians, Bulgarians, Jews, Gagauzians and others comprise the rest.
The second largest city in the republic, Tiraspol, had a population of 184,000 in 1990. It is located in Transnistria and served as the capital of the Moldavian ASSR from 1929 to 1940. It has remained an important center of administration, transportation, and manufacturing. In contrast to Chişinǎu, Tiraspol had a population of only some 18% ethnic Moldovans, with most of the remainder being ethnic Russians (41%) and Ukrainians (32%).
- Due to deportations during the 1992 war between Moldova and the breakaway republic of Transnistria, it is reported that the Moldovan population has gone down to 13%.
Other important cities include Bǎlţi (Bel'tsy, in Russian), with a population of 162,000 in 1990, and Bender (or Bendery, in Russian), with a population of 132,000 in the same year. As in Tiraspol, ethnic Moldovans used to be a minority in this city as well.
Nevertheless, in the 15 years since Moldova achieved independence, the population of Bǎlţi has undergone many changes, one of them being that Moldovans have managed to become the majority population in that city as well, even though Russian and Ukrainian speaking inhabitants of Bǎlţi remain the political, economic and intellectual majority.
Traditionally a rural country, Moldova gradually began changing its character under Soviet rule. As urban areas became the sites of new industrial jobs and of amenities such as clinics, the population of cities and towns grew. The new residents were not only ethnic Moldovans who had moved from rural areas but also many ethnic Russians and Ukrainians who had been recruited to fill positions in industry and government (see Ethnic Composition, this ch.)
In 1990 Moldova's divorce rate of 3.0 divorces per 1,000 population had risen from the 1987 rate of 2.7 divorces per 1,000 population (see table 9, Appendix A). The usual stresses of marriage were exacerbated by a society in which women were expected to perform most of the housework in addition to their work outside the home. Compounding this were crowded housing conditions (with their resulting lack of privacy) and, no doubt, the growing political crisis, which added its own strains.
One of Moldova's characteristic traits is its ethnic diversity. As early as the beginning of the eighteenth century, Moldovan prince and scholar Dimitrie Cantemir observed that he "didn't believe that there [existed] a single country of the size of Moldavia in which so many and such diverse peoples meet."
At the time of the 1989 census, Moldova's total population was 4,335,400. The largest nationality in the republic, ethnic Moldovans, numbered 2,795,000 persons, accounting for 64.5 % of the population. The other major nationalities were Ukrainians, about 600,000 (14 %); Russians, about 562,000 (13.0 %); Gagauz, about 153,000 (4 %); Bulgarians, about 88,000 (2 %); and Jews, about 66,000 (2.0 %). There were also smaller but appreciable numbers of Belarusians, Poles, Roma (Gypsies), and Germans in the population. In contrast, in Transnistria ethnic Moldovans accounted for only 40 % of the population in 1989, followed by Ukrainians (28 %), Russians (25 %), Bulgarians (2 %), and Gagauz (1 %).
In the early 1990s, there was significant emigration from the republic, primarily from urban areas and primarily by Moldovan minorities. In 1990 persons emigrating accounted for 6.8 % of the population. This figure rose to 10 % in 1991 before dropping sharply to 2 % in 1992.
Ethnic Moldovans made up a sizable proportion of the urban population in 1989 (about half the population of Chişinǎu, for example), as well as a large proportion of the rural population (80 %), but only 23 % of the ethnic Moldovans lived in the republic's ten largest cities. Some have emigrated to Romania at the end of World War II, and others had lost their lives during the war and in postwar Soviet purges. As a consequence of industrial growth, there was significant immigration to the Moldavian SSR by other nationalities, especially ethnic Russians and Ukrainians.
Unlike ethnic Moldovans, ethnic Russians tend to be urban dwellers in Moldova; more than 72 % of them lived in the ten largest cities in 1989. Many of them came to the Moldavian SSR after it was annexed by the Soviet government in 1940; more arrived after World War II. Ostensibly, they came to alleviate the Moldavian SSR's postwar labor shortage (although thousands of Moldovan citizens were being deported to Central Asia at the time) and to fill leadership positions in industry and the government. The Russians settled mainly in Chişinǎu and Bender and in the Transnistrian cities of Tiraspol and Dubǎsari (Dubossary, in Russian). Only about 25 % of Moldova's Russians lived in Transnistria in the early 1990s.
