Moldova/Economy

Economy - overview: Moldova 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 all of its supplies of oil, coal, and natural gas, largely from Russia. Energy shortages contributed to sharp production declines after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. As part of an ambitious reform effort, Moldova introduced a stable convertible currency, freed all prices, stopped issuing preferential credits to state enterprises, backed steady land privatization, removed export controls, and freed interest rates. Yet these efforts could not offset the impact of political and economic difficulties, both internal and regional. In 1998, the economic troubles of Russia, by far Moldova's leading trade partner, were a major cause of the 8.6% drop in GDP; the value of the currency in relation to the dollar fell by half. In 1999, GDP fell again, by 4.4%, the fifth drop in the past six years; exports were down, and energy supplies continued erratic. GDP is expected to remain at about the same level in 2000.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $9.7 billion (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: -4.4% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,200 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 31%
industry: 35%
services: 34% (1998)

Population below poverty line: 75% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.7%
highest 10%: 25.8% (1992)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 38% (1999 est.)

Labor force: 1.7 million (1998)

Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 40.2%, industry 14.3%, other 45.5% (1998)

Unemployment rate: 2% (includes only officially registered unemployed; large numbers of underemployed workers) (September 1998)

Budget:
revenues: $536 million
expenditures: $594 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998 est.)

Industries: food processing, agricultural machinery, foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines, hosiery, sugar, vegetable oil, shoes, textiles

Industrial production growth rate: -10% (1999 est.)

Electricity - production: 5.661 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 93%
hydro: 7%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 7.065 billion kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports: 1.8 billion kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products: vegetables, fruits, wine, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, tobacco; beef, milk

Exports: $470 million (f.o.b., 1999)

Exports - commodities: foodstuffs, wine, and tobacco 66%; textiles and footwear, machinery (1998)

Exports - partners: Russia 53%, Romania 10%, Ukraine 8%, Germany 5%, Belarus 4% (1998)

Imports: $560 million (f.o.b., 1999)

Imports - commodities: mineral products and fuel 31%, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles (1998)

Imports - partners: Russia 22%, Ukraine 16%, Romania 12%, Belarus 9%, Germany 5% (1998)

Debt - external: $1.3 billion (December 1999)

Economic aid - recipient: $100.8 million (1995); note - $547 million from the IMF and World Bank (1992-99)

Currency: Moldovan leu (MLD) (plural lei)

Exchange rates: lei (MLD) per US$1 (end of year) - 12.1408 (January 2000), 10.5158 (1999), 5.3707 (1998), 4.6236 (1997), 4.6045 (1996), 4.4958 (1995)

Fiscal year: calendar year