Moldova: Economy#
Despite recent progress, Moldova remains one of the poorest countries in Europe. With a moderate climate and productive farmland, Moldova's economy relies heavily on its agriculture sector, featuring fruits, vegetables, wine, and tobacco. Moldova also depends on annual remittances of about $1.12 billion from the roughly one million Moldovans working in Europe, Russia, and other former Soviet Bloc countries.With few natural energy resources, Moldova imports almost all of its energy supplies from Russia and Ukraine. Moldova's dependence on Russian energy is underscored by a more than $5 billion debt to Russian natural gas supplier Gazprom, largely the result of unreimbursed natural gas consumption in the breakaway region of Transnistria. Moldova and Romania inaugurated the Ungheni-Iasi natural gas interconnector project in August 2014. The 43-kilometer pipeline between Moldova and Romania, allows for both the import and export of natural gas. Several technical and regulatory delays kept gas from flowing into Moldova until March 2015. Romanian gas exports to Moldova are largely symbolic. Moldova hopes to build a pipeline connecting Ungheni to Chisinau, bringing the gas to Moldovan population centers.
The government's stated goal of EU integration has resulted in some market-oriented progress. Moldova experienced better than expected economic growth in 2014 due to increased agriculture production, to economic policies adopted by the Moldovan government since 2009, and to the receipt of EU trade preferences. Moldova signed an Association Agreement and a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the EU during fall 2014, connecting Moldovan products to the world’s largest market. Still, a $1 billion asset-stripping heist of Moldovan banks in late 2014 delivered a significant shock to the economy in 2015; a subsequent bank bailout increased inflationary pressures and contributed to the depreciation of the leu. Moldova’s growth has also been hampered by endemic corruption and a Russian import ban on Moldova’s agricultural products.
Over the longer term, Moldova's economy remains vulnerable to corruption, political uncertainty, weak administrative capacity, vested bureaucratic interests, higher fuel prices, Russian political and economic pressure, and unresolved separatism in Moldova's Transnistria region.
Economic Facts#
| GDP (purchasing power parity) | $18.54 billion (2016 est.) $18.18 billion (2015 est.) $18.26 billion (2014 est.) note: data are in 2016 dollars |
|---|---|
| GDP (official exchange rate) | $6.65 billion (2015 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2016 est.) -0.5% (2015 est.) 4.8% (2014 est.) |
| GDP - per capita (PPP) | $5,200 (2016 est.) $5,100 (2015 est.) $5,100 (2014 est.) note: data are in 2016 dollars |
| Gross national saving | 18.2% of GDP (2016 est.) 18% of GDP (2015 est.) 22.3% of GDP (2014 est.) |
| GDP - composition, by end use | household consumption: 89.5% government consumption: 20.6% investment in fixed capital: 23.7% investment in inventories: 1.3% exports of goods and services: 43% imports of goods and services: -78.1% (2016 est.) |
| GDP - composition, by sector of origin | agriculture: 14.1% industry: 21.2% services: 64.7% (2016 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | vegetables, fruits, grapes, grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, tobacco; beef, milk; wine |
| Industries | sugar, vegetable oil, food processing, agricultural machinery; foundry equipment, refrigerators and freezers, washing machines; hosiery, shoes, textiles |
| Industrial production growth rate | 3.5% (2016 est.) |
| Labor force | 1.253 million (2016 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 30.5% industry: 12.2% services: 57.3% (2014 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 6.3% (2016 est.) 5.2% (2015 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 20.8% (2013 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.3% highest 10%: 26% (2010 est.) |
| Distribution of family income - Gini index | 28.5 (2013) 33.2 (2003) |
| Budget | revenues: $2.297 billion expenditures: $2.456 billion note: National Public Budget (2016 est.) |
| Taxes and other revenues | 34.5% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) | -2.4% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Public debt | 44.8% of GDP (2016 est.) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.4% (2016 est.) 9.7% (2015 est.) |
| Central bank discount rate | 19.5% (31 December 2015) 6.5% (31 December 2014) note: this is the basic rate on short-term operations |
| Commercial bank prime lending rate | 15% (31 December 2016 est.) 14.2% (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Stock of narrow money | $1.095 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $1.188 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Stock of broad money | $3.402 billion (31 December 2015 est.) $4.685 billion (31 December 2014 est.) |
| Stock of domestic credit | $2.003 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $2.162 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Market value of publicly traded shares | $9.723 million (31 December 2014 est.) $50.47 million (31 December 2014 est.) $51.46 million (31 December 2012 est.) |
| Current account balance | -$189 million (2016 est.) -$304 million (2015 est.) |
| Exports | $1.45 billion (2016 est.) $1.507 billion (2015 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | foodstuffs, textiles, machinery |
| Exports - partners | Romania 23.1%, Italy 10.2%, Turkey 9.4%, Russia 8%, Germany 6.6%, Belarus 6.4% (2015) |
| Imports | $3.45 billion (2016 est.) $3.595 billion (2015 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | mineral products and fuel, machinery and equipment, chemicals, textiles |
| Imports - partners | Russia 22.7%, Romania 18.1%, Ukraine 11.5%, Germany 7%, Italy 4.8%, Turkey 4.4% (2015) |
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | $1.85 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $1.757 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Debt - external | $6.362 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $6.207 billion (31 December 2015 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - at home | $3.647 billion (31 December 2014 est.) $3.615 billion (31 December 2013 est.) |
| Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad | $108.2 million (31 December 2012) $88.42 million (31 December 2011) |
| Exchange rates | Moldovan lei (MDL) per US dollar - 20.4 (2016 est.) 19.83 (2015 est.) 19.83 (2014 est.) 14.036 (2013 est.) 12.11 (2012 est.) |