[edit] Demographic data from the CIA World Factbook (2000)
Population: 4,430,654 (July 2000 est.)
Age structure:
- 0-14 years: 23% (male 523,373; female 505,064)
- 15-64 years: 67% (male 1,422,470; female 1,544,169)
- 65 years and over: 10% (male 161,659; female 273,919) (2000 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.90% (2000 est.)
Birth rate: 12.86 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Death rate: 12.58 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)
- For the first half of 2007, there were 22,100 deaths and 18,270 births. [1]
Net migration rate: -0.31 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)
Sex ratio:
- at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
- under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female
- total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2000 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 43.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
- total population: 64.45 years
- male: 59.92 years
- female: 69.22 years (2000 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.63 children born/woman (2000 est.)
[edit] Demographic data from the CIA World Factbook (2005)
Population: 4,455,421 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
- 0-14 years: 20.2% (male 459,452/female 442,725)
- 15-64 years: 69.5% (male 1,489,813/female 1,606,202)
- 65 years and over: 10.3% (male 169,038/female 288,191) (2005 est.)
Median age:
- total: 32.22 years
- male: 30.14 years
- female: 34.27 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.22% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 15.27 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 12.79 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: -0.25 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:
- at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
- under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over: 0.59 male(s)/female
- total population: 0.91 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
- total: 40.42 deaths/1,000 live births
- male: 43.11 deaths/1,000 live births
- female: 37.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
- total population: 65.18 years
- male: 61.12 years
- female: 69.43 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.81 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 5,500 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 300 (2001 est.)
Literacy: (definition: age 15 and over can read and write)
- total population: 99.1%
- male: 99.6%
- female: 98.7% (2003 est.)
[edit] Ethnic groups
The preliminary results of the 2004 Moldovan Census report the ethnic distribution as follows:
- Moldovans: 76.1%
- Ukrainians: 8.4%
- Russians: 5.8%
- Gagauz: 4.4%
- Romanians: 2.1%
- Bulgarians: 1.9%
- Others: 1.3%
According the CIA World Factbook which cites the Moldovan census the ethnic groups in Moldova are as follows: Moldovan/Romanian 78.2%, Ukrainian 8.4%, Russian 5.8%, Gagauz 4.4%, Bulgarian 1.9%, other 1.3% (2004 census) [2]
[edit] Religions
According to the 2004 census, the population of Moldova has the following religious composition:
| Religion | Adherents | % of total |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern Orthodox Christians | 3,158,015 | 93.3% |
|
Newer Protestant faiths |
|
1.83% |
|
Traditional Protestant
|
|
0.19% |
| Old-Rite Christians b | 5,094 | 0.15% |
| Roman Catholics | 4,645 | 0.14% |
| Muslims | 1,667 | 0.05% |
| Other religions | 25,527 | 0.77% |
| Agnostics | 33,207 | 1% |
| Atheists | 12,724 | 0.38% |
Percentages are calculated from the number of people declaring a religion; 75,727 (2.29%) of the population did not declare a religion.
a Known as Creştini după Evanghelie.
b Traditionally Orthodox Lipovans.
The Soviet government strictly limited the activities of the Orthodox Church (and all religions) and at times sought to exploit it, with the ultimate goal of destroying it and all religious activity. Most Orthodox churches and monasteries in Moldova were demolished or converted to other uses, such as administartive buildings or warehouses, and clergy were sometimes punished for leading services. But many believers continued to practice their faith.
In 1991 Moldova had 853 Orthodox churches and eleven Orthodox monasteries (four for monks and seven for nuns). In addition, the Old Russian Orthodox Church (Old Believers--see Glossary) had fourteen churches and one monastery in Moldova.
In the interwar period, the vast majority of ethnic Moldovans belonged to the Romanian Orthodox Church (Bucharest Patriarchate), but today the Russian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) has jurisdiction in Moldova. Russian, Romanian, and Turkic (Gagauz) liturgies are used in the church. After the recent revival of religious activity, a minority ofthe clergy and the faithful wanted to return to the Bucharest Patriarchate. Because higher-level church authorities were unable to resolve the matter, Moldova now has two episcopates, one for each patriarchate. In late 1992, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia issued a decree upgrading the Eparchy of Chişinău and Moldova to a metropolitan.
Moldova also has a Greek-Catholic minority, mainly among ethnic Ukrainians, although the Soviet government declared the Greek-Catholic Churches illegal in 1946 and forcibly united them with the Russian Orthodox Church. The Greek-Catholic Churches survived underground, however, outlasting the Soviet Union itself.
Despite the Soviet government's suppression and ongoing harassment, Moldova's Jews managed to retain their religious identity. About a dozen Jewish newspapers were started in the early 1990s, and religious leaders opened a synagogue in Chişinău; there were six Jewish communities of worship throughout the country. In addition, Moldova's government created the Department of Jewish Studies at Chişinău State University, mandated the opening of a Jewish high school in Chişinău, and introduced classes in Judaism in high schools in several cities. The government also provides financial support to the Society for Jewish Culture.
Other religious denominations in Moldova are the Armenian Apostolic Church, Seventh-Day Adventists, Baptists, Pentecostals, and Molokans (a Russian Orthodox sect).
Citizens in independent Moldova have much greater religious freedom than they did under the Soviet regime. Legislation passed in 1992 guaranteed religious freedom but did require that all religious groups be officially recognized by the government. In 1992 construction or restoration of 221 churches was under way, but clergy remained in short supply.
[edit] Languages
(Moldovan, Russian, Ukrainian,Gagauz)
In 1989 members of most of the Moldavian SSR's nationalities claimed their national language as their mother tongue: Moldovans (95%), Ukrainians (62%), Russians (99%), Gagauz (91%), Bulgarians (79%), and Roma (82%). The exceptions were Jews (26% citing Yiddish), Belarusians (43%), Germans (31%), and Poles (10%).
Although both Moldavian written in the Cyrillic alphabet, and Russian were the official languages of the Moldavian SSR, only 62% of the total population claimed Moldavian as their native language in 1979. Only 4% of the entire population claimed Moldovan as a second language.
In 1979 Russian was claimed as a native language by a large proportion of Jews (66%) and ethnic Belarusians (62%) and by a significant proportion of ethnic Ukrainians (30%). Proportions of other nationalities naming Russian as a native language ranged from 17% of ethnic Bulgarians to 3% of ethnic Moldovans (urban Moldovans were more Russianized than rural Moldovans). Russian was claimed as a second language by a sizable proportion of all the nationalities: Moldovans (46%), Ukrainians (43%), Gagauz (68%), Jews (30%), Bulgarians (67%), Belarusians (34%), Germans (53%), Roma (36%), and Poles (24%).
On August 31, 1989, the Supreme Soviet of Moldavia passed the Law on State Language, which made Moldovan written in the Latin alphabet the state language of the Moldavian SSR. Because of pressure exerted by non-Moldovan ethnic groups, Russian was retained as the language of interethnic communication. In areas where non-Moldovan ethnic groups were the majority, the language of that majority could also be used as a means of communication. Because of strong objections raised by the non-Moldovan nationalities, implementation of the law was delayed.
The new Constitution of Moldova, adopted August 27, 1994, states that Moldovan, written in the Latin script, is designated as the official language, but provisions were made for Russian and other languages to be used in areas of minority concentrations. Russian was also to be the language of interethnic communication.
On April 27, 1995, President Snegur asked Parliament to change the name of the language in the constitution, from Moldovan to Romanian, in response to demonstrations and strikes led by students. According to Moldovan law, it would be six months before a proposed change to the constitution could be made.
[edit] Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write.
| 1989 est. | 2003 est. | |
|---|---|---|
| total population: | 96% | 99.1% |
| male: | 99% | 99.6% |
| female: | 94% | 98.7% |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- This article contains material from the CIA World Factbook which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain.
[edit] External links
- Rumanian national identity in the Republic of Moldova, Arianna Montanari
- 2004 cenus
- Disaster by Depopulation - Red Cross report about impact of demographic changes on family structure and child care
